Saturday, 1 August 2020

John Ware - No BAFTA

In early June, the news was greeted with thinly veiled delight: Jewish News told its readers that “Panorama documentary on antisemitism nominated for Bafta TV Award ‘Is Labour Anti-Semitic?’ is up against two Channel 4 programmes and one ITV documentary for best current affairs programme”. It was “made by veteran documentary maker John Ware”.
John Ware

There was more. “The Jewish Labour Movement national secretary Peter Mason reacted to the nomination on Thursday, tweeting … ‘Panorama will be remembered as a turning point when brave people, victims and whistleblowers spoke truth to power. Hope they win the BAFTA’”. The Jewish Chronicle was also on side in its praise.
“The whistleblowing Panorama documentary, which alleged that senior Labour Party figures had intervened in antisemitism cases, has been nominated for a Bafta … It alleged that senior figures, including Jeremy Corbyn’s communications chief Seumas Milne and then-general secretary Jennie Formby, had intervened in antisemitism cases and found that despite hundreds of complaints being received, the party had expelled only 15 people in the past three years”. There was also support on social media.
Simon Jacobs mused “Huge Mazal [sic] Tov [Ian Austin] on your peerage, well deserved. Just need John Ware and the [Panorama] team to win a [Bafta] tonight for ‘Is [Labour] Antisemitic’ to make it a great day”. Another Tweeter goaded “I'm sure John Ware appreciates your donation to the libel damages he'll be paid in the inevitable Corbyn settlement. Thank you for helping underwrite BAFTA-nominated quality journalism!”
But then the ceremony came and went, and the award went to the ITV nomination “Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag” about the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims. Kerry-Anne Mendoza of The Canary duly embedded tongue in cheek and told “Absolutely devastated for John Ware missing out on that BAFTA for Most Contrived Propaganda Piece. I thought he was a shoe-in personally”. Ho ho very satirical.
There was more. And others were, shall we say, more direct in their expressions of opinion. Matt Zarb-Cousin, predictably, was one of them. “Cracking one open for John Ware missing out on a BAFTA”. A Tweeter who uses the handle Woody Heck added “Thank f*ck the odious John Ware isn't gloating tonight. Credit to the BAFTA TV judges”.
Anyone might think there was a less than total appreciation of the programme from some on the left. But at least Paddy French of Press Gang, who Ware is suing for alleged defamation, was there to put things in perspective. “JUST FANCY THAT! John Ware failed to win a Bafta tonight for his Panorama on Labour anti-Semitism. Paddy French already has one - as an ITV Wales producer he won the 2005 Bafta Cymru current affairs award. Nominated in 2002 & 2003 … Just saying”. You can contribute to his crowdfunder HERE.
Would one of Ware’s supporters care to redress the balance? Sadly, there were few offers, but one enterprising soul did at least manage to grumble “The smuggery about John Ware not getting a BAFTA is just gross”. Or maybe it is understandable.

Ware appears to have made few friends on the left. Why that may be I leave to others.
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5 comments:

  1. Roy1 August 2020 at 12:36

    This is weak, Tim

    Really really weak

    So it didnt win a BAFTA

    So what?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1 August 2020 at 12:57

    You'd think Ware, the BBC and the Panorama propaganda gang would take the hint if even the BAFTA has brushed them aside.

    But said brushing couldn't have happened to a more deserving crew than that shitheap of far right corrupt cunts.

    Hopefully the same judgment will be delivered against Ware and co. if they actually show up in court.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1 August 2020 at 14:13

    "BAFTA for Most Contrived Propaganda Piece"

    One of the grounds on which permission was denied to the challenge to Ofcom's decision not to investigate complaints about 'Is Labour antisemitic?' was that it was NOT 'news, in whatever form': "The Claimant’s complaint in relation to Ms Formby’s email proceeds on the mistaken basis that Rule 5.1 of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code applied. However, it only applies to news programmes." http://hurryupharry.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RSchlosberg-v-OFCOM-1.pdf

    The judge held that Ofcom was correct to apply Rule 2.2, which applies to 'Factual programmes or items or portrayals of factual matters'. Rather than being up for the BADTA for Current Affairs, Ware should then surely have been up for Reality & Constructed Factual, alongside RuPaul's Drag Race.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1 August 2020 at 16:10

    @Roy

    See my comments @14:43

    TLDR: Ware's programme is de jure NOT news or current affairs and should not be treated as such according to the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE

    So why are its 'revelations' treated as significant when its peers at BAFTA should be RuPaul's Drag Race?

    BTW: BADTA is a typo and not a pun ;)

    ReplyDelete