Bashir rapped over prodigy interview – BBC

Last Updated: Friday, 25 April, 2003, 14:41 GMT 15:41 UK [b]Bashir rapped over prodigy interview[/b] TV journalist Martin Bashir, who made the controversial Living with Michael Jackson documentary, has been reprimanded over an interview he conducted with the father of a child genius. Farooq Yusof complained to the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) over a programme fronted by Bashir about his daughter Sufiah and her relationship with her family. Sufiah hit the headlines when, at the age of 15, she ran away from Oxford University where she was studying for a masters degree in maths. She was found safe and well after two weeks and Bashir was the first journalist to gain an interview with the family, although they had not been reunited at that point. The Media Guardian website reports that Mr Yusof told a BSC hearing that Bashir had promised to give him information about the whereabouts of his daughter in return for an interview. The BSC upheld a complaint about the way the interview with Mr Yusof was obtained. It ruled that Bashir and the Tonight with Trevor McDonald team misled Mr Yusof about the nature of the programme so that he would agree to be interviewed. ‘Travesty’ But the BSC dismissed two further complaints that he had been denied a promised opportunity to view the programme before transmission and that it was biased in favour of his daughter. Bashir’s documentary about the life of Michael Jackson, in which he was given permission to follow the star over an eight month period, is also subject to a complaint. The US singer complained to the BSC saying that he was misrepresented in the documentary after commentary from Bashir said his Neverland ranch was a “dangerous place” for children. He has submitted his own footage to the commission in an attempt to prove his point. Jackson said the Granada programme was a “travesty of truth” but the TV company is standing by Bashir. That complaint is currently “on hold” pending the outcome of legal action started by the singer against Bashir and Granada Television. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2976419.stm