The BBC, for all it’s issues, still follows basic rules of journalistic integrity with regards to facts.
If the BBC can’t independently verify something through their own trusted channels (and multiple at that), they won’t state something as fact, they’ll just state the claim and say who made the claim.
It’s not disrespectful, or suggesting that party is lying, it’s just how good journalism is carried out.
As for why discussing how deadly the effects of the disaster have been, I imagine that’s because people reading the article are concerned about the potential deadly effects of damage to the current radiation shield, and so some background is useful here.
Again, the BBC can’t truly verify how many died, we only have our own nation’s educated guesses coupled with the likely intentionally inaccurate numbers released by the USSR, and it’s difficult to pin exact causes on some long term effects on an individual basis, like an increased cancer rate.
I would be surprised if these numbers weren’t disputed, and so as it’s relevant to bring up the deadly effects of the disaster, the responsible thing to do is to also mention that the actual number of casualties is disputed.
Good journalism isn’t telling us what to think, feel or believe, good journalism is attempting to give us the unvarnished facts, claims, or what information we do have, which are pertinent to understanding the situation ourselves.
The BBC, for all it’s issues, still follows basic rules of journalistic integrity with regards to facts.
If the BBC can’t independently verify something through their own trusted channels (and multiple at that), they won’t state something as fact, they’ll just state the claim and say who made the claim.
It’s not disrespectful, or suggesting that party is lying, it’s just how good journalism is carried out.
As for why discussing how deadly the effects of the disaster have been, I imagine that’s because people reading the article are concerned about the potential deadly effects of damage to the current radiation shield, and so some background is useful here.
Again, the BBC can’t truly verify how many died, we only have our own nation’s educated guesses coupled with the likely intentionally inaccurate numbers released by the USSR, and it’s difficult to pin exact causes on some long term effects on an individual basis, like an increased cancer rate.
I would be surprised if these numbers weren’t disputed, and so as it’s relevant to bring up the deadly effects of the disaster, the responsible thing to do is to also mention that the actual number of casualties is disputed.
Good journalism isn’t telling us what to think, feel or believe, good journalism is attempting to give us the unvarnished facts, claims, or what information we do have, which are pertinent to understanding the situation ourselves.
Like how they covered the white Swedish guy shooting up a school by putting a headline photo of a middle eastern immigrant.