At a meeting in the Westminster last night, a
cross-party group of British MP's unanimously agreed that the reporting of Iran
in the British media "fell well below the standards of objectivity and
impartiality" required by print and broadcast codes. The meeting, "A Raw Deal or
Fair Comment? Iran and the Western Media", organised by the Westminister
Committee on Iran, brought together a range of parliamentarians, peers and
interested parties from all political persuasions in the first of a series of
roundtable discussions on Iran.
Following the recent media circus
that surrounded President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to New York and
accusations by many that the Western media are not giving Iran a fair hearing,
the discussion will assessed whether the media in Britain are objective in their
reporting of Iran or whether the British public are being softened up for
military action against Tehran.
Specific cases of alleged media bias were presented
including recent examples by journalists Con Coughlin (the Daily Telegraph) and
Simon Tisdall (the Guardian) as well as reports on BBC news broadcasts. It was
pointed out that a BBC news broadcast on 25th March, during the detention of the
British marines in the Shat-el-Arab, described Iran as having “abducted” the 15
British sailors and marines. The BBC also referred to the British service
personnel as “hostages” in this, and in subsequent reports. It was agreed that
the use of the word “abducted” instead of “captured” and the word “hostages”
instead of “detainees” is not an example of linguistic objectivity.
The BBC’s complaints procedure, which promises “transparency,
objectivity and accountability” as well as a commitment to making “speedy
corrections” where appropriate, also came in for heavy censure.
The meeting unanimously decided that there
were grounds for serious concern about media objectivity and it was decided that
further actions would be taken. These included communications with media
regulators from the Independent Press Complaints Committee and the BBC’s
complaints department as well as the Minister of State responsible, James
Purnell. Further meetings would be arranged and wider debate
encourged.
Parliamentary Roundtable Discussion,
The Attlee
Suite,
Palace of Westminster
London, 3rd October, 7pm
Westminster
Committee on Iran
... Payvand News - 10/4/07 ... --
