:00:00. > :00:00.president Trump. That's it from me. At 10pm, the full round-up of the
:00:00. > :00:07.day 's news will be here. First of all, time for NewsWatch.
:00:08. > :00:12.The BBC gets an independent and external regulator,
:00:13. > :00:15.what difference will that make to viewers concerned
:00:16. > :00:17.about whether news coverage is fair and impartial?
:00:18. > :00:23.Are we on the brink of a bright new dawn, or might
:00:24. > :00:31.A measured analysis of Brexit from David Dimbleby in the
:00:32. > :00:41.First, one of the survivors of the Westminster attack
:00:42. > :00:43.a couple of weeks ago, Melissa Cochrane, gave an emotional
:00:44. > :00:52.Her husband was killed and she herself was badly injured.
:00:53. > :00:58.Melissa Cochrane has spoken exclusively to Fiona Bruce.
:00:59. > :01:02.Kurt was probably the best man I have ever met.
:01:03. > :01:23.I'm very happy that the world now knows what a wonderful man he was.
:01:24. > :01:25.Two viewers recorded their thoughts on that for us.
:01:26. > :01:26.They were divided about the interview itself,
:01:27. > :01:29.but united in their condemnation of how
:01:30. > :01:32.it was described and promoted on air.
:01:33. > :01:36.Can someone please explain to me what it means when Hugh Edwards
:01:37. > :01:41.prefaces a news report with the expression exclusive report?
:01:42. > :01:44.The interview was very emotionally charged, but handled very
:01:45. > :01:51.I feel the interview was cheapened by this
:01:52. > :01:59.The woman was visibly traumatised, she was
:02:00. > :02:02.shocked, there were tears on her face.
:02:03. > :02:04.I don't believe she should have been interviewed, even had she
:02:05. > :02:08.Here's the rub: at the very beginning of the interview,
:02:09. > :02:12.Fiona Bruce said, and now we have an exclusive interview
:02:13. > :02:20.We have managed to get an interview with a visibly traumatised, shocked
:02:21. > :02:24.and bereaved woman, before anybody else.
:02:25. > :02:34.Andrew Horner there, and Ian Drake, before him.
:02:35. > :02:55.This is what they told us:
:02:56. > :02:57.One of the big debates of the week
:02:58. > :02:59.was over the comments made by football
:03:00. > :03:00.manager David Moyes, in a post-match
:03:01. > :03:02.interview with BBC sports reporter Vicki Sparkes.
:03:03. > :03:05.Does it put any extra pressure on you as a manager when
:03:06. > :03:07.you know the owner is in the stands, watching?
:03:08. > :03:13.Watch yourself, getting a bit naughty at the end there.
:03:14. > :03:15.You still might get a slap, even though you
:03:16. > :03:20.David Moyes apologised for those comments, which were widely
:03:21. > :03:22.condemned and are being investigated by the FA.
:03:23. > :03:27.But some news critics thought this was a storm in a
:03:28. > :03:55.Now, who decides what constitutes impartiality, balance and accuracy
:03:56. > :04:04.And passes judgments on when there's values
:04:05. > :04:06.And passes judgments on when those values
:04:07. > :04:12.Here on news watch, we don't have that authority
:04:13. > :04:14.although we are always keen to view your views.
:04:15. > :04:16.Up until this week it has been the responsibility of the
:04:17. > :04:20.But that body has now disappeared, and from Monday, the
:04:21. > :04:22.independent regulator off, has taken over oversight of all BBC content.
:04:23. > :04:24.independent regulator Ofcom, has taken over oversight
:04:25. > :04:29.To answer that, I am joined by Steven Barnett, professor of
:04:30. > :04:34.communication at Westminster and former chief executive of ITM and
:04:35. > :04:36.communication at Westminster and Stuart Pervis, former
:04:37. > :04:37.chief executive of ITM and
:04:38. > :04:40.Stephen first, people say the BBC has been
:04:41. > :04:45.What difference will make another .com has taken over?
:04:46. > :04:47.What difference will make another Ofcom has taken over?
:04:48. > :04:49.The difference is that once you have made a
:04:50. > :04:53.complaint to the BBC, which has always the case,
:04:54. > :04:56.if you then want to escalate it, up until the end of
:04:57. > :04:58.March, you would then go to the BBC trust.
:04:59. > :05:08.The question is, in practice, will it
:05:09. > :05:11.The BBC trust, despite the name, in my view
:05:12. > :05:13.at least was actually a pretty independent body.
:05:14. > :05:15.I think it was actually pretty good at looking
:05:16. > :05:18.after the complaints who felt they had not had justice
:05:19. > :05:22.The problem was that the perception was that this was just,
:05:23. > :05:25.There will be a question around those grounds of
:05:26. > :05:36.Briefly, bringing in some change, I think
:05:37. > :05:39.there will be more news happening on radio 2 which does not
:05:40. > :05:42.But some practical changes on what is now required.
:05:43. > :05:45.There will be, there was a different issue around what will be required
:05:46. > :05:48.Which is different from the complaints procedure.
:05:49. > :05:50.So-called licences for radio stations,
:05:51. > :06:04.We know at news watch the viewers often unhappy
:06:05. > :06:06.about how the BBC handles concerns around impartiality.
:06:07. > :06:08.We have heard from Stephen, that in a way it
:06:09. > :06:13.It was not just a perception that you are
:06:14. > :06:15.not conscious of who was making the decision.
:06:16. > :06:21.It was a much wider conclusion about who should complain
:06:22. > :06:23.about what, and the issue goes much wider across the whole
:06:24. > :06:27.The simplicity of this is that if you are unhappy, complain to
:06:28. > :06:30.the BBC first, if you're not happy with the decision, go to Ofcom.
:06:31. > :06:39.Having said that, there are exceptions.
:06:40. > :06:41.There was, if you like, a big fudge in the past.
:06:42. > :06:46.We often hear from BBC editors that achieving
:06:47. > :06:49.impartiality and balance is not a personal judgment, it is not a
:06:50. > :06:55.Even the BBC chair says he does want a scientific approach.
:06:56. > :07:09.The whole debate is that we want some human judgment involved, we
:07:10. > :07:14.don't want it to be done by some algorithm or other.
:07:15. > :07:17.We want people to take account of the context and
:07:18. > :07:19.the background and the whole series of factors before the regulator
:07:20. > :07:22.I'm sure there will be all sorts of league
:07:23. > :07:25.tables of which words are more or less impartial than others.
:07:26. > :07:27.At the end of the day, we need experienced
:07:28. > :07:30.people preferably with some kind of back on themselves in production,
:07:31. > :07:35.making a judgment which they have to be prepared to defend.
:07:36. > :07:38.I have no problem if the BBC does not like the
:07:39. > :07:40.Ofcom says, it should have the right to say that.
:07:41. > :07:42.With the scientific approach, I think a lot of people
:07:43. > :07:45.think it would be good if the BBC did a proper
:07:46. > :07:48.headcount and looks at who gets to go on panel shows.
:07:49. > :07:49.I hear complaints about certain people
:07:50. > :07:57.You will always get complaints from people who actually
:07:58. > :08:03.see the news through their own lens, of what they think is right and
:08:04. > :08:06.Particularly in some of the biggest views, like referendum or
:08:07. > :08:09.But Stewart is completely right, it is
:08:10. > :08:12.-- you can count the number of minutes as much as you want.
:08:13. > :08:14.You can count the number of head, the number
:08:15. > :08:16.of times that someone is for or against.
:08:17. > :08:19.In the end, it is going to be a matter of judgment.
:08:20. > :08:21.NewsWatch deals with online as much as
:08:22. > :08:29.But Ofcom are not going to regulate it.
:08:30. > :08:33.What has been coming on behind the scenes of the Ofcom
:08:34. > :08:36.have been pushing back to the government about the idea that they
:08:37. > :08:38.should regulate, not just broadcasting BBC online content as
:08:39. > :08:41.well, so we'll have a rather weird situation where if you want complain
:08:42. > :08:44.about something on television radio, you will if you do not like the
:08:45. > :08:52.But if you see the same story to go to Ofcom.
:08:53. > :08:55.But if you see the same story covered online in terms of a blog
:08:56. > :08:59.post by a BBC correspondent, you will not be able to go to Ofcom. The
:09:00. > :09:04.reason is that Ofcom does not want to set a precedent for regulating
:09:05. > :09:08.online content, because then why not recollect ITV online channel for
:09:09. > :09:15.online, or the Daily Mail online? I think it is an odd situation.
:09:16. > :09:19.Everyone complains about too much bureaucracy at the BBC. As a whole
:09:20. > :09:22.new layer of Ofcom rules was going to make that worse? I'm not
:09:23. > :09:27.convinced there will be a whole new layer of rules. The whole idea as
:09:28. > :09:31.Stewart said, is to make it easier and clearer. For those consumers who
:09:32. > :09:36.actually want to complain. I had a look at the Ofcom form and it is
:09:37. > :09:41.dead simple. The actual process is not going to be any more confusing.
:09:42. > :09:48.I do have a fear about what it might do to the culture of Ofcom, taking
:09:49. > :09:53.on this additional, very large area of BBC oversight. I think it will
:09:54. > :09:57.make it... I think it will politicise off, and a weight has not
:09:58. > :10:02.been before. It will be in the line. It will be under more pressure from
:10:03. > :10:06.those who actually are not great friends of the BBC, and then he
:10:07. > :10:11.majorly of the publishers and some of those who are major critics of
:10:12. > :10:15.the BBC. Once Ofcom come-down in some of those judgments on the side
:10:16. > :10:22.of the BBC, which they will, I suspect we will see more criticism
:10:23. > :10:26.of Ofcom the me have so far. Thank you both. Last week saw a novel
:10:27. > :10:31.approach to impartiality taken by David Dimbleby in a pollution or
:10:32. > :10:37.trail he published for BBC question Time on Facebook live. He
:10:38. > :10:45.demonstrated his alleged skill in the art of rap. We have triggered
:10:46. > :10:50.article 50, Barnier look shifty, we're going to have to be thrifty
:10:51. > :10:54.with a recession in 2050. With rather more doom and gloom, the
:10:55. > :11:00.economy could bloom. With terror threats, murder threats, we will do
:11:01. > :11:04.we decide to pay our debts? As immigration, taxation, and questions
:11:05. > :11:08.from the nation will stop May is out on probation. What does Britain
:11:09. > :11:14.think? Are we on the brink of a bright new dawn, or might we sink?
:11:15. > :11:19.This is the kind of stuff we get up to on question Time in the
:11:20. > :11:24.afternoon, thinking Brexit, Brexit, Brexit, Brexit. What are we going to
:11:25. > :11:29.do differently about Brexit?! Well it was certainly different, wasn't
:11:30. > :11:32.it? But was appropriate? The performance was described as
:11:33. > :11:41.impressive, awkward, with one viewer pleading...
:11:42. > :11:46.Thank you for all your comments this week. If you want to share your
:11:47. > :11:47.opinions on BBC News and current affairs or even appear on the
:11:48. > :12:07.programme, you can call us on our website is BBC .co .uk/ news
:12:08. > :12:12.watch. That's all from us. We are only the Easter -- we are off over
:12:13. > :12:13.Easter but