Comments on: BBC Actually Aired This? John Sweeney’s Unethical, Horrible North Korea Hack Job

By: Ted W

Ted W — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 11:32:16 +0000

I find it absurd that people are friendly to this totalitarian armpit. Only the Chinese try to lamely defend them. It’s not possible, lads. It’s like trying to defend Hitler. Nobody believes your whitewash except other dumbass Chinese.

By: Monkey King

Monkey King — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:31:10 +0000

Yeah, BBC does do great docs, but “that magisterially solemn thumb-up-the-ass look which Brits have so mastered” could not possibly be a more spot-on description.

By: kiko

kiko — Wed, 29 May 2013 05:08:42 +0000

Sweeny is so biased he is as disgusting as North Korea’s brainwashing machine

By: jnb

jnb — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:48:29 +0000

He betrayed the trust and friendship of the North Koreans playing as host. How would you feel if you have a “visitor” coming to your house with a pin size camera videoing without permission ?

By: Mark Dreyer

Mark Dreyer — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:19:07 +0000

Top stuff, and exactly my thoughts when I watched the part of the doc they had online. Not bad for undercover work, Mano? See Tao’s point about anyone being able to get in there. He had written the whole thing before he stepped on the plane. OK, so there weren’t any patients in the hospital at that time. That’s the ONLY thing he found FFS! And what did that prove? Yes, it’s odd, but the implication-by-shrugging/sighing/breathing was ridiculous.

Two other points:
1. Sweeney has single-handedly f-ed it up for any non-tourist wanting to go to North Korea for any other purpose. See Matthew Ashton’s excellent article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-matthew-ashton/north-korea-documentary-academic-implications_b_3081173.html
2. I thought Sweeney was familiar and then remembered that he is the only person to have made the scientologists look remotely sane. Search “Sweeney” and “Scientology” on Youtube to see his meltdown. That the BBC still employs him tells you everything you need to know about the BBC right now.

By: Chackie Jan

Chackie Jan — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:47:20 +0000

I don’t think there’s any documentary that is going to show more than the actual smuggled footage you can find on sites like liveleak. So what’s the point really…

By: Owain Lloyd-Williams

Owain Lloyd-Williams — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:57:08 +0000

I must agree that there’s nothing new about this report whatsoever. I also didn’t like it when he described the landscape as “bleak beyond words,” as if somehow oppressive communist regimes literally shape the scenery and mountains of the countries they inhabit (although pollution and mountain destruction in China may suggest otherwise.) Don’t know about you but those jagged mountains and rolling hills look like a hiker’s paradise.

By: Vicky

Vicky — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:07:09 +0000

This will have put the North Korean tourist guides in trouble too – and for what? For nothing, a waste of time exercise revealing nothing.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:19:02 +0000

“that magisterially solemn thumb-up-the-ass look which Brits have so mastered”

Not nice. And yeah this Panorama sucked but let’s not forget that the reason we’re all disappointed is that the BBC make the best documentaries in the world – usually.

By: Mano

Mano — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:15:03 +0000

I just watched this a few minuted ago. Its not bad for undercover work. It was interesting to watch and dont see what the big deal is about. The world doesnt understand journalists anyway, they bitch and moan and only a few people are willing to go in and document while everyone else bitches about this and that.