[Media-watch] Five live

[david Miller]

email to Fi Glover at Five Live:
 
-----Original Message-----
From: William Dinan
Posted At: 16/03/2003 12:34

Dear Fi,

While I usually enjoy 5 Live's coverage of news and current affairs I
was more than disappointed with the first hour of your programme on
Friday morning (14 March). The topic for the phone was whether people
should set aside their objections to war once British troops start
fighting in Iraq. 

Several times in the broadcast you encouraged listeners to phone in if
they had changed their views, or if they would change their views. The
fact that so few of your audience responded to this agenda I think
probably illustrates that there is little public sympathy with the line
your programme was following. Moreover, when one of your callers
actually highlighted this point you were very quick to rubbish his
views. You were able to see the propaganda value of pictures published
in the Daily Mirror during the week, but were blind to the possibility
that this part of your show might be of some propaganda value to our
beleagured government, who are so blatently out of step with British
pulic opinion for the first time in 6 years.

You explicitly claimed that the show was there to provide an open forum
for debate yet when Assef from Preston suggested that the media,
including the BBC, were following the governments agenda too
uncritically, you dismissed his views rather patronisingly, and in a way
totally inappropriate for a public service broadcaster hosting an 'open
forum' show.

When Assef reported the view (one shared by almost everybody I speak to
about this topic, and I wouldn't say my social cirlce is
unrepresentative) that the BBC 'is not as objective and impartial' as it
has been in the past you cut him off immediately. To refer him to the
BBC's "very large complaints department" was insulting and petty, and
missed the crucial point he was making: people feel that the BBC's role
is absolutely vital in reporting news and reflecting public opinion on
the current international crisis at this politically sensitive moment.
If Aseef, and others at the peace rally he mentioned, take the view that
the BBC is not properly examining the Iraq issue, then the BBC has a
duty to take this criticism  - on air - rather than privately through
your complaints / PR offices.

You were happy to discuss the bias and news agenda of other media during
the show (especially the Sun and Mirror), but would not entertain any
criticism of the BBC. Is it possible that Richard Sambrookes e-mail from
early February (leaked and available on the internet now), which
specifically addressed the management of anti-war sentiments expressed
on shows such as yours, is having an audible impact on your own output?
I would be very eager to hear your own views on this if you could take
the time to respond (I'm not really interested in hearing from your very
large complaints department)

May I suggest that a more appropriate subject for debate at this time
might be a discussion of the true horror of war, including all its
terrible human and social impacts. The interview by Brian Alexander (?)
with Mary Robinson on Saturday morning was one of the best contributions
I have yet to hear on the Iraq crisis, so well done to 5 Live for that.

In peace

Will Dinan