0:00:00 > 0:00:01Now it's time for Newswatch, with Samira Ahmed.
0:00:01 > 0:00:02This week, has BBC News gone over the top in reporting this
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Hello and welcome to Newswatch with me, Samira Ahmed.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Too much airtime, too much fear and not
0:00:13 > 0:00:19enough on other big news - did the BBC goe snowblind over
0:00:20 > 0:00:21this week's weather?
0:00:21 > 0:00:23And were BBC on-air staff put in danger on endless
0:00:23 > 0:00:27outside, live broadcasts?
0:00:30 > 0:00:33One story this week has dominated television news output
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and the Newswatch inbox too, so we will be focusing on this
0:00:36 > 0:00:39programme is what has been widely dubbed as -
0:00:39 > 0:00:43well, let's hear the phrase used by BBC presenters.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Now, it's been billed as The Beast from the East,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48a freezing weather front sweeping in from Russia this week.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52Are you ready for The Beast from the East?
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Weather blowing in from Russia is set to make parts of the UK
0:00:55 > 0:00:56colder than the Arctic.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59The blast of bitterly cold weather over the last couple of days
0:00:59 > 0:01:01has come from Siberia.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03The Beast from the East, as it's been called.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07But should the BBC have given that nickname further currency?
0:01:07 > 0:01:09No, thought a number of viewers, including Mike.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13The Beast from the East - why have the BBC adopted this
0:01:13 > 0:01:17trashy, tabloid headline for the recent weather?
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Surely the BBC news is above such a ridiculous description?
0:01:20 > 0:01:25More and more, we seem to be lowering journalistic standards
0:01:25 > 0:01:29in order to entertain and maintain viewer figures.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31And Ian tweeted along similar lines...
0:01:42 > 0:01:45And that charge of hysteria was made more widely, for instance,
0:01:45 > 0:01:46by a viewer called Linda...
0:01:58 > 0:02:01And Gill agreed...
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Another issue of concern was the wisdom of sending reporters
0:02:11 > 0:02:16and camera crews out to face the elements around the country.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19The weather today is brutal.
0:02:19 > 0:02:25There's freezing temperatures across pretty much the whole
0:02:25 > 0:02:27of Scotland, and when the wind blows, it feels much
0:02:27 > 0:02:29colder than that.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32It's pretty brutal here at the moment, I have to say.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34We've had blizzard conditions, subzero temperatures,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37winds of around 40mph.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40It's -8 at the moment.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45What this illustrates is how little snow is needed to cause a problem.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48There's hardly any on the surface here, but it has frozen up and got
0:02:48 > 0:02:52slippery and caused chaos on this road this morning.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Danny Savage, and before him, Lorna Gordon and Ben Brown
0:02:55 > 0:02:57earning their crust there.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02But Danny was one of a number of people to pose this question...
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Why do we continue to humiliate our weather forecasters and reporters
0:03:06 > 0:03:11by subjecting them to outside broadcasts in such terrible weather?
0:03:11 > 0:03:16Recently, during the infamous Beast from the East,
0:03:16 > 0:03:22the reporters were standing outside in all conditions, covered in snow.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27Sometimes in treacherous conditions, standing next to the road
0:03:27 > 0:03:29or even in the road, where there was traffic
0:03:29 > 0:03:33trying to pass.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36They quite easily could have been knocked over by cars skidding.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40It makes no sense to me why they have to be out
0:03:40 > 0:03:42in that sort of weather, when it's quite easy,
0:03:42 > 0:03:47like myself here, as you can see, you can see the snow behind me,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50but I'm still indoors, reporting this to you.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Others questioned whether the BBC News's interest in weather had
0:03:54 > 0:03:57something to do with geography?
0:03:57 > 0:04:02Willie from Carlisle at it like this...
0:04:10 > 0:04:12But the main complaint this week was about the shear quantity
0:04:13 > 0:04:16coverage of the weather.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Andrew was one of those who thought the BBC went well over the top.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22It was Samuel Johnson who said, when it two Englishmen meet,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27the first thing they do is talk about the weather.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30But I think we do take it to extremes of the amount
0:04:30 > 0:04:32of coverage we've had in the last couple of days.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Every ten minutes, with a five-minute warning
0:04:34 > 0:04:37about the apocalyptic snowfall coming up.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41One good thing about this is that it has taken Brexit off
0:04:41 > 0:04:49of the main news for a time.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Oh, no, I tell a lie - as I look now I can see they're
0:04:52 > 0:04:55talking about Brexit on the TV.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57So you can't have everything in one go.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Yes, Brexit certainly featured on BBC news this week, as did Syria.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04But Paul pointed out that the extensive weather coverage
0:05:04 > 0:05:06meant less time given to that unfolding crisis.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09You may have noticed it's been snowing in the UK, there's been
0:05:09 > 0:05:12a lot about it the news.
0:05:12 > 0:05:18I've been prompted to contact Newswatch because I watched the
0:05:18 > 0:05:21BBC 6pm news on Tuesday, I think it was, and we went
0:05:21 > 0:05:25through the entire show without once mentioning the huge,
0:05:25 > 0:05:30emerging humanitarian disaster that is Eastern Ghouta in Syria.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34There was lots of footage of children playing in the snow,
0:05:34 > 0:05:40of reporters standing by motorways with abandoned vehicles and lorries
0:05:40 > 0:05:41trapped in snowdrifts.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45But while children are playing and tobogganing in the UK,
0:05:45 > 0:05:50they are playing in bunkers and underground in Syria.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Plenty to talk about there with the controller
0:05:53 > 0:05:57of BBC news channels, thank you for coming on Newswatch.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00No-one is saying that snow wasn't a big story,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03them in the grand scheme of things, there's a strong concern it came
0:06:03 > 0:06:08at the cost of a lot of serious news coverage that should have had
0:06:08 > 0:06:09more prominence on air?
0:06:09 > 0:06:11I think when you look at this scale and severity
0:06:11 > 0:06:16of the disruption seen this week, you can see why we gave the snow
0:06:17 > 0:06:18story the prominence we have.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20In fact, much of that are still ongoing.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22The fact is we have had two red weather warnings
0:06:22 > 0:06:25from the Met Office - red means risk to life -
0:06:25 > 0:06:28two on the same day in different parts of the country,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30speaks, I think, to the scale of the weather
0:06:30 > 0:06:32disruption that was coming.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Disruption to public services, to transport services -
0:06:35 > 0:06:39we have had seen people being stuck on motorways and trains overnight
0:06:39 > 0:06:42and that's in spite of all the warnings given.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46So we approached the story saying, we know it's going to disrupt
0:06:46 > 0:06:49peoples lives, we ought to warn of that and report what happens.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51That's what we have done this week.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54In terms reporting what happens, the viewers were saying that public
0:06:54 > 0:06:57interest would have been adequately served with less sheer
0:06:57 > 0:06:58numbers of minutes.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01More than ten minutes of the top of the 6pm,
0:07:01 > 0:07:03three days in row, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06One of the viewers there referring to the fact that Syria did not get
0:07:06 > 0:07:09a mention on Tuesday, he felt, properly?
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Another way of looking at the figures is how large
0:07:11 > 0:07:15the viewing figures for the story have been either on the television
0:07:15 > 0:07:16or digital platforms.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21We know on Thursday night, almost 9 million people
0:07:21 > 0:07:23watched their regional bulletin around England.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25We know the story has been widely read on line with traffic
0:07:26 > 0:07:30up 20% on many days.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Four of the top ten stories on any given day being the snow story.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36We know the viewing figures to the BBC News Channel had been
0:07:37 > 0:07:39consistently high all week.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40Therefore, audience interest in the story is there.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44As for other stories, I could point to a considerable coverage of Brexit
0:07:44 > 0:07:45throughout the week.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47With regards to Syria, Jeremy Bowen spoke about Syria
0:07:47 > 0:07:51on Sunday's 10pm news and hopes for a ceasefire.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Eastern Ghouta was the lead story on the Radio 4
0:07:53 > 0:07:56bulletins on Tuesday morning, it continued to feature
0:07:56 > 0:07:57throughout our coverage throughout the week,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00and Jeremy Bowen is in Damascus now.
0:08:00 > 0:08:06So I think we have managed to balance the snow story
0:08:06 > 0:08:09with all the other major news events that have been going on.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Another issue that many viewers raised was that BBC News only really
0:08:12 > 0:08:14got interested in giving the sonow a lot of coverage
0:08:15 > 0:08:16when it hit the southeast?
0:08:16 > 0:08:17I don't think that's true.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Actually, we were warning people throughout the weekend
0:08:19 > 0:08:20this event was coming.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I think it started in the southeast, but we were also able to say,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26on Wednesday night, for example, when there was particularly severe
0:08:26 > 0:08:28disruption in Scotland and northern and eastern England,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30that's where the bulletin coverage began, in those
0:08:30 > 0:08:33parts of the country.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36And it's interesting to note that today, Glasgow has reported
0:08:36 > 0:08:39the snowfall they have had in that part of the world was the worst
0:08:40 > 0:08:41ever at the airport.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43I think that speaks to the scale of the disruption.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46So the fact that Glasgow was top of the coverage on Wednesday
0:08:46 > 0:08:48evening was appropriate, I think.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Some viewers felt that, even though there were amber and red
0:08:51 > 0:08:53warnings from the Met Office, that most of the population wasn't
0:08:53 > 0:08:58in any danger at all, and perhaps the BBC over hyped the fear?
0:08:58 > 0:09:01We have to report the severe weather warnings when they come.
0:09:01 > 0:09:07And when you have two red warnings in the same day,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11I think the last red warning we had for snow was five years ago,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13here we had two on the same day, we have agreement
0:09:13 > 0:09:17with the Met Office that we will report those things.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20We report them from the point of view of what the potential
0:09:20 > 0:09:22disruption will be and then from what has actually happened.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24People who have either been trapped in their cars
0:09:24 > 0:09:26overnight or on trains, as we discussed earlier.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29I think what we've done there is report both proportionally
0:09:29 > 0:09:31the potential danger to people and the consequence
0:09:31 > 0:09:32of what's happened.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37The phrase The Beast from the East - too tabloid, overdramatic?
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Well, we didn't coin the phrase Beast from the East.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41You've used it, a lot.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43We've used it when it seemed appropriate.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46It hasn't tended to be used in our actual weather forecasts,
0:09:46 > 0:09:51from a meterological standpoint.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54It's helpful in one regard, in that it tells people this
0:09:54 > 0:09:56is a significant weather event that is coming.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58It also tells them where it's coming from, from Siberia.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02And we were able to tell people that this was not just
0:10:02 > 0:10:05going to be snow or ice, it's going to be the wind
0:10:05 > 0:10:11and extreme cold.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I think one of the features of this week has been how
0:10:14 > 0:10:16cold it has been and, on our new digital products,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19our website and app, we are a able to give people
0:10:19 > 0:10:21a feels-like feature, which tells people what the weather
0:10:21 > 0:10:23conditions are going to be.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Was it really necessary or a sensible use of licence-fee
0:10:26 > 0:10:29payers' money to send armies of crews out to do all those lives,
0:10:29 > 0:10:30often in white-out conditions?
0:10:30 > 0:10:32I'm not sure it was armies.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33We worked very closely with our colleagues around
0:10:33 > 0:10:36the nations of the UK and the English regions to make sure
0:10:36 > 0:10:39those deployments are proportional.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Actually, there's been an awful lot to report on.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45We've sent people out where we think there's story to cover.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Actually, some of those people have been in traffic jams themselves,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51they are perfectly well-equipped and trained, they are
0:10:51 > 0:10:54with colleagues who can make sure they are safe.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56We take their safety extremely seriously,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58so I think some of the work those people have done
0:10:58 > 0:11:01has been pretty hard, pretty plucky and very impressive.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06On safety, a lot of viewers complained in particular
0:11:06 > 0:11:10about Sian Lloyd being made to stand what looked quite precariously close
0:11:10 > 0:11:11to speeding lorries, and it might even have been possible
0:11:11 > 0:11:14she was standing in the road - there were abandoned cars
0:11:14 > 0:11:16behind her, it was hard to tell.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18People are concerned that perhaps staff are being put
0:11:18 > 0:11:19in danger unnecessarily?
0:11:19 > 0:11:21I'd like to reassure people that is not the case.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23We take their safety extremely seriously.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26As I say, from the point of view of how well they are equipped,
0:11:26 > 0:11:27so they're suitably warm.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Also they have colleagues with them to make sure
0:11:29 > 0:11:31they are safe at all times.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33They are all highly trained and we have very strict
0:11:33 > 0:11:35protocols around that, so I hope I can reassure
0:11:35 > 0:11:36people on that one.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37Thank you so much.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Thank you for all your comments this week.
0:11:39 > 0:11:46If you want to share your opinions on BBC News and current affairs
0:11:46 > 0:11:53or even appear on the programme, you can contact us on...
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Do have a look at our website for previous interviews,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01the address is...
0:12:01 > 0:12:05That's all from us, we'll be back to hear your views on BBC news
0:12:05 > 0:12:06coverage again next week.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Goodbye.