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Monday, 16 July 2012

BBC accountability?

The Telegraph report that:
'The BBC's investigation into how an off-the-record conversation it had inadvertently filmed between Craig Oliver, David Cameron's communications chief, and Norman Smith, its reporter, ended up being put up on YouTube can no longer be talked about because of the Data Protection Act, says the corporation's head of accountability Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, promised to make the corporation more accountable for its transgressions when he was appointed last year. Its executives have, however, decided to keep schtum about an incident almost two months ago which, so I was told by David Cameron’s spokesman, showed the BBC at its “unprofessional worst.” Presumably with political motivation, an employee took it upon him or herself to post on YouTube footage that had been inadvertently filmed by a BBC cameraman of a heated, off-the-record conversation between Craig Oliver, the PM’s communications chief, and Norman Smith, the BBC reporter, over alleged bias. The BBC promised a “full investigation,” but now, in response to a Freedom of Information request that arrived after the 20-day deadline, Stephanie Harris, the Head of Accountability at BBC News, cites the Data Protection Act as grounds for refusing to say anything further. “The individuals concerned in this investigation would not expect their personal data... to be disclosed to a third party,” she says. “Any future requests for the same information are highly likely to result in the information being withheld.” ...'
The BBC seems to like hiding information that would be detrimental to its reputation; The Balen Report for example...

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