BBC bans newscaster's crucifix

[Teddy Bear]

Listening to Nick Ferrari on LBC this morning, one of the subjects he was talking about was an article that one of the newspapers had run concerning the BBC demanding that one of their newscasters remove her crucifix during the programme. The reasons they apparently gave was because it might give the impression that she was swayed by her Christian beliefs in the way she presented a story.

I've run a Google and Yahoo search looking for more information on this story but do far have been unable to find anything. If anyone has more info or links to provide I'd be grateful.

Since the BBC has gotten so far up their own assholes with this PC bullshit perhaps their initials could now stand for
Bending Backwards Copulation

[Teddy Bear]

Finally found a link to this story in the Daily Mail webpage.

BBC bosses in PC row over newsreader's cross

Last updated at 10:04am on 4th October 2006

Millions of women across Britain wear this small and insignificant piece of jewellery. But yesterday, in yet another example of PC gone mad, a necklace worn by TV newsreader Fiona Bruce sparked a row among BBC bosses.

The piece of jewellery in question was a small cross on a necklace, which the presenter recently wore while presenting the Ten O'Clock News.

She has worn it for some years, in fact, but now some at the BBC want to ban her from wearing the accessory, with a former policy-maker at the organisation describing it as "a potential mistake" that might suggest some kind of religious affiliation.

The BBC was debating whether a female Muslim newsreader should be allowed to wear a headscarf while reading the news when the issue over Ms Bruce's cross was brought up.

The matter was then brought to the attention to the director of BBC News, Helen Boaden who raised the matter in a meeting.

A source who attended the meeting said: "It was argued that BBC staff on screen should not wear anything which hints or directly points to a political or religious leaning and that the cross contravened this and should not be allowed."

Stephen Whittle, a former controller of editorial policy at the BBC said that the fact that Fiona Bruce had worn a cross while reading the news was a mistake.

"A newsreader should not let themselves get in the way of a story by wearing things that make the audience wonder about the newsreader's own position on a story," said Whittle.

It is understood, however, that Ms Bruce has not been asked to remove the necklace, and that the BBC does not have any official guidelines on the wearing of religious symbols.

I highlighted a particular paragraph above. Wouldn't an audience expect and feel that the media organisation that has been paid for by the citizens of a western democracy represents the ideals of that democracy?

Far as I can see it was Christian ideals that made the BBC possible. Why do they feel they have to appease or ingratiate themselves to other regimes, beliefs, faiths, etc?

If it's a matter of being multicultural, then one has to wonder if societies that practise polygamy, stoning, decapitation, etc would be viewed by the BBC as equal to the monogamous, liberal, one we still have here.

[Teddy Bear]

A newscaster appears at the beginning of the show without a poppy, then later in the programme has one on. Nothing really to get excited about, and certainly should not generate an article in a major newspaper, let alone 2
.
It's fair to assume that every intelligent being who values the freedoms we have in our society would desire media figures and celebrities to wear a poppy to honour the war dead from the First World War.

However it shows the knee-jerk reaction that people are having about the BBC that this temporary ommission did cause articles to be run about it. Now why do you think that is? Your comments are welcome.

BBC's Huw mysteriously acquires poppy half-way through news bulletin
By PAUL REVOIR, TV Correspondent

In the current climate of political correctness at the BBC, which has seen executives agonising over whether news-readers can wear religious symbols or not, viewers could have been forgiven for thinking that the PC brigade were at it again.

When BBC Ten O'Clock news presenter Huw Edwards took to the news-room floor during Monday night's bulletin - viewers were immediately alerted to the fact that he has forgotten something - his poppy.

Viewers were doubly confused when the poppy suddenly appeared on Edwards jacket after the broadcaster cut away to an interview with its top political correspondent Nick Robinson some way into the show. Had the BBC reacted to complaints from viewers?

The disappearance of the symbol from Edward's suit, which remembers Britain's war dead, led to speculation that BBC was up to its old tricks and had now decided that even the poppy was being classed as a controversial symbol.

BBC News chiefs have today quelled fears that the emblem slip-up was anything to do with its current fixation with symbols.

Instead they claimed that Edwards, 45, had not pinned the poppy properly to his clothing so that it fell off just as the programming was going on air. It was reattached to the news-reader when the camera had cut away.

The corporation recently came under fire after it was revealed that they had agonised over whether to let Fiona Bruce wear a necklace with a cross on it - amid fears it would suggest a religious affiliation.

Some BBC News chiefs felt it may compromise the corporation's image of impartiality.

The BBC had also got itself in a pickle over whether it would ever let a Muslim news-reader wear a veil, over claims it would damage the presenter ability to communicate the news.

Recently the BBC's TV news chief said he did not have a problem with news-readers wearing religious symbols providing they were discreet.

But all BBC News presenters have been wearing the poppy over the last week, until Edwards' slip-up.

The poppy incident marked an eventual night for the Welsh news-reader after it was revealed that a contagious eye infection almost caused him to miss his broadcast.

Edwards was forced to have a last minute screen test before presenting the news show, after suffering with conjunctivitis in his right eye. Thankfully he passed the test, although was forced to appear on screen with a badly bloodshot eye.

The BBC claimed that only people with high definition TV's had picked up the fact that Edwards eye was bloodshot.

He had previously worked on the Six O'clock News and BBC News 24 and has also fronted BBC shows The Story of Wales, Songs of Praise and Panorama and hosted coverage of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Service at St Paul's Cathedral.

BBC Ten O'clock News spokesman Paul Rasmussen said: "Huw has had conjunctivitis in his right eye and was in pain before the show last night.

"The condition can make it painful to look into bright lights so he had to have a screen test before going on.

"Fortunately he passed the test and was alright to do the show - it was a bit of a scare for the producers though."

Father of five Huw, from Llanelli, Wales, became anchorman for the BBC's flagship news broadcast in 2002 following the retirement of Michael Buerk.

And another at The Guardian