Latest news with #editorialguidelines
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Newscast What Went Wrong With The BBC Gaza Documentary?
Today, we discuss the findings of a BBC report which found that the documentary Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone had breached editorial guidelines. The BBC previously pulled the documentary from iPlayer after it was uncovered that the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The report says the production company Hoyo Films bears most of the responsibility for the failures. Hoyo Films said it took the reviews findings "extremely seriously" and said it "apologises for the mistake that resulted in a breach of the editorial guidelines". Another report looking into BBC show MasterChef has found that 45 allegations against presenter Gregg Wallace have been upheld. Wallace said in response that some of his humour and language "missed the mark", but added: "I never set out to harm or humiliate. I always tried to bring warmth and support to MasterChef, on screen and off." Adam is joined by BBC News Culture and Media editor Katie Razzall and Culture reporter Noor Nanji. And, President Trump has threatened 'very severe' tariffs against Russia if there is no Ukraine deal within 50 days. Adam speaks to Caitriona Perry, Chief Presenter for BBC News. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast'. It works on most smart speakers. To get your tickets for Newscast live in Edinburgh - You can join our Newscast online community here: Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@ or send us a whatsapp on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Shiler Mahmoudi and Anna Harris. The social producers were Jada Meosa John . The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Times
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Minister criticises BBC for ‘catastrophic failures' after Gaza report
The BBC News chief has apologised for failing to sufficiently scrutinise a documentary, as the culture secretary criticises a 'series of catastrophic failures' at the corporation. An internal review found the BBC breached editorial guidelines by failing to give audiences the 'critical information' that the narrator of Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, Abdullah al-Yazouri, was the son of a Hamas minister. It found that the programme, which was pulled from iPlayer days after it aired in February, breached editorial guidelines on accuracy, but not impartiality. Three members of the film's production company, Hoyo Films, knew who the 13-year-old's father was at the time the programme aired but did not tell the BBC, which the review called a 'significant oversight'. Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, found that the corporation 'bears some responsibility' as 'it has ultimate editorial responsibility for the programme as broadcast'. He ruled the BBC team was not 'sufficiently proactive' with initial editorial checks and there was a 'lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions'. Ofcom said that it had examined the BBC report and would be investigating under its Broadcasting Code. An spokesman said: 'Having examined the BBC's findings, we are launching an investigation under our rule which states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience.' On Monday Deborah Turness, the BBC News chief executive, apologised for the error, which she said had been taken 'incredibly seriously' by the broadcaster. 'I'm sorry this happened. It was a mistake,' she said. 'At BBC News, we are fully accountable for everything that we publish and everything we broadcast, but we didn't run those questions to ground.' However, she blamed Hoyo Films for the error. 'The questions should have been answered by the independent production company at the many times of asking,' she said. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, welcomed the acknowledgement by the BBC that there had been a 'series of catastrophic failures' over recent weeks, including its decision to broadcast punk duo Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performance which included chants of 'death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]'. 'Our national broadcaster is too important for its independence and impartiality to be called into question,' Nandy added. 'I am pleased that there has been progress over recent weeks but as the BBC itself has recognised, there is more that has to be done.' The BBC has said it would 'ensure accountability' and said it had no planned commissions with Hoyo Films. Tim Davie, the BBC's director-general, said: 'Peter Johnston's report identifies a significant failing in relation to accuracy in this documentary. I thank him for his thorough work and I am sorry for this failing. 'We will now take action on two fronts: fair, clear and appropriate actions to ensure proper accountability and the immediate implementation of steps to prevent such errors being repeated.' Johnston said that in hindsight the use of this child to narrate the film was 'not appropriate', but there was no evidence that Hamas or the boy's father influenced the film. He did not rule that the production company misled the corporation, but found that it bore most of the responsibility for the failure. The report detailed at least five occasions when the BBC asked Hoyo about 'background checks' on individuals. For example, on January 12, a month before the programme aired, an editorial policy adviser asked Hoyo: 'Has due diligence been done on those featured to ensure eg the lead boy doesn't have links in any way to [Hamas] — I'm sure it has but critics may raise something and I want to make sure we're completely sure.' The BBC said How To Survive A Warzone, which followed children as they lived through the Israeli siege of Gaza, could return to iPlayer as a series of edited, shorter films. Hoyo Films said: 'We take the findings extremely seriously and apologise for the mistake. Our team in Gaza risked their lives to document the devastating impact of war on children. Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone remains a vital account, and our contributors, who have no say in the conflict, deserve to have their voices heard.' The Campaign Against Antisemitism pressure group called for an independent investigation 'into bias in the BBC's Middle East coverage'. Its chief executive, Gideon Falter, said: 'If the BBC were an accountable organisation, senior executives would be scrambling to save their jobs. Instead, it's the usual weasel pledge to 'update some guidelines'.' He called for Davie's resignation, accusing him of steering the broadcaster 'from national treasure to national embarrassment'. In a note to staff sent on Monday, Turness said that the failings 'did not take away' from the division's wider achievements. Several staffers said that it felt 'tone deaf' in light of the conclusions. 'There have been repeated failures and apologies on getting it wrong on Israel coverage and it seems to always be one way,' said one. 'Deborah's email read like a 'aren't we brilliant, but here's one small failing'.' Katie Razzall, the BBC culture and media editor, said that 'eyebrows were raised' about how the film came to be broadcast having been classified as a 'high risk project' by bosses. Davie is preparing to meet the broadcaster's Jewish staff network on Wednesday. Responding to the review on Monday evening, Downing Street said the BBC must take 'swift action' to ensure 'such errors' are never repeated again. The prime minister's official spokesman said: 'The BBC must ensure that such errors are never repeated and the public rightly expect the highest standards from the BBC and the corporation must learn and take swift action from the report's findings.'
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
BBC breached accuracy guidelines over Gaza documentary, review finds
A BBC documentary about children in Gaza breached the corporation's editorial guidelines for accuracy by failing to disclose its child narrator was the son of a Hamas official, an internal review has found. However, the inquiry into the making of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone found no other breaches of guidelines in its production, including impartiality. It found that no outside interests 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. 'Careful consideration of the requirements of due impartiality was undertaken in this project given the highly contested nature of the subject matter,' the report found. Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, undertook the review after the documentary was pulled from the iPlayer following the claims against it. The programme was made for the BBC by the independent production company Hoyo Films. Johnston found the father's status was 'critical information', which was not shared with the BBC before broadcast. 'Regardless of how the significance or otherwise of the narrator's father's position was judged, the audience should have been informed about this,' he said. The review concluded Hoyo Films had not intentionally misled the BBC, but said it bore most responsibility for the failure. It concluded the BBC also bore responsibility. It also found no 'reasonable basis' to conclude that anyone engaged or paid in connection with the programme was subject to financial sanctions, such as Hamas. A fee of £795 was paid for the narrator. The director general, Tim Davie, is facing the most challenging week of his five-year leadership of the BBC. He is under serious political pressure from Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, who recently queried why no one had lost their job over the documentary. Davie said: 'Peter Johnston's report identifies a significant failing in relation to accuracy in this documentary. I thank him for his thorough work and I am sorry for this failing. 'We will now take action on two fronts – fair, clear and appropriate actions to ensure proper accountability and the immediate implementation of steps to prevent such errors being repeated.' The BBC has not yet commented on whether anyone will be fired over the findings. The report found three members of the independent production company knew of the father's position, but no one within the BBC knew this at that time. The review found this failure to bring the information to the BBC's attention was a 'significant oversight by the production company'. It also criticised the BBC team for not being 'sufficiently proactive' with initial editorial checks and for a 'lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions'. Hoyo Films said in a statement: 'We take the findings in Peter Johnston's report on Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone extremely seriously and apologise for the mistake that resulted in a breach of the editorial guidelines.'
Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
BBC ‘failed' to ask the right questions regarding Gaza documentary, says executive
A senior BBC News executive has said the broadcaster 'failed' to ask the right questions regarding the documentary Gaza : How To Survive A Warzone. It comes after a report looking into the documentary, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official, found that it breached BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy. The review, published on Monday, was conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews which is independent of BBC News, and found that the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. It did not, however, find any other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that 'outside interests' 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. READ MORE Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 World At One programme, Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News, said: 'Our current affairs teams, day in, day out, week in, week out, are creating and pushing out incredibly controversial, difficult, complex documentaries. 'We have really good, best-in-class systems in place, but in this we failed, and we must put in place new processes which will enable us to continue with our courageous journalism with confidence.' She also added: 'It's about accountability. And I think what you can see today is that the BBC has taken this incredibly seriously. We have led a full and thorough investigation, which we are publishing full and transparently. 'Everything is out there, and we share the action plan that we're now putting into place to prevent this kind of mistake happening again. 'We are responsible for everything that we publish and everything we broadcast. We take it incredibly seriously, and we didn't run those questions to ground.' Ms Turness also addressed a second Gaza documentary, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was originally commissioned by the broadcaster from an independent production company called Basement Films. However, the corporation delayed airing it until the review into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was released. The documentary, which includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics, was later pulled entirely and aired on Channel 4 earlier this month. Ms Turness said: 'We want to tell the stories of Gaza. We are telling the stories of Gaza. 'We've got long form projects in the pipeline. We are covering Gaza, and we're covering it with courage and without fear or favour. 'During that production, the BBC raised concerns around the social media activity of one of the journalists. Obviously, we are incredibly protective and conscious of our impartiality and our very high standards of impartiality, and we were concerned about the activity of the journalist concerned. 'We decided, in the light of those concerns, that we would pause broadcast of that documentary while waiting to see what the Peter Johnston report would bring us. 'The film company weren't happy with that pause, and they wanted the journalism to air sooner. So we were trying to find a way around that, trying to find a way without airing the documentary, to put the journalism and the voice of the doctors on our platforms. 'And then came a moment where the lead journalist went on the Today programme to talk about Israel's attacks on Iran and used language around Israel that was really not compatible with the BBC standards of impartiality and made it impossible for us to continue with the project. 'It was very difficult to imagine that it could meet the BBC standards of impartiality, and that it would have created at least a perception of partiality, had we aired it. 'And the right thing to do at that time was to walk away, because no BBC journalist could have said what that journalist said on air, and therefore we have to apply some of the same standards to those who work with us from the outside.' – PA
The Independent
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
What did the review of the BBC Gaza documentary find?
A BBC Gaza documentary breached an editorial guideline on accuracy, a report said. The programme, Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who held a senior post in the Hamas-run government. Here are the findings of a report into the programme: – Failure to disclose information The BBC breached its editorial guidelines by not informing viewers that the narrator's father has worked as Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. This omission was considered misleading and a breach of accuracy standards. – Members of the production company knew The report found that nobody at the BBC knew of the father's position when the documentary first aired, but three people at Hoyo Films, the independent production company which produced the film, were aware. The report does not find that the production company misled the BBC, but said that the firm bears most of the responsibility for the failure. – The BBC was not proactive The report said that the corporation does bear some responsibility for 'not being proactive in the early phase of the project to ensure that the relevant editorial risks were fully discussed and that the production company had the guidance, direction and support it needed'. It said that the BBC also had a 'lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions'. – Narrator's role was problematic The narration was 'highly scripted' and carried the right of reply of the Israel Defence Forces, so it was 'wrong' to use the narrator as the voice of the programme given his background, the report said. There should have been more comprehensive scrutiny by the BBC about his role earlier in the production process, the report added. – No influence on programme content There was no evidence that the narrator's family or father influenced the content of the programme. The narrator's scripted contribution did not breach impartiality standards, the report said. – Payment and checks The narrator received a fee, a phone and a video game gift card which all amounted to £1,817, while £795 was paid to his adult sister. Sanctions checks on the narrator and family found no issues. – No other editorial breaches found There were no other breaches of the guidelines on issues of due impartiality, language and translation, continuity and editing, fairness to contributors and consent, privacy, harm and offence, and child safeguarding, the report found. The programme contained a range of views and rights of reply and there was no evidence of any outside interests inappropriately affecting the programme. – Recommendations The report recommended stronger BBC oversight for 'higher risk' independent productions, including embedding executives, formal greenlight meetings, improved compliance tracking and enhanced scrutiny of narrators. It added: 'It is clear that actioning these recommendations would require more senior executive oversight and scrutiny for the higher-risk projects. This requires consideration of resourcing by BBC News.'
