Journalists should not censor words, but use them accurately, James Harding a former head of BBC news has said giving a glimpse into the corporation’s coverage of Oct 7 attacks in Israel.
The BBC triggered outrage and accusations of anti-Semitism after it refused to use the term “terrorist” to describe the gunmen who massacred more than 1,000 people and took hundreds hostage in the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
It instead describes them as militants and states that Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK, Israel and others.
Mr Harding, who is Jewish, said newsrooms had been plunged into “furious argument” over how to cover Israel and Gaza, adding that the conflict was “very hard to view dispassionately”.
He admitted that the corporation had “for sure made mistakes”, including serious ones during his tenure. However, he insisted that the BBC was not “institutionally anti-Semitic”.
Delivering the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday, Mr Harding said: “I am Jewish, proudly so. I’m proud, too, to have worked for the most important news organisation in the world.
“The BBC is not institutionally anti-Semitic. It’s untrue to say it is.
“It’s also unhelpful – much better to correct the mistakes and address the judgment calls that have been wrong, than smear the institution, impugn the character of all the people who work there and, potentially, undermine journalists in the field working in the most difficult and dangerous of conditions.”
Despite its pledge to describe Hamas as a banned terror group, analysis of the BBC’s online news stories earlier this year found that the broadcaster was failing to do so in nine out of 10 reports.
The BBC has said it makes clear that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation “where possible and appropriate”, but argued that the longevity of the conflict means there is less need to constantly repeat the phrase.
However, the broadcaster came under further scrutiny last month after its current head of news told staff that the Hamas government of Gaza and the organisation’s military wing were “different”.
Deborah Turness made the comments after the BBC broke its own editorial guidelines by broadcasting a Gaza documentary without disclosing that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned the remarks, accusing Mr Turness of “obfuscating and minimising the BBC’s failings”.
The broadcaster has also been embroiled in a row over its decision to air a controversial Glastonbury set by artist Bob Vylan, which led chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]”.
That scandal prompted an intervention by Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, who warned there was a “problem of leadership” at the BBC, sparking uncertainty over the future of director general Tim Davie.
In his speech, Mr Harding described Ms Nandy’s comments as “chilling”, arguing that the corporation should be kept “beyond the reach of politicians”.
The veteran news executive, who raised concerns about Reform’s pledge to scrap the licence fee, said the Prime Minister should not be involved in the appointment of the BBC’s chairman and director general.
He also called for an independent commission to be set up to decide the future of the BBC’s funding model.
He said: “Political interference – and the perception of a political presence looming over the BBC – is a problem, one that we’ve got too accustomed to.
“And it looks likely to get worse. We need to get on with putting the country’s most important editorial and creative organisation beyond the reach of politicians now.”
Mr Harding became editor-in-chief of the Observer after his news start-up Tortoise Media bought the Sunday newspaper from the Guardian in a controversial deal earlier this year. Prior to leading BBC News, he was editor of The Times.
