Secular Society Continues Its Assault
BBC struggles with TV anchor's cross necklaceReligionAndSpirituality.com
Fiona Bruce, who presents during the Ten O'Clock News, has been wearing the apparently provocative accessory for years during broadcasts, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.
A discussion about whether a Muslim presenter would be allowed to wear her headcovering turned into a debate about women's necklaces with Christian crosses.
BBC officials then met over the row.
"It was argued that BBC staff on screen should not wear anything which hints or directly points to a political or religious leaning and that the cross contravened this and should not be allowed," a source told the newspaper.
Stephen Whittle, a former controller of editorial policy at the BBC, argued for a ban on necklaces that have crosses attached.
"A newsreader should not let themselves get in the way of a story by wearing things that make the audience wonder about the newsreader's own position on a story," said Whittle.
posted by Fr LWG at 8:05 PM
5 Comments:
"Jesus wept; Voltaire smiled. From that divine tear and from that human smile is derived the grace of present civiization." -- Victor Hugo
On a personal level, I find this to be absurd. Wear what you want; be who you are. Be Catholic, be Christian, be Jewish....However, I can understand the position of the BBC managment. The wearing of the cross may indicate a certain bias which could be construed as hindering the way that the broadcaster reports the news or hinders the way in which the news is interpreted by viewers who perceive a bias......In reality, this whole thing was probably started by a jealous competitor. (N.B.:Harder for a newscaster/media person to do his or her job when he or she becomes part of a big story...)
Perhaps newscasters should wear "uniforms" as do priests and pilots.
A recent article in a daily medium-market East Coast newspaper ran a feature article on a high profile priest. In this article was a description about what the guy wears when he is involved in leisure activities. Who cares what humans wear when they are not working! However, I certainly hope that no one cares -- or notices -- that I sometimes wear my bathrobe when I drive my teenager to school in the morning! (School starts mighty early for teenagers, even though current research indicates it would be better for them to start at a later time...)
You have a fabulous blog.
Thanks.
Post a Comment
<< Home