For all those into the Famine Scam debate, here’s an article by the Guardian, published on July 1st, entitled:

BBC in dispute with Norway’s TV2

bbc.jpg

The controversy surrounds BBC refusing Swedish TV4 the rights to show their footage earlier this year.

A few reactions to the Guardian article are:

The battle between public broadcasters - BBC vs. Norway’s TV2

Terence Huynh on 02 July 2008, 19:11.

The BBC and Norway’s public broadcaster TV2 are in a row after the BBC would not allow material to be shown in a documentary that will be shown on Norwegian television.

In an email seen by MediaGuardian, a sales executive from BBC Worldwide refused to give a Swedish broadcaster permission to reuse its footage in subsequent showings of the documentary produced by TV2.

The documentary, titled “The Famine Scam”, has alleged that the BBC and the United Nations were saying that African state of Niger was suffering from a famine. Interviewees like the Prime Minister of Niger, residents, doctors in the region and an aid organisation spokesperson in the US have said that no famine existed.

Though the BBC allowed producers a license to show the reports, but withdrew after the footage was shown in Norway - forcing the producers to shorten the documentary. In the original format, the documentary was awarded third prize in the Monte Carlo TV festival in June.

The Journal Terence Huynh (Editor in Chief)

I also recommend blogger JC Skinner’s post “Did the BBC invent a famine for rating?” posted at Skin Flicks. He ends his post:

So perhaps we might yet get to see this interesting Norwegian film, controversially titled ‘The Famine Scam.’

I fervently hope that the buyers in RTE will make a point of picking up this documentary and showing it during prime time viewing.

Then we will be able to decide for ourselves if the BBC and UN were right and there was a famine in Niger.

Or we might find that ‘Niger’s prime minister, local residents, doctors working in the region, a US aid organisation spokesman and other journalists’ are more plausible when they say that no famine ever occurred.

JC Skinner, Skin Flicks