26/10/2012 Newswatch

It is now time for News watch with the latest on the Jimmy Savile

affair. Welcome to news watch. The Jimmy

Savile affair has buffeted the BBC again this week. How transparent

It is more than three weeks since the Jimmy Savile scandal hit the

headlines and things are not getting better for the BBC. A

Panorama programme covered the whole issue on Monday including the

BBC's handling of it. We now know that what the BBC executives told

us about the original Newsnight investigation being into the police

and not Jimmy Savile's abuse was not entirely true. Panorama also

quoted an e-mail sent by the producer involved to the Director-

The very next day at, an interview with the head of editorial policy

and standards was broadcast in which it was said again. We are

investigating the police investigation into Jimmy Savile and

it was a perfectly decent investigation and it made

recommendations to the CPS and it was dropped because of a lack of

evidence. I thought they were misleading at the very least. I

thought they were suggesting the story was not about the thing which

was commissioned which was about allegations about Jimmy Savile's

behaviour. On Tuesday, George Entwistle made an uncomfortable

appearance before the Culture, Media and Select Committee. It is a

matter of embarrassment -- embarrassment. The version from

Peter Rippon were not as accurate as they should have been. -- was

not. Coupled with tales of rows in the newsroom and revelations that

nine serving employees are under investigation for serious

allegation of sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour, the

impression was developing of an organisation and knelt down. -- in

Charles Paxton and many others felt I am joined by Alex Walsh also e-

mailed us. There is no shortage of coverage of Jimmy Savile and

everything. What did you feel about the focus of it? The focus is my

main issue. The story breaks down into three strands. You got what

was happening in the BBC in the 70s, you have the Newsnight issue as

well and somewhere at the back of it is the whole issue with a Jimmy

Savile, a paedophile, and hundreds of victims. The perspective and

balance seems wrong. So you think what was going on with the police

investigation should have been at the top of the priorities? The very

much so. The way to put this right is not public navel-gazing and sell

-- it is to get a right to the heart of the story. Do you think

there was coverage elsewhere the BBC should have been doing? There

was an excellent article in the Guardian. I've had to rely on

printed media for that. For these new and coverings or specific cases

of abuse. What about the Panorama programme which did have interviews

with victims? I think Panorama covered both sides but it was

advertised as an investigation into internal affairs rather than the

victims. We are joined by Peter Horrocks, the director of global

news. Who is in charge of looking at all of this? The Thursday before

the Panorama went out the director general asked me to take

responsibility across all of the BBC's news and current affairs

because clearly there was some accusations against people within

BBC News to have been involved -- there were. I have previously been

editor of Panorama so I have taken that responsibility over the last

10 days. Despite what Panorama tried to do, there is concern that

the BBC has not been transparent with viewers. Alex is concerned and

I would like to address that. The BBC's own journalism has been

helping people to understand the BBC's own failings. Panorama did

that. The information about Panorama in advance may have

focused on information about what the BBC did or did not do but I

hope you agree that the film itself told a powerful narrative of the

voices of the victims and their anger. That was the story that

Panorama told and it told the story of how television had created Jimmy

Savile and how the BBC had given him power and control and the

sadness of the victims who responded to that. We then looked

at the issue of the BBC's recent responsibility and not getting that

way and we went into that in some detail. I would ask there was to

consider, if we had not looked at that, I would say it is proper

scrutiny of the BBC. Newspapers are revealing stories every day about

paedophile rings and naming people working on BBC premises. Why and

the BBC reporting on those? I think we are. There were stories on

Thursday of this week which we were reporting which were about concerns

that the family had raised about whether the BBC had done enough in

relation to one of its own employees. If the victims say the

abuse took place on BBC premises, has BBC News been doing enough to

give those victims prominence? have been covering those stories

across all of our platforms. We have been able to give people a

voice. Which people? The number of victims that have come forward. The

victims that we know have come forward in large numbers as a

result of this. There has been an outpouring of emotion about this.

The BBC has been covering that. BBC Television News has covered it very

thoroughly. Everyone is thinking, for how many years was this out

there and could have been reported? It took 30 a 40 years. I am

embarrassed and ashamed that the BBC did not get the story to wear.

We know the public have enormous trust in us and that is hanging in

the balance at the moment. We're trying to investigate and reveal

what happened to the victims and give them a voice and make sure the

BBC is held to account. Thank you both very much.

Elsewhere, the BBC News reported the death of Flight Lieutenant

William Walker, the all the surviving Battle of Britain pilot

who died on Tuesday at the age of 99. His obituary left something to

be desired. It contained a number of cases of incorrect and in

appropriate film footage. Many of the aircraft are American aircraft

not involved in the Battle of The City saw the demise of a

broadcasting institution -- this week. The switch-off of the

analogue signal in the UK has been completed with Northern Ireland the

last editor of digital and that means goodbye to Ceefax, the first

Teletext information service which has been running since 1974. It was

the source of great regret to some. He I have just seen on the news

that Ceefax is finishing today. I am appalled. Not owning a computer,

I rely on Ceefax. I pay a television licence for a television,

not a computer. That information, every day, it was invaluable. It is

another diminishing service from the BBC. Thank you for your