Did anyone else get a response from the BBC re panorama?This was mine...... Dear Dr Wolfman Reference CAS-2576095-YVTVKX Thank you for getting in touch regarding ‘Britain Underwater – Panorama’ broadcast on the 17 February. I’m sorry you felt that the Panorama film Britain Underwater was not balanced. We set out to explore complex and rapidly unfolding events in the film, and took our responsibility to be fair and balanced very seriously. In the course of our research we spoke to many people who have lost their homes and saw for ourselves the devastating effects the floods have had on people’s lives. We are very aware that many people, especially those personally affected, have strong opinions about who bears the responsibility for the flooding. We made sure to refer to the fact that many residents in Somerset believe the way the Environment Agency have managed rivers in the area is to blame for the flooding and its consequences. We made sure to point out that in the Somerset Levels people believe that dredging is a key issue and that if the rivers had been maintained the flooding would not have happened. We explained how dredging removes the silt build up in rivers. We also pointed out that the Government has in fact listened to local campaigners and agreed that dredging should now go ahead once the flood water subsides. We interviewed environmentalist and author George Monbiot in Somerset, where he saw the extent and damage of the flooding himself. He has written and commented extensively in newspapers and online about the various causes and severe consequences of flooding, including intensive modern farming methods. We also interviewed a wide range of other people, including a number of Levels residents about their experiences; leading expert Professor Colin Thorne of Nottingham University; Simon Jenkins, Chair of the National Trust; David Rooke of the Environment Agency; and DEFRA Minister George Eustice MP, who was challenged about Government decisions a number of times during the programme. We’re satisfied that these contributions gave the programme a broad and balanced spectrum of opinion. Unfortunately Panorama is only a 29 minute programme, and with so much to cover and events developing right up to the broadcast of the programme, we had to make the decision to focus on particular locations, and simply didn’t have space to look at all of the possible issues and subjects. I hope you feel this addresses the points that you raised in your email. I would like to assure you that your complaint has been registered on our internal report of audience feedback which we compile daily for all programme makers and commissioning executives within the BBC and their senior management. It ensures that your complaint has been logged along with all others we receive and considered across the BBC. Thank you, once again, for taking the time to contact us. Kind Regards Gemma McAleer BBC Complaints bbc.co.uk/complaints
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 10:31:52 +0000
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