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| Britain |
| BBC chief slams American media over Iraq |
| 2003-04-25 |
| Edited for Length LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. broadcasters' coverage of the Iraq war was so unquestioningly patriotic and so lacking in impartiality that it threatened the credibility of America's electronic media, the head of the BBC said on Thursday. This, from the Beeb? LOL! BBC Director General Greg Dyke singled out for criticism the fast growing News Corp. Ltd.'s Fox News Channel, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, and Clear Channel Communications Inc., the largest operator of radio stations in the United States, with over 1,200 stations, for special criticism. "Personally, I was shocked while in the United States by how unquestioning the broadcast news media was during this war," Dyke said in a speech at a University of London conference. "If Iraq proved anything, it was that the BBC cannot afford to mix patriotism and journalism. This is happening in the United States and if it continues, will undermine the credibility of the U.S. electronic news media." Dyke singled out Fox News, the most popular U.S. cable news network during the conflict, for its "gung-ho patriotism," saying: "We are still surprised when we see Fox News with such a committed political position." A spokesman for Fox News declined comment. The British media veteran also attacked U.S. radio broadcaster Clear Channel and warned against British media becoming "Americanized." The |
| Posted by:KP |
| #7 Further critiques of the Beeb are over at Biased BBC. |
| Posted by: kgb 2003-04-25 16:16:54 |
| #6 When our troops soundly trounced a tank division, the BBC headline had the word "victory" in quotes! |
| Posted by: KP 2003-04-25 14:46:21 |
| #5 The most telling story about the Baghdad Broadcast Company is that the UK Navy cut it off it's own ships during the war! That's all you need to know abou the BBC! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2003-04-25 13:04:29 |
| #4 I keep asking, and no one can tell me, why a cable station, with (outside GWII) a viewership of less than The Osbournes 1st season (6 mil) gets so many knickers in a twist. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-25 12:51:44 |
| #3 Gawd, I love it when these bloated, self-important, taxpayer-funded elitists at the BBC and NPR get their feathers ruffled and spout off about "impartiality"! It's high time the British and American taxpayers see their monies put elsewhere where they'll do some real good. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-04-25 11:50:47 |
| #2 The BBC's coverage of the Iraqi war was so one-sided that criticism from the BBC is ludicrous. At one point, AS SADDAM"S STATUE WAS COMING DOWN, a singular historical moment, it cut away to another story! It's coverage continually showed the "horrors" of the war, delimiting the Iraqi's liberation from an incredibly horrible regime. |
| Posted by: Mike Flamer 2003-04-25 11:46:14 |
| #1 There's more at Yahoo. |
| Posted by: KP 2003-04-25 10:55:59 |