24/01/2014 Newswatch


24/01/2014

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Now, it is time for Newswatcn, and this week, it examines the Lord

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Rennard case, and it's coverage. Welcome to the programme. This week

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come up did the allegations against Lord Rennard of unwanted advances

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have the right kind of attention from BBC News? The offensive gesture

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made by this footballer is news, but some viewers say showing it again

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causes offence in itself. And following last week's outburst of

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music from Nick Robinson's computer, we hear your suggestions

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for music. Lord Rennard is credited with being the Liberal Democrats'

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election mastermind. However, his public profile had been relatively

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low until claims that he had sexually harassed female party

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members over a number of years. After failing to apologise, he was

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suspended from the party on Monday. Tonight at ten, the Lib Dems are

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struggling to contain the crisis surrounding Lord Rennard. The party

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leader tells him to apologise. He has now been suspended from the

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party, no longer able to sit with colleagues in the House of Lords.

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But was the BBC's coverage balanced?

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The head of the BBC Newsroom joins me now to answer some of those

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issues. Some viewers, as we saw in that sample, feel that the coverage

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had somewhat sensationalised and built a story, rather than just

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reported it? Our job is to report and follow a story. This story

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unfolded over several days, and each day we were making judgements about

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how significant the developments were on that day, and what

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prominence it deserved. Early in the week, we felt that it had reached a

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certain point in terms of the story itself, but also the debate and the

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impact within the Liberal Democrats, the authority of Nick

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Clegg, the coalition government, it became a really important political

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story, and that is why it got a lot of prominence early in the week.

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There was a specific concern, with Lord Rennard having denied the

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allegations, as the BBC given enough airtime to his side? Every time we

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did the story we made it very, very clear that he had denied all the

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allegations. Some of the players in this story have come out and spoken

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on air on the camera. Others have not, but Lord Rennard himself gave a

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very long statement, which we recorded. People close to him have

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also been on air, putting his side of the story. So, I am satisfied

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that we have always worked hard to make sure that we represent all

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different views. One viewer compared it to Plebgate. There is a concern

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that BBC political coverage goes after these very personal stories,

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which then become big rows, partly because of the media attention? I do

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not think that is the case, we are not going after them, we are

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tracking and following and reporting, and it is true that

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sometimes at the heart of these stories is an individual, a

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personality, but it is then the reaction to that which bills the

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story just in both cases, and I would not want to draw too many

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parallels, but there was an element of accusation, denial, counter

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accusation, and it is very important that we report what has been said by

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everybody involved. Also we have to attract them over time because

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Plebgate led to an ongoing examination of the nature of trust

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in releasing, the Police Federation, and of course the

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politics of how Cameron dealt with the situation. Meanwhile, with Lord

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Rennard, you are looking at how a political party and a leader deals

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with that situation. Overtime, it becomes clearer, or not, exactly

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what happened, but also how the institutions are dealing with it.

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There is an awful lot of cases around sexual abuse or alleged

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sexual abuse and harassment, but in the Lord Rennard case, there has

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been an internal inquiry only within the party, and with confusing

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results. Is there a danger that the toll of BBC reporting has an

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influence, the same as Operation Yewtree? Last week we had five

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stories in this kind of area. It is an interesting question, one we have

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been talking a lot about in the newsroom. In the end, the news gods

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deliver, and we have to respond to that. We cannot control the fact

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that there have been a number of court cases running in parallel, and

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a number of stories coming along at the same time. Our job is to remain

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very, very committed to accuracy, care with language and the necessary

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detail. For instance, as you have said, making it very, very clear

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that in some cases we are talking about allegations of sexual

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harassment, in others, sexual abuse, sometimes, sexual abuse of minors,

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it can be very many different charges or accusations. Again, being

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really clear when we are talking about the court case, a trial,

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charges, in Lord Rennard's case, a grievance process, in essence,

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within a particular institution. So, we are determined and careful about

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being as accurate as we possibly can, within a context where we

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recognise that it can feel as if there is a lot of this sort of stuff

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at the moment. But I hope that by being very careful and accurate, we

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hope audiences navigate and understand the different nature of

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these different stories. Please give us your feedback on that

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issue and on any other aspect of BBC News. Details on how to contact us

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at the end of the programme. Let's find out what else you have been

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commenting on, starting with the controversy over the footballer

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Nicola Anelka, who made a gesture after scoring a goal last month,

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known as the quenelle, which is widely considered to be

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anti-Semitic. On Tuesday he was charged by the Football

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Association, and BBC reports on the case faced some objections...

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One week ago, the body of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular was

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found in Kirkcaldy after an extensive search. The BBC reported

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on the reaction of the local community. It is so, so sad.

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Devastating news for a community which had so wished for a positive

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outcome. Throughout the day, families in Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy

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have been laying flowers. We heard the news, it was just devastating.

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We just wanted to come and pay our respects. It is absolutely

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heartbreaking. Mikaeel's mother was later charged with his murder. There

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was a variety of responses to the BBC's coverage of the case...

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Pop singer Justin Bieber last hit the headlines when he turned up very

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late for a concert last year. As was the case then, we received

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objections on Thursday that his arrest on a variety of charges,

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including driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana,

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did not warrant the attention given to it by BBC News.

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Finally, last week we feature to an unusual occurrence in the middle of

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a discussion on The Daily Politics. Nick Robinson's tablet computer

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suddenly burst forth, for reasons which have not yet been explained,

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with Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls, perhaps not most suitable choice of

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music for the BBC's political editor. We asked you for some

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suggestions. Thank you for all those suggestions

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and for all your comments this week. If you want to share your opinions

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or even appear on the programme, you can call us. Or you can e-mail us.

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You can find us on Twitter. Also, have a look at our website. That is

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all from us. We will be back to hear your thoughts about BBC News

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coverage again next week. Until then, goodbye.

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Yet again, there is plenty of weather to talk about in the

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forecast, and I am sure it is perhaps not what you would like.

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Today, we had a brief clips of sunshine, but a cold day on the east

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coast. An inch of rain in the south-west, but there was a lot

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