Latest news with #HowtoSurviveaWarzone
The National
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
BBC axes Gaza doctors documentary over 'impartiality'
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack explored the destruction of the health service in Gaza under Israel's brutal bombardment, and was reportedly ready to be broadcast in February. We told how the documentary was shelved last month following the controversy around How to Survive a Warzone, which featured the son of a Hamas official. READ MORE: UK Government 'set to proscribe Palestine Action after RAF protest' The production firm behind Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, Basement Films, said at the time that the BBC had postponed airing their film until after a review into How to Survive a Warzone is complete. However, despite the fact that this review remains ongoing, the BBC has now officially scrapped plans to show the documentary after concluding that it "risked creating a perception of partiality" over the corporation's coverage of Israel and Gaza. In a statement published on Friday, the BBC said: 'Our aim was to find a way to air some of the material in our news programmes, in line with our impartiality standards, before the review was published. "For some weeks, the BBC has been working with Basement Films to find a way to tell the stories of these doctors on our platforms.' It added: 'Yesterday it became apparent that we have reached the end of the road with these discussions. "We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC. "Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world's most trusted broadcaster." READ MORE: Presiding Officer to step down at Holyrood election The BBC said it was transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films, and that the documentary had "not undergone the BBC's final pre-broadcast sign-off processes", as some reports had suggested. The corporation also "thank[ed" those who contributed to the documentary and said "we are sorry we could not tell their stories". The BBC has been increasingly accused of failing to report on Israel's assault on Gaza in an impartial manner. A report published this week by the Centre for Media Monitoring found that the corporation's coverage showed a "pattern of bias, double standards and silencing of Palestinian voices". It found that the word massacre(d) was used 18 times more frequently in the context of Israeli deaths than Palestinian deaths in BBC articles. Emotive terms such as 'atrocities', 'slaughter', 'barbaric', 'deadly', 'brutal' were used four times more often when reporting on Israeli victims, while 'murder(ed)' was used 220 times in the Israeli context and just once for Palestinians. The report analysed a total of 3873 articles and 32,092 TV and radio broadcasts between October 7, 2023 to October 7, 2024.
Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Middle East Eye
BBC drops film about Gaza doctors after delaying its broadcast for months
The BBC has announced it has dropped a film about doctors working in Gaza after delaying its broadcast for months. The documentary, Gaza: Medics Under Fire, was ready to broadcast in February but was pulled because of a scandal that erupted over another BBC documentary on children in Gaza, entitled How to Survive a Warzone. Britain's public broadcaster said it would broadcast Gaza: Medics Under Fire after the review into the earlier documentary was concluded. But on Friday, the BBC announced it would not air the film. "We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC," the broadcaster said in a statement. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films... Any film broadcast will not be a BBC film." 'No moral or professional reason' Basement Films, the company which produced the documentary, had previously questioned the BBC's decision to delay the broadcast, saying, "there is no moral or professional reason why a mistake in one film should repeatedly prevent the release of another film." In a statement on Friday, Basement Films said: "we would like to thank the Doctors and contributors and survivors, and to apologise for not believing them when they said the BBC would never run a film like this. BBC coverage of Israel's war on Gaza 'systematically biased against Palestinians' Read More » "It turned out they were right." The documentary tells the stories of Palestinian doctors working in Gaza under Israeli bombardment and was made by Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmakers, including Ben de Pear, Karim Shah and Ramita Navai. The BBC did not explain in its statement why the film would not have met "the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC". Basement Films said that the BBC "gave us no less than 6 different release dates" after having "told us several times verbally and by email" that the film "had been approved for broadcast". In May, over 600 prominent figures from the arts and media wrote to the BBC, accusing it of "political censorship" over its delay in screening the documentary. "Although the BBC are now taking their names off this film," Basement Films said, "it will remain theirs, and we hope it serves to open up the debate on how the nation's broadcaster covers what is happening in Gaza."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC Drops ‘Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' Film As Producer Brands Director General A 'PR Person'
For the second time this year, the BBC has dropped a documentary film about the Israel-Hamas conflict, announcing that it will no longer move forward with Gaza: Doctors Under Attack. The BBC greenlit Doctors Under Attack last year from Basement Films, the production company run by former Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear. More from Deadline International Insider: '28 Years Later' Arrives; Landmark Netflix-TF1 Deal; NHK At 100 BBC Hits AI Startup Perplexity With Legal Threat Over Content Scraping Concerns BBC's BAFTA-Winning Doc Series 'Once Upon A Time In...' Turns Eye To Middle East It was meant to spotlight the plight of medics in Gaza, but production was paused in April following the scandal over Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, the HOYO Films doc that was found to have been narrated by the child of a Hamas minister. A BBC investigation into How to Survive a Warzone remains ongoing. Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, is examining the failings that led to the film being broadcast. Now, the BBC has said it will not screen Doctors Under Attack, or carry any of its contents in news bulletins, after discussions with Basement 'reached the end of the road' on Thursday. In a lengthy statement, the BBC said: 'We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC. 'Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world's most trusted broadcaster. Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films.' The corporation continued: 'We want to thank the doctors and contributors and we are sorry we could not tell their stories. The BBC will continue to cover events in Gaza impartially.' De Pear has been contacted for comment. It is not clear what brought the talks between the BBC and Basement to a head. De Pear did, however, personally criticize BBC director-general Tim Davie on a public platform at the Sheffield DocFest on Thursday. He said Davie is 'just a PR person,' who has meddled in editorial decisions and is leading an organization that is 'failing' in its duty to report on the Gaza crisis properly. 'Something needs to happen because they are making decisions from a PR defensive point of view rather than a journalistic one. If you make a decision on a journalistic basis you can defend it, but if you make it on a PR basis, you can't,' de Pear said, per a report in Broadcast. The BBC said it spent weeks with de Pear attempting to get Gaza doctors' voices heard. 'Our aim was to find a way to air some of the material in our news programmes, in line with our impartiality standards, before the review [into How to Survive a Warzone] was published,' it said. The BBC added: 'Contrary to some reports, since we paused production of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack in April, it has not undergone the BBC's final pre-broadcast sign-off processes.' The BBC's coverage of the Gaza crisis has stoked strong feelings on both sides of the conflict, with How to Survive a Warzone illustrating the fraught nature of the debate. The UK's Jewish community was appalled that the BBC screened a film narrated by a boy with Hamas connections that were not declared to viewers. Others argued that the BBC's decision to pull How To Survive a Warzone was an act of 'censorship' that played into Israel's agenda. Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
The National
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Frankie Boyle among stars to blast BBC over Gaza documentary delay
MORE than 600 famous figures including comedian Frankie Boyle and Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon have accused on the BBC of 'political suppression' in its decision to delay the airing of a documentary on Gaza's doctors. The documentary titled Gaza: Medics Under Fire was reportedly ready to be broadcast in February but has been shelved following the controversy around How to Survive a Warzone, which featured the son of a Hamas official. The production firm behind the documentary on Gaza doctors, Basement Films, said the BBC has postponed airing the film until after a review into How to Survive a Warzone is completed. A number of NHS doctors are reportedly writing to the BBC to air their frustrations over its decision to delay the screening of the film after they helped to introduce the documentary team to their counterparts in Gaza. Now more than 600 prominent figures have signed an open letter to director-general Tim Davie expressing 'deep concern' about the 'censorship of Palestinian voices'. READ MORE: BBC 'sorry' for wrong pronouns during Supreme Court gender report The letter accuses the BBC of 'demonstrating bias' in its reporting of events in Gaza, including in repeatedly delaying the broadcast of Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which signatories say represents 'political suppression'. 'This documentary was scheduled to air in January but has since been indefinitely delayed. It has undergone rigorous editorial scrutiny. It has been fact-checked and signed off repeatedly, and yet the BBC refuses to set a broadcast date,' the letter states. 'This is not editorial caution. It's political suppression. The BBC has provided no timeline, no transparency. Such decisions reinforce the systemic devaluation of Palestinian lives in our media. 'It's hard not to conclude that the BBC's gatekeeping is rooted in racism. The message is clear: Programmes about the ongoing genocide, told from Palestinian perspectives, are held to a different standard. 'If the voices of Palestinian doctors aren't considered credible – just as the voices of Palestinian children were previously dismissed – then whose voices does the BBC consider legitimate? 'Every day this film is delayed, the BBC fails in its commitment to inform the public, fails in its journalistic responsibility to report the truth, and fails in its duty of care to these brave contributors.' Demanding a release date for the documentary, the letter added: 'No news organisation should quietly decide behind closed doors whose stories are worth telling.' (Image: PA) Other signatories of the letter include ex-BBC journalist Karishma Patel – who quit the BBC over its reporting on Gaza – and actress Maxine Peake (above). Historian William Dalrymple has also criticised the broadcaster's decision as he said the broadcaster is 'wrecking its reputation' over its failure to hold the Israeli Government to account. The independent documentary production company Basement Films said it was 'deeply disappointed' that its film had not yet been aired yet, amid suggestions that the BBC had reversed an original plan to press ahead with the screening. 'There is no moral or professional reason why a mistake in one film should repeatedly prevent the release of another film,' the company said. The BBC has been approached for comment. Calls for BBC to become 'public service mutual' Elsewhere, media expert Tom Mills has called major reform at the BBC insisting it should become 'public service mutual', with members actively involved in its operations. Mills – who wrote The BBC: Myth of a Public Service – said these powers will create a 'direct relationship' between the public and the broadcaster, enabling them to hold management to account and be involved in setting the BBC's strategy. (Image: Tom Mills) The Aston University sociologist has made the call ahead of the review of the BBC's Royal Charter in 2027, which defines the BBC's constitution and public purposes. He points out that while the BBC is funded by the public, they have no control over how it works, while governments 'have interfered' with the broadcaster's independence and 'weakened' its public service mission. 'Unless the BBC is radically reformed, it faces a bleak future of dwindling audiences, collapsing funding and eventual irrelevance, depriving British audiences of one of the few national institutions with a duty to serve their needs and interests,' he said. 'The next BBC Royal Charter should mutualise the BBC, transforming it into an organisation owned and controlled by the British public. 'A mutualised BBC would continue to be an independent public service media institution, but one founded on a genuinely democratic relationship with the public.' Setting out proposals for the reform, Mills said members of a mutualised BBC would be 'sovereign' and represented by a members' council which would organise members' participation in the BBC's activities and directly hold the BBC executive to account. He added that any future funding mechanism by the BBC must be 'free from government control' and rated progressively on ability to pay. Other proposals include:
South Wales Argus
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Susan Sarandon and Frankie Boyle among signatories urging BBC to air Gaza film
Figures from across the film, TV, journalism and cultural sectors have signed their name in an open letter urging BBC director general Tim Davie to air the unreleased documentary, Gaza: Medics Under Fire. The letter has been sent on behalf of the UK Screen Industry, made up of a 'group of concerned film and TV professionals'. Tim Davie, director general of the BBC (Andrew Milligan/PA) The documentary, which includes eyewitness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics, was due to air in January. But it was delayed by the BBC until an ongoing review into a different programme in the region was completed. The BBC pulled the documentary How to Survive a Warzone in February after it emerged its 13-year old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The letter, signed by more than a dozen anonymous BBC staff, said: 'This documentary was scheduled to air in January but has since been indefinitely delayed. It has undergone rigorous editorial scrutiny. It has been fact-checked and signed off repeatedly, and yet the BBC refuses to set a broadcast date. 'This is not editorial caution. It's political suppression. The BBC has provided no timeline, no transparency. Such decisions reinforce the systemic devaluation of Palestinian lives in our media. 'It's hard not to conclude that the BBC's gatekeeping is rooted in racism. The message is clear: Programmes about the ongoing genocide, told from Palestinian perspectives, are held to a different standard. 'Every day this film is delayed, the BBC fails in its commitment to inform the public, fails in its journalistic responsibility to report the truth, and fails in its duty of care to these brave contributors.' Also among the 600 or so signatories are Channel 4 News international editor, Lindsey Hilsum, and actors Game of Thrones' Indira Varma, Killing Eve's Dame Harriet Walter, and Sweetpea star Olivia Cooke. Director Mike Leigh also added his name to the list along with actress Miriam Margolyes and Bend It Like Beckham's Juliet Stevenson. Ruhi Hamid, a filmmaker who signed the letter, said: 'As a documentary filmmaker, I know how much work, risk, and responsibility goes into telling the truth – especially in places like Gaza. 'When the BBC, a public service broadcaster, chooses to suppress a film that highlights the lifesaving work of doctors under siege, it doesn't just fail the filmmakers. It fails the public. 'It sends a message that some truths are too inconvenient to air, and that some lives – especially Palestinian lives—are less worthy of compassion or coverage. 'That's not just editorial judgment. That's a failure of journalistic integrity – and it's dangerous for our entire industry.' Rose Glandfield, a documentary editor who also signed the letter added: 'As a Jewish woman from a family of pacifists, I was raised with the belief that our humanity is defined by how we respond to the suffering of others, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or religion. Bearing witness to injustice and standing up for those in danger is not only a moral imperative, it is a core part of my identity.' The production company behind the new documentary, Basement Films, said they gathered 'searing testimony from multiple Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers' and are 'desperate' to confirm a release date. The broadcaster has responded to the delay and said it will release the documentary 'as soon as possible'. A BBC spokesperson said: 'We are committed to journalism which tells our audiences the stories of this war, including what is happening in Gaza. This documentary is a powerful piece of reporting and we will broadcast it as soon as possible. 'We have taken an editorial decision not to do so while we have an ongoing review into a previous documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.' The BBC previously apologised over 'serious flaws' in releasing How To Survive a Warzone with Davies saying he lost 'trust' in the film after learning of the Hamas connection. It is understood that the BBC will respond to the letter in due course and will not cancel the documentary. The broadcaster launched a review into the film and has delayed the release of the new documentary with no current date in place for when it will air.
