BBC will not broadcast Gaza documentary over ‘perception of partiality' risk

South Wales Guardian

4 hours ago

The corporation commissioned Gaza: Doctors Under Attack more than a year ago from an independent production company called Basement Films.
The documentary includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics.
It was delayed by the BBC until an ongoing review into a different programme in the region was completed.
The BBC pulled the documentary How To Survive A Warzone in February after it emerged that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
The corporation has now confirmed that Gaza: Doctors Under Attack will not air on the BBC at all.
In a statement, the BBC said they had paused production of this film in April, having made a decision that they could not broadcast the film while a review into a separate Gaza documentary was ongoing.
The BBC said that with both films coming from independent production companies, and both about Gaza, it was right to wait for any relevant findings – and put them into action – before broadcasting the film.
'However, we wanted the doctors' voices to be heard. Our aim was to find a way to air some of the material in our news programmes, in line with our impartiality standards, before the review was published.
'For some weeks, the BBC has been working with Basement Films to find a way to tell the stories of these doctors on our platforms.
'Yesterday, it became apparent that we have reached the end of the road with these discussions.
'We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC.
'Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world's most trusted broadcaster.
'Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films.
'Contrary to some reports, since we paused production of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack in April, it has not undergone the BBC's final pre-broadcast sign-off processes.
'Any film broadcast will not be a BBC film,' the BBC said.
The corporation added: 'We want to thank the doctors and contributors and we are sorry we could not tell their stories. The BBC will continue to cover events in Gaza impartially.'
Last month, Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and comedian Frankie Boyle were among hundreds of signatories calling on the BBC to air the documentary.
The letter, signed by figures from across the film, TV, journalism and cultural sectors, was sent on behalf of the UK Screen Industry, made up of a 'group of concerned film and TV professionals'.
Earlier this month, the BBC defended its coverage of the war in Gaza, after the White House criticised its reporting of an apparent incident in the territory, which reportedly left a number of people dead.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the corporation, after updating an article's headline with new information, had to 'correct and take down' its story about fatalities and injuries following a reported incident near an aid distribution centre in Rafah.
The BBC said it had not removed its story and explained that its headlines about the incident were 'updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources', which is 'totally normal practice'.