BBC Scuppers Gaza Charity Appeal

[spangler]

Just another example of the control Israel exerts over the western media.

As though helping in the relief effort demonstrates bias   Just as preposterous is the BBC excuse that the aid might not get through. Aid is getting through. The problem is that not enough aid is making it into Gaza right now.

Taking the BBC claims seriously, I think I'd take my chances if I were the BBC and make humanitarian aid my priority, damn the torpedoes. If people think it somehow shows bias or if the aid doesn't get through at least I had tried to do the right thing by Gaza.

- -

Broadcasters refuse to air Gaza charity appeal
BBC declines to show DEC appeal under agreement dating back to 1963, leading to other outlets following suit


Palestinians who fled their homes from Israeli forces' operations gather in an UNRWA school building in Jabaliya
 refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip Photograph: Hatem Moussa/AP

The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation for 13 aid charities, launched its appealtoday saying the devastation in Gaza was "so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act".

But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating back to 1963 when it announced it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters then followed suit. Previously, broadcasters have agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, with each station choosing a presenter to front the appeal, shown after primetime news bulletins.

The BBC said it was not the first time broadcasters had refused to show a DEC appeal.

The corporation said it had been concerned about the difficulties of getting aid through to victims in a volatile situation. The BBC, which has faced criticism in the past over alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East, said it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality.

The DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley, said the decision could have a big impact on its appeal. "We are used to our appeal getting into every household and offering a safe and necessary way for people to respond. This time we will have to work a lot harder because we won't have the free airtime or the powerful impact of appearing on every TV and radio station."

DEC appeals have recently raised £10m for the Congo and £18m for Burma.

Gormley rejected the BBC's claim that it was difficult for aid to reach those in need, saying 100 lorries a day were entering Gaza. He challenged the corporation's concerns about impartiality. "We are totally apolitical and are driven by the principles of the Geneva conventions in terms of impartiality and neutrality. This appeal is a response to those humanitarian principles. The BBC seems to be confusing impartiality with equal airtime."

A BBC spokesperson said: "Along with other broadcasters, the BBC has decided not to broadcast the DEC's public appeal to raise funds for Gaza. The BBC decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of an ongoing news story. However, the BBC will of course continue to report the humanitarian story in Gaza."

ITV said: "The DEC asked all broadcasters if they could support the appeal. We (the broadcasters) assessed the DEC's requirements carefully against the agreed criteria and we were unable to reach the consensus necessary for an appeal."

Sky said: "We were considering this request internally when the DEC contacted us to let us know that the BBC had decided not to broadcast the appeal at this time. As, by convention, if all broadcasters do not carry the appeal then none do, the decision was effectively made for us."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/22/gaza-charity-appeal


Here's the BBC complaint form. Let's use it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/

[spangler]

BBC faces protest for blocking Gaza appeal

By Nicky Shaw
Saturday, 24 January 2009

Hundreds of protesters are expected to gather outside Broadcasting House in London today after the BBC defended its decision not to broadcast a public appeal to raise funds for Gaza.

The corporation said the decision was taken with other broadcasters not to show the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) crisis appeal because of impartiality concerns. There were also doubts about the delivery of aid in such a volatile situation, the BBC said.

It said in a statement: "Along with other broadcasters, the BBC has decided not to broadcast the DEC's public appeal to raise funds for Gaza.

"The BBC decision was made because of questions about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of an ongoing news story."

The DEC has stressed that its aid agencies are non-political and working on the basis of humanitarian need. It is an umbrella organisation which includes Action Aid, British Red Cross, Cafod, Care International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision. Brendan Gormley, DEC's chief executive, said: "We are disappointed our message about the human suffering in Gaza and the need for aid is not reaching the public.

An ITV spokesman said: "The DEC did ask broadcasters to support the appeal. The broadcasters... were unable to reach the consensus necessary for an appeal."

The Stop the War Coalition has organised the protest at Broadcasting House, urging those attending to take children's dolls, wrapped in white shrouds.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bbc-faces-protest-for-blocking-gaza-appeal-1514511.html

[Biggs]

STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER
No. 1079  24 January 2009
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

STOP THE BBC BLOCKING GAZA AID APPEAL

There is now massive pressure on the BBC to reverse its
decision to block an aid for Gaza appeal, with government
ministers joining the campaign to make the BBC reverse its
decision.

Tony Benn, many MPs and celebrities and thousands of
protestors will deliver a letter (see below) to the BBC today
demanding that the BBC reverse what government Health Minister
Ben Bradshaw calls its "inexplicable decision" to refuse a
broadcast for an emergency appeal to raise desperately needed
aid for Gaza. Bradshaw says the reasons the BBC gave are
"completely feeble".
(See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7848614.stm)

Tony Benn, President of Stop the War, says, "To deny the help
that the aid agencies and the UN need at this moment in time
is incomprehensible. I appeal to the chairman of the BBC Trust
to intervene to reverse this decision to save the lives of
those who are now in acute danger of dying through a lack of
food, fuel, water and medical supplies."

WHAT YOU CAN DO
* Join the protest at the BBC today 24 January at 1.30pm, when
we will be assembling for our LIFT THE GAZA BLOCKADE
demonstration
* If you can't join the demonstration, complain to the BBC and
insist it reverses its decision:
TO COMPLAIN TO THE BBC
PHONE: 03700 100 222
TEXT: 03700 100 212
ONLINE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/complaints_stage1.shtml

[spangler]

BBC's refusal on Gaza appeal "absurd" and "offensive": good letters in the Guardian

Posted by The Editors (Editor) on January 24, 2009, 7:16 am

Not much support here for the BBC......

Eds

==

Letters

Question of balance over disaster appeals

The Guardian, Saturday 24 January 2009

I couldn't believe I'd heard right when Channel 4 news said the BBC had refused to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza. But here it is in the Guardian (BBC refuses airtime to Gaza aid appeal, 23 January). I don't think the BBC objected to the appeal for Darfur, wondering if they were being unfair to the Janjaweed. Perhaps their problem would be solved if a tiny proportion of the money were spent on the tiny proportion of Israeli wounded. The phone number for complaining to the BBC is 03700 100 222.
Caryl Churchill
London

As a former senior news editor in the BBC, I was astonished at its decision to veto the DEC's Gaza appeal. It is absurd to suggest that broadcasting a strictly humanitarian appeal for 1.4 million desperately needy civilians risked "compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality". It is also offensive, particularly to millions of Muslims in the UK and overseas who are easily persuaded that the BBC is a British government mouthpiece. The decision risks undermining, in their eyes, years of courageous and impartial [sic] reporting of the conflict by Jeremy Bowen, Orla Guerin and colleagues. It's a shameful mistake which the BBC must reverse.
Jon Barton
Former editor, Today and BBC1 Six O'Clock News, Watlington, Oxfordshire

I presume in a similar attempt to remain balanced, the British Red Cross website says its Gaza appeal is in response to the "desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza and Israel". I don't think it is appropriate for the BRC to refer to the situation in Israel as a "desperate humanitarian" one. It is not their job to appear politically balanced, it is their job to respond to humanitarian need. In Gaza the need is overwhelming; thousands have been injured, thousands more made homeless and many hospitals have been destroyed. The relatively few Israelis who have been injured have access to some of the best medical care in the world and a government in a position to rehouse them immediately. Striving to achieve balance in humanitarian aid to the detriment of need would be a grave development for the millions of civilians caught up in conflict around the world.
Isabel Phillips
Liverpool

Does the BBC really want us to ignore the cries of the children in Gaza, and are we now to seek BBC guidance in deciding what nationalities are to be treated like animals and which deserve our aid?
Jacqui McCarney
Norwich

Who's lobbying the BBC on this. Where are all the investigative journalists?
Cllr Karen Barratt
Winchester, Hampshire

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/24/bbc-aid-gaza

[spangler]

Benn accuses BBC over Gaza appeal
14 hours ago

Veteran politician Tony Benn will accuse the BBC of a "betrayal" of its public service obligations following its decision not to broadcast a public appeal for funds for Gaza.

He will address a pro-Palestine rally called by the Stop the War coalition outside Broadcasting House in central London.

The former Labour MP and Stop the War president will say: "The decision of the BBC to refuse to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, which has left aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations, is a betrayal of the obligation which it owes as a public service.

"The destruction in Gaza, and the loss of the lives of over a thousand civilians and children, has shocked the world as Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki Moon, made clear, when he saw the devastation for himself.

"The human suffering that the people of Gaza have experienced over the last few weeks has appalled people who have seen it for themselves on their television screens.

"To deny the help that the aid agencies and the UN need at this moment in time is incomprehensible and it follows the bias in BBC reporting of this crisis, which has been widely criticised.

"I appeal to the chairman of the BBC Trust to intervene to reverse this decision to save the lives of those who are now in acute danger of dying through a lack of food, fuel, water and medical supplies."

The Disasters Emergency Committee - which brings together several major aid charities - wanted to run TV and radio appeals to help raise cash to assist people in need of food, shelter and medicines as a result of Israel's military action in the Palestinian enclave.

Similar appeals have been aired during previous humanitarian emergencies, raising millions of pounds from the British public. But the BBC, ITV and Sky have said they will not show the appeal.

The BBC said it is concerned about compromising public confidence in its impartiality in the context of a conflict which has sparked fierce debate. And the Corporation also raised questions about the delivery of aid to Gaza in the current volatile conditions.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5j1NMUz8ILPvQyL8wgipoG2wqu9lQ

[spangler]

BBC attacked by Ben Bradshaw for refusal to broadcast emergency fund appeal for Gaza

Government Minister Ben Bradshaw has condemned the BBC for refusing to broadcast an appeal to raise emergency funds for the victims of Israel's attack on Gaza.

By Patrick Sawer
Last Updated: 11:37AM GMT 24 Jan 2009

Ben Bradshaw urged the BBC to "stand up" to the Israeli authorities and broadcast the appeal.

A former BBC journalist himself, Mr Bradshaw said the broadcasters' decision not to carry the appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) was "inexplicable".

BBC director general Mark Thompson turned down a request from International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander to reconsider his decision.

Mr Thompson said he feared that broadcasting the appeal might compromise the BBC's impartiality.

The BBC and other broadcasters have also expressed anxiety about whether any aid raised could be delivered effectively on the ground in Gaza, where thousands of people are in desperate need of food, shelter and medicine following a three-week Israeli military offensive.

In a bid to by-pass the broadcasters' reluctance Tony Benn, the veteran campaigner and former minister, used an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme to broadcast an appeal himself, urging listeners to send gifts to PO Box 999 London EC3A 3AA or donate via freepay account 1210 at the Post Office.

Mr Benn planned to join a protest against the decision outside the BBC's Broadcasting House.

The DEC - an umbrella organisation for several major aid charities - has expressed its disappointment at the broadcasters' decision.

Previous appeals have been transmitted on multiple TV and radio channels, raising millions of pounds for people affected by war and natural disasters in countries from Burma to the Congo.

In a letter to Mr Alexander, following his appeal to broadcasters including the BBC, ITV and Sky to reconsider their decision, Mr Thompson said that the BBC would "generally" agree to the DEC's requests to broadcast appeals for funds.

But he argued that the situation in Gaza - where as many as 1,300 Palestinians were killed during Israeli bombing and ground incursions - was "an ongoing and highly controversial news story within which the human suffering and distress which have resulted from the conflict remain intrinsic and contentious elements".

Mr Thompson added: "After consultation with senior news editors, we concluded that to broadcast a free-standing appeal, no matter how carefully couched, ran the risk of calling into question the public's confidence in the BBC's impartiality in its coverage of the story as a whole.

"We will continue to broadcast news about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and, if appropriate, to cover the work of the UK NGOs (non-governmental organisations) on the ground.

"We cannot, however, broadcast anything which we believe might compromise the impartiality of the BBC's journalism."

Health minister Mr Bradshaw said: "I think this was an inexplicable decision. This is a humanitarian catastrophe and I am afraid the reasons given by the BBC are completely feeble.

"Firstly, the one about delivery - the British Government is giving £25 million to Gazan relief. We don't have a problem getting it in. There's no reason why there should be a problem getting the relief in.

"Secondly, this nervousness about being biased - I am afraid the BBC has to stand up to the Israeli authorities occasionally."

Mr Benn added: "I never thought I would live to see (the BBC) refuse to broadcast a humanitarian appeal on the grounds that it was controversial. I know why it is - because (Tzipi) Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister, has said there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"The BBC raised £10 million for the Congo and £18 million for Burma. That decision is denying the aid agencies money they desperately need. People are dying in Gaza. There's an absolute crisis in Gaza."

In a letter to Mr Thompson, Mr Alexander said that aid agencies such as Oxfam and Save the Children had already succeeded in delivering supplies to Gaza.

"As you know, the support of broadcasters is highly effective and extremely valued by the group of charities and NGOs who provide humanitarian relief under the DEC umbrella," he wrote.

"It is clear that the humanitarian situation will be dire for some time to come, with around 100,000 people having left their homes and more than 50,000 people in UN emergency shelters...

"While I recognise that this is a decision rightly taken by broadcasters, I hope that in light of the great human suffering still taking place in Gaza, you will reconsider your decision in relation to the DEC appeal."

But the BBC's chief operating officer Caroline Thomson said: "It is important to remember that broadcasting appeals like this is a unique thing we do and we have to be clear about two things when we do it.

"Firstly, that that money will go to the people it is intended for, but secondly that we can do it within our own impartiality principles and without affecting and impinging on the audience's perception of our impartiality."

The DEC, which includes Action Aid, British Red Cross, Cafod, Care International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision, has emphasised that its aid agencies are non-political and work purely on the basis of humanitarian need.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/4329701/BBC-attacked-by-Ben-Bradshaw-for-refusal-to-broadcast-emergency-fund-appeal-for-Gaza.html

[spangler]

Good News! Three British networks have come to an agreement to air the Gaza charity appeal.
--

ITV and Channel 4 to air Gaza appeal as pressure mounts on BBC


Protestors demonstrate outside the BBC building in London Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

ITV and Channel 4 today announced they would screen an appeal to raise emergency funds for Gaza, as the BBC came under intense pressure from the government to reverse its decision not to transmit the appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Around 5,000 people joined protests condemning the broadcaster across London today, including rallies outside the BBC's Broadcasting House headquarters and Trafalgar Sqaure, and an MP began collecting colleagues' signatures for a motion to be tabled in parliament on Monday, condemning its refusal to broadcast the TV and radio appeal.

The BBC decision not to show the appeal was reached together with other broadcasters last week. But ITV today said that "the majority" of networks had now agreed to broadcast the appeal.

An ITV spokesman said: "After careful consideration, and in consultation with other networks, a common consensus has been reached by the majority of broadcasters and as a result ITV will broadcast a DEC appeal."

A spokesman for Channel 4 said: "Channel 4 will broadcast the DEC appeal for humanitarian aid for civilians caught up in the Gaza conflict. We accept the DEC's guidance on the urgent need for humanitarian aid and believe this need should take precedence over any considerations as to the causes of the suffering that necessitates it.

"We believe Channel 4's news coverage of the conflict in Gaza has at all times been appropriately impartial and we do not believe our impartiality will be compromised in the eyes of our audience by broadcasting this appeal. We have informed other broadcasters of our decision."

Channel Five also announced that it was joining ITV and Channel 4 in broadcasting the appeal. A Five spokesman said: "Five feels this is an urgent humanitarian situation which transcends politics and has taken the decision to show the Gaza appeal."

The BBC was not immediately able to say whether it was reconsidering its decision.

The communities secretary, Hazel Blears, said: "The BBC's decision should not discourage the public from donating to this important appeal. I sincerely hope the BBC will urgently review its decision."

Douglas Alexander, the international development secretary, welcomed the decision by ITV and other networks. Yesterday, he rebuked Britain's broadcasters for refusing to air the appeal .

In a letter to the BBC, Sky and ITV, Alexander expressed his "disappointment" that the appeal would not be broadcast.

Today, the health minister Ben Bradshaw, a former BBC journalist, described the decision not to screen the appeal as "inexplicable" and dismissed the corporation's explanation for its position as "completely feeble".

The BBC refused to broadcast the humanitarian appeal on the grounds that it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality.

The decision meant other broadcasters also refused to air the appeal by the committee, the umbrella group for 13 aid charities.

A BBC spokesperson said: "The decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of [a] news story."

In his letter, Alexander said: "I write to express my disappointment at your decision not to support the Disasters & Emergency Committee (DEC) Gaza Crisis Appeal. I met with DEC, along with other NGOs and charities, yesterday to discuss their and the British government's humanitarian response.

"As you know, the support of broadcasters is highly effective and extremely valued by the group of charities and NGOs [non-governmental organisations] who provide humanitarian relief under the DEC umbrella."

Alexander offered to mediate between the charities and the broadcasters. "I understand from a statement issued to the press by the BBC that 'the decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation'.

"I stand ready to facilitate discussions with NGOs and charities to seek to address broadcasters' concerns on this point. The situation is developing on the ground and I understand that Oxfam, Save the Children and others have been able to get some aid into Gaza today."

In his reply to Alexander, the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, said: "After consultation with senior news editors, we concluded that to broadcast a free-standing appeal, no matter how carefully couched, ran the risk of calling into question the public's confidence in the BBC's impartiality in its coverage of the story as a whole ...

"We will continue to broadcast news about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and, if appropriate, to cover the work of the UK NGOs on the ground. We cannot, however, broadcast anything which we believe might compromise the impartiality of the BBC's journalism."

The former cabinet minister Tony Benn will today join a protest against the decision outside the BBC's Broadcasting House. He used an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme to broadcast an appeal himself, urging listeners to send gifts to PO Box 999 London EC3A 3AA, or donate via freepay account 1210 at the Post Office.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said it viewed the BBC's decision to disallow an appeal by the DEC for Gaza as "a serious dereliction of its public duty".

In a statement, the MCB said: "We urge the corporation's governors to urgently reverse its decision which would severely jeopardise efforts to raise millions of pounds of voluntary contributions for emergency humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

"In sabotaging the DEC appeal broadcast, the BBC is clearly acting against the public interest. As custodians of the public trust in the BBC its governors must act immediately to avoid the blame of being complicit in denying humanitarian aid to the desperate people of Gaza."

The MCB secretary general, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, said: "The excuses given by the BBC are simply untenable and the governors need to act quickly before the corporation's image is irretrievably tarnished.

"The need [to] reverse this decision is even more compelling as the BBC's coverage of the carnage in Gaza was very tame and not reflective of the scale of the violations committed there."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/24/bbc-gaza-aid-appeal-dec

How To Help The Gazans

[UK Lyn]

Now the UK's Channel-5 is going against the BBC, this is TOTAL humiliation to the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7848673.stm

[106419WTF]

Now the UK's Channel-5 is going against the BBC, this is TOTAL humiliation to the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7848673.stm

I don't understand why they have done this.
I used to love the BBC. Now I hate it!

[UK Lyn]

The BBC head-noncho's, in my view, have been sold the same deal that has also turned thousands of once good men & women in the media, politics, military and science.

I honestly don't think it is money.

Something HUGE has been waived in front of all these people, something HUGE enough to get them onboard for this hidden agenda, to the point where they support it heart & soul.

[eddy64]

sky isnt showing it either, but they did have the uk gov guy on saying they should show it 

[spangler]

Galloway:
_

Beeb airwave strike on Gaza is deadly

Jan 26 2009 George Galloway

THE BBC's admirable reporter Alan Johnston was rescued from his cruel incarceration in Gaza by the Palestinian government led by Hamas.

At the time, the BBC thanked the people of Gaza, and Hamas Prime Minister Ismael Haniya in particular, for breaking the criminal gang of extortionists who had seized their man - at the risk of their own lives to save his.

Now in the winter of their hardships, as 61,000 families shiver in the ruins of their bombed-out houses, in rags and hungry, the same BBC has stabbed them in the back. The achievement of the corporation's management, in uniting the Government, the opposition, the churches, the press, right and left, the anti-war movement, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, on one side and they and the Israel lobby on the other is almost unparalelled in modern public relations.

After a 22-day attack which has left thousands of children dead or orphaned and left the Strip looking like a moonscape, the publicly funded, bloated, arrogant, insensitive bosses who've presided over the Beeb through scandals from Blue Peter to Jonathan Ross have now launched their own airwave strike on the refugees.

And their smokescreen of "impartiality" will prove as deadly to these refugees as any cloud of white phosphorous gas.

The BBC, once the proud emblem of Britishness, is now branded around the world, and dangerously the Muslim world, as an arm of Israeli propaganda.

Its journalists - new Alan Johnstons - have been imperilled. Its reputation for "impartiality" shot full of as many holes as a UN compound under Israeli bombers. Its arguments against broadcasting the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal for Gaza are an insult.

First to the intelligence of the people who pay their licence fees and second to the British charities within the DEC, the likes of Christian Aid, Save the Children (Patron HRH the Princess Anne), Oxfam and the rest.

The BBC's claim that they can't be sure the aid will get through is aclear accusation against the very humanitarian organisations we trust to deliver aid from Britain in every other world disaster around the world.

In any case, Gaza is a tiny place, now, though not when it most mattered, moving with western journalists. Gaza is sealed shut.

Where could Christian Aid's deliveries of medicines and nappies go if not to the suffering?

The mouthpiece of the corporation in this miserable scandal is a Scot, like Alan Johnston.

She is Caroline Thompson, the daughter of Dundee's highest political achiever, the late Lord George Thompson, a member of Harold Wilson's cabinet in the 1960s and a former European Union Commissioner.

'Once an emblem of Britishness, the BBC is now branded around the world - and the Muslim world - as an arm of Israeli propaganda'

Email her at caroline.thompson@bbc.co.uk and let her have apiece of your mind.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/comment/columnists/lifestyle-columnists/george-galloway/2009/01/26/beeb-airwave-strike-on-gaza-is-deadly-86908-21071568/

[Revolt426]

I loved the Tony Benn interview, he went out and said on live BBC TV "The BBC is killing people"

[BlueBaron]

I discussed with the BBC and Sky, I glad I don't pay the licence and as for Sky, if I had a subscription I would get rid of it.

[spangler]

You knew this was a top down decision. No one with a shred of moral decency would want to stop aid from reaching Gaza. Your everyday Brit, BBC staff included, is just as outraged at the Israeli slaughter as anyone else. Moral outrage aside, they probably also resent their names being besmirched by their employer's refusal to air the Gaza charity appeal.

There are no named sources in the story but I find this one easy to believe.
-

BBC staff protest over decision not to show Gaza aid appeal

Leigh Holmwood
guardian.co.uk, Monday 26 January 2009 12.17 GMT

The BBC is facing a growing revolt from its own journalists over its decision not to broadcast the Gaza humanitarian aid appeal, with sources reporting "widespread disgust" within its newsrooms.

BBC staff have said they have been told they face the sack if they speak out on the issue and MediaGuardian.co.uk understands that corporation journalists will tomorrow vote on a resolution put forward by the National Union of Journalists condemning the move.

Sources have said there was "fury" at the BBC News morning meeting today about the decision, with news editors saying they had not been consulted on the move to not show the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal, which is to be broadcast tonight on ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five.

The NUJ and fellow broadcasting union Bectu both passed motions over the weekend condemning the BBC's decision. NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear and his counterpart at Bectu, Gerry Morrissey, will also today send a letter to BBC director general Mark Thompson asking him to review it.

Tomorrow the main NUJ chapel at BBC Television Centre will also meet, with staff expected to condemn the decision.

"Feelings are running extremely high and there is widespread disgust at the BBC's top management," one BBC News source said. "There is widespread anger and frustration at the BBC's refusal to allow people to speak out about it."

An NUJ source added: "It is the BBC's decision and we respect the independence of that, but we think they have got it wrong and should review it."

Thompson has said the corporation will not screen the DEC appeal because it could harm the BBC's impartiality on the Gaza conflict.

BBC management have said they will not change their mind on the issue and were backed by Sky News today when the satellite broadcaster also said it would not air the film.

The two-minute appeal is currently being edited by ITN and will be shown on ITV1 tonight before the main news at about 6.25pm, before being broadcast on the other channels.

Sources within the BBC have questioned whether its internal Balen report into its Middle East coverage, which the corporation has refused to publish, has influenced its decision on the DEC appeal. An appeal to the House of Lords to force the BBC to publish the report is currently ongoing.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/26/bbc-staff-protest-over-gaza-aid-appeal

[spangler]

Does this explain the BBC's refusal to air the Charity appeal for Gaza:

Marcus Ambrose Paul Agius (born 22 July 1946) is a British financier and businessman, currently the Chairman of Barclays. He has also been appointed the senior non-executive director on the BBC's new executive board.

He was educated at St George's College, Weybridge, and gained an MA at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in Mechanical Sciences and Economics. In addition, he has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Agius has been a non-executive Director of Barclays since 1 September 2006, and succeeded Matthew Barrett as Chairman from 1 January 2007. He was previously chairman of the London branch of investment bank Lazard and non-executive chairman of BAA Limited.

He is married to Katherine (born 1949), daughter of Edmund de Rothschild of the Rothschild banking family of England, with two children, and has a close involvement with the Rothschild family estate, Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

I don't know waht kind of power the Marcus Ambrose Paul Agius (born 22 July 1946) is a British financier and businessman, currently the Chairman of Barclays. He has also been appointed the senior non-executive director on the BBC's new executive board.

He was educated at St George's College, Weybridge, and gained an MA at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in Mechanical Sciences and Economics. In addition, he has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Agius has been a non-executive Director of Barclays since 1 September 2006, and succeeded Matthew Barrett as Chairman from 1 January 2007. He was previously chairman of the London branch of investment bank Lazard and non-executive chairman of BAA Limited.

He is married to Katherine (born 1949), daughter of Edmund de Rothschild of the Rothschild banking family of England, with two children, and has a close involvement with the Rothschild family estate, Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Agius

The BBC has him listed as the Senior independent director
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/running/executive/eb_marcus_agius.shtml

I don't know what kind of power the Senior independent director of the BBC's  executive board has but I think it's an important clue nonetheless.

[spangler]

UN nuclear chief boycotts BBC over Gaza appeal

Watch the Gaza aid appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee rejected by the BBC and Sky

 The head of the UN"s nuclear watchdog has cancelled planned interviews with the BBC in protest at the corporation's decision not to air an emergency appeal for Gaza on behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee.

In a statement to the Guardian, Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize winner, unleashed a stinging denunciation of the BBC, deepening the damage already caused by the controversy.

The statement, from his office at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the BBC decision not to air the aid appeal for victims of the conflict "violates the rules of basic human decency which are there to help vulnerable people, irrespective of who is right or wrong".

It said the IAEA director had cancelled interviews with BBC World Service television and radio, which had been scheduled to take place at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Saturday.

A BBC spokesman said: "We regret that Mr ElBaradei was not able to participate in an interview with the BBC while he is at Davos.

"Our audience around the world remains interested in what he has to say about a range of topics, and we hope he will accept an invitation at another time."

ElBaradei is due to leave his post as the IAEA director general in November.

He won acclaim for his scepticism over western claims that Saddam Hussein was attempting to develop nuclear weapons and his public opposition to the invasion of Iraq.

ElBaradei and the IAEA were awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2005.

Officials in ElBaradei's office said it was unclear how long his boycott of the BBC would last.

A spokeswoman said she expected him to review his position in light of how the corporation eventually resolved the row.

Both the BBC and Sky decided not to air the appeal by the DEC, an umbrella group of non-governmental humanitarian agencies, for aid for Gaza victims.

The appeal was broadcast by ITV, Channel 4, and Channel Five last night, and was watched by a combined audience of 4.5 million.

A voiceover at the beginning of the broadcast said: "This is not about the rights and wrongs of the conflict – these people simply need your help."

The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, said the appeal was not broadcast by the corporation because it would have damaged the impartiality of its coverage of the conflict.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/28/bbc

[Revolt426]

The more bad publicity  the BBC gets the better - I wish it were Reuters being attacked though . BBC is just an arm of the Assoicated Press / Reuters...

[spangler]

Eight reasons why the BBC is wrong on Gaza

This article assesses the BBC Board’s arguments not to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee.

1. BBC director general Mark Thomson says: “The danger for the BBC is that this could be interpreted as taking a political stance on an ongoing story. When we have turned down DEC appeals in the past on impartiality grounds it has been because of this risk of giving the public the impression that the BBC was taking sides in an ongoing conflict.”

When a dog savages a child, it is not “impartial” to stand back and watch the child bleed. On the contrary – it is to side with the dog. Thompson’s shibboleth of impartiality in reality means siding with Israel against the suffering people of Gaza.

Veteran Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk puts it like this:

    “I think it is the job of journalists to be impartial on the side of those who suffer most. I was present on the same street when a Palestinian suicide bomber walked into a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem August 2000. When I got to the scene there was a woman with a chair-leg through her, a child with no eyes, Israelis of course in West Jerusalem. I wrote about the victims and the survivors. I did not give equal time, I did not give balance to the article by giving 50% of my report to the spokesman for Islamic Jihad.

    “When I was in the Sabra and Shatila camps in Beirut September 1982 where Israel’s militia allies from Lebanon, the Falange, had gone into the camp and murdered and massacred and eviscerated and raped women for two days while the Israelis watched, as we learned from the Israeli report the Kahan commission report the following year, I did not give equal time to the IDF spokesman, I concentrated on the victims and the survivors. That is what our job is to do.

    “When we are reporting a football match in the UK we can give equal time to both sides or a public enquiry into new motorway. But the Middle East is not a football match, it is a massive tragedy of blood, sorry and revenge. And we need to reflect that.”

As a former BBC World Service current affairs producer wrote to his colleagues this weekend: “The question of partiality is a red herring. It is for the general public to respond to a humanitarian disaster as they choose.”

2. Mark Thompson again: “The BBC should not broadcast the DEC appeal “because Gaza remains an ongoing and highly controversial news story within which the human suffering and distress which have resulted from the conflict remain intrinsic and contentious elements.”

Other DEC appeals broadcast by the BBC are no less political than Gaza. Any disaster is “controversial” in as much as its root causes are contested. The BBC broadcast the DEC appeal for victims of fighting in the Congo last November, for example. A more “controversial” conflict it is hard to imagine. But the BBC does not deem that war central to its coverage, and so it was permissible to broadcast an appeal for its victims.

The BBC also broadcast the DEC’s Burma cyclone appeal last May. Again, the death toll from that cyclone is a highly political issue, and Western powers are keen to oust the military regime in Burma. But because it could be portrayed as a “natural disaster” the BBC deemed it permissible to broadcast the DEC appeal.

So BBC top management thinks its is legitimate to broadcast disaster appeals if it can get away with ignoring the political roots of disasters or pretending that they are not political at all. In the Gaza case this is impossible, but it does not follow that previous appeals were less political. It is simply that the Congolese and Burmese lobbies are far less influential than the Israeli lobby.

The Gaza decision by the BBC board is not therefore a matter of principle, as Mark Thompson tries to argue, but a matter of political expediency.

Thomson’s number 3, chief operating officer Caroline Thompson, admitted as much when she told al-Jazeera: “We never say never and clearly, if the DEC came to us with another request when things have calmed down and we didn’t have the same worries about the controversial nature of this, we would look at it again in that light.”

“Things calming down” means the restoration of the status quo, when it becomes legitimate in the BBC Board’s eyes to support emergency appeals because they do not raise any fundamental questions about the causes of the suffering.

3. Pro-Israel commentator Janet Daley in the Sunday Telegraph spells out the implications of Mark Thompson’s argument on impartiality:
 “There seems to be a quite legitimate case here: the film [i.e. the DEC appeal] would appear to present itself as a piece of reportage which offers up images of destruction and death without any background description to the dispute. By omission, in other words, it presents a picture of the damage done as gratuitous – without reason or explanation. To broadcast it without any contextual comment could be interpreted as a tacit endorsement of a view of the conflict which is tendentious and one-sided.”

This goes to the heart of the coverage of the Gaza crisis over the past month. In the eyes of the pro-Israeli camp, the carnage in Gaza is justified by the context. The corollary of this position is that it is not in fact necessary to show the carnage, because the context – Hamas rockets etc – justifies it. For this reason, we have seen far too little of the bloody reality of Gaza on our screens.

However, the sheer scale of the destruction – the DIME weapons, phosphor bombs, targeting of schools and refuges – threatens the Israeli argument. That is why Israel prevented Western journalists from entering Gaza.

The British public needs to see these images of Gaza in order to make an informed decision on the Israeli case. Broadcasting the DEC appeal would in fact restore some balance to the mainstream media coverage since December 27.

4. Chief operating officer Caroline Thompson claims that the BBC refused to carry aid appeals before, for Lebanon and Afghanistan.
 But in neither case were those appeals made by the DEC, as the Independent on Sunday points out. The fact that a committee of 13 aid agencies is able to agree an appeal ought to be testimony to the degree of consensus that the humanitarian crisis is above politics.

5. Mark Thompson says on his blog: “One reason [for turning down the Gaza appeal] was a concern about whether aid raised by the appeal could actually be delivered on the ground.”
Here Thomson is taking issue with the DEC itself, which consists of the foremost charities in the land, namely: ActionAid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund World Vision.

The DEC states:

    “Gaza has been under a blockage for the past three years. Throughout the shelling some DEC Member Agencies, working directly or through local partners, have managed to continue limited activities, providing food and medical care. The current ceasefire is enabling Humanitarian actors to commence needs assessments. Trucks are now arriving in Gaza, many of which are carrying humanitarian supplies. DEC Member Agencies and the UN are scaling up their response and have applied for additional visas for International staff to enter Gaza.

    “The DEC members are committed to humanitarian principles including independence and have confirmed they are able to work without hindrance from the Hamas controlled authorities both to identify who are the most needy and to channel assistance to them directly, either through their own staff or well established local non governmental partners. The DEC members have submitted lists of partners and their banking arrangements, to insure proper systems are in place.”

Thompson is a broadcaster, not an aid specialist, and should therefore confine his remarks to broadcasting.

Jon Snow, Channel 4 News anchor, told the Observer that the BBC should accept the judgment of the aid experts of the DEC. “It is a ludicrous decision. … I think it was a decision founded on complete ignorance and I am absolutely amazed they have stuck to it.”

6. Former BBC director general Greg Dyke has stepped in on the side of the BBC Board: “I can understand why the BBC has taken this decision, because on a subject as sensitive as the Middle East it is absolutely essential that the audience cannot see any evidence at all of a bias.”

But inaction by the BBC means that the audience will see a clear bias in favour of Israel. Why should the BBC be more scared of being accused of pro-Palestinian bias than pro-Israeli bias? It is because Israel is the client state of the UK government’s ally, the United States, is armed by both the US and the UK, and shares strategic interests of these governments.

As a senior BBC news presenter told the Observer: “I’ve been talking to colleagues, and everyone here is absolutely seething about this. The notion that the decision to ban the appeal will seem impartial to the public at large is quite absurd.”

7. Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, said he is “concerned that the level and tone of some of the political comment is coming close to constituting undue interference in the editorial independence of the BBC”.

Let’s be clear: this government doesn’t give a monkey’s about BBC independence. After the government-inspired Hutton Report in 2004 that decapitated the organisation, the BBC’s top management has slavishly toed the government line on the “war on terror”.

The concern of Ben Bradshaw, Douglas Alexander and Hazel blears is rather that the BBC Board’s outrageous decision will undermine public faith in the corporation, which is often a useful tool for the establishment.

Martin Bell, the former BBC foreign correspondent, told the Observer that “a culture of timidity had crept” in at the BBC. “I am completely appalled,” he said. “It is a grave humanitarian crisis and the people who are suffering are children. They have been caught out on this question of balance.”

8. Caroline Thomson, interviewed on Today on Radio 4, said: “From the BBC’s point of view, the most important thing is that we keep our reputation and trust with the audience.”

But the audience’s trust is precisely what the BBC risks losing by banning the Gaza aid appeal.

As a senior BBC news presenter told the Observer: “Most of us feel that the BBC’s defence of its position is pathetic, and there’s a feeling of real anger, made worse by the fact that, contractually, we are unable to speak out.”

http://www.mwaw.net/2009/01/26/gaza-appeal/

[spangler]

BBC in revolt over Gaza

The BBC is still seething in response to it’s director general Mark Thompson’s decision not to broadcast the Gaza aid appeal.

At least three BBC NUJ workplace branches have passed motions calling on the BBC to transmit the Gaza aid appeal. A petition is circulating within the corporation which concludes: “The victims of Gaza deserve the aid appeal like any other victims of humanitarian crises. The conflict they are caught in is as controversial as any other armed conflict in the world and singling them out is what harms the BBC’s reputation of impartiality.”

The latest issue of Ariel, the BBC’s internal staff magazine, carries 10 letters on the BBC’s refusal to air the Gaza appeal – all are critical of the decision.

Here is a selection posted on the Media Lens message board:

1. The director general’s comments defending the BBC’s decision not to broadcast the DEC appeal appeared timid and unconvincing.

The main reason given is that he doesn’t want to compromise our reporting impartiality, because the issue of aid to Gaza is controversial. The flaw in this argument is that we are allowing the combatants (or their allies) – in this case Israel – to define whether or not an appeal for aid is legitimate. It is a curious logic to argue that we are defending the principle of impartiality by caving in to Israeli pressure.

There is a smell of fear about this decision – fear of controversy, fear of criticism, fear of repercussions. Perhaps this is the true fallout from the Hutton report, Queengate and Jonathan Ross; an organisation so mired in fear that it finds itself able to sacrifice aid to the victims of war for a principle that nobody (outside the BBC higher echelons) seems to believe was at stake.

Staff member, London factual


2. For the first time in my career I am ashamed to work for the BBC. The Disasters Emergency Committee – made up of the 12 biggest aid charities including the British Red Cross and Save the Children – has asked for help in raising money for the people in Gaza. Even the government has pledged money. The head of the UN says the situation in Gaza is ‘outrageous’. People are dying because of a lack of food, medicine and basic sanitation. The BBC has decided not to broadcast the appeal because it believes impartiality would be at risk. I believe the message the BBC is sending out is clear. And it is not impartial.

Staff member, BBC London


3. Whatever the politics of the situation it is obvious that Gaza is in the middle of a massive humanitarian crisis, people are suffering and need help.
 The BBC’s own coverage of flattened homes and parents mourning lost children amid the rubble clearly demonstrates that. The decision not to broadcast the appeal opens the BBC up to justified accusations of bias towards Israel and implies that the people of Gaza only have themselves to blame for what happened.

Staff member, News interactive, Plymouth


4. The BBC points to question marks over how the funding would be delivered, but that hasn’t stopped us running other DEC appeals where the distribution of funds is far from straightforward – Goma for example.
 And anyway, surely the mechanics of the appeal aren’t our problem. We’ve run appeals for victims of conflict before, so why not these people? We don’t need to mention the cause of the conflict or assign blame when we run the appeal, or schedule it near a news or current affairs programme. We just need to get vital funds for people who have no food, water, shelter or medical supplies.

Staff member, TV news


5. The refusal to carry the Gaza appeal insults the intelligence of licence fee payers, implying that they are unable to tell the difference between a charity appeal and a political broadcast.
 It also undermines the BBC’s claims to impartiality. In almost every war there is contentious debate about who is responsible for the consequent humanitarian crisis. Why is it only in the case of Gaza and, previously, Lebanon that this debate has been used to justify refusing to broadcast an appeal?

Staff member, multiplatform productions

http://www.mwaw.net/2009/02/02/bbcrevolt/