Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Report chastises BBC

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004 | 9:11 a.m.

WHY WAS THE POWERFUL British Broadcasting Corp. so shocked by the harshness directed at its role in attacking Prime Minister Tony Blair's integrity? Senior Judge Lord Brian Hutton's 328-page report took the hide off of the BBC and left no doubt that its attacks on Blair had no foundation. Its reporter, Andrew Gilligan, had been the one who sexed up his reports when accusing Blair of "sexing" up the dangerous threats he saw in Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

I first became interested in the BBC attacks on Blair last summer after returning from the Middle East. Gilligan's stories and the BBC defense of them were especially interesting because of my own growing disappointment with the slanting of BBC reports about what is happening in Israel and surrounding areas. It became even worse when both British and U.S. troops entered Iraq last spring.

As early as March I was praising the work of the reporters embedded with our combat troops. Special praise was heaped on Walter Rodgers, Martin Savidge and Christiane Amanpour of CNN. Then it was necessary to note that, "When CNN leaves these reporters and goes to its desk in London, the viewers may believe that they then are receiving Al-Jazeera television in English or a slanted BBC commentary."

In July, after Blair began to fight back against BBC, it was necessary for me to write: "Blair is taking on the powerful British Broadcasting Corp., which has minced no words attacking his decision to enter Iraq with the United States. Blair's director of communications, Alastair Campbell, has fired back just as strongly. One of BBC's statements made most knowledgeable observers chuckle. The BBC board of directors stated that it 'emphatically rejects Mr. Campbell's claim that large parts of the BBC had an agenda against the war.'

"I don't know Campbell, but the BBC in recent years has lost much of its reporting objectivity. Many years ago, the first words I would hear on the radio were, 'This is BBC.' It was a trusted voice that would bring me the world news when traveling. During recent years BBC television has allowed many news broadcasts to be nothing more than a harangue against Israel."

Later came the suicide of Dr. David Kelly, who had been fingered as the source for Gilligan's report. This was added to the BBC harangue about Blair's involvement in hiding the true reasons for being part of the coalition in Iraq. The immediate results were the appointment of Lord Hutton's independent inquiry, which resulted in condemning the BBC and its journalistic practices and clearing Blair of all charges.

It also made known that Blair's own public release of all of his actions last September were also accurate and hid nothing from the public.

My July columns received much fire from local people who had grown up trusting the BBC. The following three paragraphs drew some heated remarks from a group at a local British-style pub: "The Jerusalem Post recently reported how the director of the Israel Government Press Office, Daniel Seaman, views the BBC:

"Seaman spoke as well of an ongoing bias in daily BBC coverage, saying that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is never mentioned 'without some critical reference to his alleged right-wing tendencies or military past, while Islamic terrorists are politely referred to as 'militants' out of a reluctance by the BBC to upset Muslims by telling the truth.'

"He added that 'the attitude of the BBC is more than a pure journalistic matter; it is dangerous to the existence of the State of Israel because it demonizes the Israelis and gives our terrorist enemies reasons to attack us.' "

The BBC, which every British television owner pays to watch, is government funded and comes up for license renewal every five years. The quick resignations of its two highest executives who had continually supported Gilligan's false story has probably saved the BBC from being privatized as so many conservatives want it to be.

The BBC, at one time, was my favorite source of information when traveling and working in the Middle East and Europe. Let's hope it returns to being the voice listeners want to hear. It's a powerful voice that all of us want to respect and believe.