Classic FM cave in to Christian Voice (UPDATE – no they don’t)
The UK’s leading classical music station succumbed to a censorship campaign coordinated by the tiny fundamentalist organisation Christian Voice.
When we first read Stephen Green crowing on his website about his achievement in cancelling the promotion of Not the Messiah (see below) we assumed he was just kidding himself. Kidding himself is, after all, what he spends his life doing. But the British Humanist Association received confirmation yesterday that the channel did indeed drop the promotion because of complaints.
Perhaps Classic FM did not know that the complaints were from the notorious cancer charity blackmailing bigots who rose to fame by publishing the home addresses of TV producers on their website. Even so, that is still no excuse to cave so cravenly to the fundamentalist shut-up brigade.
The BHA’s Campaigns Officer Pepper Harow:
We are hugely disappointed by the judgement taken by the head of Classic FM to effectively ban promotion of this show. There are no blasphemy laws in this country anymore and this decision is entirely unjustifiable.
Just because some people may not like something, it doesn’t mean it should be banned. We live in a liberal democracy where all views should be heard, not just the ones we want to listen to. Hyper-sensitivity to one particular religion should not prevent the enjoyment by everyone else of perfectly legitimate music, art or drama.
Why not contact Classic FM and tell them what you think?
(Hat tip, Stuart in the comments)
UPDATE: This is not a true story.
Not wanting to nitpick, but ClassicFM is not a BBC channel, it’s an independent commercial concern.
Thank you, Ed. I fixed that.
[…] From MediaWatchWatch If you have stumbled onto this blog and are not a Christian, get yourself a hot drink, pull up a […]
I suggest everyone who is disgusted by CFM’s craven behaviour contact CFM and complain – that is what the odious Green did to get the ban.
Classic FM have the following to say:
Following an email campaign, a number of incorrect views about Classic FM’s involvement in this event appear to have gathered momentum in the online community and I hope that you will allow me to take this opportunity to correct them:
1. Classic FM broadcast an advertising campaign for this event which ran from last Wednesday until last weekend. The station also ran a competition to win tickets to the event on the station’s website which also ended last weekend. No further advertising activity was booked to run either on-air or online after the weekend.
2. At no point did Classic FM ever intend to broadcast this event on air, nor did it ever enter into any negotiations to broadcast the event on air, so any assertion that any programme content has been withdrawn from broadcast is simply incorrect.
3. Classic FM has never been a financial supporter of this event and nor was it ever the promoter of the live event – and that relationship has in no way changed over the past week.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to correct these misconceptions. May I also take this opportunity to thank you for taking the trouble to get in touch. I do hope that you continue to enjoy listening to Classic FM’s programmes.
God is good worship him!