QUOTE
Julia Day
Tuesday November 25, 2003
BBC director general Greg Dyke delivered a stinging criticism of US news coverage of the war in Iraq as he collected a prestigious award for his contribution to broadcasting at an international awards ceremony last night.
Mr Dyke said it was the BBC's duty to stand up to the government as he was presented with an international Emmy directorate award for his outstanding achievement in TV broadcasting at the ceremony in New York.
\"News organisations should be in the business of balancing their coverage, not banging the drum for one side or the other. This is something which seemed to get lost in American reporting of the war,\" said Mr Dyke.
He said only four out of 840 experts interviewed on US news outlets during the conflict opposed the war and the situation would not have been tolerated at the BBC.
\"Telling people what they want to hear is not doing them any favours. It may not be comfortable to challenge governments or even popular opinion but it's what we are here to do,\" he said.
In a robust defence of public service broadcasting Mr Dyke said TV was not \"just another commodity\" like Starbucks or Coca-Cola and disagreed with those who said it should be left to the market.
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Tuesday November 25, 2003
BBC director general Greg Dyke delivered a stinging criticism of US news coverage of the war in Iraq as he collected a prestigious award for his contribution to broadcasting at an international awards ceremony last night.
Mr Dyke said it was the BBC's duty to stand up to the government as he was presented with an international Emmy directorate award for his outstanding achievement in TV broadcasting at the ceremony in New York.
\"News organisations should be in the business of balancing their coverage, not banging the drum for one side or the other. This is something which seemed to get lost in American reporting of the war,\" said Mr Dyke.
He said only four out of 840 experts interviewed on US news outlets during the conflict opposed the war and the situation would not have been tolerated at the BBC.
\"Telling people what they want to hear is not doing them any favours. It may not be comfortable to challenge governments or even popular opinion but it's what we are here to do,\" he said.
In a robust defence of public service broadcasting Mr Dyke said TV was not \"just another commodity\" like Starbucks or Coca-Cola and disagreed with those who said it should be left to the market.
....