27/11/2015 Newswatch

with fake ambulances were used import drugs from Holland. At 10pm

we will have a round-up of the news today, but first it is time for

Newswatch. Hello and welcome to Newswatch with

me, Samira Ahmed. As George Osborne delivers

his autumn statement, is the BBC's economic coverage too simple and is

it politically biased? Robert Peston about to leave the BBC

after the decade reporting on business and economics reflects

on those questions The only thing people have to know

about me is that I am unbelievably childish about journalism,

I love getting stories The focus on domestic attention

in news agendas this week was the Chancellor's Autumn Statement,

which has again shot a spotlight There was a number of preview pieces

on television before George Osborne The amount of money the Government

wants to spend is shrinking. At the moment, a big lump

of our taxes goes to pay for the That is

about ?170 billion a year and it pays for people's retirement and

welfare, things such as jobseeker's That didn't go

down well with one viewer who rang Having watched breakfast this

morning with your financial reporter and

began to wonder who it was aimed at. You have to decide if you're going

to be a serious programme or not. On Wednesday's news at ten,

Robert Peston used a different visual device to

describe what Mister Osborne had A bit of pre-Christmas magic in

Leeds, but some rain said that the Chancellor pulled off a bit of a

trek by maintaining spending on the police,

easing the pace of austerity, and ignoring the no U-turn rule for

politicians by cancelling tax credit cuts while still running fairly fast

to cut annual borrowing. But some viewers find this kind of

thing simplistic, others explained that the BBC's economic soap it uses

too many complex technical terms And if comprehensibility is one bone

of contention, another is what some see as political bias creeping

into the reporting of economics. Here is Carl Wright

e-mailing this week: Over the last decade,

Robert Peston has had to wrestle First as the BBC's business editor

and now as the economics editor, he is about to leave the BBC to join

ITV as its political editor. This week was a time

for farewells on the news. Let us take stock after all these

announcements and Robert Peston is with me, our economics editor,

Laura Kuenssberg our political This is probably my last live

on the news at ten. I'm obsessing as usual with

the financial and fiscal risks. Over the past ten years we've had

plenty of comments about Robert Peston, ranging

from his capacity to generate scoops or exclusives, to his hair,

which has its own Twitter account. And criticism of his alleged sloppy

attire, unbuttoned shirt and no tie while interviewing George

Osborne on a recent trip to China. I have asked him about all those

issues, starting with how is business and economics coverage has

changed in his ten years at the BBC. Before I joined, when I joined,

it was a real struggle to get business on the main bulletins,

The Today programme, There was a nod towards

the idea that there might be a few people interested in business,

but there was a prejudice, I would Then we had markets closing down

in a catastrophic way in the summer of 2007, a sort of

unique moment I suppose in a way, that around the place here people

suddenly recognised what business is and why it matters to people's

lives. From a viewer's point of view,

what is striking is that on the one hand people feel economics can still

feel incredibly complicated and the jargon used in it we don't

fully understand, but some feel How have you felt

the balance has been struck? I don't like

as it happens visual metaphors that I always try and find images that

are relevant to the story These stories are often quite dry,

what you try and do is move from the personal to the general

and I do think all A big part of your reputation has

been getting scoops, such You have also been accused

with Northern Rock of perhaps What is your view

on that accusation? There was a very difficult period

from the summer of 2007 onwards when basically there was a whole industry

of senior politicians and senior business people, the head of the

British Bankers Association, who They felt that somehow what

I was saying was stuff that I consistently took

a different view, which is that this was not alarmist

stuff, this was not sensationalist. I never reported anything that

wasn't grounded in 100% fact. No one ever accused me

of getting anything wrong. When I reviewed

my language it was clear to me that I wasn't being sensationalist,

it was just that there was a whole industry of people who did not want

the public to know the facts. You are known and often commented

on for your appearance and for a lot of reporters the last thing

they want to be talked about for is Do you think that is happening to

you because you have chosen not Maybe I have always been less

sensitive to the issue of how you sound and how you look

than people who have been That said,

I have never wanted either the way I sound or look to distract

from what I am saying, that is what I think to an extent, it was helpful

that I was distinctive because in a sense if I came on the television or

radio people instantly recognise me and that also meant that this person

is maybe worth listening to watching because you might tell something

that affects our lives. I think it is important to be clear

about this, I think it is very important that you respect

who you're interviewing and respect To be absolutely clear, the only

reason I occasionally am not wearing a tie, I don't like ties,

but I will wear them on occasion. It is the right thing to do,

it is expected that is what you will do and I don't not wear it to make

a point of any sort. I think you just have

to judge situations. There was that the fuss

about the trip to China. It was a perfectly natural thing

in that situation not to wear a tie because it was boiling hot and I'd

been running about all day filming. I am pretty sure the Chancellor

would have completely understood I am slightly sorry that some people

here thought this was a big deal. I don't think it was a big deal

and I don't think it is. You are going to ITV and it and it

feels at a time when so much is accused of being politically biased,

even economics coverage, we've had complaints that the word lucky is

used to describe the Chancellor's situation at the Autumn Statement

this week has been seen by some What is your take

on how much heightened sensitivity there is, both at the BBC

and with the challenge of the job? Throughout the developed world there

has been a loss of confidence in what you make mainstream

politicians and mainstream parties. In those circumstances, you would

expect millions of people to be much more passionate

in their view of politics and much more mistrustful of what you might

call the mainstream media. Demonstrate

for mainstream politicians is also All journalists have to be acutely

aware of those sensitivities. The challenge

for a journalist remains exactly the same, which is, as far as

possible, to put their own instincts and prejudices to one side and to

describe the world as they see it. Robert Peston, thank you

all the best for the future. Just time before we go for a mention

of what is likely to be debated topic of next week, a possible vote

on whether the UK should join Some viewers have told us they feel

the BBC is focusing too much on divisions within the

Labour Party over this issue, rather And finally a word from Hugh Brown

about a particular bugbear of his: Thank you

for all your comments this week. If you want to share

your opinions on BBC News, current affairs, or appear on the programme

you can call us using the number You can find us on Twitter

and do have a look at our website. That is from us, we will be back to

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