[Media-watch] {SPAM?}

[YvonneMarshall]

Dear List-members,

Did anyone hear the Simon Mayo show on BBC R5 today ? He was talking to Hans Blix, on the line from Stockholm. Blix repeated much of the same stuff he came out with at the week-end, then the interview was interrupted to cover a Press Conference about the predicamant of the Leicester City players in Spain. When the interview resumed. Mayo asked Blix if he reckoned T Blair is trustworthy. Blix replied diplomatically, saying that Blair is a powerful politician, but that on the issue of Iraq/WMD etc his judgement was not as critical as it could've been. Mayo pressed the original question, 'Is he trustworthy ?' Blix sounded rather amused, but fenced no further, and said (I'm paraphrasing here, don't have it taped) words to the effect that 'no, on this issue, he can't be trusted...' At that point there was an audible soft click and the line went dead. Mayo sounded shocked, even embarrassed, said something like 'Well, I'm sorry, perhaps someone was, well, we can't say that...'

If someone like Hans Blix cannot speak his mind on such weighty matters without being silenced, what chance have the rest of us ? Okay, the Beeb has been through the wringer of late, but presumably the BBC was responsible for establishing the telephone contact with Mr Blix and its own technicians would have been monitoring the integrity of the line prior to interview. Who stopped the interview ? Did it happen inside the BBC, or are its lines subjected to instant and anonymous editorial control by other parties ? How is such interference technically achieved, and who authorises it ?  Is this 'unfortunate incident' simply not worthy of comment, isn't 'newsworthy' because, well, 'these things happen' ?

Is this just conspiratorial raving ?

Interested for any thoughts on this.

Regards,

Ian Brotherhood  
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