Television news should no longer be impartial, Sir David Attenborough says-19 Dec 2010

Television news should no longer be impartial, Sir David Attenborough says

Television channels should be allowed to broadcast opinionated and politically biased news programmes, Sir David Attenborough has said.
David Attenborough: Amazing pictures of animals from new BBC David Attenborough Life series
A ten part nature series about animal behaviour, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, will be at the heart of BBC One's new autumn schedule Photo: BBC
By Martin Evans 1:47PM GMT 19 Dec 2010



The veteran broadcaster said the large number of channels available to the viewer meant the strict rules governing impartiality on the airwaves were becoming outdated.

His opinions echo recent comments by BBC Director General Mark Thompson, who has argued that British broadcasters should be free to launch an equivalent to America’s right-wing Fox news channel.

Mr Thompson said the rise of internet journalism meant it was no longer appropriate for public services broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to have a monopoly over the news airwaves.

Sir David Attenborough, 84, who has been broadcasting for the BBC for over 50-years, agreed it was possibly time to relax the rules.

Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show he said: “I think that the multiplicity of channels makes a quite totally fundamental difference to the sort of television I went into which was a monopoly. If you are a monopoly, you have to be unbiased.

Related Articles

*
Nobel Peace Prize: the fundamental principles of Charter 08
19 Dec 2010
*
We must help our children connect with nature
19 Dec 2010
*
Widdecombe?s flair
19 Dec 2010
*
The Ashes 2010: 10 reasons why the Ashes is better than the World Cup
19 Dec 2010
*
Why aren't I hosting Strictly? The truth can now be told...
19 Dec 2010
*
Putin: Russia will join the euro one day
19 Dec 2010

“But if you have 50 channels then maybe there should be areas where people should say, not exactly what they like, but at least be biased.”

Fox News, which broadcasts news with an unashamedly right wing slant, has become hugely popular in the United States, winning the ratings war against its rival CNN.

But in the UK the broadcasting regulator Ofcom, ensures that new channels here are unable to express political opinion in the same way newspapers are able.

Sparking a debate over the issue last week though Mr Thompson said: “There was logic in allowing impartial broadcasters to have a monopoly over the broadcasting space. But in future, maybe there should be a broad range of choices.

“Why shouldn’t the public be able to see and hear, as well as read a range of opinionated journalism and then make up their own mind what they think about it?”

Mr Thompson has insisted that BBC News, which is funded by the licence payer, will remain impartial but has said views regarded as extreme should be broadcast on its services.

The broadcaster came in for widespread criticism last year when Nick Griffin, the leader of the far-right British National Party, was invited onto the Question Time programme.

But the broadcaster defended the decision insisting impartiality rules meant it had a duty to invite him onto the programme after he was elected to the European Parliament.

At the time Mr Thompson said: “If there is a case for censorship, it should be debated and decided in Parliament. Political censorship cannot be outsourced to the BBC or anyone else.”