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Wednesday 10 October 2012

But not Israel?

The Guardian reports that:
'The BBC's news coverage of religion, immigration and Europe is to be scrutinised in an independent review following accusations of liberal bias.

Lord Patten, the BBC Trust chairman, said the review was an acknowledgement of "real and interesting" concerns from some quarters about the impartiality of the BBC's news coverage.
The corporation has long faced accusations of liberal and leftwing bias from politicians and other sections of the media.

The BBC's coverage of controversial topics including immigration, religion and the European Union will come under the spotlight in the review, which is expected to be published in early 2013. It may also include coverage of Islamophobia.

It is the fifth impartiality review by the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body, and follows an internal 2007 report that described a "largely unconscious self-censorship" that led to certain opinions being routinely under-represented.

Patten said the review would focus on immigration, religion and Europe because those are the topics that provoke most concern from the BBC's critics. He told a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch on Wednesday: "The subjects we thought we would cover, because they are subjects we have had criticism from time to time about breadth of voice issues, are Europe, immigration and religion.'
On the one hand these are all areas where the BBC is guilty of bias, on the other hand  why not include Israel? Oh hold on the reviews have been ordered by Lord Patten, that answers that question then.

There is, of course, already in existence a report into the BBC impartiality, or otherwise, on the matter of Israel and the Palestinians. It's called the Balen Report, maybe the BBC are planning on releasing it very soon?

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