Envoyer à un ami 
[*] "The media and enduring narrative".
[**] Voir "Excuses de R. Cristiano à l'AP pour son reportage sur le lynchage de deux réservistes israéliens".
08/07/08
The BBC has admitted it was wrong to broadcast during its 10pm news bulletin the graphic footage of a man being shot dead in Jerusalem.
More than 120 people complained about the story on the BBC1 bulletin on Wednesday, which showed police shooting dead a man who drove a bulldozer into vehicles in Jerusalem.
The programme's editor, Craig Oliver, justified the footage on the BBC editors' blog the following day, saying it was "important and illuminating very occasionally to see the reality of violence".
But in a statement on the BBC's complaints website today, the corporation said the programme had made a mistake.
"It's not normally the BBC's policy to show the moment of death on screen. These are always extremely difficult decisions to make," said the statement.
"However, on reflection, we felt that the pictures featured on Wednesday's News at Ten did not strike the right editorial balance between the demands of accuracy and the potential impact on the programme's audience."
The film was shot by the BBC, which has a bureau office on the busy road in downtown Jerusalem where the attack took place.
Tim Franks, the BBC's Jerusalem correspondent, was sitting in his office overlooking the Jaffa Road when the attack took place.
He warned viewers at the start of his report that the cameraman had captured the shooting on film.
Oliver, writing on his blog the day after the bulletin, said: "The scene was disturbing, and it was a fine call, but I believe it is important and illuminating very occasionally to see the reality of violence.
"I fully understand the concerns, but this is why I took the decision to show it."
The number of complaints received by the BBC had risen to 121 by the end of the day yesterday.
The footage was also shown on the 6pm news, also edited by Oliver, but frozen just before the man was shot.
The BBC's editorial guidelines state: "When real life violence, or its aftermath, is shown on television or reported on radio and online we need to strike a balance between the demands of accuracy and the dangers of desensitisation or unjustified distress."
John Plunkett
© Guardian.co
Mis en ligne le 8 juillet 2008, par M. Macina, sur le site upjf.org