Kirsty Young, presenter of Desert Island Discs, did not challenge Paul Johnson when he said that he admired mass-murderer Pinochet because he "prevented civil war". How many deaths make a civil war?
[This is No.2 in a series of blog posts on Paul Johnson's statement on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs that he admired Chilean mass-murderer General August Pinochet because he 'prevented civil war'. You may read the others here: No.5, No.4, No.3, No.1.]
In response to my letter to the BBC after hearing Paul Johnson speak unchallenged on Desert Island Discs about how wonderful he thought mass-murderer Augusto Pinochet was, I have received a reply. Read it and then my comments below.
Dear Dr Swanepoel -
Thank you for your comments about Paul Johnson’s Desert Island Discs – they have been passed to me as the programme producer and I’ll try to respond to the points you make.
We try to choose castaways who have lived rich and interesting lives and reached a very significant level within their own profession. It seemed to us that the former editor and highly successful biographer and commentator Paul Johnson amply met those criteria.
Paul Johnson is well known for holding very strong views. Kirsty Young’s introduction noted that he was ‘fiercely opinionated’ and added that his work had “provoked, offended and enraged plenty of people over the years,” later in the programme, she referred to a description of him that he is the “right wing controversialist in chief” – so it seemed to me that the strength of his opinions – and the likelihood that they might offend – had been clearly flagged up.
In general we want our listeners to feel as if they have overheard a conversation with the castaway that has given them a real insight into that person – their life and experiences and also their thoughts and philosophies. It seemed to me that by nodding towards the views Paul Johnson espouses which are contentious (including his opinions about single mothers, same-sex relationships, abortion and his views of General Pinochet, Richard Nixon and Nelson Mandela) the programme was able to give a real flavour of his personality and thoughts and, as with all our castaways, listeners are then in a position of forming their own opinions about the castaway and whether or not they agree with him.
You are of course free to neither admire nor like the castaway – but we hope that the programme will have helped you to reach an informed opinion.
Yours sincerely
Leanne Buckle
Producer, Desert Island Discs
Thousands butchered but he “prevented civil war”?
It seems that the BBC believes it is acceptable to broadcast distortions of the truth unchallenged. If your parents, and thousands of their allies and friends, were “disappeared” and/or tortured by the Pinochet regime, would you not consider this tantamount to civil war? Paul Johnson was allowed to say that he admired Pinochet because he “prevented civil war”. Kirsty Young did not mention the thousands of Chileans who were butchered by him. He “prevented civil war” in whose eyes? His own only, in the views of most reasonable people, I would think.
Unbalanced and distorted
There is a fine line between allowing free speech and permitting the UK citizen-funded broadcasting service to present an unbalanced and distorted view of highly contentious and painful events. Yes, Paul Johnson and other supporters of obnoxious mass-murderers should be allowed to express their views, but no, they should not get away with uttering what amount to hurtful lies without challenge.
Attempt to fudge issue
Incidentally, notice the attempt in the BBC response to fudge and obscure the issue by listing other examples of Johnson’s repugnant views as if they are equivalent. I’m sorry, Pinochet is a known mass-murderer and torturer, and while I disagree with Johnson’s ignorant opinions on other issues too, minimising such a butcher’s crimes against humanity is hardly comparable! My letter was about Pinochet.
What do you think? (Read my original letter to the BBC.)
Tags: BBC Radio 4, Chile, civil war, Desert Islands Discs, General Augusto Pinochet, Kirsty Young, murder, Paul Johnson, Pinochet, torture
February 11, 2012 at 9:00 am |
Surely good journalism stems from confronting innacuracies and informing the public of the truth?! The BBC should have confronted Mr Johnsons false remarks that general Pinochet avoided war DECREE LAW NUMBER 5 OF THE DICTATORSHIPS CONSTITUTION DECLARES A STATE OF INTERNAL WAR LASTING 11/09/1973 TO 10/03/1978. THIS WAS DECLARED BY THE LEADERS OF THE COUP, HEADED BY PINOCHET HIMSELF. This was the very excuse for abuses including false imprisonment, torture, murder, rape and forced exile of which I myself am victim in terms of having to start a life elsewhere. There are people attempting to gain justice, allowing such a remark will only delay they’re work for justice even further. Good journalism is about truth, and mr. Johnson declared nothing more than a lie, on air no less! …moreover, his so-called reputation for being a “historian” will be even more devastating for the cases of those looking for truth. A historian who doesn’t even know the facts! very bad journalism and i advise a very public immediate retraction.
February 11, 2012 at 1:22 pm |
Thank you so much for your comment, Carolina. I greatly admire you and other Chileans who have suffered because of Pinochet, and certainly hope we can get a public apology and retraction. Ideally the BBC would allow survivors of Pinochet’s appalling regime to have a say on air.
February 13, 2012 at 8:41 am |
And thank you very much for highlighting this issue. I have recieved a response from the BBC complaints department. It is as follows:
Dear Ms Sapiains
Reference CAS-1296821-DXG1R0
Thank you for contacting us regarding ‘Desert Island Discs’ broadcast on 15 January.
I understand that you were left angered by comments made by historian Paul Johnson during the broadcast in which he stated that he admired General Pinochet for avoiding a civil war.
I recognise that you found his remarks historically inaccurate and deeply offensive to the families of those who suffered under the Pinochet regime. Although I fully understand your obvious strong feelings about Mr Johnson’s remarks, I must point out that the views he expressed were entirely his own and did not reflect the BBC’s stance at all.
Having said this, again, I understand that you feel strongly that Mr Johnson’s comments were wholly inaccurate and to that end I’d like to assure you that I’ve registered your concerns on our audience log. This is a daily report of audience feedback that’s made available to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, programme makers, channel controllers and other senior managers.
The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.
Thank you once again for taking the trouble to share your views with us.
Kind Regards
Richard Carey
BBC Complaints
(I still feel that this will not remedy the impact of mr Johnsons comment, which were wholly innacurate to say the least)
February 13, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Dear Carolina
Many thanks for this. My conscience left me with no choice but to highlight the issue. Your reply is a bit better than the one I received, but I still think they should make an apology on air. It will be interesting to see how they respond to my second email, but suspect I shall receive a response similar to the one they sent you.
Warm wishes
Eric