Panorama Expose Of Comic Relief Shelved

[Dino]

BBC 'shelves' Panorama exposé of Comic Relief
The planned broadcast of a Panorama investigation into Comic Relief has reportedly been cancelled after a string of BBC executives ruled themselves out of making decisions about it.

The BBC has reportedly shelved its Panorama investigation into Comic Relief.
By Rosa Silverman

The documentary is understood to examine how the charity allegedly invested £150 million of its funds for up to eight years, before handing the money to the causes for which it had been raised.
Some of the money was allegedly invested in tobacco firms and an arms company.
By the end of last year, the charity was allegedly sitting on £261million in a mixture of shares, bonds and cash.
The six-month investigation also explores how staffing costs at Comic Relief have allegedly almost doubled from £7.1million a year in 2008 to £13.5 million by 2012.
The programme was scheduled to air later this month but is reported to have been postponed.

A BBC source told the Daily Mirror: “It has already been put back once and the worry is this investigation will never see the light of day.
“This is causing huge problems within the Corporation, opening a can of worms some would rather stayed closed.
"We’re struggling to find other execs to take the place of those who ruled themselves out due to a conflict of interest. This is the BBC in full-on post-Savile self-flagellation mode.”
Comic Relief raises millions of pounds through its two major fundraising campaigns, Red Nose Day and Sport Relief, to fight poverty in the UK and overseas.
A Comic Relief spokesman said: “We can’t control who the funds invest in.”
It said operating costs “have gone up in order to generate more funds” and costs were covered by corporate sponsors and Gift Aid claims from HM Revenue and Customs.
A BBC spokesman said: “At any one time the BBC is working on any number of investigations. We don’t comment on these.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/t...ic-Relief.html

See... I thought the whole point of these telethons, was whatever got raised got passed on to the needy? I didn't realise they were invested in stocks and funds. And invested into an arms company!
Brilliant! So when they do appeals for people who fled their homes in terror from armed men... we probably provided the bullets!!!

Genius!...

[Dirk Gently]

If the allegations are true then its disgusting.

[Rob McCow]

Wow. Even though the BBC will have had nothing to do with how the money was spent, they'll get tarnished with this.

To be honest I'm suspicious of every single Charity in the UK. I'm sure there are many well-meaning individuals involved, but the vast majority of the organisations seem to spend their money on promoting themselves, investments and other unscrupulous ends. I doubt that half of the money these charities raise goes where you think it would go. The truth is that I don't know either way. Even if they tell me it's been used to buy a goat for a village or whatever, why should I believe them?

I would like for charitable organisations to prove me wrong.

[Perry Vale]

Desperately sad, but not surprising in the least. It's a symptom of our society, it seems.

So that's why Bono calls it the ONE foundation

Bono’s anti-poverty foundation ONE is under pressure to explain its lavish salaries after it was revealed that only a small percentage of money it raises reaches the needy.

The non-profit organisation set up by the U2 frontman received almost £9.6m in donations in 2008 but handed out only £118,000 to good causes (1.2 per cent).

The figures published by the New York Post also show that £5.1m went towards paying salaries.