Monthly Archives: January 2005

– BBC1’s late evening news programme last night covered the Indian Ocean earthquake tragedy extensively, including efforts to raise funds, supplies and assistance for those affected.

There was an interesting, arguably characteristic, contrast in the coverage of fund-raising efforts – in Ben Brown’s report on Kofi Annan and Colin Powell speaking at the UN (broadcast live on Sky News earlier), the clip of Colin Powell was cut as short as possible, completely omitting his mention of the substantial level of personal American donations (in addition to government donations), summed up by Brown with the line that “America is paying its share”.

Meanwhile, in related coverage of UK fundraising efforts, we had a cafe owner donating his day’s coffee takings to the disaster relief fund (getting a year’s worth of free publicity on the BBC in return!), followed by film of Muslim worshippers walking past a collection bucket in their mosque, voiced over by the reporter as “Muslims in Hendon are donating whatever money they can”.

I’m sure that Muslims in Hendon, along with all right minded people everywhere, are indeed donating whatever they can – but why downplay the efforts of one group (Americans – donating ‘their share’) whilst spinning the efforts of another (Muslims – ‘all they can’) who, it seems, from BBC News Online’s own coverage, along with others, are collecting funds outwith the nationally organised Disasters Emergency Committee. Of all the faith based collections listed on BBC News Online, I wonder how many, if indeed any of them, are focusing their help on those people and areas that share their particular faith? Perhaps there’s an interesting story there for enquiring journalists.

Another point that seems to escape most journalists is that, for all the collective feel-good about record public donations, the sum collected so far is still quite short of even a paltry pound per head. As usual, it’s probably a minority of people making reasonable donations, whilst the majority can’t be bothered or don’t get around to it or assume that the government has done it for them or whatever. So, if you haven’t made even a small personal donation yet, please do visit the DEC site linked above – it’s easy and quick to donate online. Even if it’s just the cost of your next take-away meal or a round of drinks you’ll still have done a lot more than most people have.

Oh dear, oh dear. On the evening and throughout the night of Tuesday December 28th/29th, two days after the tragedy of an enormous natural disaster in the Indian Ocean, can you guess what important world-changing news made the 3rd lead story on the UK edition of the BBC News Online home page?

Extended Indian Ocean tragedy coverage? No.

Indian Ocean fundraising efforts perhaps? No.

Row over escaped prisoner figures maybe? No.

Give up? Yes, it was the death of American leftie writer Susan Sontag (“widely regarded as one of America’s leading intellectuals”), barely known in the UK, and most likely hardly a household name in the US either.

Exacerbating the warped prominence given to this relative non-event in world affairs, there was an additional front page picture feature linking to a special [Don’t] Have Your Say page – Send us your tributes to the late critic Susan Sontag.

Note the gushing invitation to Send us your tributes – as if that’s all there could be for this supposed cultural icon – rather than, for instance, a more measured line like Send us your reaction to news of Ronald Reagan’s death. Note also how no overt mention is made of Sontag’s extensive left-wing credentials – something that would doubtless be spelled out were she writing from a right-wing viewpoint.

By the next morning all of this was banished from the News Online front page – perhaps the Sontag coverage was the action of a leftie-cub-journo-trainee who’d drawn the Christmas holiday night shift short straw, but who lacked the nous to realise that the death of a left-wing icon, whilst doubtless heartfelt to such a BBC minion, is really not headline news. At least not outside of the BBC Newsroom.

BBC News Online – reporting all the news that’s important. To them.