BBC Presenters Told To Challenge Guests Who Label Others “Transphobic” After JK Rowling Errors
22.03.2024 - 11:03
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: BBC presenters have been told to challenge guests who accuse others of transphobia after the broadcaster admitted that news items on JK Rowling fell short of its editorial standards.
In an internal briefing note, BBC journalists and production teams were advised that “care is needed” when people are labeled “transphobic” and the term should be interrogated during on-air debate.
The advice featured in a nine-page document on “reporting sex and gender” circulated to the BBC newsroom late last year. Deadline has obtained the briefing, which can be read in full below.
The guidance follows the BBC apologizing to Rowling twice last year. The Harry Potter author was accused of transphobia by trans rights advocates, but the claim was not properly challenged by presenters, including Radio 4’s Evan Davis.
The briefing note was issued to help journalists navigate what BBC director general Tim Davie described this week as an “area of controversy.” He told lawmakers that the BBC’s detractors were attempting to whip up a “deeply damaging” narrative around the corporation’s output on gender identity issues.
The briefing document said: “Debates, legislation and policies relating to transgender issues have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years. Some of the issues are contested, with strongly held and sometimes incompatible views and no settled consensus. Individuals often feel they have a big personal stake in how these issues are reported. This can make it a challenging area for BBC journalism.”
It added: “We need to consider the framing of stories, the language we use, the tone of coverage, the context we provide and the labels we apply to the views of contributors. For example, describing someone as either
The website celebfans.org is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.