16/03/2012 Newswatch

That is the news. Now it is time for Newswatch. This week, how

effective is the BBC's complaints Welcome to Newswatch. Later,

complaints about the BBC's complaints process. It was goodbye

from her. As Breakfast prefers -- prepares to move to Salford some

viewers will be leaving the programme as well. Have you heard

this braise special relationship this week? The Prime Minister

visited Barack Obama and viewers were treated to views of his

arrival, hot dogs, a gun salute, Banquet, and some politics. Shaun

Wednesday saw a distressing reports about the coach crash in

Switzerland which killed 20 people, most of them children. Fire crews

had to cut through the mangled remains of the bus. There were no

other vehicles involved. Helicopters and ambulances were

used to take those he survived to fall nearby hospitals. -- those who

survive to to Fort Austin nearby hospitals. At schools in Belgium

the agony of not knowing who had survived, and waiting for the worst

Foyers and was also on the might of Parts of the BBC are in the process

of moving to their new base in Salford. A couple of weeks ago it

was the turn of the sports news department to migrate, which means

the news channel sports presenter is no longer in the same studio as

the main news presenter. Time for sport now. A full round up

from the sports centre. Thank you. We will start with football and it

was a remarkable night. The change is not to the liking of

David like that. -- David like that. What do you do if you object to

something you have seen on the programme? Contact us and Newswatch.

But what if you want to take things further? There will be a three-

stage process. You can complain directly online or by post. If you

are not satisfied with the response from the programme-makers you can

go to the editorial complaints unit which will investigate

independently of producers. If you are still not happy you can appeal

to the BBC Trust. Changes are being suggested to the system. In a

moment I will be asking what is behind the proposals, but before

that, what is wrong with the way things are now? Frankly, I would

have them all shot. Some complaints hit the headlines, many don't.

30,000 people objected to Jeremy Clarkson's opinion about public

sector workers being shot. And 55,002 Jonathan Ross and Russell

Brand's prank phone message. The BBC handles a quarter of a million

The House of Lords Committee report last year agreed, finding the whole

process was convoluted and overly complicated. Investigating

complaints can take a lot of money and time to the frustration of

programme-makers as well as members of the public. These people are

effectively in control of their town. It to two years before the

BBC Trust found an article broadcast by Jeremy Bowen had

breached impartiality guidelines. One of Lord Patten's Thurston us

was when he took over as chairman was the complaints procedure can I

should be improved -- first announcements. I'm joined by the

member of the BBC Trust responsible for the complaints process, Richard

Eyre. A lot of people find the process complicated, convoluted. I

even heard the word Byzantine used. What will you do to improve it?

For we are consulting on a range of measures. We will shorten the

length of time we hope it takes if you choose to go through the whole

system, from your first complaint up to an appeal to the trust, it

should be quicker. We will prioritise the handling of

complaints that raised serious editorial issues, things like

impartiality, accuracy. We will prioritise those at the expense of

the small but significant number of complaints that did Brady raise

significant issues at all. -- but do not really a race.

The person who complained that the passionate about them and you might

enrage more viewers. Nearly everybody who makes a

complaint to the BBC believes in it and often they are passionate about

it. It doesn't follow they are always right. We guarantee every

complaint will be read, every complaint will receive an answer.

Those that really did raise issues of substance should not have

licence-fee payers money spent on them -- those that really do not

raise issues. One big issues like bias or

impartiality, one thinks of the Middle East, hundreds if not

thousands are convinced the BBC is pro Israel, and in equal number

think the opposite. How to adjudicate on matters as

complicated as that. It is extremely difficult, almost

impossible for the BBC to do a news report on the Middle East without

getting complaints alleging we are partial on one side or the other,

sometimes on both. Each of those complaints, however often we

receive them, even when they come over and over again from the same

people, have to be taken seriously and sometimes that takes a long

time. I know one of the consent of critics is some complaints take

months or even years before they are resolved. Ahead of the lot of

work goes into it. As for legal advice, the BBC does take legal

advice when it feels it needs to. It is in the interest of licence-

fee payers the courts do not end up determining what content should or

should not be on BBC programmes. You spend most of your working life

on BBC News. Is there a danger having spent so much of life in

that culture you may not be the ideal person to handle independent

editorial complaint? I am sure I am not ideal but there

are 12 members of the BBC Trust, only three of us have previous

broadcasting experience, all three of those have experience in the

outside world after he stopped working for the BBC. -- After we

stop. What I have had my other colleagues have and the other nine

members of the trust share is a passion for the BBC's editorial

independence, a passion for the BBC setting the highest editorial

standards in the broadcast world, and the determination to hold the

BBC programme-makers to account, when and if they let audiences down

by a beach near standards, that is what trust is there to do. --

breached standards. He firmly for the perception of

things, wouldn't it be better for the appeal process to be handled by

an external body? -- if only. Those things are granted through

royal charter, the BBC Trust has the legal responsibility for

oversight of the complaints process. Audiences can complain also to

Ofcom, or to them as an alternative if they wish, except on some key

areas where Ofcom has no involvement, the BBC's impartiality,

accuracy and fairness. Finally, tears were being shed on

the breakfast -- Breakfast sofa on Thursday when Sian Williams

presented with a gravel the last time in advance of its move to

Salford. It will be broadcast from next month, but without her. Such a

wonderful audience, thank you very much. I will miss you usually.

we will miss you. It has been a joy and pleasure. Good luck. The tears

were not just in the studio. Claire Winchester was just one of many

For other viewers there tributes were a come in by a sting in the

We hope to discuss that move north in the coming weeks. Let us know