:00:17. > :00:20.RAW TEXT Now, it is time for Newswatch, with Samira Ahmed.
:00:21. > :00:24.This week, Monday's reporting of the death of Peaches Geldof comes under
:00:25. > :00:27.the spotlight. The sand and unexplained death of a 25`year`old
:00:28. > :00:30.woman, but why fill airtime with celebrities reaction to the news on
:00:31. > :00:41.Twitter? The Oscar Pistorius murder trial. He was questioned how much
:00:42. > :00:44.they need to see. And how much of a role did the press play in the
:00:45. > :00:47.resignation of the culture Secretary? The sudden death of any
:00:48. > :00:50.young woman represents tragedy for friends and family, but on occasion,
:00:51. > :00:59.it also captures the media attention. We are getting breaking
:01:00. > :01:07.news. The journalist and presenter Peaches Geldof has died. She was
:01:08. > :01:19.just 25 years old. Let a stop to Andy. He knew her and his taxi firm
:01:20. > :01:26.to carry around on many occasions. Give us your memories of her. She
:01:27. > :01:30.was a fun loving, very happy young lady. She doted over her children.
:01:31. > :01:37.She loved her husband very much as we could gather. Can I go over some
:01:38. > :01:57.quotes from Twitter. Fiona Phillips said she was shocked.
:01:58. > :02:03.The singer Tim Burgess, the singer with the Charlatans said:. And one
:02:04. > :02:13.more, Kevin O'Sullivan, the television critic for the Daily
:02:14. > :02:15.Mirror. Scores of viewers thought this was
:02:16. > :03:05.unnecessary. Lets put those point to the
:03:06. > :03:10.controller of the BBC News channel, Sam Taylor. It was obviously a
:03:11. > :03:15.terrible event for her families and friends, but Peaches Geldof wasn't
:03:16. > :03:19.that well known. Many people feel that it didn't justify the
:03:20. > :03:23.prominence given to the story. I think we have to accept that she was
:03:24. > :03:28.known to many viewers, and of course her family and the story behind her
:03:29. > :03:32.family, her parents, were known to many viewers indeed. It is a story
:03:33. > :03:35.that touch people across the generations, and I think you can see
:03:36. > :03:39.there was a strong response, a strong response of shock and people
:03:40. > :03:44.wanted to know about the story, which led to increased figures on
:03:45. > :03:48.the news channel in the hours that followed her death. Also, one of the
:03:49. > :03:55.biggest numbers of people reading a BBC website story. 13.5 million
:03:56. > :03:59.people read the story about Peaches Geldof's death in the hours
:04:00. > :04:05.afterwards. Even with no new information that has emerged, all
:04:06. > :04:09.that is known is the fact that she died and it is not suspicious. There
:04:10. > :04:15.is still nothing else to know. All this air time was filled with what?
:04:16. > :04:19.That is the thing, when people die, when prominent people die, part of
:04:20. > :04:23.the story is to tell people what the reaction and response has been, to
:04:24. > :04:29.help people understand it. You are giving tributes and reflect on
:04:30. > :04:34.people's death. That is important in this society. We were careful to
:04:35. > :04:38.find people who knew her well knew of her, and help explain why they
:04:39. > :04:42.themselves as viewers were having this response of shock and concern
:04:43. > :04:47.to hear the news. She was a person who many people knew directly, but
:04:48. > :04:49.also many people felt they had a connection with because of their
:04:50. > :04:55.understanding or connection with Bob Geldof and Paula Yates. I will ask
:04:56. > :05:06.about that, as one viewer tweeted, she felt there was an unspoken
:05:07. > :05:12.prurient subtext, about her mother and how she died. The high profile
:05:13. > :05:16.of her family is a reason why many people knew who she was, and if they
:05:17. > :05:22.didn't know that much about her, they knew who her father was. Also
:05:23. > :05:27.her mother. That is not a prurient thing, that is the fact that this
:05:28. > :05:33.family is very prominent in reduced life, many people know who they are,
:05:34. > :05:37.and in that context, I'm sure part of the sad impact on many people is
:05:38. > :05:44.the fact that it took place in that context. Something viewers were
:05:45. > :05:48.talking about was the death of Sue Townsend. When that was announced,
:05:49. > :05:51.it was easy to see the justification for Twitter comments from other
:05:52. > :05:56.authors. They notice that a story like that didn't lead the bulletin,
:05:57. > :05:59.and they question why a writer who clearly achieved so much, doesn't
:06:00. > :06:04.get as much prominence as the daughter of a celebrity couple who
:06:05. > :06:09.was known to a relatively smaller amount of people. In terms of news,
:06:10. > :06:13.and think one has to bear in mind that with a sudden unexplained death
:06:14. > :06:16.of someone very young, that is an additional factor, in addition to
:06:17. > :06:24.the death of someone who might have been older or ill for some time.
:06:25. > :06:29.That is not to draw a comparison between particular people, but it is
:06:30. > :06:34.the fact that young and unexplained deaths draw more attention. It is
:06:35. > :06:37.something people want to know about, rather than reflecting on someone's
:06:38. > :06:47.life and works. At the heart of it, is the question whether the BBC is
:06:48. > :06:54.to concerned with pursuing a tabloid agenda. I think involving people in
:06:55. > :06:57.the public eye, some viewers don't particularly value them or feel they
:06:58. > :07:01.are less important than other stories. In this case, it would be
:07:02. > :07:05.wrong to understate the very large amount of interest and potential
:07:06. > :07:10.from a large part of the audience, an audience that we need to serve as
:07:11. > :07:20.a whole, and which obviously did involve an interest people across a
:07:21. > :07:23.wide number of groups. The charges that BBC News is assessed with
:07:24. > :07:28.celebrity and that it sticks with one story for too long are not new.
:07:29. > :07:31.They were repeated again this week in relation to the ongoing broadcast
:07:32. > :07:37.of the trial of Oscar Pistorius. The south African athlete accused of
:07:38. > :07:45.murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, gave evidence this week,
:07:46. > :08:19.and many people felt they saw too much of it.
:08:20. > :08:27.The big political event of the week was the resignation of culture
:08:28. > :08:32.secretary Maria Miller. Nick Robinson's report on the subject
:08:33. > :08:37.contained one word which raised objections from viewers. The cabinet
:08:38. > :08:43.now has one woman fewer around the table. There are now only three,
:08:44. > :08:49.after Maria Miller's emotional decision to quit. I want to make
:08:50. > :09:01.sure that the situation is clear to everybody, and make sure that I can
:09:02. > :09:29.move on. Nicola Williams from Oldham voiced her concerns.
:09:30. > :09:36.Although the public mood has been mostly unsympathetic towards MPs
:09:37. > :09:46.accused of dodgy expense claims, one viewer saw that he detected sexism.
:09:47. > :09:48.There was also the suggestion that the media played a role in the
:09:49. > :10:11.downfall of Maria Miller. Finally, the selfie. The mobile
:10:12. > :10:15.phone self`portrait posted on social media is something that has been
:10:16. > :10:20.taken up enthusiastically by some artistic right by others. President
:10:21. > :10:26.Obama, who has form in this area, was at it this week. Now, the BBC
:10:27. > :10:32.has got into the act, asking people to submit selfies for an examination
:10:33. > :10:35.of who we think we are. Some correspondence posted their own
:10:36. > :11:11.selfies. Thank you for all your comments,
:11:12. > :11:24.please send us not your selfies, but your opinions. Call us or e`mail.
:11:25. > :11:26.You can find us on Twitter. Have a look at previous discussions on our
:11:27. > :11:35.website. We are fair next week mother please
:11:36. > :11:44.join us again in a fortnight. `` off air.
:11:45. > :11:49.We have seen some fine spring weather over the past few days, but
:11:50. > :11:50.the weekend promises mixed fortunes in term