:00:00. > :00:00.In America falls on both the Dow and the NASDAQ. Now it is Newswatch with
:00:00. > :00:12.Samir Ahmed and this week, the battle of the breakfast TV
:00:13. > :00:19.programmes. Welcome to Newswatch. Coming up, as it faces a newly
:00:20. > :00:23.revamped competitor on ITV, which asked the man in charge of BBC
:00:24. > :00:28.Breakfast about the balance between news and entertainment. There is
:00:29. > :00:31.criticism of what is seen as intrusive reporting following the
:00:32. > :00:34.death of teacher Ann Maguire in Leeds. And the frequent appearance
:00:35. > :00:40.of Nigel Farage on television this week. He's the UKIP leader being
:00:41. > :00:49.sneered at all pandered to? Viewers were divided. Good Morning Britain
:00:50. > :00:52.started on ITV on Monday morning. It marked the latest skirmish in a
:00:53. > :00:57.long`running war between the two main channels for early morning
:00:58. > :01:03.viewers. In a moment, we will be exploring exactly what BBC One is
:01:04. > :01:10.offering at that time of day. But first, a brief history of Breakfast
:01:11. > :01:14.TV in Britain. In January 1983, the idea of eating your cereal in front
:01:15. > :01:26.of the box seemed radical. The BBC was first to air, with an eclectic
:01:27. > :01:32.mix of aerobics, astrology and news. There were the famous five
:01:33. > :01:38.presenters and Roland rat. Good morning... On the BBC, the comfy
:01:39. > :01:42.jumpers were replaced after a while by a more serious, news focused
:01:43. > :01:48.approach. Since then, the balance between heavy and light, between
:01:49. > :01:51.disconcerting, has been shifted over the years until its current
:01:52. > :01:59.reincarnation, broadcast from Salford. Now the pair have
:02:00. > :02:04.collaborated on a new album. Meanwhile, ITV poached Adrian Childs
:02:05. > :02:10.and Christine bleakly for GMTV and have rated BBC a game for Susanna
:02:11. > :02:14.Reid, who launched Good Morning Britain on Monday with three other
:02:15. > :02:18.presenters from behind a desk. A good opportunity, then, to examine
:02:19. > :02:23.how BBC Breakfast sees itself now and how it is seen by viewers. Some
:02:24. > :03:04.seem confused about what they are getting.
:03:05. > :03:10.Other viewers have been in touch with us about the impact of
:03:11. > :03:26.Breakfast's move to new studios in Salford two years ago.
:03:27. > :03:35.The editor of BBC Breakfast is Adam Bullimore and he joins me now from
:03:36. > :03:42.the programme's set in Salford. What impact ITV's Good Morning Britain is
:03:43. > :03:49.having Breakfast? Not much an impact. Certainly not in terms of
:03:50. > :03:53.viewing figures. Both sides have finished this week pretty much where
:03:54. > :04:00.they ended last week. 7 million people see a bit of Breakfast every
:04:01. > :04:04.day. So I think we are doing something right. We are not
:04:05. > :04:08.complacent, and we are certainly reviewing our output all the time,
:04:09. > :04:15.but we are in pretty good shape. We are clear, we are news led magazine
:04:16. > :04:20.programme and our job is to give our viewers the main news stories of the
:04:21. > :04:24.day along with information, weather, sport and business. That is the most
:04:25. > :04:29.interesting question that most viewers tend to contact us about and
:04:30. > :04:32.looking back at archive of previous incarnations of BBC Breakfast, there
:04:33. > :04:37.was a period when it was Breakfast News. It is very much on the sofa
:04:38. > :04:43.now. What is the balance between news and entertainment, which some
:04:44. > :04:48.viewers feel is too much? Yes, I think our first job is to do the
:04:49. > :04:55.news properly. The news well. I think if we do that, we have a
:04:56. > :05:01.little bit of licence to also have a bit of a smile and have a bit of fun
:05:02. > :05:05.in the programme as well. But I am clear that the news is the most
:05:06. > :05:13.important thing we do, and news drives audiences to Breakfast. So it
:05:14. > :05:18.is a magazine and as such, it is a bit of a mix, that the balance is
:05:19. > :05:26.very strongly in favour of the news. Viewers regularly say they feel
:05:27. > :05:30.there is publicity every day for a pop star or new film or actor, and
:05:31. > :05:34.that is not what they feel the new should be doing on Breakfast. We are
:05:35. > :05:39.talking about two or three items from the world of media, arts,
:05:40. > :05:43.entertainment, culture every day, and we are talking about doing them
:05:44. > :05:49.at a time in the programme towards the end, when there is a slightly
:05:50. > :05:52.more relaxed feel to the show, and it is important to say that
:05:53. > :05:58.entertainment and news and arts and culture is all part of our brief. So
:05:59. > :06:02.it is part of the show, it is all about the mix. The news is still
:06:03. > :06:07.very much the main thing we do, though. You are joining us from the
:06:08. > :06:14.sofa in Salford. One of the complaints we get is that even two
:06:15. > :06:18.years relocating there all the newspapers are really in London and
:06:19. > :06:22.too many of them are just not able to be interviewed face`to`face. It
:06:23. > :06:24.is something that BBC journalists also complained to me about, saying
:06:25. > :06:29.it is a real problem with the programme. You have to remember that
:06:30. > :06:35.it has always been the case that some guests either can't or won't be
:06:36. > :06:39.able to sit on the sofa with you, and that was the case when this sofa
:06:40. > :06:44.was in London, and it is still the case now that the sofa is in
:06:45. > :06:47.Salford. People use politicians as an example, and I think if you ask
:06:48. > :06:51.anyone who worked on the programme at in London and who still works on
:06:52. > :06:55.it now, they will tell you that probably less than half of the time,
:06:56. > :06:59.politicians would come and sit on the sofa in West London. Politicians
:07:00. > :07:03.much prefer to stay in Westminster. It is also true to say, of course,
:07:04. > :07:08.that we have had the Prime Minister on the sofa, the leader of the
:07:09. > :07:12.opposition, Cabinet ministers. What are your ambitions for the
:07:13. > :07:20.programme, looking ahead? I think the challenge for Breakfast is to
:07:21. > :07:22.move with the audience, and the challenge for the BBC generally and
:07:23. > :07:28.especially for Breakfast and our time of day is the ability and
:07:29. > :07:33.instant access, and I just think it would be great if as we go forward,
:07:34. > :07:37.there is a way of taking Breakfast with you. People now want the news
:07:38. > :07:42.in the palm of their hands, literally, and if you can leave the
:07:43. > :07:48.house in the morning and take a bit of Breakfast with you and add value
:07:49. > :07:53.to the Breakfast content of the morning by getting more context
:07:54. > :07:56.information on screens, being able to watch the items as and when you
:07:57. > :08:01.wanted as he travelled to work or school or whatever, and so I think
:08:02. > :08:09.responding to a new world is our biggest challenge.
:08:10. > :08:14.Thank you very much. Please do tell us what you think of
:08:15. > :08:18.BBC Breakfast or any other part of BBC News. I will let you how to do
:08:19. > :08:21.so at the end of the programme. Monday brought the shocking news
:08:22. > :08:25.that leads schoolteacher Ann Maguire had been stabbed to death in front
:08:26. > :08:29.of pupils. BBC News showed plenty of reaction
:08:30. > :08:30.from the school and elsewhere, some of which elicited comments from his
:08:31. > :09:19.watch viewers. The BBC revisited a double at
:09:20. > :09:25.another highly distressful story this week, interviewing the parents
:09:26. > :09:48.of Madeleine McCann, marking seven years since the toddler disappeared.
:09:49. > :09:54.Finally, every time Nigel Farage appears on screens, he seems to
:09:55. > :09:59.produce a response from our viewers. And he has been on quite a bit this
:10:00. > :10:04.week. Particularly being hit by an egg while out campaigning, and
:10:05. > :10:11.acting he will not stand in a forthcoming by`election. Some
:10:12. > :10:17.viewers object to the town given towards the UKIP leader.
:10:18. > :11:08.Thank you for all your comments this week. We may quote your opinions or
:11:09. > :11:15.even ask you to appear on the programme if you call us or e`mail
:11:16. > :11:23.us. You can also reach us by Twitter and on the website. You can search
:11:24. > :11:27.for and watched topics we have covered on the programme. Join us a
:11:28. > :11:35.game next week for more thoughts about BBC News. `` again next week.
:11:36. > :11:41.Do not worry. This forecast is not a repeat that this isn't opening
:11:42. > :11:45.you're more likely to see in January and May. Frosty there and that is an
:11:46. > :11:53.indication of what is to come. An unusually cold night for the time of
:11:54. > :11:56.year. Cloud coming in from the West. Maybe light rain in Cornwall and
:11:57. > :11:58.East Anglia.