Striking the balance
168. During this inquiry, two allegations of bias
in BBC World Service broadcasts were brought to our attention.
The first involved the Hausa Service of the BBC WS, which is broadcast
in west Africa. There are approximately 24.2 million speakers
of Hausa in Africa, predominantly in Nigeria.[232]
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, alleged in a report that the service
was consistently anti-Christian and pro-Muslim in its reporting
of events in that country, where there have been very serious
inter-religious clashes between followers of the two faiths.[233]
169. We raised this issue with Mr Chapman when
he gave oral evidence to us. He had not had time to examine the
allegations in detail at that time, but stated that the normal
procedure in such cases was that:
I would ask the complainant for specific examples
of their concerns ... then I would talk to the head of the Hausa
service about it and indeed I would ask for a translation to be
made into English of relevant programmes in that regard.[234]
He did note, though, the specific pressures faced
by the service in question:
the Hausa service has a huge responsibility:
it has one of the largest audiences in the World Service; it is
operating in extremely difficult terrain and circumstances; the
staff there are extremely aware that a word out of place, an ill-judged
phrase, a misunderstanding of a story, can lead to very serious
consequences.[235]
170. As promised, Mr Chapman reported back to us
in detail after the oral evidence session on the allegations and
his memorandum is printed in full at the end of this Report.[236]
He told us that he had had the relevant broadcasts translated
by an independent linguist and inquired into the editorial decisions
made. In his memorandum, he responded to the allegations one by
one and in each case was able to show that the service had acted
properly throughout.
171. The other allegations of bias focused on the
reporting of the long-running Israel-Palestine conflict. The World
Service had itself broadcast a programme in which it was reported
that Israel and British Jews had accused the BBC WS of having
a constant bias against Israel, in favour of the Palestinian cause,
in its reporting of events from the Middle East.[237]
Mr Chapman said that:
I would reassure you that at the regular editorial
meetings which I chair, this is one of the issues we discuss regularly,
pretty well all the time. Have we covered the story accurately,
objectively and fairly? One of the ways we test that is by asking
whether they have managed to elicit comment from all the relevant
parties. If, over time, it is becoming clear that an imbalance
is going on, then you have to strive all the harder to make up
that imbalance and make sure you get the right range of views.
In the case of the Arabic service, I know the Arabic service has
many contributions from spokesmen for the Israeli Government.
Just because it is broadcasting in Arabic and largely heard in
North Africa and the Middle East but not so much in Israel, does
not mean that it is not going about its job just as objectively
as the English services do.[238]
Again, though, he promised to investigate further.
172. Subsequently, Mr Chapman wrote to us and
explained that the programme in which the allegation had been
made was itself responding to a recent report from Glasgow University
which had concluded that the BBC was consistently pro-Israeli
in its reporting. Mr Chapman noted that:
the BBC often gets complaints from Israeli officials
about items about the Middle East and that those are often followed
up by co-ordinated e-mail campaigns. While it is true that the
BBC gets complaints from both the pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian
sides about our reporting of the Middle East, it is certainly
true that in recent years the majority of the pressure has come
from the pro-Israeli side and that the e-mail campaigns come almost
exclusively from the pro-Israeli side.
The BBC has no problem at all with receiving
views or complaints from anyone on any issue. People should contact
us and we should listen, and, of course, explore their concerns
fully, and let them know the outcome of their complaints.[239]
He concluded that:
In the World Service, I, and the team, are committed
to impartial and accurate journalism. Recent independent studies
by the Royal Institute of International Affairs and other pieces
of audience research have provided strong evidence that we are
meeting this commitment. But we have to be vigilant every day
about this challenge.[240]
We welcome this commitment.
173. We conclude that the BBC World Service, its
editors and staff, have an unenviable task of producing considered
and unprejudiced reports in a variety of very difficult circumstances
across the world. In an increasingly polarised world, access to
unbiased news is more vital than ever before and we commend the
World Service for its wholehearted commitment to impartial and
honest reporting.
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