:00:00. > :00:00.This week the new Disability Correspondent for BBC News,
:00:00. > :00:20.Hello and welcome to News watch. Coming up this week, with a new
:00:21. > :00:25.correspond and appointed specialising in the area, how should
:00:26. > :00:31.BBC News improve its coverage relating to disability? And Hampden
:00:32. > :00:40.Park it, no tie and a crumpled shirt, the present of Newsweek this
:00:41. > :00:45.week. In recent weeks both the BBC director of news and the Director
:00:46. > :00:48.General have vowed to increase the representation of those with
:00:49. > :00:53.disabilities on screen and off, after registers from its governing
:00:54. > :00:57.body. But does it live up to its goal to be the best provider of news
:00:58. > :01:28.for those with a disability? Some viewers have their doubts, such
:01:29. > :01:33.Nicole may be pleased to hear that BBC News now had in place its first
:01:34. > :01:38.disability correspond and, Nikki disability correspond and, Nikki
:01:39. > :01:42.Fox. In the weeks then she took up the post she has been busy. Every
:01:43. > :01:48.step of Al is taking is imitating the natural walking pattern. ``
:01:49. > :01:54.Valerie. There is a motion sensor just there, which detects four
:01:55. > :01:59.movements and turns them into steps. I had a target before, about 5.5%
:02:00. > :02:05.and you did not meet that target. What makes you think you can reach
:02:06. > :02:08.this one? I want to know how we make a difference, I am less interested
:02:09. > :02:13.on why we haven't done things but what we can do. What I am hoping is
:02:14. > :02:17.with bringing somebody who is going to take a lead on this, someone in
:02:18. > :02:20.charge to make sure people with disabilities can come into the
:02:21. > :02:24.corporation and get looked after when they are here, and the other
:02:25. > :02:30.plans we said today is we will get to 5% target by 2017. I'm hopeful we
:02:31. > :02:34.might even get beyond that. You do not know unless you try, there is
:02:35. > :02:39.always another book to read or film to watch. I nosy to nosy to want to
:02:40. > :02:44.die. The Lords will be debating whether a form like this will be
:02:45. > :02:47.available to those with a terminal illness. Two doctors will have to
:02:48. > :02:52.agree the patient has a condition which gives them six months or less
:02:53. > :02:58.to live and they are of sound mind. You saw her in those reports and
:02:59. > :03:03.here she is in the studio, our disability correspondent. Thank you
:03:04. > :03:07.for coming on. What have the BBC said your role is about and what do
:03:08. > :03:11.you hope to achieve? What I would love to achieve, I would love to get
:03:12. > :03:16.those big and important stories that have something to do with disability
:03:17. > :03:21.mainstream news. We want reports, we want our pieces to be on the six
:03:22. > :03:27.o'clock News, breakfast News and the ten o'clock news. We have a large
:03:28. > :03:32.remit. We want to serve the 20% of the audience that have disability or
:03:33. > :03:37.are affected in some way by disability. Is it just about serving
:03:38. > :03:43.them or about how people with disabilities are represented to the
:03:44. > :03:47.general audience? It is both. We have is massive stories coming up.
:03:48. > :03:52.We want to get a nice balance, a bit of light and shade. At the same
:03:53. > :03:55.time, as I have done with my career prior to this job, whenever I have
:03:56. > :04:00.done anything to do with disability, I have wanted it to be accessible to
:04:01. > :04:05.everyone. To people who are not disabled as well as those that are.
:04:06. > :04:12.User. There are big stories coming up, what are they? `` you said
:04:13. > :04:18.thereafter? There is welfare re`form, the closing of the
:04:19. > :04:23.Independent living fund. We are looking into that. We will do a big
:04:24. > :04:26.story on that. Also the changes to education and how they are affecting
:04:27. > :04:32.people with special educational needs. We have loads. I have to keep
:04:33. > :04:36.some of them under my hat. Are their topics and stories that have not
:04:37. > :04:41.been told or are not being told at the moment? Yes. I think this role
:04:42. > :04:47.was created because the BBC were aware they were not necessarily able
:04:48. > :04:52.to serve the disabled audience and this is great, this is what they are
:04:53. > :04:59.doing about it. This is my job, my big responsibility, which I will
:05:00. > :05:05.take very seriously. Some of it is quite practical. There is an effort
:05:06. > :05:10.by broadcasters to update the language relating to disability, the
:05:11. > :05:15.issue of language, is it still an issue? It can be. I have been
:05:16. > :05:20.disabled all my life and I have a disabled sister. Even I sometimes
:05:21. > :05:23.get the language wrong. Luckily, we have had a very positive way to
:05:24. > :05:27.response from the pieces that have gone out. I have been very aware
:05:28. > :05:31.there was one time when I said disabled people rather than people
:05:32. > :05:38.with disabilities, it was just a slip. I did not mean to say it. You
:05:39. > :05:42.can get a bit hung up on language. It is very important for me, in my
:05:43. > :05:46.job, I have to get it right, it is what I'm paid to do. At the same
:05:47. > :05:51.time, there is no need to be too hung up on it. At the same time, you
:05:52. > :05:55.have to try and get it right. I certainly do. How do you see
:05:56. > :06:01.yourself? A campaign or a spokesperson in any way? I see
:06:02. > :06:06.myself as a correspond on, just like every other correspondence. Like
:06:07. > :06:11.everyone I work within Salford. I see myself as a correspondent and
:06:12. > :06:14.journalist. My specialist area is disability. I do have the unique
:06:15. > :06:19.perspective because I am disabled and always has been. Of course, I
:06:20. > :06:25.have that little bit of extra something to to the role will stop I
:06:26. > :06:29.want to do as good a job as every other correspondence. This is my
:06:30. > :06:35.specialist area, just like our 's is the sum. Some people would say there
:06:36. > :06:38.can be some serious politics around certain aspects of disability
:06:39. > :06:44.issues. Sometimes there may be a story where there is an argument
:06:45. > :06:49.about doing adaptations. In that kind of situation, would you be
:06:50. > :06:54.happy about giving both sides of the story equal prominence? Absolutely,
:06:55. > :06:58.it is something I did for my radio documentary. I spoke about how my
:06:59. > :07:02.dad has a small business and he might not necessarily be able to
:07:03. > :07:07.afford to employ somebody with a disability. 100%. That is the job of
:07:08. > :07:12.a journalist, you have to give both sides. I do not have an agenda, but
:07:13. > :07:16.I have a unique perspective of what it is like to be disabled. I have
:07:17. > :07:23.great ideas and I have always had great ideas, she says, that is a bit
:07:24. > :07:31.vain. I have lots of ideas I want to bring. And lots of areas I want to
:07:32. > :07:36.cover. Thank you. Pleasure. Let us know your thoughts on the coverage
:07:37. > :07:39.of disability issues or an any aspect of BBC News. Details of how
:07:40. > :07:42.to contact us at the end of the programme. Now for some of your
:07:43. > :07:52.other concerns, starting with the coverage of the Ebola outbreak, a
:07:53. > :07:55.disease with a high mortality rate. Our correspondence reports from
:07:56. > :07:58.Guinea. A few days ago health workers could not get into this
:07:59. > :08:02.village, but they have made a breakthrough here today. People are
:08:03. > :08:08.bringing out their sick relatives and agreeing to be checked over the
:08:09. > :08:31.symptoms of Ebola. That raised the question to several viewers.
:08:32. > :08:38.There is a common dilemma when news covers a big sporting event, around
:08:39. > :08:42.how much to focus on the winners whether they come from, and how much
:08:43. > :08:44.on the performance of any of the UK teams, especially when the
:08:45. > :08:50.Commonwealth Games are being held in Glasgow. Just a few weeks before
:08:51. > :08:57.Scotland's highly contested referendum on independence. On
:08:58. > :09:05.Thursday night, a Scottish athlete finished second in the hurdles. Not
:09:06. > :09:09.the medal she would have wanted, but based or have one to celebrate. Mike
:09:10. > :09:13.Ellis from Preston was among those who felt they detected a trend in
:09:14. > :09:40.news reporting of the Commonwealth Games. He said:
:09:41. > :09:45.Finally, since Jeremy Paxman left Newsnight a number of different
:09:46. > :09:49.people have hosted the show and will continue to do so over the summer
:09:50. > :10:00.before Evan Davis takes up his place as the lead presenter. On Wednesday
:10:01. > :10:03.it was Robert Preston's term. After huffing and puffing the European
:10:04. > :10:07.Union has responded to the shooting down of the Malaysian airlines
:10:08. > :10:12.flight, moving to stage three sanctions against Russia. The
:10:13. > :10:15.appearance of the BBC's economic correspond and caused a bit of the
:10:16. > :10:19.staff or stop should he have had his hand in his pocket at the start of
:10:20. > :10:21.the show? What about the lack of a tie and had that shirt seen an IM
:10:22. > :10:45.recently? `` iron recently. Many approved of the debutant's the
:10:46. > :10:57.performance. On that positive note, we leave you
:10:58. > :11:02.for our summer break. We will be back in September, but in the
:11:03. > :11:05.meantime share your opinions on BBC News and current affairs. They will
:11:06. > :11:16.be read and heard and will feature on the programme when we return.
:11:17. > :11:23.You can also have a look at our website. If you miss us in the next
:11:24. > :11:27.month you can watch any additions and discussions of the programme
:11:28. > :11:30.from the past year. That is all from us, have a good month and join us
:11:31. > :11:40.again in September. Hello, keep your eye on the forecast
:11:41. > :11:44.over the next few days, a lot going on, much of it wet. Brain pushing
:11:45. > :11:49.into southwestern parts of England and Wales over the next few hours.
:11:50. > :11:53.`` rain. Most of the action will be further west, moving northwards as
:11:54. > :11:54.we go through the early