[Media-watch] BBC news head defends policy of censorship

Darren Smith d.j.smith at stir.ac.uk
Mon Mar 24 14:06:10 GMT 2003


!!! Please note !!!

I should have added a source regarding the article below.

It's from today's Independent (by  (
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=390172 )


Here's my letter to Sambrook. 


Dear Mr. Sambrook,

Today's Independent reports you defending BBC censorship of Iraqi
civilian casualties (Ian Burrell, Independent, 24 March).

If this report is true, can you tell me why such images of the reality
of war are unsuitable for a British audience (assuming by "audience" you
mean the general public rather than the British politicians with most to
lose), but yet suitable for Arab audiences fortunate enough to receive
Al-Jazeera? 

On March 6 you signed a letter in the Daily Telegraph stating the "BBC
is committed to scrupulously impartial, fair, accurate, balanced and
independent coverage of events in the Middle East...". 

How can your war reporting be "scrupulously" fair or accurate if you
refuse to show images of what war does to real people, to real children?
If you continue to sanitise war in such a manner - with glossy graphics
and explosions at a distance - your reporting is anything but accurate.

I urge you to show whatever horrors your reporters have access to. If
images are harrowing, please announce appropriate warning before
broadcasts.

Regards,


On Mon, 2003-03-24 at 13:03, Darren Smith wrote:
> BBC head of news  defends policy of not showing child casualties and
> other horrific images. Please complain to the BBC. War is awful, and the
> BBC should not attempt to hide it. 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> TV stations criticise the use of 'images of war'
> 
> By Ian Burrell
> 24 March 2003
> 
> News organisations faced criticism last night over use and censorship of
> disturbing images of war.
> 
> Sharp differences have emerged in the editorial values of the Western
> and Arab media. In a discussion on BBC Radio 5 Live, Richard Sambrook,
> the director of BBC News, defended the corporation's decision not to
> show horrific images of Iraqi child casualties that were widely screened
> on Arab television stations.
> 
> When accused of bias, Mr Sambrook said that pictures of a 10-year-old
> boy who had suffered appalling head injuries in bombing were not
> suitable for a British audience.
> 
> Steve Anderson, controller of ITV News, said: "I have seen some of the
> images on Al-Jazeera television. I would never put them on screen. I'm
> not criticising them for that. There seems to be an acceptance of images
> I don't think would be acceptable here."
> 
> Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera broadcast pictures of what it said were killed and
> captured US soldiers, which the International Committee of the Red Cross
> said was in breach of the Geneva Convention. 
> 
> -- 
> djs1 at stir.ac.uk
> 
>  DON'T ATTACK IRAQ!!! www.edinburghstw.org.uk
> 
> 
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-- 
djs1 at stir.ac.uk

 DON'T ATTACK IRAQ!!! www.edinburghstw.org.uk








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