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The BBC (British Broadcasting Company) defended its decision to produce ads and propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party and Huawei, calling it “vital” for funding the network.
Sean O’Hara, the BBC’s Executive Vice President of advertising argued in a letter to Lord David Alton, a British lawmaker and member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, that BBC reports on China “without fear or favour.”
“The commercial income generated from advertising provides vital investment in BBC News, ensuring that we are able to sustain our global network of journalists and continue to bring independent and impartial news to the UK and beyond. I’d like to assure you that it has no influence on our editorial output,” O’Hara wrote.
Alton had called out the network for its BBC StoryWorks’ ads arrangement with Chinese propaganda organizations like CGTN, claiming it was “simply not realistic to believe that commercial relationships with the Chinese Communist Party have no bearing on behaviour.”
Here’s a Huawei ad produced by BBC StoryWorks explaining how students “changed their lives and the way they do business” with a solar powered truck:
O’Hara insisted the ads were made with the highest approval from network executives.
“All of our activity is subject to a rigorous compliance process, and in the case of the content we have created for Huawei and for CGTN, was referred for senior editorial approval outside of the division. Each decision is made on a case-by-case basis and is considered within the context of the situation at the time,” he wrote.
A Deadline investigation last December found that the commercial relationship between the BBC and Chinese entities was much closer than previously thought:
- BBC StoryWorks has partnered with at least 18 Chinese clients since launching in 2015, including nine state-affiliated bodies.
- StoryWorks has produced tourism campaigns for state-owned media outlets, including partnering with China Global Television Network (CGTN) after it was banned from broadcasting in the UK.
- StoryWorks is a loyal partner to Huawei despite the tech firm being sanctioned by U.S. and UK authorities amid national security fears.
- Senior BBC journalists have appealed directly to managers to sever StoryWorks’ ties to China but said their pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
BBC journalists expressed their disapproval of their network’s cozy relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.
“I have always been extremely uncomfortable with these relationships,” a source told Deadline on Monday. “Management showed complete disregard for the views of reporters with decades of experience in the region and an understanding of the impact of what StoryWorks was doing.”
Read the original letter:
Dear Lord Alton,
Thank you for your email outlining your concerns.
The commercial income generated from advertising provides vital investment in BBC News, ensuring that we are able to sustain our global network of journalists and continue to bring independent and impartial news to the UK and beyond. I’d like to assure you that it has no influence on our editorial output which, as our recent coverage shows, covers stories relating to China extensively and without fear or favour.
The BBC has robust guidelines which govern advertising on our platforms, and we take great care to ensure that all advertising content complies with them, as well as the external advertising laws and regulatory frameworks in the countries in which we operate. As you would expect, all of our activity is subject to a rigorous compliance process, and in the case of the content we have created for Huawei and for CGTN, was referred for senior editorial approval outside of the division. Each decision is made on a case by case basis and is considered within the context of the situation at the time.
Alongside my colleagues across the wider BBC, we regularly review our guidelines and consider whether they and their interpretation strike the right balance between achieving commercial income and safeguarding our reputation with audiences and other key stakeholders, and will absolutely feed your concerns here into that ongoing process.
With very best wishes
Sean
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