Ben de Pear has a deep understanding of British media, having spent more than thirty years leading some of its most respected organizations.
Stream Gaza: Doctors Under Attack on Channel 4 outside the UK for free
However, his latest experience with the biggest British media outlet—the BBC—made the experienced journalist question the current state of British media.
In 2022, after finishing a successful 10-year role as editor of Channel 4 News, de Pear started Basement Films, a documentary production company. Since then, the company has released several award-winning films, including For Sama, which won over 100 awards like Cannes and BAFTA, and was also nominated for an Oscar.
Also Read: Gaza Film’s Producer Says BBC of Trying to Gag Him Over Decision to Drop It
The BBC asked de Pear and his company to make a documentary about Gaza but later chose not to air it because of concerns about “impartiality.”
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack is a harsh and honest film showing how Israel has deliberately destroyed health care in the Palestinian territory. It documents hospitals being bombed, medics being killed, and a healthcare system overwhelmed and broken under siege.
As de Pear told Anadolu in an interview, the documentary was developed over many months with BBC editorial teams. Despite this, the BBC eventually decided not to show it. Later, Channel 4 and Zeteo bought the film and released it for everyone to see.
We first worked with BBC Panorama, but after two months they dropped it. They said they had to do three films about the election. Then we worked with BBC Eye from about June last year. We were hoping to get the program out by January. In January it was delayed, February delayed again. From around April and May onwards, they were very clear they weren’t going to run the whole film. We were very unhappy about that, and we got the film back. Channel 4 bought it.
said de Pear
Why the BBC pulled out remains, in de Pear’s own words, unclear and not convincing.
I think it was editorial concern created by political pressure. We do know that when we were trying to comply and get the program properly done, they were constantly worried what the Israeli lobby might say, and constantly pushing the balance of the program … towards ‘we need to make sure we don’t upset them too much.’ A very strange process – one that I’ve never had inside British media before. Channel 4 looked at the same film that the BBC looked at … and within five days they put it on air. They didn’t have the same concerns. And they’re regulated by the same body, under the same statutes.
he said, and then De Pear, with his decades of reporting and editorial experience, found it to be
He highlighted a wider editorial worry at the BBC about its Gaza coverage, which was also mentioned by BBC staff who wrote letters to management claiming the coverage was biased toward Israel. The most recent letter, sent last month, was signed by 121 BBC journalists and over 300 people from the media industry, including de Pear.
I think the BBC has reported a lot on Gaza. But much of their reporting has given false equivalence, as if this is an equal war … The coverage of Gaza has been bad. It hasn’t shown what we see on social media … There are too many dead children and too many dead civilians … for this to be seen as a symmetric war. I think the BBC is overly defensive, and it affects all of their coverage … I just think it’s lost its way on Gaza terribly.
he said
BBC fully committed to covering the conflict impartially
The BBC has remained firm despite criticism from staff and others who have accused it over its reporting on Gaza.
Robust discussions amongst our editorial teams about our journalism are an essential part of the editorial process. We have ongoing discussions about coverage and listen to feedback from staff, and we think these conversations are best had internally. Regarding our coverage of Gaza, the BBC is fully committed to covering the conflict impartially and has produced powerful coverage from the region. Alongside breaking news, ongoing analysis, and investigations, we have produced award winning documentaries such as Life and Death in Gaza, and Gaza 101. Tried very hard to find ways to tell the doctors’ stories on our platforms.
a BBC spokesperson said in a statement to Anadolu then On the controversy around de Pear’s documentary, the spokesperson said the BBC
One reason for the decision was worry about the social media activity of Ramita Navai, a British award-winning journalist and documentary maker who worked on Gaza: Doctors Under Attack.
Was taken … following public comments by de Pear at the Sheffield Documentary Festival, and another of the film’s directors, journalist Ramita Navai, who appeared on Radio 4’s Today discussing the war in Gaza. After (Navai) appeared on the Today programme and called Israel a ‘rogue state that’s committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing and mass murdering Palestinians,’ it was impossible for the BBC to broadcast the material without risking our impartiality. The BBC holds itself to the highest standards of impartiality and it would never be acceptable for any BBC journalist to express a personal opinion in this way. We believe this is one of the reasons we’re the world’s most trusted news provider. We were left with no choice but to walk away.
A June BBC report said the call to shelve the documentary, then said the BBC statement to Anadolu
Next Gaza film ‘probably won’t be for the BBC’
Even with the controversy over their last project, de Pear and Basement Films are not done covering Gaza.
We’ve made three documentaries on Gaza so far. The first one won a lot of awards. The second one, Israel’s Reel Extremism, is on Zeteo. The third is Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, and we’re going to make a fourth. But I think the next one probably won’t be for the BBC. Britain has a free press, and I think it has the conditions for a free press. I just don’t know why every broadcaster isn’t using those conditions
he said, and then Though de Pear is still, in his words, “a great defender of the BBC,” his conclusion is sobering
Source: AA.com