The first minister has distanced herself from calls by Alex Salmon for the Scottish Parliament to be given control of the BBC.
During last weeks SNP conference in Glasgow the former first minister accused the BBC of being anti-Nationalist and said the corporation “allowed themselves to be influenced by the headlines of a biased press”
“I don’t think the broadcasting issue in terms of how it treats Scotland will be properly resolved till we have broadcasting under the remit of our democratically-elected parliament in Scotland,” he said.
In the Scottish Parliament yesterday, Mid Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser asked the first minister if Mr Salmond’s reflected the views of the SNP-administration at Holyrood.
“It is one of the hallmarks of a liberal democracy anywhere in the world that the media has absolute freedom from political interference,” he said.
“So, when the SNP backbencher Alex Salmond attacks the BBC for its coverage of the independence referendum and demands that it comes under the political control of this parliament, is he speaking for the first minister, her government, the SNP, or just for himself?”
Ms Sturgeon replied: “I think everybody supports the right of the media to be completely free of political interference. I know I do.
“I would suggest, gently, to Murdo Fraser that he might want to direct some of his own comments to members of his own party.
“For example, I agree with the former director general of the BBC Greg Dyke when he said: ’When it comes to deciding impartiality, we can’t let politicians define impartiality’.
“But these remarks were made in response to the threats to the BBC licence fee by Tory party chairman Grant Shapps as a result of his alleged bias of the BBC.
“Perhaps he would also want to reflect on the fact that last week the Conservative Party press office tweeted: ’BBC showing clear editorial bias by saying there was no clear winner from last night’s debate’.
“So, with the greatest of respect to Murdo Fraser, I will continue to defend the right of broadcasters and all media to be completely free of political interference, but I suggest he gets his own house in order.”