Date published: 2005/08/27
The BBC says:
Broadcasters in the UK are happy to offend their viewers, a Christian group has told the Edinburgh TV Festival.
"If they know we may be offended by a programme, they have the chance to stop it," said Christian Voice national director Stephen Green. "But they just keep going."
Mr Green said the BBC ignored 47,000 viewer complaints before it screened Jerry Springer: The Opera in January.
The opera's writer, Stewart Lee, said he was determined the show's national tour would go ahead, despite protests from Christian groups.
The show angered some viewers by depicting Jesus, God and Mary as talk show guests in Hell, prompting pickets of BBC offices before its broadcast.
"We all might cause offence through ignorance," said Mr Green, "but I am worried that there are people working in television who know something is going to be offensive and then just go ahead and show it."
BBC director of television Jana Bennett said the opera was shown after winning "all the plaudits it could" on its West End theatrical release.
"We judged it was very good and worth offering up to the public who could choose to watch it or not," she said.
Ms Bennett said the offence registered before the opera's broadcast could have only been "hypothetical" because viewers had yet to see the show.
"You do not need to see a murder to know that harm has been caused," replied Mr Green.
He said it was "odd" to suggest that viewers' protests against TV programmes are undermined if organised by a single group such as Christian Voice.
"That would be like saying that the more protests there are, the less attention you are going to pay them."
Well Mr Green is taking the piss. First of all, Jerry Springer: The Opera was too boring to be offensive, and it did so well in the ratings only thanks to the rants of the Christian fundamentalists. Secondly, we can of course ignore any protests organised by a single group since obviously the purported protesters are just a bunch of sheep following the lead from on high, rather than people who have thought seriously about the issue (another clue being that they protested without having seen the show: this was not murder, it was a drama). If Mr Green wants to believe in some random piece of religious mythology that is his right, but other people have the right to criticise (including making fun of) that belief.
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