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| Peter Hitchens: BBC voiceover set out to mock and parody me | Peter Hitchens: BBC voiceover set out to mock and parody me |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| It is traditionally a badge of honour for a journalist to have their words read out on long-running newspaper review show, What the Papers Say. | It is traditionally a badge of honour for a journalist to have their words read out on long-running newspaper review show, What the Papers Say. |
| But Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens took issue with the Radio 4 programme after it edited his column, about the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, and read them out in what he described as an "absurd and hostile caricature" of his voice. | But Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens took issue with the Radio 4 programme after it edited his column, about the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, and read them out in what he described as an "absurd and hostile caricature" of his voice. |
| Hitchens claimed the programme deliberately set out to humiliate him and was evidence of "a culture of institutional bias in the BBC". | Hitchens claimed the programme deliberately set out to humiliate him and was evidence of "a culture of institutional bias in the BBC". |
| Hitchens' ire was further fuelled by the fact the programme, broadcast on 29 July last year, was presented by Mehdi Hasan, political director of the UK version of The Huffington Post and former senior editor at the New Statesman, with whom he had a falling out in 2009 over accusations of bias at the corporation. | Hitchens' ire was further fuelled by the fact the programme, broadcast on 29 July last year, was presented by Mehdi Hasan, political director of the UK version of The Huffington Post and former senior editor at the New Statesman, with whom he had a falling out in 2009 over accusations of bias at the corporation. |
| The BBC admitted it should not have left three words out of Hitchens' piece, which compared the London 2012 curtain raiser to May Day in Soviet Moscow, and was headlined Join the smiley Cult of the Five Circles? Sorry, but I have a democratic right to be bored (and I'm exercising it while I still can). | The BBC admitted it should not have left three words out of Hitchens' piece, which compared the London 2012 curtain raiser to May Day in Soviet Moscow, and was headlined Join the smiley Cult of the Five Circles? Sorry, but I have a democratic right to be bored (and I'm exercising it while I still can). |
| But the BBC Trust, in its response to Hitchens' complaint published on Tuesday, rejected his claim that there was anything malicious about the broadcast and said there was nothing to back up his allegation of institutional bias at the BBC. Hitchens was not named by the BBC Trust in its ruling, but his identity was readily apparent by the quotes attributed to him in the report. | But the BBC Trust, in its response to Hitchens' complaint published on Tuesday, rejected his claim that there was anything malicious about the broadcast and said there was nothing to back up his allegation of institutional bias at the BBC. Hitchens was not named by the BBC Trust in its ruling, but his identity was readily apparent by the quotes attributed to him in the report. |
| Hitchens said the actor who voiced his column had offered up an "extreme mocking and derisive parody" of his voice which made him sound foolish. He said it amounted to "hostile mockery to which other people are not subjected". | Hitchens said the actor who voiced his column had offered up an "extreme mocking and derisive parody" of his voice which made him sound foolish. He said it amounted to "hostile mockery to which other people are not subjected". |
| The programme quoted Hitchens as saying: "Enthusiasm is compulsory only in totalitarian dictatorships. Anywhere else, we are free to be keen if we want to, and bored if we want to. | The programme quoted Hitchens as saying: "Enthusiasm is compulsory only in totalitarian dictatorships. Anywhere else, we are free to be keen if we want to, and bored if we want to. |
| "Count me out of the compulsory joy. It reminds me all too much of … Soviet Moscow." | "Count me out of the compulsory joy. It reminds me all too much of … Soviet Moscow." |
| In fact, the actual wording of his Mail on Sunday piece had been: "Count me out of the compulsory joy. It reminds me all too much of May Day in Soviet Moscow." | In fact, the actual wording of his Mail on Sunday piece had been: "Count me out of the compulsory joy. It reminds me all too much of May Day in Soviet Moscow." |
| The BBC, in its initial response to Hitchens, had said the programme's tone was "deliberately irreverent and provocative" but admitted it had created a "misleading impression" by removing the reference to May Day. | The BBC, in its initial response to Hitchens, had said the programme's tone was "deliberately irreverent and provocative" but admitted it had created a "misleading impression" by removing the reference to May Day. |
| But Hitchens did not agree with the wording of an on-air apology that was read out in the following week's transmission slot, and claimed the BBC had been deliberately hostile towards him. | But Hitchens did not agree with the wording of an on-air apology that was read out in the following week's transmission slot, and claimed the BBC had been deliberately hostile towards him. |
| "I believe that I and my work were subjected to treatment which would not have been given to almost any other person," Hitchens wrote to the BBC Trust. | "I believe that I and my work were subjected to treatment which would not have been given to almost any other person," Hitchens wrote to the BBC Trust. |
| It was not his first complaint to the BBC – he said an episode of Radio 4's audience response show, Feedback, in 2010 had included a "gratuitous personal attack" on him without the right of reply. | It was not his first complaint to the BBC – he said an episode of Radio 4's audience response show, Feedback, in 2010 had included a "gratuitous personal attack" on him without the right of reply. |
| He said: "The two taken together are evidence of a profound difficulty which the BBC has with people who hold my views." | He said: "The two taken together are evidence of a profound difficulty which the BBC has with people who hold my views." |
| He added: ""I am only invited on air as a fringe member of a panel or as one side in a discussion. And BBC programme-makers and presenters believe they have a licence to treat me with disdain." | He added: ""I am only invited on air as a fringe member of a panel or as one side in a discussion. And BBC programme-makers and presenters believe they have a licence to treat me with disdain." |
| The programme's editor said he was "not happy that it was edited in this way" and was "clearly not the finest hour for What the Papers Say and I am sorry for that". | The programme's editor said he was "not happy that it was edited in this way" and was "clearly not the finest hour for What the Papers Say and I am sorry for that". |
| Not happy with the corporation's initial response, Hitchens later complained to the BBC's editorial complaints unit and ultimately to the BBC Trust on a number of issues including the "extreme mocking and derisive parody" of his voice. | Not happy with the corporation's initial response, Hitchens later complained to the BBC's editorial complaints unit and ultimately to the BBC Trust on a number of issues including the "extreme mocking and derisive parody" of his voice. |
| The BBC, in its response, said there was no instruction to the actor to give a "prejudicial impression" of Hitchens, "or use a voice that would humiliate or embarrass him". | The BBC, in its response, said there was no instruction to the actor to give a "prejudicial impression" of Hitchens, "or use a voice that would humiliate or embarrass him". |
| "The complainant has been given a variety of different voices over time. Whilst we accept that the complainant's voice was exaggerated, the same was the case for some pro-Olympics contributors included in the programme," it said. | "The complainant has been given a variety of different voices over time. Whilst we accept that the complainant's voice was exaggerated, the same was the case for some pro-Olympics contributors included in the programme," it said. |
| The committee listened to a clip from the show, and compared it to a clip of Hitchens' own voice from another BBC show, BBC2's Daily Politics. | The committee listened to a clip from the show, and compared it to a clip of Hitchens' own voice from another BBC show, BBC2's Daily Politics. |
| "The committee noted audience expectation and the 30-year-old tradition that What the Papers Say mimics journalists and politicians, and exaggerates their vocal characteristics for comedic and satiric effect," said the Trust. | "The committee noted audience expectation and the 30-year-old tradition that What the Papers Say mimics journalists and politicians, and exaggerates their vocal characteristics for comedic and satiric effect," said the Trust. |
| "The committee did not consider that the portrayal of the complainant's voice amounted to a hostile portrayal or amounted to a breach of the impartiality guidelines. | "The committee did not consider that the portrayal of the complainant's voice amounted to a hostile portrayal or amounted to a breach of the impartiality guidelines. |
| "Rather, the committee agreed that the portrayal of the complainant's voice was acceptable and that there had been no lack of impartiality shown in the type of voice used." | "Rather, the committee agreed that the portrayal of the complainant's voice was acceptable and that there had been no lack of impartiality shown in the type of voice used." |
| The BBC Trust's editorial standards committee said there was no evidence to suggest any "malicious intent" behind the incorrect edit, which it said had been resolved by the on-air apology. | The BBC Trust's editorial standards committee said there was no evidence to suggest any "malicious intent" behind the incorrect edit, which it said had been resolved by the on-air apology. |
| It rejected all other aspects of Hitchens' complaint, including his suggestion that the programme, and the 2010 episode of Feedback, was "part of a pattern of behaviour towards [him] which is rooted in a canteen culture of instinctive left-liberal sympathy and an institutional bias against those with socially or morally conservative opinions". | It rejected all other aspects of Hitchens' complaint, including his suggestion that the programme, and the 2010 episode of Feedback, was "part of a pattern of behaviour towards [him] which is rooted in a canteen culture of instinctive left-liberal sympathy and an institutional bias against those with socially or morally conservative opinions". |
| "The committee was of the view that it had not seen evidence which demonstrated that the BBC was institutionally biased against those with socially or morally conservative opinion," it added. | "The committee was of the view that it had not seen evidence which demonstrated that the BBC was institutionally biased against those with socially or morally conservative opinion," it added. |
| What The Papers Say ran for more than 50 years on TV between 1956 and 2008, starting out on ITV before moving to Channel 4 and then BBC2 from 1989. It was dropped by BBC2 in 2008, but revived on Radio 4 in 2010. | What The Papers Say ran for more than 50 years on TV between 1956 and 2008, starting out on ITV before moving to Channel 4 and then BBC2 from 1989. It was dropped by BBC2 in 2008, but revived on Radio 4 in 2010. |
| It uses four actors a week, from a pool of eight, to provide the programme's newspaper quotes, headlines and other material, using YouTube as a reference point for what columnists sound like. | It uses four actors a week, from a pool of eight, to provide the programme's newspaper quotes, headlines and other material, using YouTube as a reference point for what columnists sound like. |
| "We didn't intend to give a prejudicial impression of the complainant – or use a voice that would humiliate or embarrass him," said the programme's editor. | "We didn't intend to give a prejudicial impression of the complainant – or use a voice that would humiliate or embarrass him," said the programme's editor. |
| "In the event that the producer or executive producer believes a portrayal to be prejudicial or offensive, then the actors would be told to tone down their caricature." | "In the event that the producer or executive producer believes a portrayal to be prejudicial or offensive, then the actors would be told to tone down their caricature." |
| Hitchens had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. | |
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