[Media-watch]Blix

[John Meed]

Dear Ian/Mediawatch

You can revisit the Blix interview on the BBC website at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive

However, interestingly, the extract ends with the tactful answer i.e. Blair
used 'insufficient critical judgement in this case'.

If you listen to the full version of the Simon Mayo show, the actual
question and answer were:

Mayo: 'Is he (Blair) trustworthy?'

Blix (after deep intake or breath): 'His positions were not to be trusted in
this case.'

And then comes the click ­ and silence!

Regards

John


From: "YvonneMarshall" <Brotherhoods at stevenston4.fsnet.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 20:57:10 -0000
To: <media-watch at lists.stir.ac.uk>
Subject: [Media-watch] {SPAM?}


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  

_______________________________________________
Media-watch mailing list
Media-watch at lists.stir.ac.uk
http://lists.stir.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/media-watch



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.stir.ac.uk/pipermail/media-watch/attachments/20040309/dd307af7/attachment.htm