medialens takes up the issue of the now rather infamous decision by the BBC not to broadcast an appeal for the Gazans post Israelis bombardment of the tiny strip of land and its people:
"Writing in the Independent last week, Robert Fisk commented on the BBC‘s refusal to broadcast an appeal for Gaza by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC):
“The BBC's refusal to handle an advertisement for Palestinian aid was highly instructive. It was the BBC's ‘impartiality’ that might be called into question. In other words, the protection of an institution was more important than the lives of children.”
(http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-when-did-we-stop-caring-about-civilian-deaths-during-wartime-1521708.html)
Even taken at face value, then, the BBC’s decision was monstrous. But the idea that it was primarily motivated by a commitment to impartiality makes little sense.
In 1999, the corporation allowed its own high profile newsreader, Jill Dando, to present a DEC appeal for Kosovo at the height of NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign against Serbia. This, also, was an ongoing and highly controversial conflict, one that involved fraudulent US-UK government and media claims of a Serbian “genocide” in Kosovo (claims which have since been quietly abandoned).
Shortly after broadcasting the appeal, with bombing still underway, the BBC reported:
“Millions of pounds of donations have been flooding in to help the Kosovo refugees after a national television appeal for funds.” (‘UK Millions pour in to Kosovo appeal,’ BBC online, April 6, 1999. See David Bracewell‘s excellent work on this in our forum: http://www.medialens.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2934)
This article linked to related reports on the conflict, which included comments from then prime minister Tony Blair:
"This will be a daily pounding until he [Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic] comes into line with the terms that Nato has laid down.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/312024.stm)
The BBC apparently had no concerns that this might damage its alleged reputation for impartiality."
Continue reading, here, an analysis of how the BBC's decision was so very wrong - and erroneously based.
"Writing in the Independent last week, Robert Fisk commented on the BBC‘s refusal to broadcast an appeal for Gaza by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC):
“The BBC's refusal to handle an advertisement for Palestinian aid was highly instructive. It was the BBC's ‘impartiality’ that might be called into question. In other words, the protection of an institution was more important than the lives of children.”
(http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-when-did-we-stop-caring-about-civilian-deaths-during-wartime-1521708.html)
Even taken at face value, then, the BBC’s decision was monstrous. But the idea that it was primarily motivated by a commitment to impartiality makes little sense.
In 1999, the corporation allowed its own high profile newsreader, Jill Dando, to present a DEC appeal for Kosovo at the height of NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign against Serbia. This, also, was an ongoing and highly controversial conflict, one that involved fraudulent US-UK government and media claims of a Serbian “genocide” in Kosovo (claims which have since been quietly abandoned).
Shortly after broadcasting the appeal, with bombing still underway, the BBC reported:
“Millions of pounds of donations have been flooding in to help the Kosovo refugees after a national television appeal for funds.” (‘UK Millions pour in to Kosovo appeal,’ BBC online, April 6, 1999. See David Bracewell‘s excellent work on this in our forum: http://www.medialens.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2934)
This article linked to related reports on the conflict, which included comments from then prime minister Tony Blair:
"This will be a daily pounding until he [Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic] comes into line with the terms that Nato has laid down.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/312024.stm)
The BBC apparently had no concerns that this might damage its alleged reputation for impartiality."
Continue reading, here, an analysis of how the BBC's decision was so very wrong - and erroneously based.
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