Was the BBC focus on a potential Glstonbury controversy?

Last year, the BBC won a BAFTA for its Glstonbury coverage. This year is being attacked for this. Or, to be more accurate, for one hour, two most, if you count the set of kneecap, which on Saturday afternoon after the Bob Vikal on the stage of West Holts.

I had arrived early to cover the performance of Belfast Rap trio, knowing that the Prime Minister had said that he should not move forward, that the organizers of the festival had firmly raised against political pressure, that a member of the band was on bail on a terrorist charge, which he denies, and the BBC had announced that the morning would not live the show.

I have to accept, I did not hear about Bob Valn. But I don’t think there were many other people. Among the millions of people coming to the BBC coverage over the weekend, the possibility of live streamters of Bob Valn set would have been a small ratio.

But you must be under a rock (or perhaps partying very hard on a seaset farm) would not have heard of the punk pair anymore.

As I stood in the crowd and caught the comments of the main singer – to overcome my message about using violence, and “death, led the crowd in IDF mantras for death [Israel Defense Forces]” – It was clear, as the organizers of the festival later said that a line was crossed.

It was not peace-loving, welcoming vibe who tries to project Glstonbury.

The police have launched a criminal investigation in the set of Bob Valn whether the statements made on the stage broke the law.

Some people in the crowd chanting “IDF” back. They appeared on the board. Bob Valn gave the slogan “From the river to the ocean”.

Some people use chanting as a call for the Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel. Critics say that the slogan is a call for the destruction of the Israeli state.

This interpretation is disputed by pro -Palestinian activists, who say that most people are chanting it, calling the West Bank to end Israel’s occupation and Gaza’s blockade, not the destruction of Israel.

I made a note at that time that from my convenience point, on the contrary, the slogan did not get much response from the crowd.

The investigation has been on the band, festival organizers and BBCs. But where does the freedom of expression for thousands start and end in that Saturday afternoon crowd?

Following the set of CACAP, I spoke to fans in the crowd, who supported the band’s stance on the Israel-Gaja war and was pleased that they were sending a message to the British government.

But I also talked to the Jewish festivals, who told me that they had to hide their identity in Glastonbury this year because they feared the response that they could get. One told me at a place that is so optimistic and everyone has to accept, “If you are a Jew then there is a difference”.

Both approaches should be heard.

On Saturday, in the region, I felt that the BBC had spent so much energy on how it would deal with the cakep in Glstonbury, that he had recalled Bob Valn’s ability to cause problems. Sometimes, when you focus on a possible dispute, the other comes to cut you.

It could not really know what Bob Valn would say on stage or what to do. There are questions whether the run up was done properly. I was told that it was. As the set is the BBC response, and the perception that it was very slow to perform, it is a major problem.

I have greatly covered the BBC ‘Scandals’ in my time as a media editor in BBC News and as I look at the headlines in the media, and cursing the BBC I am noting that the stories about the BBC are often used by other media organizations as a stick to hit the corporation. And sometimes, sports have other corporate interests for those who want to see a weak BBC for their own benefits.

But the BBC has said that do not pull the live stream during the performance. From memory, the comments came to the end of the set, but still had time to take action. However, this should have been a quick decision. So if the team was to refer to editorial advice, it is possible that the performance was already over – and it was later pulled from repeating on the iPlayer.

The BBC says it is looking at its guidance about live events so that “the teams are clear when it is acceptable to keep the output on the air”.

The freedom of speech, freedom of expressing opinion and the right to artistic expression must have been in the BBC’s mind as it went to the festival.

As a sea of ​​Palestinian flag in the crowd in the performance, solidarity with Palestinian people (and for some, alleging that Israel is massacre, which refuses) is shared by many people and widely shared by many people. The BBC cannot be seen censoring with opinion.

Fun for violence, however, there is no opinion. This can be a criminal offense.

Culture often holds a mirror for politics and what is playing in Glastonbury is a portrayal of widespread, hot debate across the country about what is happening in Gaza.

The Bob Waln Set also begs himself with the artists with both BBC and Glstonbury organizers. He was those who commented on the first place, although it is true that the BBC, as a publicly funded organization, faces investigation.

And whatever has happened in the time we live, it has already been asked in the question for the corporation with the coverage of Israel and Gaza.

An investigation is going on in a documentary that already broadcasts about Gaza’s children and another documentary about doctors in Gaza was dropped by the BBC and will now be broadcast on Channel 4.