tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289342.post1724899519371471753..comments2024-03-27T03:57:15.929+05:30Comments on Time and Tide: BBC does not use the word 'terrorist'Pradeep Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873369124947878452noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289342.post-53776481381432053472012-02-27T05:32:08.063+05:302012-02-27T05:32:08.063+05:30as a wise bihari once said - emosnal naheen honeka...as a wise bihari once said - emosnal naheen honekaDiamond Headhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08380865578996154834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289342.post-36828462496036347922007-12-26T13:17:00.000+05:302007-12-26T13:17:00.000+05:30the article is very insightful. i congratulate you...the article is very insightful. i congratulate you on such indepth knowledge about BBC. recently there was a discussion on the Editors' blog of BBC on the usage of the term "child porno". they now want to change the usage of that term to "child sexual abuse" that orients the audience towards the negative repercussions of the act than the other term.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289342.post-73151195769604988382007-12-26T11:54:00.000+05:302007-12-26T11:54:00.000+05:30Very comprehensive writeup. In my view, a Journali...Very comprehensive writeup. In my view, a Journalist should stick to reporting of news and let others give the views. Even if they don't have any dubious motives, they are bound to get stuck between different kinds of people and with the kind of diversity India has, it is bound to be worse for Indian Journalists.<BR/>Thanks for your compliments but lately, I have begun to perceive blogging as a mutual admiration society and that is why I have cooled off a bit. In case you are interested, maximum no of my articles got publiahsed this year and are there on my other blog- <BR/>http://wplay.wordpress.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289342.post-78222079876525234322007-12-26T03:28:00.000+05:302007-12-26T03:28:00.000+05:30There is no overtly anti-American stance by the BB...There is no overtly anti-American stance by the BBC. But America particularly under Bush Jr presidency has not endeared to any country. On the one hand you see the NewYorks' Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and on the other hand you see the 'patriot act' in operation which can take away liberty literally from any one residing in that country ( similar monitoring was carried out in Nixon's watergate time and most of us were worried speaking out anything which can be construed as politics. Mrs Gandhi like her father and more like VKK Menon antagonised American policy makers and particularly Nixon and Kissinger then and Indians living there including me were strangely quiet!).<BR/> The mistakes by the FBI and the CIA and their inability to monitor those Arabs who were training to be pilots coupled with the freedom with which one could walk through airports without handbags being checked until early 1990s(My American friends who were visiting London those days used to laugh at the security checks in the airport) all were factors in 9/11 incidence.<BR/>Also, the American establishment never learnt any lesson from the Vietnam war. With history being their weakest subject,they did not once think about the consequences of removing Saddam who no doubt was evil and plunging the country into a war. Like Vietnam ,they had no 'exit strategy' for Iraq. Those in power there including Ms Rice should have learnt from Yugoslavia after Tito who held the country together, and the need to exercise caution. Bush Jr is fighting his father's war who mysteriously withdrew the troops out after kicking Saddam out of Kuwait. The BBC is exceptionally good in analysing events and presenting them, and mostly because of Iraq now, their analysis is invariably about the war, which sounds like anti-American. Afterall, Britain is the staunchest ally of America during and since WWII, key member of NATO, shares intelligence with them and there are half-a million Americans live Britain. Blair simply followed the custom of strong friendship and committed this country into war in Iraq.<BR/><BR/>Living in London, and not an avid fan of TV ( I am not a typical Indian in that sense), I usually listen to Radio. I have friends and ex-students in the BBC establishments and hence my knowledge about the organisation. With all its faults, it is still the best organisation that projects objectivity, provides education and intelligent entertainment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289342.post-52643150862408375172007-12-25T20:48:00.000+05:302007-12-25T20:48:00.000+05:30Guru, good to see a very comprehensive comment on ...Guru, good to see a very comprehensive comment on the issue. I too have felt the seemingly pro-Left angle. Especially with regard to war in Iraq, BBC had a pronouced anti-US slant.<BR/><BR/>The best part about the BBC is it has, quite reasonably, been able to adapt to today's multimedia scenario without having to substantially alter its core philososphy.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, today I saw a Hard Talk episode with Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter who was in captivity for more than 3 months. I don't know if you managed to watch it...Pradeep Nairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04873369124947878452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289342.post-91690381845001048502007-12-25T17:22:00.000+05:302007-12-25T17:22:00.000+05:30The age old adage in journalism is that journalist...The age old adage in journalism is that journalist should report a story and not become a story himself/herself. That was Ms Plett's problem while reporting from Isreal. BBC in its external and internal wings is very conscious of its role, that of objective reporting, and this has been called into question during Iraq war and of course London bombing, in the aftermath of which there was a palpable anti-muslim sentiment running through the country as a whole. The word ‘terrorism’ then seemed to loom large on the BBC horizon threatening its objectivity.<BR/><BR/>Traditionally, BBC called the ‘Auntie’ has been anti-establishment, left-leaning, in the view of people like me. However the BBC strives to be objective in my opinion as a citizen and tax payer in Britain who pays a levy to keep it that way, shades of left-wing bias creeps in the reports from time to time. In the case of Plett and others this some time meant supporting to Palestine cause in a milder sense. Hence the blast from the right-leaning newspaper like Daily Telegraph. <BR/><BR/>I lived in the USA during the Watergate era. It was the written media ( news papers like Washington Post and several other local newspapers) which was highly critical of Nixon’s part in the saga. The CBS (NBC with John Chancellor too) with the great Walter Cronkite anchoring the evening news used to be less critical of Nixon’s machinations and generally towed the establishment line. Compared to that the BBC has been extremely critical of the Labour government, and particularly Blair’s support to Iraq and paid a very heavy price for this. The BBC World service and its national counterpart by their charters uphold objectivity and independence, but are subjected to the tax payer’s contribution which is set by the government. Despite this, on the whole, I found that it is the most objective news media that I know, and hence my continued payments to BBC.<BR/><BR/>I was not happy with Ms Plett’s indiscretion nor I am happy about some BBC reports coming from Israel. Highly intelligent reporters like Jeremy Bowen at times fall in to the trap of supporting the ‘underdog’ although his sympathy is understandable when a child gets killed in an Israeli air raid following a suicide bomber’s foray into an Israel shopping district. To me a terrorist should be called as such whether it was Mandela or Arafat. Much can be achieved by forsaking terrorism as the Northern Ireland situation now demonstrates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com