From the Media Bias Files: Weeping For Arafat
October 15, 2012 15:50 by Simon Plosker
Welcome to the first in a new feature where we look back and highlight issues of media bias and content from years past.
While the European Union has been the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, back in October 2004, another questionable Nobel laureate, Yasser Arafat lay critically ill in his Ramallah compound.
The BBC’s Barbara Plett described Arafat’s departure by helicopter en route to a Paris hospital where he eventually died. While apathetic Palestinians declined to give him a heroic sendoff, Plett asked:
But where were the people, I wondered, the mass demonstrations of solidarity, the frantic expressions of concern? Was this another story we Western journalists were getting wrong, bombarding the world with news of what we think is an historic event, while the locals get on with their lives?
Yet when the helicopter carrying the frail old man rose above his ruined compound, I started to cry… without warning.
In a fawning personal tribute to the ailing terrorist leader, Plett opined that “Mr Arafat’s life has been one of sheer dedication and resilience.”
[Click below to listen to Barbara Plett's report.]
Despite the outrage, Plett was initially cleared by the BBC’s head of editorial complaints but a listener appealed. Eventually, in November 2005, the BBC Governors upheld part of the appeal concluding that the reference to crying did breach the guidelines on due impartiality.
The BBC’s director of news, Helen Boaden apologized for what she described as an “editorial misjudgment”. She said it appeared Plett “unintentionally gave the impression of over-identifying with Yasser Arafat and his cause”.
Whatever gave you that impression?
Image: CC BY-SA HonestReporting.com, flickr/Sam Howzit
From the Media Bias Files: Weeping For Arafat | Blogs about Israel aggregation
4:24 pm
Oct 15, 2012
[...] article can be viewed at From the Media Bias Files: Weeping For Arafat on [...]
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De los Archivos de Sesgos Mediáticos: llorar por Arafat « Unidos x Israel
7:40 pm
Oct 15, 2012
[...] del 15 de Octubre del 2012 Artículo traducido por ReporteHonesto de HonestReporting, escrito por Simon Plosker. Bienvenidos a la primera presentación de una [...]
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emes
8:00 pm
Oct 15, 2012
…yes, the tears ran, uncontrollably, down her legs!!
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geoff
9:02 pm
Oct 15, 2012
That broadcast was a disgrace. That it was broadcast at all shows the extent of the institutional anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian bias that exists throughout the BBC. The BBC only places its job vacancies in the Guardian, which is no friend of Israel. As an organisation that is funded by the public. it should advertise in all parts of the media, both printed and on the internet. Alternatively, it should lose the licence fee and fend for itself in a very difficult commercial world.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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elia meghnagi
9:58 pm
Oct 15, 2012
lasrt sunday, BBC NEWS (RADIO4) COMMENTING ABOUT THE EU’S AWARD OF
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE INTERVIEWED AN EXPERT WHO, RESPONDING TO THE
BBC’s SCHEPTISISM : REPLIED : ” WELL THEY GAVE THE PRIZE TO PEREZ WHO
WENT ON A KILL ING PALESTINIANS IN A LABANESE VILLAGE” (The words are not exact)
The BBC never even attempted to offer a correction.
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Lynette
10:45 am
Oct 16, 2012
It’s important to put Barbara Plett’s comments into the context of continuing nasty anti- Israel broadcasts. Iin just October 2004.alone on the main evening news Orla Geurin ( who later won an MBE ) focused in on a story -one that sounded a pure invention – of a deaf mute that Israeli’s killed “just for looking” On BBC Radio there was a report that stated that Israel attacks Palestinians to provoke them to violence. On BBC 24 a scene of Israeil’s dancing at Simchat torah was used to make a link to Israeli’s rejoicing at the death of a Palestinian terrrorist.And on BBC radio 4 a popular Sunday broadcaster made anti-Israel ( anti Semitic) remarks about the “Good Samaritan”
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From the Media Bias Files: Weeping For Arafat | The Conservative Papers
2:16 pm
Oct 16, 2012
[...] CC BY-SA HonestReporting.com, flickr/Sam Howzit VN:F [1.9.20_1166]calculating…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)topsyWidgetPreload({ "url": [...]
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Stephen
11:05 pm
Oct 16, 2012
I look at Haaretz online regularly and read in it many articles that Honest Reporting would protest about if printed/broadcast by the Guardian or BBC and HR’s commentators would have apoplexy I’m afraid that constant carping about their output is going to achieve nothing.
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Mike lampard
9:59 pm
Oct 18, 2012
What a stupid journalist, or something that called herself a journalist to weep for arguably the most evil man of his generation; guilty of murdering seemingly millions of innocent Jews and Christians, and one who should have been written off a lot earlier than he was. How twisted has our reasoning become to bemoan the passing of such a great butcher!
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martin
4:04 pm
Oct 21, 2012
Guerin, Bowen etc etc etc. all their political journalists share a common bond. It ain’t James. 007 is far too right wing for that. So long as Israel is the centre fold of their hatred, then the BBC can claim that tax payers receive value. Especially when the BBC has such a highly paid establishment. If an ordinary person carried our their expenses etc in the same legally corrupt manner as the Beeb and Parliament, they would be arrested and charged for Fraud
I can’t even be nothered to look at the BBC 24 hours news when I’m abroad. Why watch my highly taxed monies being used for their communistic values. It is these values which are destroying Brtain, and I dare say, most of europe.
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martin
11:57 am
Oct 22, 2012
Now in the open is the fact that the BBC establishment turned a blind eye to paedophiles, such as Saville. The Romanian Communist authorities helped Arafat obtain the services of young children and boys in particular. They filmed the events during his stay in the country and i understand that Israeli authorities also now have obtained these tapes.
Obviously the far leftwing fascists. or communists at the BBC enjoy undoing all the traditional Judeo Christian (well obviously, most of it is Jewish) values that stood most of europe in good stead for so long.
There is no doubt, these people are evil. It is not a case of double standards, just good old fashioned Jew hatred
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Scott
4:31 am
Oct 23, 2012
Wherever Arafat is I hope she and Gorge Galloway join him soon.
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martin
12:03 pm
Oct 23, 2012
I suppose you are aware that Suha Arafat, the paedophile’s widow has received an annual stipend of $16million on condition that; she does not discuss his death and to stay on the island of Malta.
Question to our economists out there. How much of the bottompless pit of tax payers donors aid has to be kept on deposit to pay this amount?
Back in the late 1980′s -90′s, the US STate Department was concerned enough to raise the spectre of Fakestinian corruption and asked where the missiong billions of money has gone? None of the monies apparently were accounted for. Yes a secular democratic state of Fakestine is well worth NOT the corruption and hate of its leaders and people. Yukh!
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