Reporting the BNP: No Platform for Nazis

The enduring political hangover of the recent BNP election victories raises questions for journalists about how to report a party which is fascist? Just how should the media handle the requirement for balance whilst not promoting racist views? The National Union of Journalists held a meeting last week to discuss the issues.

Certainly the ‘no platform for racists’ strategy employed previously by many media outlets now holds less sway: a worrying 1 million people voted BNP in on the 4th June and ignoring them now isn’t an option. That there are now two BNP Euro MPs will lead to pressure on media workers with some editors arguing that the BNP should be treated as a legitimate political voice and there is a real danger that racist ideas that ten years ago would have been considered unacceptable could become part of the daily business of politics unless handled appropriately.Indeed, when BBC Breakfast ‘congratulates’ Nick Griffin on his electoral success, serious questions of ethics are posed to journalists working in newsrooms all over the UK.

But history has shown what happens when fascist parties ‘manage’ the media, they’re able to normalise racist arguments, and pull the political spectrum to the far right with devastating consequences.

The NUJ, BECTU and other organisations like Unite Against Fascism are urging media workers to deny the BNP that platform. Crucial to this is effective challenging, and unsurprisingly, the BNP don’t like this. The Manchester Evening News in the run up to the elections reported accurately BNP manifestos, and have have now been barred from BNP press conferences for their trouble. Other journalists who have challenged BNP policies report being intimidated by BNP ’thugs’ in attempts to silence them. 

As the BNP’s political profile increases, inevitably so too will racist attacks, as was seen in Belfast this week. BBC Scotland’s recent phone in show which platformed the BNP has resulted in an investigation for incitment of racial hatred but this is scant consolation for those at the sharp of BNP violence. 

Journalists are therefore being urged that when reporting on BNP stories to clearly identify them as a fascist organisation, to challenge the myths they expound and avoid repeating their claims uncritically. A recent study has showed a correlation between increasing votes for the BNP and partial reporting: journalism does indeed matter and the media’s responsibilities in negating the risks posed by the BNP need to be taken seriously and acted upon swiftly.

http://www.nujleft.org/2009/06/reporting-the-bnp-summit/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6488664.ece

~ by colley on June 20, 2009.