Sometimes the media can be too balanced

Deborah Lipstadt was scheduled to appear on C-SPAN to discuss her new book about being sued (unsuccessfully) by Holocaust denier David Irving - so, in the interest of fairness, C-SPAN decided it had to air a speech by Irving, too:

Yesterday (3/15), leaders from more than 40 nations gathered in Jerusalem to dedicate a new, expanded Yad Vashem Holocaust museum.

Yet at the very time that this monument to Nazi evil was inaugurated, the American cable network C-SPAN planned to give a notorious Holocaust denier a broad audience to promote his ideology that the murder of six million Jews never occurred. This, in the name of 'journalistic balance'. Here's what happened:

Deborah Lipstadt, Holocaust scholar at Emory University (pictured), will deliver a talk at Harvard University this evening (3/16), promoting her new book, History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving. C-SPAN wished to broadcast Lipstadt's talk on the network's BookTV program, but informed Lipstadt that a recent speech of Irving's (recorded by C-SPAN) would need to be broadcast as well.
[...]
C-SPAN, that is, sought out an 'opposing view' to Lipstadt's confirmation of the Nazi Holocaust. Lipstadt refused to be cast side-by-side with Irving, on the grounds that Holocaust denial does not merit public debate. Cohen asks the appropriate question: 'For a book on the evils of slavery, would C-SPAN counter with someone who thinks it was a benign institution?'

David Irving's shoddy methodology and blatant fabrications have been debunked time and time again (most notably in Lying About Hitler by Richard Evans, an expert witness for the defence at the Irving/Lipstadt trial). A short visit to his website (I won't link to it, but it's not hard to find) confirms his racist, anti-Semitic, pro-fascist views. It's disturbing, to say the least, to see people who should know better deciding these views are worthy of being given an audience.

I don't believe the people at C-SPAN are Holocaust deniers, but I do think they're showing absolutely appalling judgment here. Irving should have the right to express his vile opinions, but that doesn't mean C-SPAN or any other network is obligated to put him on television.

Posted by damian at March 16, 2005 02:36 PM