03/05/2014 Newswatch

Welcome to NewsWatch. Coming up: As it faces a newly revamped competitor

in ITV, we ask the man in charge of BBC breakfast about the balance

between news and entertainment. Criticism of what is seen as

intrusive reporting after the death of Ann Maguire in Leeds. And the

frequent appearance of Nigel Farage on television again this week

divides viewers. Is the UKIP leader being smeared out or pandered to?

Good morning Britain launched on ITV with presenters including Susanna

Reid, poached from BBC Breakfast. In a moment, we will explore exactly

what BBC One is offering at that time of day and whether viewers are

happy with what they are getting. But first, a brief history of

breakfast television in Britain. In January, 1983, the idea of eating

your breakfast cereal in front of the box seemed radical. The BBC was

first in there with an eclipse mix of aerobics, astrology and news. ITV

followed swiftly afterwards with their famous five of presenters,

bolstered later. Back on the BBC, the comfortable jumpers were

replaced after a while with a more serious, news focused approach, with

heavyweight presenters. Since then, the balance between heavy and light,

desk and so far, has shifted over the years until its current

incarnation broadcast from Salford combining hard news with items more

typical of daytime television. Meantime, ITV poached Christine

Charles `` talent from the BBC with its own request programme. Susanna

Reid launched good morning Britain on Monday with three other

presenters from behind a desk. A good opportunity then to examine how

BBC breakfast sees it off now and how it is seen by viewers. Some, it

seems, are confused about what they are getting.

Other reviewers have been in touch with us about the impact of

breakfast's news to `` moved to new studios in Salford a few years ago.

The editor of BBC Breakfast joins me now from the programme set in

Salford. Thank you for coming on NewsWatch. What impact is ITV's good

morning Britain having on Breakfast? The launch of good morning Britain

has not had much of an impact on us, certainly in terms of viewing

figures. Both sides have finished this week pretty much where they

ended last week. 7 million people see a bit of Breakfast every day.

That means I think we are doing something right. We are not

complacent and we are constantly reviewing our output all the time,

of course, but I think we are in pretty good shape. We are clear that

we are a newsletter magazine programme and our job is to give our

viewers the main news stories of the day along with information of the

weather, sports and business. That is the most interesting question

that most who was contact us about. Looking at archive footage of

previous incarnations of Breakfast's output, there was a

period of breakfast news but it is very much on the sofa now. What

about the balance between news and entertainment? Yes. I think our

first job is to do the news properly, to do the news well. And I

think if we do that, we have a little bit of licence to also have a

bit of a smile and have a bit of fun in the programme as well but I'm

clear that the news is the most important thing we do and news

drives audiences to Breakfast. It's a magazine and as such, it's a bit

of a mix, but the balance is very strongly in favour of the news.

Viewers regularly feel there are publicity plugs pretty much every

day for some pop star or a new film or some actor and that is not what

they feel the news should be doing on Breakfast. We are talking about

two or three items from the world of media, arts, entertainment, culture

every day and we are talking about doing them at a time in the

programme towards the end when there is a slightly more feel to the

show. And it is important to say that entertainment and news and arts

and culture is all part of our brief. It's part of the show. It's

about in the school. News is still very much the main thing we do. You

are joining us from the sofa in Salford. One of the complaints we

get is that people feel all of the newsmakers are still in London and

too many of them cannot be interviewed face to face. And it's

not just viewers. BBC journalists also say they feel it is a problem

with the programme. You have to remember that it has always been the

case that some guests cannot or will not be able to sit on the sofa. That

was the case when this sofa was in London and it is still the case now

that this sofa is in Salford. People use politicians as an example. If

you asked anyone who worked on the programme back in London and who

still works on it now, they will tell you that less than half of the

time politicians would come and sit on the sofa in west London. They

much prefer to stay in Westminster. It's also true to say that we have

the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition as well as Cabinet

ministers on the sofa, so they do travel. What are your ambitions for

the future of the programme? I think the challenge for Breakfast is to

move with the audience and the challenge for the BBC generally and

especially for our timeslot is mobility and instant access and I

just think it would be great if, as we go forward, there is a way of

taking Breakfast with you. People now want the news in the palm of

their hands, literally, and if you could leave the house in the morning

and take a bit of Breakfast with you and add value to the Breakfast

content of the morning I getting more context, information, on

screens and so on, being able to watch the items as and when you

wanted as he travelled to work or school or