BBC bids to suppress study on Middle East 'bias'
Saturday 26 January 2008
Latest in Media
On Facebook
From the blogs
Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one
To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...
Time for a reality check on the Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lanka, much like Britain, has side-lined accountability long enough.
Children Of Alcoholics week: One million children may just be the tip of the iceberg
Children Of Alcoholics week starts today. So, what are the aims for Nacoa during this important week...
Review of Being Human: ‘Being Human 1955’
Following on from an episode tinged with tragedy, this week lifted the mood with something lighter.
One man's battle to force the BBC to disclose an internal report on its coverage of the Middle East has been dealt a further blow.
Three Court of Appeal judges rejected a challenge by Steven Sugar, a commercial solicitor from Putney, south-west London, to overturn a High Court ruling which rejected his claim that the contents of the report should be made public under the Freedom of Information Act.
Mr Sugar may now decide to take his case to the House of Lords. He argues that the 20,000-page report by Malcolm Balen should be published as part of the debate about a perceived anti-Israeli bias at the BBC.
But the BBC argues that, under the Freedom of Information Act, it is exempt from disclosing information held for the purposes of "journalism, art or literature". The broadcaster contends the report was always intended as an internal review to help shape future policy on its Middle East coverage and was never intended for publication.
Mr Sugar initially took his complaint to the Information Commissioner, who agreed with the BBC that although it is named as a "public authority" under the Act, it should not have to disclose material relating purely to its journalism. Mr Sugar appealed and won the backing of the Information Tribunal. But a High Court judge, Mr Justice Davies, concluded the tribunal had no authority, because the case fell outside the scope of the Act. Lord Justices Buxton and Lloyd and Sir Paul Kennedy have now upheld that conclusion.
Mr Sugar argues the Act has been badly drafted and maintains the contents of the report should be in the public domain.
In 2004, Richard Sambrook, who was the BBC's director of news, commissioned Mr Balen, an editorial adviser, to compile the report on the BBC's Middle East coverage. Mr Balen examined hundreds of hours of BBC television and radio broadcasts.
The BBC's reporting of Middle East affairs has often been accused of anti-Israeli bias. In 2004, the BBC correspondent Barbara Plett attracted criticism when she admitted she had been moved to tears by the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
In 2006, however, a study for the BBC governors led by Sir Quentin Thomas, the president of the British Board of Film Classification, found that the BBC's coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict implicitly favoured the Israeli side. It concluded that the deaths of Israelis received greater coverage than Palestinian fatalities and made reference to "identifiable shortcomings".
The study group looked at a period between August 2005 and January 2006 during which 98 Palestinians were killed in conflict compared to 23 Israelis. Overall, the study concluded there was "little to suggest deliberate or systematic bias" in the coverage of the conflict. "On the contrary, there was evidence of a commitment to be fair, accurate and impartial," it said.
The freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke suggested the BBC has become an unfair target for FoI requests. "My real issue is secrecy of the government rather than media organisations," she said. "I almost feel the BBC has taken the brunt of these disclosures. It's the vulnerable organisation and not the Cabinet Office or the Treasury, which will fight everything."
- 1 Eight arrests as Murdoch 'throws staff to the wolves'
- 2 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 3 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
- 6 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 7 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 8 Best served cold: BBC canteen has the last laugh on Twitter
- 9 Pucker up: The art of kissing
- 10 Did Banksy's latest work bring misery to a homeless man?
- 1 Murdoch hit by threat of new legal fight in US
- 2 Eight arrests as Murdoch 'throws staff to the wolves'
- 3 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 4 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 5 What really happened on the bridge when the Costa Concordia crashed
- 6 Letters raise fears for last Briton in Guantanamo
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Silent revolution at the Baftas
The diva who had – and lost – it all


Comments