How the BBC elevated impartiality to its “very essence” amid documentary cancellations and regulatory pressures, and whether this embattled value can
BBC
In this report, Mohamed Shalaby’s suspension from an internal fact-checking unit after challenging the BBC’s Gaza coverage is part of a wider pattern
“Always balance, everything in balance,” intones Raul Niño Zambrano, all smiles and relaxed on the last morning of his fourth year as creative director of Sheffield DocFest. It’s an aspirational mantra for a festival that seeks to elevate the documentary art of drawing meaning from chaos; in a capsizing world that needs independent media more than ever but would rather attack it, a confident and constructive place to rally is vital. Brexit cut off Creative Europe and Creative Media funding and visa-free visits from Europe, the pandemic hammered revenue and audience habits, and the UK remains in a deep industry recession with more than half its freelance workforce out of work and its once-mighty broadcasters on the back foot. And yet the festival has steadied.