Browse content similar to 15/04/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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leaders. At 10pm, Fiona Bruce will lead us | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
into a full review of the day's news but first, here is Newswatch. | :00:07. | :00:12. | |
Hello and welcome to Newswatch with me, Samira Ahmed. | :00:13. | :00:14. | |
Too much fighting and not enough fact? | :00:15. | :00:16. | |
Is the BBC informing us about | :00:17. | :00:18. | |
the reasons for Britain to leave or remain in the EU? | :00:19. | :00:24. | |
And Whittingdale and Welby - did BBC News | :00:25. | :00:26. | |
overstep the mark this week on reporting on the private lives of | :00:27. | :00:29. | |
If you've already had it up to here with the build-up | :00:30. | :00:37. | |
to June's referendum on Britain's membership in the EU, beware - | :00:38. | :00:42. | |
the official campaign has only just started but already we've had plenty | :00:43. | :00:45. | |
of feedback on how the BBC is approaching this thorniest of | :00:46. | :00:48. | |
Much of it raising the question of how enlightening and | :00:49. | :00:57. | |
One example came on Monday with a special edition of BBC Two's | :00:58. | :01:01. | |
This is not legislation imposed on us. | :01:02. | :01:07. | |
We are part of the legislative process and | :01:08. | :01:10. | |
until Chris understands this, he is not really going to come | :01:11. | :01:13. | |
In debates and discussions like that and studio | :01:14. | :01:18. | |
interviews with representatives from two sides and soundbites featured in | :01:19. | :01:23. | |
news reports we hear a welter of contradictory claims often stated | :01:24. | :01:27. | |
with complete conviction and that has been bothering a number of | :01:28. | :01:29. | |
One of them, Michael Gabbitas, recorded his thoughts on | :01:30. | :01:33. | |
It makes it much more exciting and interesting to report | :01:34. | :01:38. | |
on the divisions within the parties and talk | :01:39. | :01:40. | |
But this isn't helping the people very much and what I would | :01:41. | :01:50. | |
prefer to see is some impartial and expert analysis. | :01:51. | :01:59. | |
We get no say in the way it is spent. | :02:00. | :02:02. | |
Specifically in any decision that we make on whether or not we | :02:03. | :02:16. | |
stay in the EU or come out of it, there are bound to be associated | :02:17. | :02:19. | |
threats, opportunities and risks and costs and benefits and | :02:20. | :02:21. | |
And all of these things are useful in making a | :02:22. | :02:30. | |
And it seems to me that it is for the national broadcaster to | :02:31. | :02:36. | |
Joining me now is James Stevenson, the news editor for | :02:37. | :02:42. | |
Unlike other elections, everything, it feels, is disputed by | :02:43. | :02:45. | |
It makes watching coverage, as some of the viewers | :02:46. | :02:49. | |
have made clear, incredibly unenlightening. | :02:50. | :02:52. | |
Too many viewers feel they haven't actually got clear | :02:53. | :02:54. | |
what the main arguments are on either side and is it the BBC's | :02:55. | :02:57. | |
I think it is a challenge to us and one that we are fully | :02:58. | :03:03. | |
I think it is fair to say, I think you said in | :03:04. | :03:07. | |
your introduction, this is the start of the official campaign so we have | :03:08. | :03:10. | |
ten weeks now of what everyone thinks will be increasingly intense | :03:11. | :03:12. | |
We have got a responsibility to cover the news and | :03:13. | :03:17. | |
we will do that as things develop with the campaigns. | :03:18. | :03:19. | |
I definitely agree with the contributors who are | :03:20. | :03:21. | |
saying they need some light to go with the heat and we are aiming to | :03:22. | :03:25. | |
provide that in a variety of ways so, for example, we will have issues | :03:26. | :03:28. | |
cards online so they can share them on social | :03:29. | :03:34. | |
cards online so they can share them on social media, | :03:35. | :03:36. | |
We have already got a jargon busting element on our | :03:37. | :03:40. | |
website so if anyone is confused about terms, | :03:41. | :03:42. | |
We have begun to run short video explainers with some of the basic | :03:43. | :03:55. | |
things as simple as how has the vote come about? | :03:56. | :03:59. | |
Right through to documentaries and debates that will | :04:00. | :04:01. | |
We all accept the challenge that has been laid down | :04:02. | :04:08. | |
and we will have to see, come the vote, | :04:09. | :04:10. | |
and we will have to see, come the vote, if we have | :04:11. | :04:13. | |
Even with all these places, and I know there are things | :04:14. | :04:17. | |
like the reality check part of the website as well, | :04:18. | :04:19. | |
where you can go and look at some of the claims being | :04:20. | :04:22. | |
Laying out the facts isn't actually that exciting, is it, as | :04:23. | :04:26. | |
I wonder if the reality for news is that stuff like | :04:27. | :04:29. | |
Peter Mandelson versus Chris Grayling on Newsnight does seem more | :04:30. | :04:32. | |
I thought you were a little bit unfair to that debate in | :04:33. | :04:36. | |
your clip because it was a long, lengthy, very serious minded look at | :04:37. | :04:39. | |
sovereignty and there will be six of those, | :04:40. | :04:41. | |
looking at different aspects of the big decision that is going to | :04:42. | :04:44. | |
be made and there was an expert witness who had been in a senior | :04:45. | :04:47. | |
role at the European Court of Justice who | :04:48. | :04:49. | |
role at the European Court of Justice who was a contributor | :04:50. | :04:52. | |
I accept, there are different things that work | :04:53. | :04:57. | |
We know that debate formats and the big debates | :04:58. | :05:01. | |
We are going to have an event in front of a very | :05:02. | :05:06. | |
large audience in Wembley Arena and we know from previous experience | :05:07. | :05:08. | |
that a lot of people find that very helpful | :05:09. | :05:10. | |
that a lot of people find that very helpful as a way | :05:11. | :05:13. | |
For other people, we will be looking in depth in other ways so | :05:14. | :05:21. | |
we have had the first of two parts of an excellent Nick Robinson series | :05:22. | :05:25. | |
looking at the whole history of the relationship | :05:26. | :05:26. | |
Michelle Hussain will be looking at migration, | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
we will be looking at the central question | :05:32. | :05:33. | |
of whether we will be better off in or out | :05:34. | :05:35. | |
We are certainly planning to offer a full | :05:36. | :05:38. | |
range of things for a full range of our audience. | :05:39. | :05:42. | |
Because this is a really big challenge, that every | :05:43. | :05:44. | |
so-called fact is actually disputed and the BBC is trying so hard to | :05:45. | :05:48. | |
balance every claim with its counterclaim that it doesn't | :05:49. | :05:52. | |
actually leave that much time to just go | :05:53. | :05:54. | |
I certainly think there is something in that. | :05:55. | :05:57. | |
You have mentioned our reality check service that we are | :05:58. | :05:59. | |
running online but also using that to inform our broadcast coverage. | :06:00. | :06:02. | |
Sometimes you can get to a hard fact and sometimes you can't. | :06:03. | :06:07. | |
Sometimes the campaigns, one side or the | :06:08. | :06:10. | |
other, will assert something as a firm fact and when you look at it | :06:11. | :06:13. | |
more closely, it doesn't actually hold water. | :06:14. | :06:15. | |
What we are determined to do is go down | :06:16. | :06:22. | |
as far down the track is possible to see what | :06:23. | :06:26. | |
as far down the track is possible to see what is conjecture | :06:27. | :06:29. | |
And we are very aware that the audience wants us | :06:30. | :06:33. | |
that service and we will do it as far as we can take | :06:34. | :06:39. | |
it before you hit the, well, there are assumptions | :06:40. | :06:41. | |
Then we will try to share with people what | :06:42. | :06:45. | |
those assumptions and disputes are about. | :06:46. | :06:47. | |
Briefly, there is two and a | :06:48. | :06:48. | |
And not just in terms of the audience but also yourselves? | :06:49. | :06:53. | |
I thought you were asking about personal fatigue! | :06:54. | :07:02. | |
I am not too worried about that and on | :07:03. | :07:05. | |
my colleagues, although it is nice of you to be concerned on our | :07:06. | :07:09. | |
We are already seeing a high level of engagement are really quite | :07:10. | :07:15. | |
Our expectation is as the vote gets closer and people who don't | :07:16. | :07:21. | |
necessarily make this the first interest in life will focus down | :07:22. | :07:24. | |
because they know they have got an important decision to make and as | :07:25. | :07:27. | |
and when they choose to look more deeply at the issue to try to inform | :07:28. | :07:30. | |
themselves about how they are going to vote, | :07:31. | :07:32. | |
resources and coverage there that serves their needs. | :07:33. | :07:35. | |
James Stevenson, thank you very much. | :07:36. | :07:40. | |
It has been a week where issues of privacy and | :07:41. | :07:42. | |
intrusion have been at the forefront of media discussion. | :07:43. | :07:44. | |
It started last Saturday, when BBC News followed up | :07:45. | :07:47. | |
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, says | :07:48. | :07:55. | |
he has discovered he is | :07:56. | :07:58. | |
the son of Sir Winston Churchill's last Private Secretary. | :07:59. | :08:01. | |
In a statement he says a DNA test revealed that his biological father | :08:02. | :08:05. | |
was not, as he had always believed, Gavin Welby, but the late Sir | :08:06. | :08:08. | |
The attention the BBC gave to the story | :08:09. | :08:14. | |
bothered a number of viewers, with Liz Templer writing, "It seems | :08:15. | :08:17. | |
Although Justin Welby is a public figure, his mother | :08:18. | :08:24. | |
is not and I did not feel this was a matter of public interest. | :08:25. | :08:28. | |
The disclosure of intimate detail as to | :08:29. | :08:29. | |
when she slept with people just appear to be salacious. | :08:30. | :08:32. | |
That question of the public interest cropped up | :08:33. | :08:34. | |
again on Tuesday with the | :08:35. | :08:35. | |
revelation that John Whittingdale had a relationship with a woman he | :08:36. | :08:37. | |
said he later discovered was working in the sex industry. | :08:38. | :08:53. | |
of Newsnight that broke the story, despite the fact that for newspapers | :08:54. | :08:58. | |
Whether this is connected with the culture secretary's role in | :08:59. | :09:02. | |
regulating the press was much discussed but Edward Brown was more | :09:03. | :09:05. | |
concerned about the prominence of the BBC gave the news on Wednesday. | :09:06. | :09:08. | |
Single man has an affair with single woman. | :09:09. | :09:11. | |
I can't believe the BBC have this as a lead story. | :09:12. | :09:15. | |
You are becoming a tabloid news outlet. | :09:16. | :09:16. | |
Privacy and intrusion can also apply to financial affairs, | :09:17. | :09:19. | |
of course, and some of you feel the line has | :09:20. | :09:22. | |
been crossed in coverage of | :09:23. | :09:23. | |
the Prime Minister's tax arrangements after last week's leak | :09:24. | :09:25. | |
from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. | :09:26. | :09:32. | |
Sandy Cooper told us it was | :09:33. | :09:33. | |
high time that on this subject, David Cameron was left alone. | :09:34. | :09:36. | |
We are now into the second week of the news regarding the | :09:37. | :09:39. | |
The BBC still seems to have to mention the PM's | :09:40. | :09:53. | |
Father's Blairemore trust should be by now common | :09:54. | :09:54. | |
knowledge, registered with the UK Inland Revenue. | :09:55. | :09:56. | |
The revelations in the Panama Papers prompted a demonstration in central | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
London last Saturday, where hundreds of protesters demanded the | :10:01. | :10:02. | |
resignation of the Prime Minister over what they considered his lack | :10:03. | :10:05. | |
of commitment to tackling tax avoidance. | :10:06. | :10:06. | |
BBC News did report on this on the news channel and within | :10:07. | :10:09. | |
the BBC One bulletin packages but insufficiently | :10:10. | :10:11. | |
I am concerned that you are not telling us the news. | :10:12. | :10:15. | |
You know, there is a great deal happening in the | :10:16. | :10:18. | |
centre of London at the moment demanding Cameron's departure and | :10:19. | :10:20. | |
For goodness sake, get off your backsides. | :10:21. | :10:25. | |
Finally, back to the Prime Minister and his financial affairs. | :10:26. | :10:27. | |
The decision he made to publish his tax | :10:28. | :10:29. | |
returns last weekend was | :10:30. | :10:30. | |
Well, have a listen to four clips from the | :10:31. | :10:34. | |
first five minutes of last Saturday's late BBC One bulletin. | :10:35. | :10:40. | |
An unprecedented move by the Prime Minister as he attempts | :10:41. | :10:42. | |
to shut down the row over his finances... | :10:43. | :10:48. | |
Minister is preparing to publish his tax returns... | :10:49. | :10:52. | |
He will be hoping that by releasing unprecedented | :10:53. | :10:54. | |
detail on his personal finances that he can convince the public | :10:55. | :10:56. | |
Confronting the issue head-on with this | :10:57. | :11:04. | |
Alan wondered, does the BBC has to include the word unprecedented | :11:05. | :11:10. | |
"Trivial, perhaps, but it gets on my nerves." | :11:11. | :11:20. | |
Let us know if anything grates on your nerves or meets with | :11:21. | :11:23. | |
You can contact as on: You can find us on | :11:24. | :11:35. | |
Twitter and do have a look at previous discussions on our | :11:36. | :11:38. | |
We will be back to hear your thoughts | :11:39. | :11:42. | |
about BBC News coverage again next week. | :11:43. | :11:45. |