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Friday, August 28, 2009 - 10.04 GMT |
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'Channel 4'
gets flak for exploiting journalist |
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'Channel
4' UK ,
the news
network
which
broadcast
the
false
and
unverified
video
footage
on Aug
25 which
allegedly
showed
the
summary
killing
by Sri
Lankan
troops
of Tamil
civilians
in
January
this
year,
has come
in for
heavy
criticism
from
many
quarters
for the
exploiting
of a
journalist
to
obtain a
sensational
news
item.
The
Daily
Mail, UK
said
'Channel
4'
"promised
to
stretch
reality
television
to the
limit:
one man
pitting
his wits
against
the
Yukon
wilderness
with
just a
camera
for
company.
But
hopes
for an
epic
three-month
contest
between
man and
nature
were
dashed
when
adventurer
Ed
Wardle
failed
to go
the
distance.
Seven
weeks
after
striding
out into
the
rugged
forests
of
western
Canada
armed
with a
rifle
and a
fishing
rod, Mr.
Wardle
had to
be
airlifted
back to
civilization
suffering
from
starvation".
It
reported
that'
Channel
4' faced
criticism
for
allowing
him to
attempt
the
expedition
unaided
and
apparently
unprepared,
to
entertain
viewers.
During
his
adventure,
Mr.
Wardle,
34, was
permitted
to send
out a
daily
posting
on the
Twitter
website
and
transmit
a single
electronic
signal
confirming
he was
still
alive.
“This is
a pretty
foolish
enterprise.
If
Channel
4 is
going to
send
people
on this
kind of
expedition,
they
really
must
make
sure
they are
up to it
and have
the
skills
necessary
to
survive,"
said
Director
of Media
Watch,
John
Beyer.
“If they
first of
all did
not
check
that Ed
Wardle
was
competent,
then
that is
the
height
of
irresponsibility
on the
part of
Channel
4, to do
that
merely
to
provide
entertainment
for us
all back
home to
watch
this man
steadily
deteriorate.”
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