:00:00. > :00:08.Now it is time for Newswatch with Samira Ahmed.
:00:09. > :00:12.Hello, welcome to Newswatch with me, Samira Ahmed. Today, the trial of
:00:13. > :00:17.Oscar Pistorius, compelling real-life television drama or
:00:18. > :00:22.airtime-filling visual wallpaper? And... We were going to debate that
:00:23. > :00:27.question but today, after speaking to the mosque... The irony of a
:00:28. > :00:34.debate programme called Free Speech being accused of censorship.
:00:35. > :00:40.We are now two weeks into the latest court case to be described as the
:00:41. > :00:43.trial of the century. For those without access to any media in that
:00:44. > :00:45.time, South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is accused of murdering
:00:46. > :00:51.his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, last February. He has pleaded not
:00:52. > :00:55.guilty to all charges. To some viewers, though, the case may have a
:00:56. > :01:00.familiar feel. We have reached a verdict in this case, is that
:01:01. > :01:02.correct? A huge sporting star accused of murder, with live
:01:03. > :01:07.television coverage of the trial beamed around the world. For OJ
:01:08. > :01:17.Simpson in Los Angeles almost 20 years ago, read Oscar Pistorius in
:01:18. > :01:20.Pretoria today. Count one is one of murder. From the start of the trial
:01:21. > :01:23.last week, the BBC, in common with other broadcasters, has shown some
:01:24. > :01:26.of the court proceedings live, along with regular updates to the case. It
:01:27. > :01:28.didn't take long for the complaints to come rolling in, though, with Ian
:01:29. > :02:10.Coxon from Nottingham wondering... It is an English willow cricket bat.
:02:11. > :02:13.On Wednesday, a forensic analyst used a cricket bat to dispute Oscar
:02:14. > :02:16.Pistorius's claim that he was wearing his artificial legs when he
:02:17. > :02:18.tried to break open the bathroom door in his apartment and it
:02:19. > :02:21.prompted more complaints to Newswatch.
:02:22. > :02:28.Far too much airtime. I just am not interested. I know nobody who is
:02:29. > :02:34.interested in a blow by blow account of this chap's life, love life and
:02:35. > :02:40.his problems. OK, fine, tell us what happened. The guy's shot his
:02:41. > :02:45.girlfriend, he is on trial for the murder and, at the end, a
:02:46. > :02:49.conclusion. That's all we need to know. ?? FORCEDWHITE Courtroom
:02:50. > :02:59.dramas are, of course, a staple of fiction on screen and on the page.
:03:00. > :03:02.And the OJ Simpson murder trial nearly 20 years ago did draw
:03:03. > :03:04.worldwide news coverage when it was televised. So perhaps it's no
:03:05. > :03:08.surprise that broadcasters latch onto the real thing when there is
:03:09. > :03:11.footage available. But what does the presence of the cameras do for the
:03:12. > :03:13.legal process? Paul Wright from Cardiff has a concern about that,
:03:14. > :03:22.asking... The dangers of lawyers acting up for
:03:23. > :03:24.the cameras and of trial by television based on a few partial
:03:25. > :03:27.sound bites are well-known. What lessons does the Oscar Pistorius
:03:28. > :03:33.case have for the ongoing debate over cameras in court? With me to
:03:34. > :03:37.discuss all that is the head of the BBC newsroom, Mary Hockaday. Mary,
:03:38. > :03:41.can we start with the key underlying complaint, that this case is about a
:03:42. > :03:44.celebrity and it has no major significance for British audiences.
:03:45. > :03:49.And the coverage, to many, seems salacious and sensationalist? We
:03:50. > :03:54.judge this to be an important news event. One of the many news stories
:03:55. > :03:57.that we are covering at the moment. Oscar Pistorius is a man, both as a
:03:58. > :04:00.Paralympian and also is a very prominent South African, which means
:04:01. > :04:09.that the drama that is unfolding is of real interest to many people in
:04:10. > :04:13.South Africa. But we found, also, to audiences both in the UK and abroad.
:04:14. > :04:15.We've seen, actually, a lot of audience interest in the story,
:04:16. > :04:18.although I recognise that audiences have different views and, for some
:04:19. > :04:22.people, they don't necessarily want to see so much of the live coverage.
:04:23. > :04:25.Others are very, very fascinated. ?? CAPNEXT There is an argument that
:04:26. > :04:32.the BBC should just be more selective about what it shows. So
:04:33. > :04:37.you could focus when Pistorius is giving evidence himself, and the
:04:38. > :04:40.verdict. And these are the things that, eventually, you would focus on
:04:41. > :04:43.in the bulletins. People feel there's just too much coverage of
:04:44. > :04:46.too much? Of course, the reporting of any court case, it's really
:04:47. > :04:57.important to be carrying both the prosecution case and the defence
:04:58. > :05:00.case. Giving due weight and impartiality to the moments of key
:05:01. > :05:03.evidence that help build up the case as a whole, and will ultimately
:05:04. > :05:06.influence the jury's judgement and the audience watching. So we are
:05:07. > :05:09.making judgements, we are being very selective, actually. But it is a
:05:10. > :05:13.live event and we are choosing to take some of it live because we do
:05:14. > :05:16.have an audience that is interested in that. But we are, of course,
:05:17. > :05:20.mindful of some of the issues. What about the fact there are cameras in
:05:21. > :05:23.this case, what do you think are the ramifications, if any, for Britain,
:05:24. > :05:26.where there is an experiment going on with TV cameras in court? It's
:05:27. > :05:29.very interesting, isn't it? The South African judge himself wanted
:05:30. > :05:31.the court to be available as live broadcast because he wanted to show
:05:32. > :05:35.South African justice working. He said, to challenge what he feared
:05:36. > :05:38.might be some stereotypes about it. As you say, there's a lot of debate
:05:39. > :05:44.about the pros and cons of televised court cases. America, here and so
:05:45. > :05:46.on. You are right, in this country, a small experiment has begun
:05:47. > :05:49.involving the Appeal Court, the Court of Appeal, whereby we and
:05:50. > :05:52.other broadcasters are able to record and broadcast, on a short
:05:53. > :05:54.time delay, some of the proceedings, not all, but some
:05:55. > :06:08.proceedings from the Court of Appeal. There is further discussion
:06:09. > :06:18.about if other courts should be filmed in that way. The balance
:06:19. > :06:22.being between ensuring that justice can can act properly, but the notion
:06:23. > :06:24.that there is merit in opening up these processes to the public gaze,
:06:25. > :06:28.the transparency of institutions and so on. But showing a defendant
:06:29. > :06:31.during a trial... I think you can see that happening, being tried in
:06:32. > :06:34.South Africa. Do you expect that ever to happen here? We'll have to
:06:35. > :06:41.see, won't we? As I say, small steps being taken. Very different in
:06:42. > :06:45.America. A different kind of step being tried in South Africa. I think
:06:46. > :06:47.the debate's a very real one. But we are only doing what other
:06:48. > :06:51.broadcasters are doing as well, sometimes less. And we are doing it
:06:52. > :06:53.always mindful of telling the story, mindful of respecting the court
:06:54. > :06:57.process and, of course, abiding by whatever the restrictions are on
:06:58. > :07:02.what we're able to film and to show. Mary Hockaday, thank you very much.
:07:03. > :07:06.Do let us know your thoughts on that or any aspect of BBC News. Details
:07:07. > :07:09.of how to contact us coming up at the end of the programme. Before we
:07:10. > :07:11.leave the Oscar Pistorius trial, one more specific complaint we've
:07:12. > :07:16.received following the language used on Monday's news bulletins. Let's go
:07:17. > :07:20.back to South Africa and the trial of the Olympic athlete Oscar
:07:21. > :07:22.Pistorius who threw up in court this morning during evidence, graphic
:07:23. > :07:30.detail, when it was heard about his girlfriend. He did what? That phrase
:07:31. > :07:33.used by Sophie Raworthand elsewhere, including in a trailer for the News
:07:34. > :07:34.at Six, offended a number of Newswatch viewers, including Carol
:07:35. > :07:53.Drummond, who asked... Now, BBC Three broadcasts a debate
:07:54. > :07:56.show, Free Speech, for its younger audience, made by thesame production
:07:57. > :08:01.house, Mentor, who make BBC One's Question Time. Last Wednesday, it
:08:02. > :08:08.came live from Birmingham Central Mosque. The show generated a lot of
:08:09. > :08:11.comments and, indeed, news coverage, because of what it didn't debate -
:08:12. > :08:13.homosexuality. The question that had elicited the most comments on the
:08:14. > :08:17.programme's audience questions page was put in a pre-recorded segment by
:08:18. > :08:20.a gay Muslim called Asifa Lahore. One question I'd like to ask the
:08:21. > :08:29.Muslim community is when will it be right to be Muslim and gay? We were
:08:30. > :08:32.going to debate that question. But today, after speaking to the
:08:33. > :08:36.mosque, they have expressed deep concerns with having this discussion
:08:37. > :08:40.here. The mosque were happy for us to play that video, and we will talk
:08:41. > :08:44.about it on our next programme, on March the 25th. So, we move onto our
:08:45. > :08:48.next question. Well, that intervention before any of the panel
:08:49. > :08:50.'s studio audience had a chance to respond to the question received a
:08:51. > :08:56.damning reaction by some on Twitter, with a viewer going by the
:08:57. > :09:11.name of Mike Unlikely commenting... Well, the BBC has put out this
:09:12. > :10:03.statement about why the discussion did not take place that night.
:10:04. > :10:06.Finally, we have touched before about the dilemma of tone when
:10:07. > :10:11.reporting the deaths of famous people, particularly if they were
:10:12. > :10:14.politically divisive. This week saw obituaries for two prominent
:10:15. > :10:17.left-wing figures. On Friday, former Labour minister and veteran MP Tony
:10:18. > :10:23.Benn, and, on Wednesday, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and
:10:24. > :10:26.Transport Union, Bob Crow. Mr Crowe was a controversial figure and
:10:27. > :10:29.Vivian Coombs was one viewer who felt BBC News fails to reflect the
:10:30. > :10:58.divisive nature of public the action. She wrote:
:10:59. > :11:03.Thank you for your comments this week. If you want to share your
:11:04. > :11:05.opinions on BBC News and current affairs, or even appear on the
:11:06. > :11:11.programme, you can call us on: You can find us on Twitter and do
:11:12. > :11:24.have a look at the website. That is all from us. We'll be back
:11:25. > :11:34.to hear your thoughts about BBC news coverage again next week.
:11:35. > :11:40.Hello, the weekend is upon us. For many of us, not too bad. There will
:11:41. > :11:45.be some rain around, but for the vast majority it is going to be dry.
:11:46. > :11:48.There will be some warm sunshine, particularly across more southern
:11:49. > :11:54.parts of the country. It will be breezy, but that breeze has the
:11:55. > :11:58.purpose of clearing the last of the fog away. No problems with fog, a
:11:59. > :11:59.lot of cloud coupling