Letters of Thought: It Pays To Write -Sorta

I read an article on the BBC (king of media bias) some time back near the start of the Lebanon War . . . incensed by their moral relativism an blatent bias, I wrote in:

"The moral relativism displayed there with in is truly shocking. To make light of the uncalled for attacks by TERRORIST organizations by sayin -"The Qassams mostly needle the Israelis, like pinpricks in the ankles of a giant, taunting him to stamp back with his big, US-issue army boots.

The Katyushas are like poisoned arrows. They drive him mad." -actions which cause loss of life- is truly revolting.

The attempt to blame the terrorist actions of the above groups due to the supposed Israeli affluence ("Smart, middle-class Israeli settlements have sprung up on virgin hillsides, watered by springs often diverted from Palestinian villages.") is to blame the Israelis for the corruption of the Palestinian leaders who have duped their people and abused them -forcing them to live in squalor while diverting money for their own desires etc.

Such articles as this spread needles of hate and are a mockery to true journalism."

Here was the response . . .

Dear Mr Lightstone

Thank you for your e-mail regarding bbc.co.uk.

I appreciate you felt that Nick Thorpe's 15 July report on 'From Our Own Correspondent' about the situation in Lebanon was biased against the Israelis.

Firstly, please accept our apologies for the delay in replying to your complaint. The BBC receives hundreds of contacts every day, most of which require a response. All are important to us, and we aim to provide a personal reply to each of our viewers and listeners. Nevertheless, we know our correspondents appreciate a quick response and we are sorry you have had to wait on this occasion

Your complaint was addressed to Tony Grant, Editor of 'From Our Own Correspondent' who replied:

"This item first appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme 'From Our Own Correspondent'. The editorial team which produces the programme recognises that reporting the Middle East needs a sensitive, as well as a fair and balanced, hand.

It treats Middle East issues very seriously, and the team has many years of experience of reporting on these issues as well as producing items about them.

The items you hear on a typical From Our Own Correspondent programme are not designed to provide a comprehensive analysis of a story or situation, more they offer the perspective of the correspondent working on that story. Nevertheless the scripts are exposed to the closest scrutiny. Not only are they painstakingly checked by the programme team, they are also examined by senior figures in BBC management charged with safeguarding the Corporation's reputation for fair and accurate reporting.

We are aware that since Nick Thorpe's piece was first broadcast, on July the 15th, the crisis has escalated and more people have been killed or injured by missiles fired from within southern Lebanon. But his piece reflected the situation at the time of broadcast."

Nevertheless, we appreciated our feedback and your complaint was fully registered on our daily audience log. This internal document was made available to the production team and Senior BBC Management.

Once again thank you for taking the time to contact the BBC.

Regards

Nuala Hyde
BBC Information