BBC - Blind or lying?

Talk about denial. On the 10th of Jan I posted about a Guardian story reporting on declining viewers of its' evil twin, the BBC.

Figures published tomorrow will show that the BBC's audience share has fallen to its lowest level for years. Industry body Barb (the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board), will report that the BBC's overall share of viewers dropped from 38.3 per cent in 2003 to 36.62 per cent in 2004, a fall of just under 4.5 per cent.

On that same day the BBC website, Newswatch, had this to say.

BBC News keeps a keen eye on who's watching and listening to what. Every month, NewsWatch will bring you the latest figures on all the latest programmes.

Really BBC? Then why are these figures not included in your "keen eye" report? Seems your keen eye is a little blind, doesn't it?

The BBC tosses out this little bone at the end of the piece.

Meanwhile, perceptions of the BBC as "Best for TV News" and "Best for TV Current Affairs" reached their highest levels this year (59% and 61% respectively) .

Then how do you account for the industry watchdog figures showing that "the BBC's audience share has fallen to its lowest level for years", a fall of nearly 4.5%?

Well, I know which figures I believe.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------