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Saturday, January 24, 2009 |
Guardian: "The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation for 13 aid charities, launched its appeal today saying the devastation in Gaza was 'so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act'.
But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating back to 1963 when it announced it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters then followed suit. Previously, broadcasters have agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, with each station choosing a presenter to front the appeal, shown after primetime news bulletins.
A BBC spokesperson said: 'Along with other broadcasters, the BBC has decided not to broadcast the DEC's public appeal to raise funds for Gaza. The BBC decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of an ongoing news story.'"
Medialens: "Numerous members of the public have written to us expressing their bewilderment at the violence of Israel's 22-day attack on Gaza killing upwards of 1,300 people and wounding 4,200. To many witnessing the onslaught on their TV screens (especially Al Jazeera) this appeared to be an act of state sadism.
This immoral and callous decision by the BBC in response to the suffering of the people of Gaza should not go unchallenged. Please complain using the phone number and email addresses below:
SUGGESTED ACTION
The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and respect for others. If you do write to journalists, we strongly urge you to maintain a polite, non-aggressive and non-abusive tone.
Phone the BBC from the UK on: 03700 100 222
Helen Boaden, Director of BBC news
Email: helenboaden.complaints@bbc.co.uk
Peter Horrocks, Head of BBC TV News
Email: peter.horrocks@bbc.co.uk
Richard Sambrook, Director of the World Service and Global News
Email: richard.sambrook@bbc.co.uk
General complaints to the BBC can be submitted via this form."
Update:
Independent: "The BBC came under mounting pressure today to screen an emergency appeal for Gaza, after ITV, Channel 4 and Five all announced they will show it."
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11:17:58 AM 
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