LONDON, April 24: The head of the BBC launched a broadside against American broadcasters on Thursday, accusing them of “unquestioning” coverage of the Iraq war and blatant patriotism.

BBC Director General Greg Dyke said many US television networks had lacked impartiality during the conflict and risked losing credibility if they persisted with their stance.

“Personally I was shocked while in the United States by how unquestioning the broadcast news media was during this war,” Dyke said in a speech at a University of London conference.

“If Iraq proved anything, it was that the BBC cannot afford to mix patriotism and journalism. This is happening in the United States and if it continues, will undermine the credibility of the US electronic news media”.

US broadcasters came under attack for “cheerleading” during the Iraq conflict, with what some critics saw as gung-ho reporting and flag-waving patriotism.

Dyke singled out Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, the most popular US cable news network during the conflict, for its “gung-ho patriotism”.

“We are still surprised when we see Fox News with such a committed political position,” said Dyke.

“For the health of our democracy, it’s vital we don’t follow the path of many American networks”.

The British media veteran also attacked US radio broadcaster Clear Channel Communication Inc. and warned against British media becoming “Americanised”.

“We are genuinely shocked when we discover that the largest radio group in the United States was using its airwaves to organise pro-war rallies. We are even more shocked to discover that the same group wants to become a big player in radio in the UK,” said Dyke.—Reuters