Letter to Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC from the NUJ and Bectu over Gaza appeal:
Mark Thomspon
Director General
BBC
London
26 January 2009
Dear Mark
We are writing to express our concern at the decision of the BBC to refuse free airtime to the DEC for its national humanitarian appeal for Gaza.
The BBC’s stance will seriously hinder the DEC in getting its message across to the British public. The humanitarian crisis, in which innocent children are suffering, is likely to be prolonged as a result of the Corporation’s decision.
The justifications given for the decision – - ‘question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation’ and risks of compromising its ‘impartiality in the context of an ongoing news story’ – appear to us cowardly and in danger of being seen as politically motivated and biased in favour of Israel.
We, above all, understand the BBC’s need to maintain editorial impartiality and we also understand the pressure journalists and the BBC comes under from those who accuse the BBC of bias in reporting the Middle East.
That said we agree with those senior BBC journalists who say this is a decision taken as a result of timidity by BBC management in the face of such pressures – Tim Llewellyn described this as ‘institutional cowardice’.
Far from avoiding the compromise of the BBC’s impartiality, this move has breached those same BBC rules by showing a bias in favour of Israel at the expense of 1. 5 million Palestinian civilians suffering an acute humanitarian crisis. The Myanmar cyclone appeal was broadcast in May 2008 in spite of ‘an ongoing news story’ involving the government of Burma. Why should Israel be treated differently?
Our members feel this makes the BBC appear pro-Israeli and indifferent to the plight of the victims of this conflict.
As a result of the three year blockade and the three week bombing campaign Gaza is enduring immense suffering. Launching the DEC appeal Brendan Gormley said: “Over 1, 300 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, and many thousands have been injured, overwhelming local hospitals. The destruction has left people without homes and many children without schooling; power, food and water supplies are insufficient to cover the population’s needs…Agencies are already providing food, drugs and blankets as well as delivering clean water…. but we will soon reach the limit of what we can do, without more money. For Gazans struggling to survive, receiving urgent humanitarian aid will help them take the first step to recovery.”
How can airing such an appeal risk compromising the BBC’s impartiality?
We believe the BBC’s decision not to show the appeal is wrong and we urge you to reconsider.
Yours sincerely
Gerry Morrissey, General Secretary, BECTU
Jeremy Dear, General Secretary, NUJ
[...] against. The BBC argued the politics of ‘impartiality’ yet they no platformed the DEC appeal for Gaza, a totally and fundamentally contradictory position to take. It makes no sense yet it exposes the [...]