IT'S the biggest news story of the day. It's trending in the United Kingdom. It's been reported on by Reuters, AOL UK, The Economic Times (India), Euronews, Politico EU, RTE, and the Sydney Morning Herald, The Independent, The Guardian, The Jakarta Post, the Spectator, the Express, The Telegraph, STV and many more.
This is the news that a Lord Ashcroft-commissioned poll has put support for independence at 52%, leading for the first time since March 2017. The survey also found 47% of Scots want indyref2 to be held in the next couple of years. It's big news and, coming so soon into Boris Johnson's premiership, shows Remain-voting Scotland is not happy with the direction the Brexiteer Cabinet is taking us in.
However, the state broadcaster has chosen not to run the story.
READ MORE: Scottish independence: Why is the BBC website not covering poll?
When asked why the story had not featured, a BBC spokesperson said: "The results of this poll were covered in an extensive analysis of polling trends from Professor Sir John Curtice on Good Morning Scotland.
"This is in keeping with our editorial guidelines which advise that the result of an individual poll in isolation should not be published as a headline story."
So what should we make of this? Here's five reasons why we think the BBC should have run the story.
1) Everyone is talking about it
As pointed out above, this is a major global news story. Surely the fact that this is one of the biggest stories of the day would mean these are not normal circumstances. If its news to people in Sydney and Jakarta, it's news to the people of Scotland, who pay for the BBC.
2) Exceptions can be made to the guidelines
The BBC's guidelines say that exceptions can be made to the "no individual polls as headline stories" rule under certain circumstances. So, based on the popularity of this story and the fact that the First Minister of Scotland is talking about it, could the polling element not be worked around? Surely your guidelines are not fit for purpose if they mean you miss one of the most important stories of the day.
3) It's not really an "individual poll in isolation"
If every recent poll had indicated no appetite for indyref2 and this was totally out of the blue, maybe this rule would apply. But that's not the case. Just a month or so back we had a Panelbase poll showing 53% of Scots would back Scottish independence if Boris Johnson became PM. And today's poll reflects that entirely, proving a pattern is emerging in voting intentions. Therefore, suggesting today's poll is some one-off inexplicable occurence in total isolation is rubbish.
READ MORE: Majority would vote for independence if Johnson becomes PM, says new poll
4) Support for independence is not just a Scottish issue
The BBC defended their move by pointing out that Curtice had discussed the matter on Good Morning Scotland earlier. But that just that a small number of Scottish listeners heard about the poll, and not anyone from the rest of the UK.
If the Union is to break up, this is of interest to people in all nations of that Union? At the last independence referendum, it felt as if some people in England and Wales were clueless when it came to Scotland - largely because UK-wide media coverage was so ill-informed. They have every right to be informed and up-to-date regarding support for Scottish independence.
5) They've reported on polls before
The BBC has reported on individual polls previously as headline stories, which means they have made exceptions to the rule before now. More specifically, we found they had reported on other Lord Ashcroft polls in isolation.
Here's one example: General Election 2015: Poll suggests political figures could lose seats to SNP
Considering everything we've already pointed out, it is hard to believe that the guidelines should be strictly followed in this particular instance.
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