The Telegraph reports that the BBC “has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain’s youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.”
“Private Johnson Beharry’s courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act, saving his vehicle’s crew despite his own terrible injuries earned him a Victoria Cross.”
It was, according to the Telegraph “too positive” for the BBC.
The BBC’s retreat from the project, which had the working title Victoria Cross, has sparked accusations of cowardice and will reignite the debate about the broadcaster’s alleged lack of patriotism.
If this story is true, it seems to me that there is not much of a debate left, is there? On the other hand, one could, of course, argue that a network should not be patriotic in the first place, with which I tend to agree: the BBC should not be ‘patriotic’. The BBC should report the news, both positive and negative, namely objective. Now, by choosing to ignore events that are considered to be ‘positive’, the BBC is anything but objective.
Samizdata comments:
If this story about Britain’s so-called ‘public service’ state owned broadcasting channel is true, the end of the BBC cannot come to soon.
Obviously, there is an if involved here.
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