:00:00. > :00:12.Mass killings remain a major risk. Now it is time for News watch.
:00:13. > :00:22.welcome to Newswatch. The French President's Private life
:00:23. > :00:28.hits the headlines but is this just gossip?
:00:29. > :00:35.Is sexual abuse a suitable subject for an early evening news bulletin?
:00:36. > :00:50.And is it time Nick Robinson got a new ring tone for his tablet?
:00:51. > :00:55.Was that you or me? It is you. The French do things differently
:00:56. > :01:13.when it comes to extramarital affairs we are always told. This
:01:14. > :01:20.French farce could turn out to be a serious matter for the French
:01:21. > :01:26.presidency. French President in crisis drew
:01:27. > :01:31.hundreds of journalists to the Elysee Palace for a news conference.
:01:32. > :01:37.For Francois Hollande there could scarcely be a more difficult moment.
:01:38. > :01:44.His partner is in hospital in shock after an magazine suggested he had a
:01:45. > :01:50.new girlfriend. TRANSLATION: Row everyone goes
:01:51. > :01:58.through challenging periods. This is a difficult matter. This is not the
:01:59. > :02:02.place all the time. That view was echoed by some
:02:03. > :03:05.Newswatch viewers. Up until very recently the attitude
:03:06. > :03:10.of the French media had appeared to be annoying but not telling the
:03:11. > :03:19.public about such indiscretions. A previous President had a dramatic
:03:20. > :03:26.double life or years. A similar veil was drawn over the affairs of
:03:27. > :03:35.another French President. What a contrast to the eagerness of British
:03:36. > :03:40.journalists to report such fears. Since the days of John Profumo
:03:41. > :03:44.political sex scandals have regularly been exposed by a
:03:45. > :03:54.salacious tabloid press with television news not far behind.
:03:55. > :04:02.Viewers felt that BBC news coverage does not normally devote time to a
:04:03. > :04:13.French press contacts, so why was this being covered? We were going to
:04:14. > :04:18.cover that conference anyway. The French economy is a massive story at
:04:19. > :04:21.the moment. It is a story that we will be following for the rest of
:04:22. > :04:30.the year. We were always planning on covering it.
:04:31. > :04:37.What viewers noticed was that very little was said about the affair in
:04:38. > :04:41.the news conference. They felt that the BBC was following a tabloid
:04:42. > :04:46.agenda. This was a story that had been covered by the French media, by
:04:47. > :04:54.all branches of the media, mainstream media, tabloid media,
:04:55. > :05:04.television, newspapers, radio. The very first question put to him and
:05:05. > :05:10.follow-up questions as well. It was not a tabloid agenda being picked up
:05:11. > :05:15.by the BBC. It was the story of the day in France and has been the story
:05:16. > :05:22.for many days in France. We reflect what the French people are
:05:23. > :05:25.discussing. Should it be a story? That is the heart of the dispute.
:05:26. > :05:31.Some people feel with it's not need to cover his private life.
:05:32. > :05:36.We have two cover your private life when it moves into your ability to
:05:37. > :05:43.do your job. This was debated in the French parliament will stop whether
:05:44. > :05:49.politicians like it or not sometimes the private moves into the public.
:05:50. > :05:58.The French media has been accused in the past of being too acquiescent.
:05:59. > :06:05.Do you think something significant has changed in the way French
:06:06. > :06:09.journalist regard these stories? I do not think they are becoming more
:06:10. > :06:14.and it is. There are sections of the French press that have refrained
:06:15. > :06:20.from covering these sorts of stories. Yes, there has been a
:06:21. > :06:26.shift. We have seen this develop over the last few years. But let us
:06:27. > :06:31.not be naive. There is a major section of the French press that has
:06:32. > :06:44.been covering these stories and are far more salacious way than many
:06:45. > :06:51.sections of the British press. It is naive to say that the French media
:06:52. > :06:56.never covers these sorts of stories. If you bring it back to the viewer
:06:57. > :07:06.do we assume that the viewer needs to know all these details? We do not
:07:07. > :07:15.go in for gossip and rumours. The croissant is, the mopeds. We got
:07:16. > :07:25.all that. We kept it to direct reporting. We are not gossiping on
:07:26. > :07:33.air. Some viewers feel that this is just a private affair. We are going
:07:34. > :07:42.to be covering France intensely over the next year. Francois Hollande,
:07:43. > :07:49.even before this scandal, was an unpopular President with a tanking
:07:50. > :07:54.economy. His leadership was under intense scrutiny even before this
:07:55. > :07:59.happens. Now that it has happened there are big questions in France
:08:00. > :08:05.being asked about his judgement. There are even questions being asked
:08:06. > :08:12.by the media about the security around the office of the President.
:08:13. > :08:20.Should he had been driving around on a scooter? There are fundamental
:08:21. > :08:27.public issues being debated in France and our coverage hopefully
:08:28. > :08:37.reflected that. We would like to know your thoughts
:08:38. > :08:46.on any aspect of BBC News. Now we have reaction to Wednesdays
:08:47. > :08:56.BBC News. The British men who give online
:08:57. > :09:03.instructions. A place of shame. Dozens of families are involved in
:09:04. > :09:07.WebCam abuse. That was one of five stories about
:09:08. > :09:14.alleged sexual abuse in a 30 minute programme.
:09:15. > :09:33.That was a matter of concern for this viewer.
:09:34. > :09:40.Finally, the advent of tablets and mobile phones has been beneficial to
:09:41. > :09:50.journalists, but it can also cause havoc.
:09:51. > :09:54.Caroline Flint was in the middle of discussing bank bonuses when this
:09:55. > :10:08.happened. People play good salaries.
:10:09. > :10:25.Is that you or me? It is you. Do you know what the next lyric was? What
:10:26. > :10:31.was that? That was Queen. Did Nick Robinson make the mistake
:10:32. > :11:12.of forgetting to turn his mobile phone off when on television.
:11:13. > :11:18.more appropriate for Nick Robinson please let us know. Other views on
:11:19. > :11:56.news and current affairs are also welcomed.
:11:57. > :11:58.We will get the latest on the search for Mikaeel