0:00:00 > 0:00:00will do too. Thank you for joining us, we will keep an eye on the
0:00:00 > 0:00:03developments in Spain throughout the evening, and the latest headlines
0:00:03 > 0:00:11coming up at eight o'clock but now, it is time for Newswatch.
0:00:11 > 0:00:18Hello and welcome to Newswatch. The new series of Blue Planet II starts
0:00:18 > 0:00:23on Sunday, good news for viewers but is it news as such? Theresa May's
0:00:23 > 0:00:28shoes make another appearance during her report on her news conference
0:00:28 > 0:00:33from Brussels. Why? And, should BBC News be interested in what President
0:00:33 > 0:00:42Macron's dog did in the fireplace of the Elysee Palace? What exactly is
0:00:42 > 0:00:46going on in the negotiations over the UK's departure from the European
0:00:46 > 0:00:51Union? That can be hard to discern that Damian Grammaticas last Friday
0:00:51 > 0:00:56was trying to get some answers... Enter the man who sits in the
0:00:56 > 0:01:04negotiation room...Your recommendation today is significant
0:01:04 > 0:01:11progress...Sorry, we are going to work...It's Michel Barnier who the
0:01:11 > 0:01:16UK has two satisfy first. Today, he was here to brief EU leaders on how
0:01:16 > 0:01:21negotiations had progressed.I'm sorry, but I don't want to answer
0:01:21 > 0:01:27your question now. I'm sorry, let me work, please.David Roberts was
0:01:27 > 0:01:30troubled by that encounter and got in touch with us to explain why.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And another aspect of that summit reporter at the end of last week
0:01:54 > 0:01:59caught the attention of a number of viewers. A short use during a clip
0:01:59 > 0:02:04of Theresa May's news conference. Nobody need be concerned for the
0:02:04 > 0:02:07current budget plan, that they would have to either pay in more or
0:02:07 > 0:02:11receive less as a result of the UK leaving, and we will honour the
0:02:11 > 0:02:16commitments we made during our membership.Mrs Worrall was watching
0:02:16 > 0:02:21this and left us this telephone message.There is an important
0:02:21 > 0:02:28article with Theresa May, and about the European Union. And halfway
0:02:28 > 0:02:33through, bizarrely, we shot to a picture of her shoes. Why? At no
0:02:33 > 0:02:39other point in the news that I've watched any day this week, we
0:02:39 > 0:02:45suddenly have that. Suddenly, a shot of her shoes. What is going on?Mel
0:02:45 > 0:02:52hunt from your e-mailed us on the same subject, asking... -- Mel Hunt
0:02:52 > 0:02:52from New
0:03:12 > 0:03:17We put that point to BBC News and they told us this...
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Fans of high quality natural history programmes had been looking keenly
0:03:45 > 0:03:49forward to the start of Blue Planet II, and there's a good chance you
0:03:49 > 0:03:53will have heard it starts on Sunday on BBC One. Sneak previews of what
0:03:53 > 0:03:56the David Attenborough fronted series will be bringing us appeared
0:03:56 > 0:04:03in several of Monday's newspapers and widely across BBC News as well.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06It is 16 years since the ground-breaking blue planet
0:04:06 > 0:04:09programme appeared on our screens, for the first time millions of
0:04:09 > 0:04:13viewers here and around the world can see the wonders of the deep
0:04:13 > 0:04:18ocean. Now, it's back for a second series presented by, of course, Sir
0:04:18 > 0:04:23David Ambra. For the last four years, the BBC Natural History Unit
0:04:23 > 0:04:29crews have been scouring the planet to see these aquatic animals. David
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Shukman has been speaking to David Ambra about this series.That many
0:04:33 > 0:04:48questioned whether it deserved its place in the news.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03It certainly isn't the first time we've heard the charge of
0:05:03 > 0:05:08self-promotion, and the same day Breakfast featured items not just on
0:05:08 > 0:05:14Blue Planet but several other BBC programmes too.Two decades after it
0:05:14 > 0:05:18first aired, Sir David Attenborough's Blue Planet is coming
0:05:18 > 0:05:24back for a second series. The team from Autumnwatch back...Let's speak
0:05:24 > 0:05:28to the presenters who are at the National Trust Sherbourne Park
0:05:28 > 0:05:33estate in the Cotswolds... Doctor Who's first female Time Lord will be
0:05:33 > 0:05:37joined by three female companions. Jodie Whittaker takes over as the
0:05:37 > 0:05:4730th doctor this year and will be joined regularly.There is plenty of
0:05:47 > 0:05:54debate about the new Gunpowder plot drama on the BBC, how much gore is
0:05:54 > 0:05:59too much?Is the BBC using its new service to advertise other
0:05:59 > 0:06:03programmes or are items like that editorially justified? With me is
0:06:03 > 0:06:09Richard Burgess, the UK news editor for BBC News. Welcome, we know David
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Attenborough is an important documentary maker and his programmes
0:06:12 > 0:06:17are a big event but is it news?I think so, it's a significant moment
0:06:17 > 0:06:21not only for television that in the culture of the UK and across the
0:06:21 > 0:06:30world. His last series, Blue Planet II -- Planet Earth II, it was one of
0:06:30 > 0:06:38the most watched natural history programmes of all time, the iguana
0:06:38 > 0:06:43sequence was watched nearly 5 million times on YouTube. A new
0:06:43 > 0:06:47series by David Attenborough is a big moment in UK life and people are
0:06:47 > 0:06:55interested.But the top line in how the BBC reported it is "There is a
0:06:55 > 0:07:02new BBC TV programme on". There's no newsline.In the David Attenborough
0:07:02 > 0:07:06interview, we got some news lines. We sent our science editor, David
0:07:06 > 0:07:11Shukman, we could speak about ocean pollution and acidity, the bleaching
0:07:11 > 0:07:15of the coral reef, climate change, there was a big report about the
0:07:15 > 0:07:19increasing acidity of the oceans that day and it gave us an
0:07:19 > 0:07:24opportunity to get onto that subject on some major output.The interview
0:07:24 > 0:07:32was but first, and all the TV bulletins ran it from breakfast to
0:07:32 > 0:07:35the news that six. It takes up more than three minutes on the six
0:07:35 > 0:07:38o'clock news, there are probably two other stories that were not covered
0:07:38 > 0:07:45properly as a result.We covered a lot of important stories that they
0:07:45 > 0:07:50like Brexit and the Rohingya Muslims. You made the point that the
0:07:50 > 0:07:53newspapers covered Blue Planet II that morning as well. We weren't
0:07:53 > 0:07:56alone in covering it and we don't just cover BBC programmes. Recently
0:07:56 > 0:08:05we covered the start of The Crown on Netflix, Bake-Off on Channel 4, it's
0:08:05 > 0:08:11judged editorially, and we don't make a decision based on whether it
0:08:11 > 0:08:16is a BBC series or not.We know there are a lot of budget cuts
0:08:16 > 0:08:20affecting BBC News right now, this is cheap telly, isn't it?I don't
0:08:20 > 0:08:26think so, there is a lot of interest in Sir David Attenborough, and his
0:08:26 > 0:08:30views, his views on British life, the environment, and climate change
0:08:30 > 0:08:36came across in the interview and are of interest to the audience.Several
0:08:36 > 0:08:42items just in one day. Doctor Who, or to watch and Blue Planet II on
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Monday alone. Can you see why the viewers are frustrated? --
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Autumnwatch do they realise how much airtime is covered in what looks
0:08:51 > 0:08:55like promotions for their programmes.I do not think they
0:08:55 > 0:09:01were. Think about the Gunpowder story, that was as much criticism.
0:09:01 > 0:09:07That was in passing, a newspaper thing. These items were set up.A
0:09:07 > 0:09:11programme like BBC Breakfast, it's a long programme that is a mixture of
0:09:11 > 0:09:14news, chat and discussion, you would expect a programme like that to
0:09:14 > 0:09:19reflect on what people are talking about and people do talk about
0:09:19 > 0:09:23programmes like Strictly Come Dancing, more than 10 million people
0:09:23 > 0:09:27watch it and people like to discuss who did well and who didn't. On a
0:09:27 > 0:09:33programme like Breakfast you would expect that to be reflected. We
0:09:33 > 0:09:37discuss other programmes as well. I remember when Broadchurch was coming
0:09:37 > 0:09:42to an end it was a major feature on Breakfast and BBC output. It isn't
0:09:42 > 0:09:46just BBC.A lot of Newswatch viewers would complain about that as well,
0:09:46 > 0:09:51they want news events from around the world. All you remove his watch
0:09:51 > 0:09:58viewers concerned? -- will you remove Newswatch viewers concerns?
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Three in one day. That's the airtime.It's a fair point, you had
0:10:02 > 0:10:07to think about the prominence and the number of times BBC programmes
0:10:07 > 0:10:10are mentioned within one particular news programme but in the mix,
0:10:10 > 0:10:15generally I think it is OK and reflective on what the audience is
0:10:15 > 0:10:19talking about but you are right, we need to be careful that we do not
0:10:19 > 0:10:24overdo it.Richard Burgess, thank you. Finally, 32 merged from the
0:10:24 > 0:10:30Elysee Palace of a meeting between President Macron and junior members
0:10:30 > 0:10:34of his government. Did it contain information about the plans for
0:10:34 > 0:10:43economic reforms or plans on Brexit? No...
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Amusing, certainly, but one viewer was concerned about the prominence
0:10:59 > 0:11:05the BBC gave its story on its news feed, tweeting...
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Thank you for all of your comments this week. We welcome all of your
0:11:22 > 0:11:26opinions on BBC News and current affairs. If you want to share them
0:11:26 > 0:11:30with us or appear on the programme, call us on this number, or e-mail us
0:11:30 > 0:11:38to this address. You can find us on twitter, and do have a look at the
0:11:38 > 0:11:43website. You can search for and watch previous discussions. The
0:11:43 > 0:11:50address is this. That's all from us, we will be back to hear your
0:11:50 > 0:11:54thoughts on BBC News coverage again next week. Goodbye.