An independent panel appointed by the board of governors of the BBC to analyze its content. The Beeb gets marks for
high quality reporting from location, some outstanding current affairs programmes and the website provides much valuable historical and other context.
There are also many areas in which the BBC needs improvement:
But there were gaps in analysis, context and perspective as well as a failure to consistently uphold editorial standards, it continued.
Broadcast news lacked historical background, stories were often not put in the wider context and there was insufficient analysis and interpretation of important events and issues, the report said.
The range of stories and perspectives was too narrow and reporters’ use of language was often inconsistent, it decided.
Remarkably, the report goes on to rehabilitate the word “terrorist” and to recommend its use:
That included the use of the words “terrorism” and “terrorist”. The BBC advises its journalists to avoid the latter because it can be “a barrier to understanding”.
But the panel said the BBC should use “terrorism” to describe violence against civilians with the intention of causing terror for ideological objectives, “whether perpetrated by state or non-state agencies”.
“It seems clear that placing a bomb on a bus used by civilians intending death or injury in supposed furtherance of a cause is a terrorist act and no other expression conveys so tersely and accurately the elements involved.“
Hallelujah.
It will be interesting to see if the BBC adopts this long-overdue recommendation. I wouldn’t be on it, though
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