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Ear to the Ground

Gaza Ad Stirs Controversy Across the Pond

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Posted on Jan 26, 2009

Two of Britain’s biggest networks, Sky and the BBC, have refused to air a two-minute fundraising appeal on behalf of Gaza. The decision not to broadcast the spot, produced by a committee made up of Britain’s biggest aid agencies, has triggered public outcry, condemnation from politicians and a formal investigation by the BBC Trust.

The BBC’s director general and the head of Sky News both said the ad would threaten their networks’ objectivity.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is a major owner of Sky. The BBC is the largest broadcaster in the world and is funded primarily by the British public.

BBC:

John Ryley, head of Sky News, said that broadcasting the film would be “incompatible” with its objective role.

“Our commitment as journalists is to cover all sides of that story with uncompromising objectivity,” he added.

This echoed BBC director general Mark Thompson’s concern that the corporation should not give the impression it was “backing one side” over the other.

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By lifewriter, January 30 at 1:08 am #

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smBSqO90k4c

It’s astounding that Truthdig didn’t think to post a link to that video - remember, the one about which this article was written ? - in order to give us a chance to fully understand what the BBC was trying to hide…why bother reporting at all when those describing censorship are themselves guilty of it?  Fascinating.

https://www.donate.bt.com/bt_form_gaza.html
make a donation.  They need the money more than you ever will.

Report this

By PSmith, January 27 at 5:05 pm #

@ nefesh, January 26 at 3:30 pm #

> their disgraceful history of terror-advocacy “journalism”

Genocide supporter? Zionazi?

THE REALITY - the BBC coverage is fanatically pro-Israel. Reporters are instructed that ‘Israelis are killed,’ ‘Palestinians are casualties.’  Reporters are forbidden from using the term ‘murdered’ to report the deliberate targetted assassinations of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Murders that include Israeli snipers shooting ten year old schoolgirls in the head in their school playgrounds.

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By P. T., January 27 at 1:42 pm #

“The real question for me is since Hamas is still considered a terrorist group by the EU and therefore Great Britain would it even be legal for them to do so.”


The BBC and Sky News helping Gaza’s children would be countering the effects of Israeli/U.S. terrorism.

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By driving bear, January 27 at 12:26 pm #

Forget the issue of should the BBC Sky news broadcast the appeal. The real question for me is since Hamas is still considered a terrorist group by the EU and therefore Great Britain would it even be legal for them to do so.

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By purplewolf, January 27 at 1:59 am #

I wonder if BBC/SKY aired the ad that Israel had running ran in the US, solicitating for monies to help with their “war torn country” shown on MSNBC the week before Obama took office?

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By P. T., January 27 at 12:50 am #

Impartiality?  Apparently, there is a powerful constituency in Britain for denying medical aid to children who have had white phosphorus dropped on them.  Who knew?  The U.S. is not the only country with an Israel lobby problem.

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By eileen fleming, January 26 at 10:27 pm #

Petitions have been circulating on the above.

What is bigger news is that last night CBS exposed Apartheid in Israel on 6o Minutes.

See the clip if you missed it and send a

THANK YOU with one click!


http://action.gazajustice.org/t/4436/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=963


Eileen Fleming, Author, Founder WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Producer “30 Minutes With Vanunu” and “13 Minutes with Vanunu”

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By nefesh, January 26 at 8:30 pm #

Well, this might rate as a “when pigs fly” moment - the Beeb actually, finally, incredibly, did the right thing!

What they need to do next is to at least make a token effort to restore some semblance of balance in their disgraceful history of terror-advocacy “journalism” by producing and then airing fundraising spots for the many thousands of terror victims (and their families) in Israel who have suffered for years at the hands of Palestinian Arab terror attacks.

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