In September the press eagerly covered the story of how Michael Green, chairman of Carlton, had joined "a barrage of criticism" by attacking a documentary produced by his own company. The film in question was John Pilger's "Palestine is Still the Issue," shown at 11pm, "three hours after the end of Yom Kippur", Leon Symons wrote significantly in the Guardian.
The problem, Symons reported, was Pilger's "passionately voiced contention that Israeli injustices towards the Palestinians over a period of many decades was at the heart of the Mideast conflict", which had brought "scathing condemnation from the Israeli embassy, the Board of Deputies and the Conservative Friends of Israel. All said they would be complaining to ITV and would seek a programme to redress the balance". Symons added that Carlton had received a large number of comments on the film roughly balanced between those supporting and those criticising the film. (Leon Symons, "Carlton chief slams Pilger's attack on Israel", The Guardian, September 20, 2002)
Carlton chairman, Michael Green, was bitter in his condemnation of the film:
The problem, Symons reported, was Pilger's "passionately voiced contention that Israeli injustices towards the Palestinians over a period of many decades was at the heart of the Mideast conflict", which had brought "scathing condemnation from the Israeli embassy, the Board of Deputies and the Conservative Friends of Israel. All said they would be complaining to ITV and would seek a programme to redress the balance". Symons added that Carlton had received a large number of comments on the film roughly balanced between those supporting and those criticising the film. (Leon Symons, "Carlton chief slams Pilger's attack on Israel", The Guardian, September 20, 2002)
Carlton chairman, Michael Green, was bitter in his condemnation of the film: