Letter: Outing is out
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: The BBC will continue to respect the privacy of individuals, recognising that any intrusions have to be justified by serving a greater good.
The BBC's position on this is clear and has been so for many years. We will not discuss or report the private lives of individuals unless broader public issues are raised, as they were with the resignation of Ron Davies. The BBC's Producer Guidelines go on to state that: "The mere fact that private behaviour is `in the public domain' (ie that someone else has reported it), is not in itself sufficient to justify the BBC reporting it too".
Last week two contributors to BBC programmes began to discuss the private life of an individual without there being any public interest involved. That was why we drew attention to the BBC's long-standing policy. Should a similar situation arise in the future, we would do so again.
PHILIP HARDING
Controller Editorial Policy
BBC
London W1
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments