MUSEUM OF BROADCASTING SEMINAR SERIES, THE: BBC SEMINAR: CENSORSHIP AND THE COVERAGE OF NEWS AROUND THE WORLD {LONG VERSION}
Summary
The second of twelve seminars about the BBC conducted by The Museum of Television & Radio, then known as The Museum of Broadcasting. Museum president and seminar host Robert M. Batscha introduces moderator Robert MacNeil of "The MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour." MacNeil then introduces the panel: NBC News president Larry Grossman; BBC assistant director general Alan Protheroe; BBC South African correspondent Michael Buerke; and BBC Washington, D.C., news correspondent Tim Sebastian. MacNeil opens the discussion by saying, "We're going to talk about censorship -- overt and subtle."
A video clip is shown of Buerke in South Africa encountering that nation's censorship first hand while working. The panel then discusses the topic at hand, leading into a question-and-answer session with the audience. The following topics are discussed, among others: the blame that officials of South Africa place on the European and American media for inciting disorder in their country; the concept of "journalistic objectivity"; censorship in the Soviet Union; the spurious nature of the television news footage that comes out of the Soviet Union; news reporting in Poland; criticism of public organizations; the tendency for those in power to hide their mistakes and manipulate the press; the popularity of Ronald Reagan as president; the possible future of South Africa; the BBC's dealings with Irish terrorist organizations; the importance of not giving anyone an unchallenged platform in the news; the definition of censorship; Reagan's withholding of information on the sale of arms to Iran; and the effects on a reporter of reporting from places plagued by injustice and political upheaval.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 20, 1986 12:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:30:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T87:0017
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert M. Batscha … Host
- Robert MacNeil … Moderator
- Michael Buerke … Panelist
- Larry Grossman … Panelist
- Alan Protheroe … Panelist
- Tim Sebastian … Panelist
- Ronald Reagan