 The BBC has re-edited some of its coverage of the London Underground and bus bombings to avoid labelling the perpetrators as "terrorists", it was disclosed yesterday. Early reporting of the attacks on the BBC's website spoke of terrorists but the same coverage was changed to describe the attackers simply as "bombers". The BBC's guidelines state that its credibility is undermined by the "careless use of words which carry emotional or value judgments". Consequently, "the word 'terrorist' itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding" and its use should be "avoided", the guidelines say.
| How does he talk with all that meal in his mouth? I'd say "terrorist" carries the meaning of four bombings of civilian targets in downtown London pretty daggone well, myself, regardless of the associated emotional and value judgments. Sometimes emotional and value judgments are valid. |
Rod Liddle, a former editor of the Today programme, has accused the BBC of "institutionalised political correctness" in its coverage of British Muslims. A BBC spokesman said last night: "The word terrorist is not banned from the BBC."
| "We sent it out for cleaning. It'll be ready again Thursday." |
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