BBC refuses to air Gaza charity appeal

[luke]

if i hadn't already stopped paying the license fee, this would have done it

STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER
No. 1077 23 January 2009
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) BBC BLOCKS AID TO GAZA: PROTEST 24 JANUARY
2) A LIFELINE FROM BRITAIN TO GAZA

**********************************************
1) BBC BLOCKS AID TO GAZA: PROTEST 24 JANUARY
BRING DOLLS TO LAY OUTSIDE THE BBC
BRING SHOES WITH A MESSAGE FOR GORDON BROWN
(Full details below)

If the BBC was not tarnished enough by its coverage of
Israel's attack on Gaza -- in the words of Tony Benn, "often
looking like a propaganda wing of the Zionist lobby" -- its
decision yesterday to block an appeal for emergency aid to
Gaza would be reason enough for making the BBC a focus of our
demonstration on Saturday 24 January.

While the media is now saturated with reports showing the
scale of Israel's barbarism over the past three weeks and the
humanitarian disaster it has created, and while the United
Nations, the Red Cross and all the other aid organisations
involved are saying that immediate emergency aid must be
rushed to Gaza, the BBC has blocked a joint appeal by a wide
range of organisations from being broadcast after all the main
news programmes on every TV channel.

These emergency appeals to populations in desperate need of
aid have been organised frequently in the past 48 years and
not once in that time has one been blocked. It is agreed by
all the channels that a decision to support an aid appeal must
be unanimous among the broadcasters and so the BBC's decision
not to agree scuppered the whole aid appeal, which it is
estimated would have raised at least £10 million -- aid which
would have been used immediately to help Palestinians in Gaza,
now barely surviving in catastrophic conditions.

One in six buildings have been destroyed or badly damaged by
Israel's bombs and missiles, many dead are buried underneath
and still being dug out, the country's infrastructure has been
destroyed, one million people have no electricity, half a
million people have no access to clean running water, the
hospitals are crammed with people who have suffered horrific
injuries without enough basic medical supplies for them to get
the treatment they need.

A spokesperson for the organisations which wanted to broadcast
the prime time appeal, said, "Agencies are already providing
food, drugs and blankets as well as delivering clean water.
But we will soon reach the limit of what we can do, without
more money."

And the BBC's response? "The decision was made because of
question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile
situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public
confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of news
story."

This has nothing to do with "impartiality" - the appeal was
for humanitarian aid to a devastated people. How can you be
"impartial" about that? Either these people need the aid or
they don't.

We have seen throughout these weeks of barbarism how Israel's
spin machine has been indulged by the BBC in particular. We
know, as the Guardian reported two weeks ago, that the BBC
management instructed its journalists to enable this to
happen. The result was Israeli spokespersons given frequent
opportunity to justify mass slaughter, including the deaths of
over 400 children.

Our demonstration on Saturday assembles outside BBC
Broadcasting House. To register our disgust at the BBC's
capitulation to Israel's manipulation and intimidation of the
media, we are asking protestors to bring children's dolls,
wrapped if possible in white shrouds, to be laid on the steps
of the BBC, as a memorial to the hundreds of children who died
and as an act of solidarity with the Paletinians in Gaza
denied urgently needed aid because of BBC "impartiality".

DEMONSTRATE FOR GAZA: SATURDAY 24 JANUARY
END THE BLOCKADE: STOP ALL ARMS SALES
BRING THE WAR CRIMINALS TO JUSTICE
Assemble 2.00pm BBC Broadcasting House for rally
Portland Place, London W1A 1AA
Nearest tubes: Great Portland Street or Regents park.
March starts at 3.00 pm. Ends with rally in Trafalgar Square
4.30 pm.

BRING CHILDEN'S DOLLS WRAPPED IN WHITE SHROUDS TO LAY ON THE
STEPS OF THE BBC

BRING SHOES WITH MESSAGES TO GORDON BROWN INSIDE TO DELIVER AS
WE MARCH PAST DOWNING STREET
Instead of banning all arms trade with Israel and breaking all
diplomatic relations, Brown has offered to send the British
navy to help Israel tighten its blockade on Gaza.

MARCH ROUTE:
Assemble and rally Portland Place, March to Regent Street,
Piccadilly, Lower Regent Street, Trafalgar Square,
Northumberland Avenue, Embankment, Parliament, Downing Street,
Trafalgar Square (End rally)

**********************************************
2) A LIFELINE FROM BRITAIN TO GAZA

A Lifeline for Gaza aid convoy will leave Britain on Saturday
14 February 2009. It has been initiated by George Galloway MP,
who writes:

We will not look away. The Palestinians in Gaza need our help
now, just as they did when Israel's bombs and illegal weapons
were dropping.

Thousands of people have contacted me to say that they have
marched, cried at the television pictures and feel helpless in
the face of the suffering.

That's why I have launched a major initiative in response to
the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I will be leading an aid
convoy from London to Gaza leaving on 14 February and
travelling through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia,
Libya, Egypt and through Rafah and into Gaza. It will bring
material aid and raise the banner of Palestine in all the
countries that we visit.

The convoy will be led by a British fire engine, ambulances,
and many trucks full of practical aid given by the various
communities in Britain.

FOR FULL DETAILS OF THE AID CONVOY, SEE THE VIVA PALESTINA
WEBSITE: http://www.vivapalestina.org/

[faceless]

I just saw that and was about to post. Fuck those corporate bastards who have chosen to take blood on their hands.

I've offered my services to the Viva Palestina group and they've said yes. Even if I can only do something media-based at least it's something.

[luke]

Please complain to the BBC for blocking free prime-time TV airtime for a nationwide appeal for money to help "the desperate plight" of the people of Gaza. The appeal is from the Disasters Emergency Committee - made up of the 13 biggest aid charities, including the British Red Cross, Save the Children, Oxfam and Christian Aid - which said that "the devastation wrought in the Gazan territory was so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act."

"The broadcast would have highlighted the plight of thousands of victims, including many children, who are homeless and without food, power and water," wrote social affairs correspondent Rosemary Bennett and Patrick Foster in the Times. "By convention, if all broadcasters do not agree to carry the appeal, none does."

The BBC's decision will leave aid agencies with "a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations," wrote Jenny Percival in the Guardian, who described it as "a rare breach of an agreement dating to 1963."

"We deeply regret this decision...it will be much more of a struggle now to reach donors," said the DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley. "Agencies are already providing food, drugs and blankets as well as delivering clean water. But we will soon reach the limit of what we can do, without more money. For Gazans struggling to survive, receiving urgent humanitarian aid will help them take the first step to recovery."

Gormley added: "There is an urgent need in Gaza today...We are totally apolitical...this appeal is a response to humanitarian principles." DEC appeals have recently raised £10m for the Congo and £18m for Burma.

Please complain (politely) to the BBC at:

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

The Times and Guardian articles are at:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5568735.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/23/bbc-refuses-gaza-appeal

The DEC press release is at:

http://www.dec.org.uk/item/311

The BBC's press release defending its action is at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/7846150.stm

In denying the Gaza appeal, the BBC is defying its own guidelines for approving appeals:

1) The disaster must be on such a scale and of such urgency as to call for swift international humanitarian assistance.
2) The DEC agencies, or some of them, must be in a position to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national Appeal.
3) There must be sufficient public awareness of, and sympathy for, the humanitarian situation so as to give reasonable grounds for concluding that a public Appeal would be successful.

Further details, including previous appeals that the BBC has approved, are at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/charityappeals/emergency/

[faceless]

I phoned the complaint line 03700 100 222 and spoke to this woman who, as soon as I mentioned what my complaint was, put on that 'I'm just doing my job' dismissive attitude which is the average call-centre monkey's only skill.

I then asked her if she had an opinion on the situation and she refused to answer, saying that she wasn't allowed to express an opinion. I told her 'I didn't ask what your opinion was, only if you had one", which confused her somewhat, then said "You've got blood on your hands too then, fuck you' and put the phone down.

She's probably too busy thinking about how she ended up with such a pathetic job that means having to take abuse from complete strangers to worry about it too much. However, if hundreds of people phoned that office with the same diversionary tactic of questionning the staff themselves then the line managers will have to take note, and pass that info on.

All BBC staff are now fair game. I'd say the same for ITV, but they've never pretended to give a fuck so there's no real hypocrisy there.

[luke]

well done faceless

[modern]

[faceless]

I'm really not doing anything that anybody else couldn't and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people have complained. Not allowing them to behave as if their corporate nametag separates them from human consideration is a great tool though.


This is an interesting new story from the BBC, in as much as they seem to have changed their tone somewhat - maybe that's because it's a Lord saying it rather than the multitude of evidence that's been there for weeks, but they've put a link to the DEC campaign at least.

How can they say that they think it will show bias if they broadcast the national appeal, but still publish the link? They seem to be like rabbits in the headlights - scared of which way to move.

[luke]

everyone should complain, you don't have to phone up - i've emailed and sent a complaint via the web site

Phone the BBC from the UK on: 03700 100 222

Helen Boaden, Director of BBC news
Email: helenboaden.complaints@bbc.co.uk

Peter Horrocks, Head of BBC TV News
Email: peter.horrocks@bbc.co.uk

Richard Sambrook, Director of the World Service and Global News
Email: richard.sambrook@bbc.co.uk

General complaints to the BBC can be submitted via this form:
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

[luke]

go on tony benn!

[Colston]

Well done Tony...

This is so disgusting it is beyond belief.

Bastards.

[faceless]

fucking BBC drones - I used to let them off with it because mostly it was blind obedience, but this is a clear case of them siding against the human victims of Israeli war crimes. How can she argue the case in any sense unless she absolutely agrees with what the BBC has done? This isn't some debate to be entered into as if they're talking aabout fucking bendy buses.

I've split these posts from the other thread as it's too important.

[faceless]

BBC under fire over Gaza charity appeal
LONDON (AFP) — The BBC faced intense criticism on Saturday from the British government and campaigners after refusing to broadcast a charity appeal to raise emergency funds for people in the Gaza Strip.

The BBC is worried that broadcasting the appeal could compromise its impartiality and questions whether aid can be delivered efficiently in Gaza, where Palestinians say over 1,300 people died during Israel's 22-day offensive. But its decision has provoked fierce criticism from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government and Muslim groups, while hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the BBC's central London offices to protest the decision Saturday. ITV and Channel 4 both announced on Saturday that they will screen the appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

The DEC -- an umbrella group uniting respected charities like the British Red Cross and Oxfam -- stresses that it is non-political and works simply to address humanitarian needs. International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has urged the BBC -- which is publicly funded -- to show the appeal.

"I think the British public can distinguish between support for humanitarian aid and perceived partiality in a conflict," he told BBC radio on Saturday. "I really struggle to see, in the face of the immense human suffering in Gaza at the moment, that this is in any way a credible argument."

The Muslim Council of Britain said the BBC's decision not to screen it was "a serious dereliction of its public duty". Secretary-general Muhammad Abdul Bari added: "The excuses given by the BBC are simply untenable and the governors need to act quickly before the corporation's image is irretrievably tarnished."

Around 400 people gathered for a rally outside BBC offices addressed by speakers including former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn and MP George Galloway -- who accused the BBC of bias against the Palestinians. The crowd chanted "BBC, shame on you" and a few threw shoes at the BBC office.

The Stop The War Coalition, which organised the march, estimates that the ban on broadcasting the appeal could cost up to 10 million pounds in donations. The group has organised big rallies opposed to the violence in Gaza in London for the past few weekends.

Around 5,000 people also took to the streets of Birmingham for a pro-Palestinian demonstration, while around 100 Cambridge University students have occupied the law faculty there in protest at Israel's attacks on Gaza.

The BBC's news coverage of the region frequently provokes controversy among commentators in Britain. In 2006, its board of governors published an independent report into its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which found no evidence of deliberate or systematic bias. But the report did say that coverage sometimes "in important respects, presents an incomplete... and misleading picture". It also cited a "failure 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."

------------------

That's good to hear that ITV and C4 are going to show it

[faceless]

[luke]

BBC left isolated as rival channels back aid appeal
Ministers step into row over corporation's refusal to show charities' plea for donations to Gaza

The BBC was engaged in a war of words with ministers last night over its refusal to broadcast an urgent appeal for humanitarian aid to Gaza. Government figures, aid workers and BBC staff expressed outrage that the corporation has not backed down, as some of its rivals did yesterday, and broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal. The BBC said yesterday it was concerned that access to aid in Gaza might be problematic, and that it did not want to endanger the public's perception of the impartiality of its reporting.

The BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons expressed concern that the "level and tone" of the political comments were "coming close to constituting undue interference in the political independence" of the corporation.

Channel 4, Five, ITV and al-Jazeera English announced they will be airing the DEC appeal tomorrow, after initially falling in behind the BBC. Sky News was considering its position last night.

Public figures were outraged by the broadcaster's decision not to air the appeal, calling it a "terrible mistake". One former senior BBC journalist referred to "a culture of timidity". The BBC has previously aired DEC pleas for humanitarian help in volatile regions such as Congo and Burma.

Yesterday a march that had been organised to complain about the BBC's alleged pro-Israel bias, which began outside Broadcasting House, was given new focus by the row.

The director-general, Mark Thompson, stood by his decision last night, despite critics' attempts to draw a distinction between politics and aid.

The row once again pitted the Government against the BBC, six years on from the David Kelly controversy. It raised further questions over the judgement of senior BBC officials weeks after the Ross/Brand affair.

In an unusual intervention by a cabinet minister, the International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, wrote to Mr Thompson on Friday urging him to reconsider, but Whitehall sources said the BBC seemed determined not to back down. The health minister Ben Bradshaw, a former BBC journalist, said the decision was "inexplicable" and called the corporation's justification "completely feeble". The Communities and Local Government Secretary, Hazel Blears, added: "I sincerely hope the BBC will urgently review its decision."

A motion has been tabled in the Commons for tomorrow expressing astonishment at the corporation's judgement in blocking airtime from the coalition of major aid charities, including the British Red Cross.

It is understood that it was Mr Thompson's decision, and chief operating officer Caroline Thomson was ordered to go on radio – initially on Friday on Radio 4's The World Tonight – to defend the position. A source close to the row said: "Because she [Ms Thomson] has gone so strongly on editorial independence, it is very difficult to see how they can back down."

Ms Thomson said yesterday: "It is important to remember that broadcasting appeals like this is a unique thing we do and we have to be clear about two things when we do it. First, that that money will go to the people it is intended for; but second, that we can do it within our own impartiality principles and without affecting and impinging on the audience's perception of our impartiality."

Protocol dictates that the BBC leads the way on deciding a consensus on DEC appeals with other channels. But rival channels allege the corporation made an announcement on Thursday before consulting them, forcing them to break with the convention.

The DEC is an apolitical umbrella organisation made up of UK major aid organisations ActionAid, British Red Cross, Cafod, Care International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.

Mr Alexander welcomed the move by rival broadcasters to air the appeal: "The DEC appeal is crucial to help alleviate the suffering of people injured, displaced and hungry in Gaza."

Many former BBC stalwarts were appalled at the news and called for an immediate reversal of the decision. John Tusa, former managing director of BBC World Service, said: "It's a terrible mistake and I think they have lost for the moment any sense of judgement and a good deal of courage. Anybody who thinks giving aid to badly injured children in Gaza would be taken as bias needs their heads examined."

Former BBC correspondent Martin Bell said: "Old BBC soldiers like me are appalled by the BBC's decision. There are civilians dying out there who desperately need aid."

Director-general is under pressure to go

Mark Thompson's statement last night was a typically robust reaction to the latest challenge troubling his tenure as director-general of the BBC.

A scandal surrounding rigged phone-in contests on 'Blue Peter' in 2007 led to the regulator Ofcom fining the BBC £50,000. The BBC1 controller Peter Fincham resigned in the same year over the the editing of a trailer that misleadingly suggested that the Queen had stormed out of a photo session.

Mr Thompson came under pressure to resign last year, in the wake of controversy surrounding lurid calls to the actor Andrew Sachs, which resulted in the departure of Russell Brand, the resignation of BBC Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas, and the suspension of Jonathan Ross.

Ministerial anger over his decision not to back down over the appeal will add to the pressure for Mr Thompson to do what some of his senior staff have done in recent years – resign.

Balance in the media: Has the BBC lost its nerve over Gaza?

The BBC is used to being accused of anti-Israel bias, but in 2004 it was jolted by a study that said BBC1 and ITV news were guilty, if unthinkingly, of under-reporting the Palestinian cause. Worse, the Glasgow Media Unit found viewers thought the "occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza referred to the Palestinians, not Israeli settlers.

At the same time, the BBC fell foul of the Israeli authorities over an interview with the nuclear whistleblower Mordecai Vanunu, released in 2004 after 18 years in prison, which was smuggled out of Israel. The BBC's then deputy bureau chief, Simon Wilson, had his work permit withdrawn and was barred from the country. He was allowed back in after the BBC bowed to demands that he make a written apology to the Israeli government for dodging its censors.

The BBC appointed a senior broadcaster, Malcolm Balen, to "take stock" of Middle East coverage, in his words. He drew up an internal report that has never been released, but one result appeared to be the appointment, in mid-2005, of Jeremy Bowen as the BBC's Middle East editor. His stated role was to supply context amid the footage of bloodshed and mayhem.

Why critics accuse the BBC of losing its nerve is because, several times during the present conflict, almost as much airtime has been given to the chief Israeli spokesman, Mark Regev, as if by allowing him his say, the BBC is supplying the necessary "balance" to the images of Palestinian victims. A live "two-way" between Mr Regev and Jon Snow of 'Channel 4 News' became a shouting match, but this has never happened on the BBC.

Donations can be made to the DEC Gaza appeal via its website www.dec.org.uk or by calling 0370 60 60 900

from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/bbc-left-isolated-as-rival-channels-back-aid-appeal-1515309.html

[luke]

Archbishop of Canterbury criticises BBC decision not to run Gaza aid appeal
The Archbishop of Canterbury has joined widespread criticism over a BBC decision not to run a Gaza aid appeal after more than 50 MPs backed a move to increase pressure on the broadcaster.

The decision has also angered sections of the public: at least 11,000 people have complained to the Corporation over its refusal to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Gaza Crisis Appeal.

The DEC, which includes the British Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children and 10 other charities, plans to launch its appeal on Monday. All the main broadcasters including, ITV, Channel 4 and Five have agreed to air a two-minute appeal.

The BBC's refusal to broadcast the appeal has been widely criticised across the spectrum from parliamentarians to religious groups and broadcasters.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said: "My feeling is that the BBC should broadcast an appeal."

However, the BBC continues to refuse to transmit the appeal because executives believe it might dent its reputation for impartiality. It also believes Gaza may not be stable enough to allow aid to be delivered.

Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the BBC Trust, has written to Mark Thompson, the corporation's Director General, defending Mr Thompson's right not to broadcast the appeal.

He said: "It is your job as editor-in-chief to make such decisions and to be held accountable for them. Our job as trustees is to give you space to make such decisions and to protect your ability to do so."

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said: "This is not a row about impartiality but rather about humanity.

"This situation is akin to that of British military hospitals who treat prisoners of war as a result of their duty under the Geneva Convention. They do so because they identify need rather than cause. This is not an appeal by Hamas asking for arms but by the Disasters Emergency Committee asking for relief. By declining their request, the BBC has already taken sides and forsaken impartiality.'

Over 50 Members of Parliament are backing a parliamentary motion that states "this House is astonished by the refusal of the BBC and other broadcasters to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza Crisis Appeal; [and] notes the unconvincing and incoherent explanations given by BBC spokespeople for the decision".

Mr Burden, a member of the International Development Committee, who tabled the motion, has also written to BBC Director General Mark Thompson to press for an explanation for the BBC's decision.

"I am astonished by the refusal of the BBC to broadcast the DEC Gaza appeal. The explanations given for this so far have been both unconvincing and incoherent.

"This is not about taking sides in the conflict. It is about providing urgent help to people in desperate need. More than 400 children have died, thousands are homeless and nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza. The important thing is to get aid in to Gaza. This is recognised by almost everyone – including the Government. The BBC appears to be the only one who has a problem seeing this."

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has called on the BBC to reconsider its decision.

Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission, said: "The need for charitable humanitarian aid in Gaza is desperate. For the past 45 years the leading international charities operating under the unique alliance of the DEC have shown themselves well able to deliver aid in areas of crisis around the world in an effective and non-partisan way.

"It is critical that the broadcasters, the banks, and other organisations do all they can to publicise and support this humanitarian appeal on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people in desperate and undeniable need in Gaza today. I call on the BBC to reconsider their decision."

A spokesperson for the BBC said its position remains unchanged.