British Broadcasting Corruption

Abdullah Al-Asmary

Since we were young children with few news outlets, the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, stood as the uniquely reliable and transparent source of local as well as international news. For that reason, people, hungry for such news, flocked to the BBC whenever there was anything worth listening to although it was broadcasting from thousands of miles away. Its coverage of political, economic and cultural events earned it a reputation not only in English-speaking communities but also across the entire world in which special radio services, in local languages, were broadcast.

The BBC Arabic Radio, for example, one of the oldest foreign-language services, has long been a reliable source of news even after the emergence of TV networks. Throughout its long history, it has served as a lighthouse that enlightens hundreds of thousands of listeners by broadcasting balanced political commentaries, cultural events, sports and the like.

At the beginning of Israel’s recent war on Gaza, I watched the heartbreaking images of innocent Palestinians fleeing their homes in Gaza city aired by several news stations. BBC World was among the TV stations that, unlike CNN or FOX news, allowed much reporting and commentary time during the crisis. Shortly after the Israeli airstrikes on civilians there, BBC sent its elegant presenter, Lyse Doucet, to cover the war there.

During those days, Doucet reported from a place on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip and was never allowed to enter Gaza due to what Israel called “safety concerns.” She was frequently in contact with countless numbers of Israeli war generals who would explain the rationale behind their aggression on Gaza. All footage from Gaza aired at that time was subjected to scrutiny, images of bleeding children or crying women waere clearly avoided. Oftentimes, there was an overemphasis on the damage caused by the rockets from Gaza; the people living in settlements adjacent to Gaza were constantly given the chance to voice their “concerns” about the rockets launched by Hamas. Despite all that, no one accused the BBC of siding with Israel in that war or even compared it with the biased coverage of the same events by key news stations such as Rupert Murdoch’s Sky News or Tim Turner’s CNN.

Just days after the Israeli aggression on Gaza, BBC was caught in the center of a political controversy not because it adopted a stunningly unusual political position, but simply because it refused to screen a charity appeal for Gaza in the aftermath of the three-week war, which resulted in a huge devastation to the infrastructure there.

BBC’s justification was that fundraising money might fall into the hands of Hamas leaders – which would violate the staions “impartiality.” BBC’s refusal to air the charity appeal infuriated many activists, politicians and even journalists from within the BBC camp. According to the Guardian, as many as 11,000 complaints were filed and sent to the station urging it to reverse its position, but to no avail. Numerous telephone calls and emails poured into the BBC headquarters asking the station to change its mind and react positively to the demands of the public..

As a long-time viewer of the BBC along with millions in the Middle East, I am deeply appalled and extremely saddened by the BBC’s ill-considered decision which is going to harm its image in the Arab and Muslim world. Broadcasting a charity appeal has nothing to do with the impartiality position of the broadcaster, as everybody knows it would not send a biased message or present a political view.

Had the BBC considered the plight of many Palestinians in Gaza, it would not have taken such a decision. The humanitarian condition in the Gaza Strip is grave with many people left without water, electricity and, above all, a roof to shelter them. Food supplies are scarce with the tight control imposed by Israel on key crossings, and its continuous bombardment of the tunnels – the lifeline of many Palestinians. According to some estimates, the scale of destruction caused by Israel’s war machinery is unprecedented with millions of dollars needed for reconstruction work.

Some BBC critics accuse it of adopting a pro-Israel stance which has influenced its recent decision. But there is no evidence supporting this claim because BBC’s history reveals that its position as an unbiased news source is what made it universally respected. However, many questions remain unanswered and the justification issued by the BBC’s director general is not convincing particularly for those who have long been great admirers of the BBC.


*Published in the SAUDI GAZETTE on Feb. 02