26/05/2017 Newswatch

assistance. That's it from me. At 10pm you will get a full round-up of

the day 's news. But first, it's NewsWatch.

Hello and welcome to NewsWatch with me, Samira Ahmed.

After the Manchester Arena bombing, we discussed how news should report

the horror of a terrorist attack without giving the perpetrators

And we look at how Newsround covered that news for its young audience.

It was shortly after half past ten on Monday night when the news came

through of what would turn out to be the worst terrorist attack in the UK

Let's break away from the election campaign for a moment,

we have some news coming into us out of the north-west.

Greater Manchester police have warned people to stay away

As officers respond to what they are describing

as an incident amid reports on social media of some

By the following morning, the scale of the violence had become clear.

Breakfast invited three of those who had been at the Ariana Grande

I really admire you for coming on this morning and talking

with such honesty about this because there is all sorts of quotes

people can come out with saying, we will fight back and go one

But at a time like this, it is just devastating to be

involved in that and to be part of it.

But discussion divided NewsWatch viewers, with Anne Williams one

of a number concerned that: Adrian Clark was also not alone

Adrian Clark was also not alone in writing:

there were further complaints about other eyewitness interviews,

and some of the images shown on television.

On Wednesday, the diplomatic row with the United States developed,

after the New York Times printed close-up photographs of fragments

of the bomb used and the apparent tattered remains of the backpack

Those photographs were also shown on the BBC News,

The point was made by others, too, as in this anonymous telephone call.

The government was completely outraged by America showing pictures

of the Manchester bombing and the aftermath.

There were more general concerns about the quantity of the coverage

playing into the hands of those responsible for the atrocity,

Other viewers objected to the repeated use

of video, showing panicked concertgoers fleeing the scene,

with Shane Mitchell recording this video for us.

What I just don't understand is why the BBC keeps playing this

footage when there is one of these terrorist atrocities.

Of the people screaming as it is happening.

Our natural human reaction if we hear something like that,

somebody suffering and terrified, and people who are being murdered,

It's dehumanising and weird and intrusive to have

Well, we put some of those points to the BBC News,

Much of the revulsion at the attack stems

from it being directed largely at children and young people,

Much of the revulsion at the attack stems

from it being directed largely at children and young people,

one of the victims was just eight years old.

That presents a particular journalistic challenge to the BBC's

programme and website specifically for children, Newsround.

How to report on a shocking event of a special interest

to its audience, without scaring them unnecessarily, or sugar-coating

Here are some examples of how the programme makers

Welcome to a special Newsround from Manchester city centre.

You are joining us here because late last night,

there was a terror attack at an Ariana Grande concept

What's important to remember is that although events

like this are very sad, they are also rare.

Worrying stories are often in the news because they don't

So what should you do if you are feeling sad or anxious?

Amongst the confusion last night, lots of people in Manchester

And hotels like this one in the city centre were also helping people

I just wanted to thank the people who all helped them.

Did it put you off from maybe going to the city centre?

I don't think it should put me off, but I am a little bit put off,

because I just think, if they are trying to scare us,

then we should show them we're not scared and we shouldn't let them.

Newsround has been widely praised on social media for the approach

it's taken this week, with Tamal Ray tweeting this: Well

it's taken this week, with Tamal Ray tweeting this:

Well the editor of Newsround is Lewis James and he joins us now

Lewis, how did you decide to cover the Manchester bomb attack?

As you said in your introduction, this was probably the most

challenging event that any of us have had to cover on Newsround,

particularly because it appears the attack was targeted specifically

at children and young people at a pop concert.

We were aware right from the beginning I think both

of the scale of the story and the horrendousness of it.

But also I think the need for calm information to our audience.

In order that they could try to put it into some kind of context,

The images that you would not show, that other news outlets would,

not just explicit images but, for example, even inside

Yeah, we chose not to show any pictures from inside the arena.

I think with this, it's always a judgment call, really,

that we have to make on how much we can show that will properly

tell the story but also whether we are going to cause

additional distress to children, which we obviously want to avoid.

We did not show anything from inside the arena,

we did not show people injured, people on stretchers.

We did show a emergency vehicles arriving and leaving.

And we did show people talking about it.

We did not show very distressed people, and we used animation

in particular because that really helps us.

We can convey things through animation in a way

that is reassuring to children and in a way that does

We also went out and spoke to children, as well.

We spoke to children in Manchester, they had already heard about it.

They were able to contextualise it for other children and were able

to provide reassurance, by the way they were dealing

Your coverage also focused on positive offers of support,

such as from the hotels and the taxi drivers.

Is that again a deliberate decision to emphasise that aspect of things?

We emphasised the help that is given.

I think, this is such a bleak story, in many ways.

We emphasised the help that is given.

I think, this is such a bleak story, in many ways.

But one of the things that's not just Newsround but other news

organisations in parts of the BBC emphasised was the fact that on that

night, and afterwards, people rallied together.

People gave taxi rides for free, hotels opened their doors,

people open their doors to strangers on that evening.

I think, in the midst of something that is so horrendous,

it's important we feel to tell our audience that

lots of people are helping coming together to help people

You will know that adults really worry about how to explain

From what you told me, it sounds like you do,

trying to provide support for your audience?

I think there is a realisation of that there is a limit

to what we can do, and the best thing really for parents

We direct children to their parents or to trusted adults,

people like teachers, so that they can have

Because we can't have that conversation

I think it is a conscious decision for us to do it.

This week, the feedback we have had from the audiences

that they appreciate that advice and that parents appreciated it

and have been referring to it on social media and so one.

Yes, we do have a deliberate policy and we hope it is useful

Are there any news events or stories that you feel

you just would not cover, for Newsround audience?

I don't think there's anything we would not cover.

I think we think very carefully about a number of things

In the case of these attacks, unfortunately, the scale of them

and the revulsion at what had happened was so large that we felt

that children would hear about it potentially very quickly

That's why we made the decision to run with the events

No, there isn't anything that is off-limits,

but we do think long and hard about whether we have

Sometimes we will wait a little while and then things are clear

before we report things, because it's important for us to get

Finally, by the end of the week, the general election

campaign had resumed but when it was still suspended

on Wednesday, Arthur Gould wrote to us with this concern: thank

on Wednesday, Arthur Gould wrote to us with this concern:

Thank you for all your comments this week.

If you want to share your opinions on BBC News or current affairs

or even appear on the programme, you can call us on 0370 0106676.

Do have a look at previous interviews and discussions

That's all from us, we will be back to hear your thoughts about BBC News