Remember there is a difference between freedom of speech and incitement.
That's the irony of it all - an hour before the episode that started all this aired Dispatches was covering much more serious incitement in "Undercover Mosque".
I've been thinking (far too much) about this whole issue and thought last night about Hollyoaks, which a couple of years ago had a long running racism storyline running which was highly praised.
So are people (sorry, I mean idiots!) saying it's OK for scripted drama, but not for unscripted TV?
So are people (sorry, I mean idiots!) saying it's OK for scripted drama, but not for unscripted TV?
There does seem to be double standards . I suppose people will argue that
Hollyoaks
is drama/pretence, and that such scripts have been written to highlight the issue of racism... therefore
CBB
is "real" and what people say on the programme are the participants' "real view"-- which makes it offensive.
As some commentators have said, the comments made by Jade et al can be seen as a marker of attitudes to racism in the UK today. Possibly!
As some commentators have said, the comments made by Jade et al can be seen as a marker of attitudes to racism in the UK today. Possibly!
I think the way Cleo, Ian etc. acted is probably the real marker of attitudes - people will quite happily write a letter to OFCOM, but they won't step in if an issue unfolds right in front of them!
Though of course Shipwrecked showed differently - so as usual the Government have it all wrong and it's probably the youth of today who are far more likely to step in than their elders!
Anyhow, the C4 chief executive Andy Duncan has given his first interview since last week's events to industry magazine Broadcast.
"These are always editorial decisions made as the whole thing is unfolding and I think we made the right decisions all the time.
"I think we did react perfectly well. I don't think looking back at it we'd say, 'if only we'd done that' or 'if only we'd done this'."
Quote:
"Let's put this in perspective. This was in danger of being the most boring BB that we'd had in many years - maybe ever - and we were thinking 'oh dear - what can we do?' And then suddenly from the cooking of a chicken going wrong this argument erupted which was taken on by the media and erupted into this extraordinary story."
Quote:
"The board was unanimous in the need for a review so any lessons can be learned - but broadly we think it's a good programme and we stand by the decisions taken last week."
He also said no-ones job was at risk, that C4 were already in discussions with The Carphone Warehouse about their sponsorship being resurrected in the summer and denied reports in the press that Jade Goody had been briefed prior to her eviction.
He also added in relation to the second racism scandal around reality programme Shipwrecked:
Quote:
"In [Shipwrecked] a teenage girl makes some extraordinary statements and is immediately tackled by the other people on the island. In the course of the programme we see her completely change her views and confront her own ridiculous prejudices. If we start going through the schedules and pulling out programmes that might or might not be offensive, where does that leave us?"
. I suppose people will argue that