The Queen's visit to Ireland, the BBC's choice of guest to comment - Gerry Adams - and a complaint (update)

Further to this post I have had a reply, to which I have in turn replied.

As a reminder, here's my original complaint post:

'Further to this and this I have lodged a complaint with the BBC:

 

Complaint type: BBC News

Location: England

What is your complaint about: Radio News

Programme title: 5Live 10pm news bulletin Friday 5 March 2011

Transmission date: 05/03/2011

Complaint category: Offence

Complaint summary: Choosing to intreview Gerry Adams re the Queen's future visit to Ireland

Full complaint: BBC 5Live 10pm News carried a piece about the upcoming visit by the Queen to Ireland. The BBC chose one person to interview about this visit; not the BBC's royal correspondent but Sinn fein's Gerry Adams. So for an opinion on the first royal visit to Ireland for 100 years the BBC choose the man who lead an organisation (Sinn Fein), in the public's mind, intrinsically linked with the terrorist organisation (the IRA) that blew up and killed the Queen's uncle, Lord Mountbatten, in 1979. Did anybody at BBC 5Live News wonder if it might be a trifle tasteless to interview a leading figure in Sinn Fein about the visit of the Queen to Ireland bearing in mind that history?

Receive a reply: Yes

Contacted us before: Yes

Complaint related to previous contact: No

Title: Mr

First name: NotaSheep

Surname: MaybeaGoat

Email address: notasheepmaybeagoat@gmail.com

Under 13: No

 

I wonder how long I will have to wait for a reply and how the BBC will justify their choice of guest... Somehow I doubt that they will accept a breach of taste.'

Here's the reply that I have just received from the BBC:

'Dear Mr MAYBEAGOAT

Reference CAS-637702

Thanks for contacting us about BBC Radio 5 live.

I understand you felt it was inappropriate to interview Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams on the subject of the Queen’s first official state visit to Ireland.

The visit of the Queen to Ireland has created a lot of debate due to the history between the country and Britain over a number of years. As such, we’ve heard from a number of figures across our broadcasts, including Gerry Adams.

While you may personally disagree with the views of Mr Adams, he is fully entitled to hold them in the context of legitimate debate. For other views on the visit, please see the BBC Online link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12652934

Nonetheless, your complaint will be added to our audience log, a daily report of audience feedback that's circulated to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, channel controllers and other senior managers.

The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

Finally, I have attached an invitation from BBC Audience Services' Head of Communications & Complaints, asking you to participate in our customer survey. We would welcome your views on our service.

Kind Regards


BBC Complaints
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

NB This is sent from an outgoing account only which is not monitored. You cannot reply to this email address but if necessary please contact us via our webform quoting any case number we provided.

__________________________________________

Dear Mr MAYBEAGOAT

Thank you for your recent email to the BBC. It is our aim to provide the highest standard of responses to emails we receive. To help us do this, I am writing to ask you to complete a customer satisfaction survey which is being conducted by the research company Ipsos MORI.

Your response will help us to judge how your most recent email was handled, so we'd be grateful if you could rate the service you received and the quality of our response. We aren't expecting you to rate the BBC, its output, or any previous contacts you may have had with us. The purpose of this survey is to help us understand the level of service we currently provide when responding to emails and to ensure we achieve the highest possible standards. We may use your individual responses to help in our staff training and performance management.

The questionnaire is very straightforward to complete and should take no longer than 5-10 minutes. You can log onto it in two ways, depending upon the email system you are using. You can either click onto the following website address, or paste it into your address bar (where you normally type in a website address). You will be guided through the questionnaire automatically once you have logged into it.

Website Address: http://survey2.infocorp.co.uk/webprod/resources/bbcinfo/start.asp?st=6&pass=CAS-637702-7DF6Z9

Thank you very much for taking the time to assist us.

Keith Jones
Head of Communications & Complaints, BBC Audience Services'

And here is my reply:

'Thank you for your reply.

Gerry Adams is indeed entitled to hold his views and if the BBC wish to promote them then that is a matter for you and your collective consciences. My point was that on that news broadcast you chose to broadcast just one interview: with the man who lead an organisation (Sinn Fein), in the public's mind, intrinsically linked with the terrorist organisation (the IRA) that blew up and killed the Queen's uncle, Lord Mountbatten, in 1979.

Interestingly of the seven people interviewed on the page to which you linked - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12652934 - six welcomed the visist whilst only one did not. That was the one person that you decided to give air space to on the news broadcast in question. Why not any of the others?

The BBC is often guilty of blatant bias, in this case you were clearly guilty of a complete lack of taste and decency as well.

By the way, the invitation from BBC Audience Services' Head of Communications & Complaints, asking me to participate in our customer survey has expired. So you clearly don't welcome my views that much.


Regards

NotaSheep MaybeaGoat'