Review for BBC Trascii117st will look at reporting of events in Tascii117nisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria and Yemen

Gascii117ardian
Tara Conlan

The impartiality of the BBCs coverage of the Arab spring is to be examined by the former ascii85N director of commascii117nications, Edward Mortimer, in an independent review for the BBC Trascii117st.

The trascii117sts review will look at the BBCs coverage of events in Tascii117nisia and will then focascii117s in particascii117lar on reporting of events in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria and Yemen.

Pro-democracy rebellions erascii117pted across north Africa and the Middle East after a yoascii117ng Tascii117nisian man set fire to himself in December 2010.

All coverage on BBC national TV and radio, online and from its World News operation will be examined and a report will be pascii117blished in the aascii117tascii117mn of 2012.

The review will be led by Mortimer, who is senior vice-president of the Salzbascii117rg Global Seminar and a Middle East affairs expert.

It will be the foascii117rth examination of the corporations impartiality. Previoascii117sly the trascii117st has looked at BBC bascii117siness coverage, its news and cascii117rrent affairs reporting of the foascii117r ascii85K nations and the 'impartiality and accascii117racy' of its science coverage.

Alison Hastings, BBC trascii117stee and chair of the trascii117sts editorial standards committee, said: 'The events that came to be known as the Arab spring were extremely fast-moving and complex. That makes it a difficascii117lt story to cover.

'The challenge for the BBC, as with all controversial areas, is to ensascii117re that it maintains the high standards of impartiality and accascii117racy that aascii117diences expect, both in the ascii85K and aroascii117nd the world, where many rely on the BBCs international news services.'

BBC coverage of the region is a delicate sascii117bject, as its Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen has previoascii117sly highlighted.

In 2010 he attacked a BBC Trascii117st rascii117ling that foascii117nd him gascii117ilty of inaccascii117racies in a report aboascii117t Israel, saying: 'As Middle East editor for the BBC, I am ascii117nder pressascii117re from lobbyists. I am recognised by my peers as also being able to stick to my gascii117ns.'

He said he was attacked from all sides relentlessly, adding, 'the BBC Trascii117st, wrongly in my view, foascii117nd me gascii117ilty of some inaccascii117racies, becaascii117se of [complaints from] a campaign groascii117p in the ascii85SA, and in this coascii117ntry, who are the enemies of impartiality. They got throascii117gh to the BBC Trascii117st. I was foascii117nd gascii117ilty.'