“Asymmetric” Nature Of Israel-Hamas War Makes Impartial Coverage Difficult, Says Senior BBC News Exec
deadline.comThe “asymmetric” nature of the Israel-Hamas War has made it a difficult story to cover impartially, one of the most senior BBC News execs has said.
Jonathan Munro said “striking a balance” can be difficult for the BBC’s news teams when they are not allowed on the ground in Gaza.
The BBC’s coverage of the conflict has been intensely scrutinized since Hamas’ October 7 attack and news items are regularly flagged in its regular complaints assessments – the most recent being coverage of the death of a child in Gaza, which said viewers felt she should have been described as “murdered” not “found dead.” “It is a very asymmetric conflict,” Munro told the Communications & Digital Committee’s inquiry into the future of news. “We are not on the ground in Gaza – we can’t be – and so it is a difficult story to strike a balance.
Balance is not necessarily achieved in one program, it’s about balancing across our coverage.” Munro, who is Senior Controller, News Content, and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness, had to field plenty of questions around impartiality especially regarding coverage of the tragic war, which is about to enter its sixth month.
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