|
The BBC’s Struggle for
Independence
The
British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest news coverage enterprise in the
world today, with a contingent of over 2,000 journalists broadcasting in more
than 40 languages; and comprises a wide range of services including BBC World,
BBC News Online and the digital channel BBC News 24.
The
BBC was formed in October 1922. The first head of the corporation was John Reith
who wished to emulate the American radio industry with its emphasis on
broadcasting as a free and independent entity operating within an open and
unrestricted market system. One of his main ambitions was to establish the
principle of journalistic and editorial independence. This principle has
represented the preeminent tone of the BBC over the last few decades. However,
the history of the Corporation is also mired in controversy and is a record of a
continuous battle against government and other forces to uphold the ideal of
independence and non-alliance in the search for journalistic integrity.
In
many senses, the
BBC
is in a very advantageous position and has little competition from within Britain. It is, in effect, a state-licensed monopoly and is funded by a compulsory tax.
This also means that—to a certain extent—it is dependent on the government
for its survival. It is this tension between political demands and journalistic
integrity that has generated much of the controversy associated with the
corporation. There are numerous reasons why “from its birth eighty-two years
ago, the
BBC
has never been popular with politicians.”(1)
The
first test of integrity for the BBC
was the British General Strike of 1926. This strike brought theBBC
into direct confrontation with the government of the time over the issue of
editorial independence. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that, with no
newspapers being published, the
BBC
was the only source of public information. The then Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Winston Churchill, attempted to take over the Corporation. However,
Reith succeeded in keeping the BBC
independent through negotiations with Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.(2)
During
the 1930s, the BBC began to broaden its horizons and the scope of its
broadcasting and news coverage. In 1932, it opened its Empire Service, and four
years later, the world’s first television service. In the early years, the
company developed a good name for journalistic integrity. This was especially
the case during the Second World War, when the first war reporting unit was
initiated in 1943. The unit produced journalists of insight and integrity such
as Richard Dimbleby and Frank Gillard.
The
coverage of the war had a decided effect on establishing the status and
professional level of news coverage. “The BBC
emerged from the war with an enhanced reputation for honesty and accuracy in
its news broadcasts.”(3) Even the Nazi propaganda
master Josef Goebbels stated that the
BBC
’s coverage had been so effective during the war that it had “won the
‘intellectual invasion’ of
Europe.”(4)
The
BBC also made a name for itself in the education arena through its advancement
of learning by way of the broadcasting medium. The establishment of the “the
University of the Airwaves,” which was the BBC’s collaboration with the Open
University, was an example of this expansion into the educational field.
However, as the BBC became more respected and powerful, there was an increasing
pattern of attempts to co-opt and control the organization, especially in times
of crisis.
A
prime example was the Suez
crisis in the 1950s. The BBC
conflicted with the government of the time as the country was on the verge of
war. This refusal to adhere to its demands was obviously seen by the government
as unpatriotic. These events occurred when Gamal Abdul Nasser, the President of
Egypt, nationalized the Suez Canal
in 1956. This led to a crisis in which the British Prime Minster Anthony Eden
considered taking military action without the backing of the United Nations. The
BBC
was not supportive of this direction, and
Eden
at one stage referred to the corporation as “those Communists at the BBC
.”(5)
However,
the firm stand taken by the BBC helped to establish its reputation for
independence and integrity. There are many similarities between the
Suez
controversy and the recent crisis with regards to BBC allegations of government
“sexing-up” the case for war against
Iraq. The Suez
incident created a rift between the government and the BBC, and this has been
the dominant tone of the relationship between the government and the BBC to this
day.
A
landmark moment in the history of the BBC
was the introduction of television. The first television news broadcast took
place on July 5, 1954
, and began with the words, “Here is an illustrated summary of the news.”(6)
One of the greatest assets of the
BBC, and one of the areas in which it has achieved distinction, is the coverage of
major world events.
In
the 1980s the BBC stood out above the competition in its innovative and
comprehensive depiction of global-interest events such as those that took place
in
Northern Ireland
and
Tiananmen Square. Also, the impact that BBC reportage had was seen in the coverage of the
Ethiopian crisis, which led to the hugely successful Live Aid concert in
1985, raising more than sixty million pounds.
Coinciding
with these and other journalistic and broadcasting achievements during the 1980s
was a continuation of pressure on the
BBC
to undermine its editorial and journalistic integrity. The Thatcher government
attempted to privatize the corporation, and this was only narrowly averted. The
government also put pressure on the BBC
to speak out against the unions. These were controversial years with many
internal and external political crises.
However,
the greatest threat to the integrity of the BBC was the recent Hutton inquiry.
This inquiry resulted from a report on the Today program, which suggested
that the government had embellished, or “sexed-up,” the case for war against
Iraq. The report received the backing of the governors of the BBC, even in the face
of a retraction demand from Prime Minister Tony Blair. The situation was further
exacerbated by the death of the government weapons advisor David Kelly.
In
the Hutton inquiry, set up to investigate the situation, the government was
exonerated and the
BBC
was accused of “defective” reporting. This resulted in the resignation of
the director-general Greg Dyke. The reporter who wrote the initial story, Andrew
Gilligan, also resigned. However, many still question the validity of the Hutton
inquiry and Gilligan continued to insist, even after his resignation, that
“the government did sex-up the dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.” Mr. Dyke also accused the British
government of “systematically bullying” the
BBC
over its Iraq
coverage.(7)
Many
journalists were outraged by the outcome of the Hutton inquiry, some believing
the inquiry was one-sided. Interestingly, a public poll taken at the time
indicated that three times as many people chose to trust the opinion of the BBC
as to that of the government. Yet, the BBC’s image as a professional and
unbiased news service was severely damaged by the course of these events.
Over
the years, the BBC has produced news coverage, entertainment, and educational
programs of an exceptionally high standard. However, these achievements are
often threatened by the tension of political intervention; for instance, the
Hutton inquiry may be a blow to the identity and integrity of the corporation
that may be difficult to recover from. However, the BBC has recently attempted
to rise above the negative impression created by this event by imposing new
editorial guidelines and establishing a journalism college to continually
upgrade the skills of its correspondents.
The
usurpation of news companies and journalistic standards by political players is
an alarming trend that is occurring internationally. As Nicholas Fraser states
in an article published in Harper’s magazine, vested interests from the
government or the private sector display interest in freedom of speech when it
is to their benefit.
Everybody
loves freedom of speech so long as it happens elsewhere. Governments, like
individuals, believe in free expression when their own back yards are not
affected. Where their interests are threatened, they will go to some lengths to
defend themselves.(8)
Underlying
the events of the Hutton inquiry is a long drawn out battle between the British
government and the journalistic ideals of the BBC. Tony Blair’s government has
outspokenly declared that the media is little more than a political tool.
"Of course we want to use the media,” an adviser of Blair's once
declared, “but the media will be our tools, our servants; we are no longer
content to let them be our persecutors.”
(9)
This
is an attitude that threatens not only the search for excellence and integrity
of the BBC, but is problematic for all news services and companies in an age of
increasing hype and political distortion of the journalistic search for the
truth.
References.
1.
Fraser, Nicholas. To
BBC
or Not To BBC: Independent Journalism Suffers an Identity Crisis. Harper's Magazine;
5/1/2004
;
2.
History of the
BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/heritage/story/1920s2.shtml
3.
Ibid
4.
ibid
5.
KEREVAN, G. Eden’s Post-Suez Fall is Warning for Blair. Scotsman. http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=104&id=156622004
6.
Broadcasting Landmark: The
BBC
Celebrates Fifty Years. Birmingham
Post;
7/5/2004
.
7.
Mark Rice-Oxley.
BBC
Facing its Toughest Crisis Yet. CS Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0205/p01s04-woeu.html
8.
Fraser, Nicholas. To
BBC
or not to
BBC
: Independent Journalism Suffers an Identity Crisis. Harper’s Magazine;
5/1/2004
;
9.
ibid
*
Gary Smith is a freelance journalist and researcher based
in
South Africa
. His special field of research is the situation in
Iraq
. You can reach him at gary@imaginet.co.za
|
