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Sir Thomas found gaps in the BBC's analysis, context and perspective on the Mideast conflict. |
CAIRO,
May 3, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The BBC's coverage of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is "inconsistent, incomplete and
misleading", failing to adequately report the hardships of
Palestinians living under occupation, according to an independent
review.
"In
short, we found BBC output does not consistently give a full and fair
account of the conflict," said the report commissioned by the
corporation's board of governors, The Independent reported on
Wednesday, May 3.
It
said that the BBC failed to "constitute a full and fair account
of the conflict but rather, in important respects, presents an
incomplete and in that sense misleading picture."
There
were gaps in the BBC's analysis, context and perspective as well as a
failure to consistently uphold editorial standards, it maintained.
Broadcast
news lacked historical background, stories were often not put in the
wider context, added the panel.
The
report, however, said there was "no deliberate or systematic
bias" in the BBC's reporting of the region.
The
review was carried out by a four-man panel chaired by British Board of
Film Classification President Sir Quentin Thomas.
The
team was appointed by the BBC's board of governors last October to
address the high volume of complaints.
Hardships
Ignored
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The
report said the BBC failed to adequately report the hardships of
Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation. |
The
independent panel said the BBC has failed to adequately report the
hardships of Palestinians living under the yoke of the Israeli
occupation.
"There
was little reporting of the difficulties faced by the Palestinians in
their daily lives," it noted.
The
report accused the BBC of failing to convey adequately the disparity
in the Israeli and Palestinian experience, reflecting the fact that
one side is in control and the other lives under occupation.
It
stressed that television should not be "dazzled by striking, and
available pictures".
"When
the Israelis suffer it is usually from a terrorist attack... which
necessarily constitutes a newsworthy event... In recent years, many
more Palestinians have been killed but usually in circumstances which
are less dramatic and give rise to less striking images," the
report said.
The
Council for Arab-British Understanding said "the panel quite
correctly highlighted that there was little reporting of the
difficulties faced by Palestinians in their daily lives."
Recommendations
The
investigating panel recommended that the BBC should appoint a
"guiding hand" to oversee its reporting and provide more
historical context and analysis.
It
advised the British corporation to consider the case for basing a
correspondent in the occupied West Bank.
The
panel said the BBC should use "terrorism" to describe
violence against civilians with the intention of causing terror for
ideological objectives, "whether perpetrated by state or
non-state agencies."
The
BBC journalists are also advised to avoid the term
"terrorist" because it can be "a barrier to
understanding."
The
review recommended that the BBC should do more to put the conflict in
context for viewers.
This
could include doing more to direct viewers to resources offering more
depth and background.
BBC
chairman Michael Grade said the report's finding of no deliberate or
systematic bias was "reassuring", according to the BBC News
Online.
"The
panel found much to praise, but it also identified some shortcomings
in the BBC's coverage," he said.
"We
have asked BBC management to consider the panel's recommendations and
respond to us at our June board meeting."
Click
to read the independent review
in
Full
