22/11/2013 Newswatch

have been made. `` children's programme. Looking forward to that

episode tomorrow showing in 80 countries simultaneously.

Hello. This week on the programme: From JFK to Doctor Who, BBC News has

been awash with anniversaries, but do they qualify as news? A tale of

two Nobel laureates, does is demonstrate that BBC News has a bias

for the arts over sciences? And how these people reviewing the

papers just having too much fun? `` are these people.

The 22nd of November 1963 was a day that went down in history for

several reasons. Most famously it was when JFK was assassinated. On

the same day, there was the deaths of Aldus Huxley and CS Lewis.

President Lincoln's Gettysburg address was on 50 years before. What

has that got to do with news? We will look at that soon. Now a look

back at those anniversaries. Doctor Who has reached a special

milestone, 50 years on our TV screens. The first ever episode was

broadcast on November the 23rd 1963 and since then, audiences have met

11 doctors. To murk its 50th year, a special reception was held at

Buckingham Palace. Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg

address of the most important speech in American history. Subsequent

presidents have come to Gettysburg to pay homage. It is uncanny that

these two anniversaries should fall in the same week. For Gettysburg and

John F. Kennedy are connected. Instantly iconic, the images are so

familiar. The welcoming crowds, the famed pink suit, the open top

limousine. 50 years on and we still don't have a definitive account of

what happened at the world's most infamous crime scene.

It truly is, you know, bigger on the inside.

On Monday, Mrs Digby was already e`mailing us to beg:

other view is treated as there is more generally on the news.

Catherine thought: Simon Burke was more positive,

rating: Laura feared a glut of anniversaries

in 2014. I am joined by the editor of BBC News. Paul, can we start with

Doctor Who? It was the main concern of viewers. It felt to me like an

endless plugging of a BBC franchise. 1`mac it was not a plug. We have a

remit to cover business, economics, art and entertainment. Doctor Who is

a massive global brand. It is loved and watched by millions around the

world. It is the world's longest running sci`fi series, so our

coverage of Doctor Who is in that context and is about Doctor Who's

place in British broadcasting history and its impact on cultural

history and entertainment history in the UK and around the world. More

widely, 1963, it feels, has thrown up a lot of 50th anniversaries and

this has felt a bit like an obsession: JFK, Jonny Wilkinson's

drop killer goal from ten years ago, 150 years since the Gettysburg

address, the Martin Luther King I Have A Read speech. People are

wondering whether it should be such a big part of the news. There are

lots of anniversaries we don't cover and ironically we get complaints

from some viewers that we have not covered certain anniversaries. The

reason it will make it into our news coverage is if it is deemed to be

important and. So 50 years since the assassination of John F. Kennedy,

the historical context of that is in huge `` a huge interest. There

events all this week to remember John F. Kennedy and they are a news

event in themselves and there is a discussion about what's John F.

Kennedy represents and how that plays into America and what America

believes about itself today. They are the reasons behind an

anniversary making it into a news programme. A lot of those issues

people would say are covered adequately in the huge range of

documentaries that are made by the BBC. One correspondent said that I

am bored senseless with this anniversary and the endless

speculating. There is a concern that in the news coverage, if you're just

reporting on actual events of commemoration that to be one thing,

but a lot of Friday has been caught up with anticipating the event. You

lack in terms of news in the `` bulletins,

lack in terms of news in the `` rationale we have in deciding

whether a certain anniversaries makes it into a news bulletin or

not. What other contemporary news event around that anniversary that

helped it at into a news programme? I would not necessarily agree that

the anniversary stories just walk into the bulletins as a lazy way to

fill our programmes, in fact they are significant and important in

themselves. We should end by looking ahead. Next year there is the

centenary of World War I and there will clearly be a lot of events.

I've given to rethink how much news coverage, as opposed to

documentaries specials, I devoted to potentially all those things? This

is an important moment, 100 years since the start of World War I. We

already know there are major news moments that will be happening over

the course of 2014 involving presidents and heads of state and we

will cover those. Our audience will expect us to do that. Thank you so

much. Do let us know your thoughts on that

or any other aspect of BBC News and stay tuned for details of how to

contact us. Does BBC News have a bias in favour of the art

oversights? Evidence that it does with the detected by two viewers

this week, Elizabeth explains: there were more accusations of

pretend or manufactured news on Thursday with reports that former

members of an undercover unit used by the British Army in Northern

Ireland had said that unarmed civilians were killed in a familiar

complaint Julian from Cardiff was one of those e`mailing along these

lines: Scores of viewers contacted the BBC

about the trial of those accused of killing Fusilier Lee Rigby. Typical

was this e`mail by Bob Anderson. We put that question to the BBC UK

news editor. He told us: Finally, every evening at 10:30pm,

the news channel shows the papers, billed as a lively and informed

discussion about the next day's headlines. Tuesday's edition was

certainly lively. We are talking about the lead that

Mr Booker has decided to put on the front of his new paper. Which is...

A lot of people have bad hearts out there, Clive. OK. A pox upon you

both. Oh, I'm sorry. Will you please be sensible? We will have another

look at the stories behind the headlines, so stay with us.

They were all obviously enjoying themselves, but Joanna wasn't. Her

response? Thank you for all of your comments

this week. If you want to share your opinions on BBC News and current

offence or even appear on the programme, you can call us on: ``

current affairs. It can search for and watch previous

editions of the programme on the website. We'll be back to hear your

thoughts next week. Goodbye.