It was disgraceful for the BBC interviewer to suggest that Darcus Howe had in the past been a participant in riots. And I'm totally in favour of the BBC being called to account when it transgresses appropriate standards of reporting and commentary. Indeed in 2008 a complaint of mine about inaccuracy and bias in a BBC World Service radio programme was upheld by the BBC Editorial Standards Committee! pp. 32ff: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/appeals/esc_bulletins/2008/november.pdf (Pity Howe hasn't, judging by an internet search, taken the opportunity to apologise for his own false assertion about the police blowing a young man's head off.)
>The BBC's apology to Darcus Howe is an empty gesture, but >typical of an organization that is famously loath to self-criticism. I'll let the irony of that statement coming from Michael speak for itself. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London allenester...@compuserve.com http://www.esterson.org ---------------------------------- From: michael sylvester <msylves...@copper.net> Subject: On apologies,etc Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:51:27 -0100 What does Darcus Howe have to do with a post on African - Americans versus immigrants and Latin Americans? How deceptive. Should I also apologize for implying that Pavlov used a bell in his conditioning experiments? Btw,the BBC has apologized to Darcus Howe BBC has apologized: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/10/bbc-apologizes-darcus-howe-london-riots_n_923525.html ________________________________________ The BBC's apology to Darcus Howe is an empty gesture, but typical of an organization that is famously loath to self-criticism. A real expression of regret would be for the BBC to make the interview available on its own Web sites (to date, it's only available in the form or amateur video on video-sharing sites), along with its apology to Howe and censure the interviewer for publicly insulting him. Because of its refusal to take real responsibility, the BBC has catapulted a figure who was obscure or unknown to many Britons intro an international folk hero, implicitly confirmed his radical assessment of the British "insurrection" and made itself into a laughing stock at best or a byword for news media cowardice at worst. Michael "omnicentric" Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=11959 or send a blank email to leave-11959-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
