Monday 3 December 2012

BBC news sinks to new low

Was anyone else shocked, as I was, by the broadcast on Friday November 30th 6pm news, of a recording of a Russian prisoner being tortured by prison officers? The news was that the prison officers had been prosecuted and sentenced. But then we were subject to a detailed description of exactly what was done to this prisoner, while handcuffed, and then an actual recording of the screams of pain and the shouts of the torturers. We do have videos of extreme violence on the net and in films, to illustrate for example police violence, or war, but now this graphic violence is judged as news in itself.

It seems there is an attempt to immune us to the sense of outrage and physical repulsion which is the natural reaction when seeing violence perpetrated. And it seems to be working since I have not heard of any other objections to this broadcast.

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