Friday, November 30, 2012

Welsh government tries to censor S4C

Thanks to Peter Black for alerting us to this story on the BBC News site:
Ministers have complained after a character on the BBC-produced TV series said the Welsh government "doesn't have the backbone" to cull badgers. 
A planned cull in west Wales was cancelled in March when ministers decided to vaccinate badgers instead. 
S4C said the programme included a variety of viewpoints and repeated Wednesday's episode as planned. 
The Welsh government has written to S4C and BBC Wales, which makes the programme that has run for 38 years, claiming it breaches editorial guidelines and that the government has been denied a right of reply. 
Ministers object to a storyline on Wednesday night's episode about bovine TB and a discussion about culling badgers. 
They also want the episode removed from the S4C online service Clic.
Well done to S4C for standing up to the Welsh government - the repeat was broadcast as scheduled yesterday.

There is something ludicrous about a government demanding a right of reply to a soap opera.

And even if the programme had not included a variety of viewpoints, S4C would have been fully entitled to broadcast it. It's a drama, isn't it?

Leighton Andrews is 55.

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