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Thursday 30 August 2007

BBC Bias - and an expert contributor (part 2)

I blogged yesterday about the BBC's often used Middle East expert - Abd Al-Bari Atwan and his comments that "by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square,and dance with delight if the Iranian missiles strike Israel." The BBC responded to criticisms of their use of Abd Al-Bari Atwan by saying that editors make decisions based on the following BBC guidelines. “We should not automatically assume that academics and journalists from other organizations are impartial and make it clear to our audience when contributors are associated with a particular viewpoint.”

It would appear that Mr Abd Al-Bari Atwan is not a stranger to such remarks and that moderate Muslim journalists have concerns about his outbursts. Thanks to Shield of Achilles for drawing our attention to the following.

"Munir Al-Mawari, a moderate Arab journalist wrote of Atwan: "The Abd Al-Bari Atwan [appearing] on CNN is completely different from the Abd Al-Bari Atwan on the Al-Jazeera network or in his Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily. On CNN, Atwan speaks solemnly and with total composure, presenting rational and balanced views. This is in complete contrast with his fuming appearances on Al-Jazeera and in Al-Quds Al-Arabi, in which he whips up the emotions of multitudes of viewers and readers. Abd Al-Bari Atwan is part of the problem… and our problem is that it is not only America that we hate. Our Arab societies are societies of hate; we were raised to hate each other even before we hated others…""

2 comments:

Lucy Dee said...

So are you saying he's playing to both fields? Maybe he's just carrying on with his antics for more facetime?

He sounds like the Muslim version of Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson.

Nice coming across your blog. Feel free to stop by my spot and make a comment! (I'm a female standup comedienne blogging her way to stardom.)

I'm not a sheep either!

Anonymous said...

I'm fascinated by this quote

“We should not automatically assume that academics and journalists from other organizations are impartial and make it clear to our audience when contributors are associated with a particular viewpoint.”

from BBC guidelines.

In a recent lively correspondence with the Editor of the Radio 4 Sunday programme, I objected to Professor Beverley Milton-Edwards being introduced simply as a Professor of Politics prior to an interview in which she was asked to speculate about what a Hamas government would mean for Gaza.

Is she associated with a 'particular viewpoint' on this issue? You bet she is. She is a long time advocate for international engagement with Hamas and Hizbollah, co-founder of the Conflicts Forum

http://conflictsforum.org/

and now of the Centre for Study of Ethnic Conflicts

http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofPoliticsInternationalStudiesandPhilosophy/Staff/Milton-Edwards/

The Editor eventually conceded that this would have been relevant and interesting information, enabling listeners to assess Milton Edwards' remarkably optimistic forecast of Gaza under Hamas. A forecast, which, needless to say, has been dead wrong!