CENSORSHIP?: On Behalf of the Audience!

TUE STEEN MÜLLER raises the question of whether it is a matter of censorship or editorial sovereignty.

Thanks to Italian television it’s possible to rewrite one more version of the classic story about television executives who refuse to broadcast programmes that are controversial in one way or another. Their official explanations are always along the lines that the programmes in question are outdated and will not give the channel adequate ratings. Normally the respective production companies give in and don’t make a fuss. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” is an old rule most of us know from experience!

This version of the story is about a Rome-based Italian company, D.N.A. International, that actually did fight back when it was opposed by the RAI3 channel.

In 1996, RAI3 commissioned D.N.A. to produce “La Sindrome del Golfo (The Gulf War Syndrome)”, to be directed by Alberto D’Onofrio and produced by Alessandra Ugolini. They filmed the documentary with a small crew on several locations in the U.S. They interviewed many people who suffer from the so-called syndrome of the war as well as experts who doubt that the illness of the soldiers and their frequency of highly-deformed children have anything to do with chemical and biological contamination, with the use of vaccines on the soldiers or with exposure to the uranium ammunition used in Iraq.

The documentary is shocking to watch. It is very hard to watch children with indescribable deformities. The programme gives a voice to the families involved, it’s full of indignation and it intends to stimulate a debate. This is not a new issue in the media: The BBC has covered it, and newspapers around the world have given space to debates. It would therefore be unfair to conclude that this Italian programme is hiding an alternative viewpoint generated by listening to the victims.