BBC crisis over refusal to broadcast Gaza appeal

BBC crisis over refusal to broadcast Gaza appeal

www.guardian.co.uk

The BBC was in crisis last night as politicians including government ministers, religious leaders and senior members of its own staff condemned the decision not to broadcast a charity appeal to help the stricken people of Gaza rebuild their homes.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I always expected the BBC to be fair and impartial gosh i was wrong. It is a shame that such beacon of journalism has lost its identity and it is now blatant that their interests reside in Downing Street and the UK govt. I commend all the protesters to bring this issue to light and reveal the BBC true colors. I am going to boycott their stations from now on. Good we have ATS to show us all sides of a story

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 25-1-2009 by TheOracle]

Originally posted by TheOracle


I always expected the BBC to be unfair and taking sides. It is a shame that such beacon of journalism has lost its identity and it is now blatant that their interests reside in Downing Street and the UK govt. I commend all the protesters to bring this issue to light and reveal the BBC true colors. I am going to boycott their stations from now on. Good we have ATS to show us all sides of a story

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

The BBC is a government funded body, that is why we are forced to pay for it. If you want to boycott the channels by all means do so, but remember that you are still paying for it with your licence fee, you are still providing support, however involuntary that support may be. A concensus of refusal to pay our licence fee would be far more effective in my opinion, what are they going to do? Bang us all up. Worth considering?

As soon as i heard about this the first thing i thought of was China and how they restrict their people from seeing certain things they should see and i just get so annoyed from this story though

Seriously just makes me sick sometimes how they could do this they really should be ashamed of themselves in my opinion those people need so much help especially now after Israel and there illegal ways practically destroyed Gaza

I live in China, and there is little the govt does to restrict people from watching world news. What the Govt controls is State owned Media, those like CNN, BBC, etc are not restricted and are there for anyone with sattelite dish or Cable, which is several hundred million people. Foriegn media is not restricted, we watch anything we wish anytime we want.

Originally posted by TheOracle
I always expected the BBC to be fair and impartial gosh i was wrong.

Yes,although theres always a flipside:

BBC pro muslim bias policy:
archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com...

Independant newspaper article:
www.independent.co.uk...

Theres a good (award winning) film here dealing with the myth of objectivity in the news media and the above poster is right that the BBC is the only organisation that has the audacity to imprison free citizens if they refuse to fund it.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

the reason is that they do not want to show the suffering of the palestinian people,this would be a problem to the isreal side whom have a highly empowered media campaign in operation to demonize the palestinians and promote the isreali side.

since the othe major braodcasters had any problems with the appeal,it suggests the bbc were working on behalf of elements in the government,or the director general
en.wikipedia.org...

mark thompson
en.wikipedia.org...

now for this juicy bit,

In November 2005, Thompson traveled with his Jewish wife to Israel, where he held direct talks with Ariel Sharon, which were intended to let the BBC 'build bridges with Israel'

its pretty obvious he serves the isreali agenda..........now the reason cited for the denial of the charity appeal was that it breaches the bbc fair and objectivness guidelines......now how can someone who is working for the isreali lobby BE WORKING UNDER OBJECTIVITY GUIDLINES!?!?!?

hes ripe for bringing down, imean hes a sitting duck for heavens sake"!!, in breach of the bbcs own guidlines himself,why isnt anyone having a dig at him!?,hes bound to have loadsa dirt relating to isreal on him!.lets hope some folks from sun are watching
and have a go!

if nowone does then by god its obvious theres cahoots going on everywhere!

[edit on 25-1-2009 by welivefortheson]

Originally posted by Hallberg Rassy


I live in China, and there is little the govt does to restrict people from watching world news. What the Govt controls is State owned Media, those like CNN, BBC, etc are not restricted and are there for anyone with sattelite dish or Cable, which is several hundred million people. Foriegn media is not restricted, we watch anything we wish anytime we want.

hmmmm i think this is proof that infact the media restrications are working very well indeed!

I don't suppose this decision was based on the Hamas statement that they would "rearm."

More funds intended for good cause, are wasted by men who just thrive on the strife.

I wouldn't send a nickel. It simply encourages bad behavior.

reply to post by dooper

Sky News UK. A group of 100 Gaza demonstrators have just invaded and taken over BBC offices in Glasgow!

It boils down to the Government refusing to criticise Israeli tactics methinks, and their own BBC is now under state control?? Lovely. From my understanding, if you're a kinde person in politics you are no longer allowed to be a Tory and must join Labour, according to my friends anyway!!!!! It's a police state now.

This is not simply the BBCs failure to report on the destruction in Gaza, it is their clear denial of humanitarian aid. The BBC has refused to air an add campaign by the Disasters Emergency Committee, (DEC) who hope to raise funding to help the War victims in Gaza.


The DEC is not some shabby front for a terrorist regime, it is made up of the most respected names in humanitarian aid. Red Cross, Oxfam, CARE, and World Vision to name a few. When the BBC denies them airtime, they in effect are responsible for continued suffering and the deaths of those who wont receive much needed medical care.

The BBC claims this is simply their way of being impartial on the War in Gaza, yet they have aired funding campaigns by the DEC in other conflicts, without hesitation. This makes it clearly one of a political decision. They have chosen to bend over to the Israeli lobbists and their propaganda of denial. It is time to call for the resignation of the top executives at the BBC. Take a stand for human rights.

The BBC is funded by US - it should be airing what we want it to air, instead of playing politics.

I've long said that in the modern digital age with hundreds of channels, there should no longer be a license fee - their bias and refusal in this matter simply serves to confirm this.

Originally posted by dooper
I don't suppose this decision was based on the Hamas statement that they would "rearm."

More funds intended for good cause, are wasted by men who just thrive on the strife.

I wouldn't send a nickel. It simply encourages bad behavior.

you must seperate the civillian population from hamas , you are using the same logic as your beloved bogey men "the terrorists",whom hold all westerners accountable for the actions of the few in power.

should i not help an american because of the actions of its government?,by your logic no one should help an american,a russian,an isreali,by god the list is huge.
hamas is one of a myriad of negative and hateful organisations that fill the world,from arms dealers,to governments,the list is endless almost every country now has organisations whos hands are soiled with blood.
must we then ignore the suffering of the civillians of all these countries?
nay.

the civilians of palenstine are suffering immensly because of the actions of the few,they need help,simple as that.

Why Should the BBC, which if you want to watch a TV in the UK you have to have to pay a fee, show any appeals for money?

I would go further here. Why does the BBC waste the license fee on raising money for charity?

And what crisis? The BBC is not in crisis here. I am glad that the BBC is not showing this appeal and I will be annoyed if the BBC is forced to cave in.

The BBC should not be making a political statement and to air an appeal asking for money on this and any other issue.

The other major stations, other than Channel 4 are commerical organisations and can make decisions on why they air.

reply to post by Freedom ERP


The problem with your take on the matter, is that the BBC had aired funding calls by the DEC in numerous other situations. Up until Gaza, they were quite vocal about helping humanitarian organizations like the UK Red Cross. So I ask you, why in this instance should things be different? Why do they suddenly refuse to help the UK Red Cross and others when it comes to humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza? It is not like the Red Cross or Oxfam are buying guns for Hamas after all. They simply want to offer medical care, food, and shelter to victims of war.

The BBC has a long history of supporting humanitarian causes. Your argument doesn't seem to hold water in that respect.

Simple answer is dont pay your license fee, they cannot do a single thing about it unless you let the tv license people in to your house to check the signal ( they do this because they have to witness your tv recieving a signal to report you ). They have no right of entry and most importantly - dont sign anything.

[edit on 25/1/09 by cropmuncher]

reply to post by Terapin


I do agree that the BBC has aired other appeals. My point is that the BBC should not be aired any kind of appeals or waste my license fee and air time with its charity events.

How can the BBC not be bias if it broadcasts appeals and hosts charity events?

reply to post by Freedom ERP


It is Simple. Broadcasting the appeal for humanitarian aid in Gaza IS news.

News: Gaza is in serious need of humanitarian aid. A massive amount of housing has been destroyed. The few remaining medical centers in Gaza are out of supplies. Food and clean water are no where to be found. Israel stated that they were very precise in their bombing targets, yet they used bombs with a 300 foot area of effect, which is in no way precise in a dense urban area. Even your UK ministers spoke about this illegal type of bombing. When your MPs also have called for humanitarian aid, it is News.

It was News when calls for humanitarian aid went out for Darfur and Chad. The BBC reported on the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar(Burma) after the Tsunami, which I am certain you watched on the telly. The BBC has aired calls for help in the Congo, and specifically mentioned the DEC organization. The BBC reported on the humanitarian crisis and the need for help following the massive earthquake in China. Kosovo, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Hurricane Katrina in the US, the Israel/Lebanon conflict, Floods in Romania, Earthquake in Turkey, heck even refugees during the war in Vietnam. All of these humanitarian crises are newsworthy and were reported on by the BBC along with a call for humanitarian aid. Suddenly with Gaza the BBC refuses to report on the crisis and to mention the desperate need for humanitarian aid, even though they have mentioned the DEC many many times before in the above cases.

That is the new news: That the BBC has chosen to single out Gaza as somehow not worthy of international assistance, in the face of massive need. Tell that to the children who were burned alive by the illegal use of white phosphorus bombs by Israel. Bombs that Israel has now admitted using.

[edit on 25/1/09 by Terapin] Twice Edited for typos.

[edit on 25/1/09 by Terapin]

akin to your story/OP:

Tony Benn to BBC "If you wont broadcast the Gaza appeal then I will myself"