Newswipegate - An update

After yesterday's post - and the censorship of a Starsuckers clip that was due to go out after the NOTW/Terry segment, an update has been published today on the Starsuckers blog.

It provides a fantastic timeline of the events surrounding the News of the World, and its attempts to censor information from the British public.

This is a very interesting section -

-Last week we were told categorically that the Starsuckers piece would be in Tuesdays Newswipe

-On the day of transmission we were told by the production team that the segment had been cut for pressures of time, just hours before broadcast.

-Further calls elsewhere in the BBC told us that the segment was cut as it was fraught with legal problems and that the beeb did not want a lengthy battle with News International, a view further supported by messages we have received once it kicked off on Twitter.

-Since then we've had categorical denials of this from several members of the Newswipe team and from Brooker himself (someone who I greatly admire). Brookers tweet suggests that they may use the piece in the future, which will now have to be in the next series. This seems unlikely given that it's a topical news program and that the next series will be going out nearly a year after the original story.

-I have learned that doll in Adam Curtis' short was deliberately blacked out as a form of protest against the BBC for blanking out practically every other face in the doc.

Make your own mind-up. Not seen the film - so can't wait to watch it and the banished clip - but banning anything because you don't want the public to see your true values and principles is worse than John Terry and Ashley Cole put together. Imagine that, would that make the front page?

Brooker - Newswipe - Series 2 - Episode 5 - Newswipe-gate?

Find the latest episode here

Also don't forget this little snippet of scandalous censorship on the BBC by the NOTW.

Taken from this blog

"A couple of months ago I filmed a piece for Charlie Brookers excellent Newswipe, the intention being to expose the gaping hypocrisy and contradiction of the NOTW's stance. The piece gained even more potency after the NOTW broke the John Terry story, and Tom Crone had been publicly claiming that News International were ruthless defenders of free speech. Brooker's team had specifically asked us to hold back the story of our legal battle, to give Newswipe the exclusive. Last week we were told that the Starsuckers vs NOTW story would definitely be in this weeks final show, neatly coming after the John Terry section.

This afternoon we were told that the piece has been cut, and we have heard from several sources that this is due to the BBC caving in and avoiding a fight with the NOTW.

The irony that a piece about censorship has in itself been censored has not passed us by. I think it's highly unlikely that this has anything to do with Mr Brooker himself, and more the influence of a spinless BBC legal department."

George is furious that freedom of speech has been taken away from the British public by the so-called bastions of free speech and the written word. Grrr (appalling reaction I know) but I will come up with another, more constructive plan. I'm sure.