06/01/2012 Newswatch

Newswatch with Raymond snody. This week, is BBC News already getting

overexcited by the US presidential Welcome to the first programme of

2012. Later, why did the... First, is is hard to predict what she will

be watching and commenting on on the news this year but one safe bet

is that we will all be hearing a lot about the presidential election

in the United States. Although the final vote doesn't take place until

November, here -- there are a series of contests before then to

decide who the Republican Party will be putting up against

President Obama. This week's caucuses kicked that process off.

Martin wrote, oh, no, it has started again. Yes who becomes the

crowned leader of the West is important but come on, don't give

us a blow-by-blow account for the next few months. But John echoed

The BBC's North American editor, Mark Martel, is leading its

coverage of US elections this year. We asked him to take a break from

the campaign trail to respond to those points macro. -- those points.

A high was interested in flows -- I was interested in those e-mails.

When I was Europe Editor, I said it was easier to get a profile as a

revision of someone who is not going to be president of United

States than it is the one who is about to be the most powerful

politician in Europe, Angela Merkel. Now, I would agree that it is more

important to look at the next President of France rather than Ron

Paul, who is probably not going to be the president of the USA, have

we have believed opinion polls. But there are both good and, I would

say bad, but not quite so good reasons why refocus a lot on

American politics, not just the BBC but the whole of the media. It is

relatively easy. People speak English and they speak in the sound

bites and say colourful things very well. There are loads of other

networks so there are lots of pictures. All events are covered in

great depth. Although I don't think this is actually true that American

politics is simple, it has a certain clarity that appeals to

people. Game On! There are some good reasons for the way we cover

American politics in depth. It is still the most powerful, arguably

the at the most important country in the world. Economic clear,

militarily, culturally. -- economic three. What it does matters. You

only have to think about Iraq to see how much it matters for the

rest of the world. It matters to his President and it matters the

clash of ideas in this great democracy, this very open democracy

where people have very strong views and are expressing them the whole

time. It is important to see what people are saying. This is a

campaign night where America wins. We are going to hit America back on

track. That has big resonance in the rest of the world and in

Britain. If the argument that we will see in this connection between

one vision of America, which depends on cutting back the state,

cutting taxes, getting rid of red tape, allowing capitalism to boom

and zoom. And something that is a lot more like social democracy from

Obama's side. I am determined and we try and use not only the

Republican race but the whole of this election cycle to look at some

very big questions about America and its direction. I've been

determined to do that for a while and it probably doesn't always come

off. But just come back from I were. About to go to New Hampshire and I

thought -- I know there are people within the BBC who thought hour by

hour coverage was to detail. If you are going to cover a news event,

you have to tell people what happened and so you have to explain

a little bit about what that means and why those things have happened.

Maybe that is too much detail for some people. Others I know will be

lapping it up. One thing we've got at the BBC have that is useful in

that we do not have to tell everything the same on television,

radio and on a social media. I can go into detail on my blog, the

anorak side of friends, that I wouldn't, 10 o'clock News. That is

one advantage. Now for some of the other points to have been making to

was, starting with the big news on Tuesday. Good evening. It has taken

18 years but today, two men have been found guilty of the murder of

the black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Coverage of the conviction and

sentencing of Gary Dobson and David Norris continued throughout the

week and included several background pieces on the extent of

racial tensions two decades on from his murder. One was from home

affairs editor Mark Easton, recording -- reporting from Peckham.

Waves of immigration have shared highly diverse neighbourhoods in

some of us -- our inner cities. These are committees where I have

found tension, even produces just below this surface. Don't think

there was guilty. Really? Do you think there was a stitch-up?

think there was a stitch-up. One little speck. That interview we

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went on to use what is commonly Over the Christmas holiday, there

was widespread coverage of Prince Philip's Cup -- treatment for a

blocked coronary artery. It it had been a moment of anxiety on Friday

when he had been admitted to hospital with chest pains. After

three full days and four nights, the Duke left Papworth with a wave

and feeling very cheerful, according to Palace officials with

him. For a number of news watch viewers, this story featured too

Some complaints related not to the content of the broadcasts over the

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Forced remember the row over the all-male sports list for the BBC

Sports personality of the year? -- remember. Last week, there were

more cries of sexism. As has become traditional, the website ran two

selections of faces which had been in the news last year, one for men,

one for women. So it -- it showed one a photograph Command. Whose was

the woman's face of December? Step forward one of the giant pandas are

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 59 seconds