BBC complaint answer on covering innocent arrested ppl’s US travel human rights violation

The following is a journalistic  achievement, being about BBC current affairs. A BBC complaint and response, resulting from the reopening of USA travel: because they did not cover the scandal of innocent arrested ppl in connection with USA travel.

 

See how it acknowledges the duty to probe, but worded so carefully as not to have said it includes duty to probe this. Nor have they admitted they should use test cases. Given we all know BBC never covers this issue, here is seeing if this has any effect to make them start now. Some usability to embarrass them if not.

All human rights organisations should not find it acceptable that the BBC argues that most tourists have not got arrest histories. This is a blatant act of arguing that the reason not to cover an abuse of a population group is the audience majority not belonging to it: the same as if they declined to cover a race issue because the audience is mostly white! That needs your calling out and embarrassing them, as a way to make any difference to the USA travel issue.

—– Forwarded message —–
From: BBC Complaints <bbc_complaints_website@contact.bbc.co.uk>
To: Maurice Frank
Sent: Monday, 8 November 2021, 15:59:37 GMT
Subject: BBC Complaints – Case number CAS-6986117-W5P9Q3

Thanks for contacting the BBC. This is to confirm we’ve received the attached complaint sent in this name. We’ve included the text of the complaint and a case reference for your records (see below).

Our normal aim is to reply at this stage within 10 working days (two weeks), but we hope you will understand that sometimes we are unable to respond by then. We will let you know beforehand if we think it may take us longer.

We’ll normally include your complaint in our overnight report to producers and management. This will circulate your and all complaints with other reaction we receive today (but with any personal details removed) so it will then be available for the right team to read tomorrow morning.

For full details of our complaints process please visit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/how-we-handle-your-complaint. Please don’t reply to this email because it’s an automated acknowledgement sent from an account which can’t receive replies. If you do need to get in touch, please use our webform instead at http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints, quoting your reference number.

Here are the details of your complaint:
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YOUR COMPLAINT:

innocent arrested ppls’ posn entering USA ignored

The item on reopening of travel to the USA portrayed it as something that any ordinary listener could casually decide to do. This takes part in violation of the human rights of a whole population group by the bias of ignoring their violated position. This is: legally innocent people who have no criminal history, but have an arrest history. In violation of the oldest human right of all, presumption of Innocence, these have a worse status, treated potentially the same as criminals, for USA entry. The visa and ESTA systems required re them to answer yes to “Have you ever been arrested or convicted… ” as a single question.To ignore this is inaccuracy in a public information item as well as bias.It is obviously both of those things all the time that this long running fact never gets heard of, let alone scrutinised and challenged under human rights, in all of BBC international current affairs coverage: and that absent such scrutiny it has expanded: since 2016 Canada also does it. But unlike reports on US government or diplomacy, this report was explicitly on the British ordinary public’s travel to the USA. Hence this human rights item was explicitly part of the subject getting reported, and its omission changed the given factual picture of that subject, harming and discriminating against an innocent group who are under a human rights violation. This breach of the oldest and most basic of the values that Western foreign policy actions claim to stand for, there is a public duty to probe including using test cases.I have increased that public duty by 2 raisings of the issue: (1) in Strathclyde university’s book An Ordinary Life Too, 2016, whose writing team I was on, (2) in a submission to Scotland’s human rights bill project All Our Rights in Law, of several items cited from existing human rights: including, a duty for them to class as violating human rights any British-US relations at all so long as this border practice exists.Your answer is in those law contexts.

———-

Thank you again for contacting us,

BBC Complaints Team
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

Please note: this email is sent from an unmonitored address so please don’t reply. If necessary please contact us through our webform (please include your case reference number)-

 

—- Forwarded message —–
From: BBC Complaints <bbc_complaints_website@contact.bbc.co.uk;
To: Maurice Frank
Sent: Monday, 15 November 2021, 17:00:23 GMT
Subject: BBC Complaints – Case number CAS-6986117-W5P9Q3
Reference CAS-6986117-W5P9Q3

Dear Mr Frank

Thank you for contacting us. Your comments were passed to the Editor, Radio News, who has asked that we forward their response as follows:

 

“Thank you for being in touch about an item on Lunchtime Live which you are also linking with the same report on The World Tonight, both on 8th November.

 

Tom Brook filed a story used by both programmes about the effect of the reintroduction of international flights into the United States, concentrating on the effect on New York City and its financial fortunes.

The report on Radio Scotland ran at under four minutes while on Radio Four a very slightly fuller version ran for another 30 seconds. Tom explained in both that NYC needs foreign visitors, because they stay longer and spend more than other US citizens. He said that lifting the ban for fully vaccinated foreign visitors was being greeted with mixed feelings by New Yorkers, who agreed that they spent money but also felt that they clogged up the streets.

While the subject you mention is of interest and concern to many, this was a general story about the return of foreign tourists to the US, of whom relatively few have an arrest history. That does not seek to demean the importance of what you describe, but merely to point out that this was not the place for it.

In these circumstances I cannot in all conscience accept your accusation of “inaccuracy” and “bias” in this matter. I do however agree with your assertion that “there is a public duty to probe”: we do that in our journalism, day in, day out.

As you know, the BBC has huge daily output across the globe, through its international as well as its domestic channels, and such matters as you raise are constantly under examination.

Your complaint has appeared in the daily log which is read by editors, producers and senior journalists across the BBC, and I am making this reply available also to The World Tonight. The daily logs frequently provide food for thought for programme makers.

Thank you again for being in touch about our output.”

Kind regards,

BBC Complaints Team
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

Please note: this email is sent from an unmonitored address so please don’t reply. If necessary please contact us through our webform (please include your case reference number).