Tony Benn once said: “Broadcasting is really too important to be left to the broadcasters.” And it was perhaps with this in mind that he recently disregarded the BBC's decision not to air an appeal for the Gazan people by the Disaster Emergency Commitee (DEC), and announced details of the appeal himself on a live BBC news programme.
"As the BBC won't broadcast the appeal, I'm going to do it myself," Benn summarily announced during an interview. A flustered Maxine Mawhinney tried in vain to shut him down, only to have Benn bark back: "I'm going to do that. I'm sorry, you're not going to stop me. You're not going to stop me!" It was Tony Benn at his uncompromising best.
Should I ever acquire an elixir of life, I will immediately formulate a plan to spike Tony Benn's morning cuppa. At 83 years old, he is one of the most informed, passionate, formidable (and occasionally cantankerous) pensioners in the country. He's not afraid to tackle a behemoth like the BBC and call them out on the absurdity of their decisions, but we need him to continue fighting the good fight for as long as possible!
With rival commercial channels now planning to show the DEC appeal (and Sky still considering the request), the BBC is coming under increasing pressure to follow suit. By Sunday evening 11,000 complaints had been received from members of the public over the corporation's decision not to screen the appeal (against only 68 messages of support), while politicians, charities and religious leaders also lined up to lambast the likes of BBC director general Mark Thompson. And rightly so.
This is quite clearly a humanitarian appeal to help alleviate a truly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it's not about taking sides. That the BBC would choose impartiality over the very real need of thousands of suffering Gazans is truly astonishing. Especially after the corporation ran a DEC appeal for the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo only last November.
This is quite clearly a humanitarian appeal to help alleviate a truly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it's not about taking sides. That the BBC would choose impartiality over the very real need of thousands of suffering Gazans is truly astonishing. Especially after the corporation ran a DEC appeal for the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo only last November.
Come to think of it, the BBC has previously run DEC appeals for Sudan in 2004 (fronted by Natasha Kaplinsky); Kosovo in 1999 (fronted by the late Jill Dando); and Rwanda and the Former Yugolsavia in 1994 (fronted by Michael Palin and Valerie Singleton respectively).
Who does the BBC think it's kidding with this "impartiality" crap!
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