The Meadow

Bureau of Investigative Journalism. John Cusack's Argument Weakens Further.

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The Angry Man. 

Board Member of Freedom of The Press Foundation

Censors me :)

Everyone will recall my short skirmish with Hollywood Actor - John Cusack. Past write-ups of this disagreement can be read here, here and here . Cusack continues to block me on Twitter for having the temerity to criticise the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Cusack is on the board of the organisation - Freedom of the Press Foundation. While Cusack's anger is now stratospheric with no meditation in sight, his case to support the Bureau appears to be falling flat on its face. Not only do numerous people support my position but another case unearthed itself recently where the Bureau's reporting was unreliable. 

Recently, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's problems deepened as the BBC upheld a complaint. The entire tale can be read on the BBC website here. 

"The internal investigation into the report by former Bureau of Investigative Journalism chief reporter Angus Stickler found that there was no evidence to back Newsnight's claim about Help for Heroes. 

In the apology, the BBC will say: "Following an investigation by its Editorial Complaints Unit, the BBC now accepts that its coverage was misleading and unfair to Help for Heroes. 

"The BBC gave the impression that Help for Heroes was responsible for shortcomings in the provision of support to wounded veterans. The editorial complaints unit found no evidence to support this suggestion. 

"The Newsnight report was a complete shock to us, but an even bigger shock to the men and women we're helping to recover.” 

"Although it was legitimate to report the concerns of veterans, the BBC portrayed criticisms about overall support by a number of agencies as specific criticisms of Help for Heroes. This unfair impression was reinforced by our coverage of the story in other outlets. 

"In addition, the Newsnight report contained interviews with two contributors which were edited in a way which misrepresented their views."

The Press Freedom Foundation continues to support the Bureau of Investigative Journalism without question.  Note very carefully that they have changed the language of donations :). This screen grab was taken sometime ago while John and I argued over this very point.  Of course, the more cynical of us will look at this startling redesign with interest. My concern really is this - if all these numerous reports by the Bureau are unreliable, can we rely on other "stories" produced by the Bureau?

 Website Before the Argument With John Cusack 

Website After Argument With John Cusack.