0:00:00 > 0:00:02Now on BBC News, Samira Ahmed presents this week's round-up
0:00:02 > 0:00:04of audience reaction on Newswatch.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Hello and welcome to Newswatch, with me, Samira Ahmed.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16The attempted murder of a double agent on British soil,
0:00:16 > 0:00:25did BBC News report it proportionately and fairly?
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And was the Oscars ceremony an excuse for trivial gushing over
0:00:28 > 0:00:31celebrities or a welcomed dose of glamour?
0:00:31 > 0:00:34The week began with some news that could have come
0:00:34 > 0:00:38from a John le Carre novel, described here at the top of
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Monday's News at 10 by Fiona Bruce.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44A former Russian spy is critical in hospital after a suspected
0:00:44 > 0:00:47poisoning in Salisbury.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Sergei Skripal, convicted of spying on Russia for the UK,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54has been living in Britain for nearly eight years.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Police in protective clothing have sealed the area after the Russian
0:00:57 > 0:01:01and a young woman were found unconscious on a bench.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03We'll bring you the latest, as police and doctors race
0:01:03 > 0:01:06to establish if this is another example of a Russian
0:01:06 > 0:01:09being poisoned on UK soil.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12That last suggestion of Russian involvement was examined many
0:01:12 > 0:01:14times during the week, but without any conclusive
0:01:14 > 0:01:16proof being put forward, and that prompted one Twitter user
0:01:16 > 0:01:20to complain that...
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Evidence of Russian involvement wasn't the only thing lacking.
0:01:28 > 0:01:38Despite plenty of airtime being devoted to the story,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40actual news developments were slow to emerge.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43A viewer called John e-mailed...
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Meanwhile, Mike Barnes had a different point to make.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19If some thought there should be a presumption of innocence
0:02:19 > 0:02:22for Russia over the nerve agent attack, then for others the same
0:02:22 > 0:02:24was true of Bradley Wiggins.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27The Olympic gold medal winning cyclist was found by a House
0:02:27 > 0:02:29of Commons Select Committee on Monday to have crossed an ethical
0:02:29 > 0:02:36line in taking asthma drugs to enhance his performance.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Richard Conway reported on the story for the News at 6.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41He is a sporting icon, a Tour de France winner
0:02:41 > 0:02:48and Britain's most decorated Olympian, but a damning report has
0:02:48 > 0:02:51accused Sir Bradley Wiggins of unethical behaviour over his use
0:02:51 > 0:02:54of drugs that MPs say were taken to boost performance and not
0:02:54 > 0:02:55just for medical need.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57John Sheffield got in touch with us to say...
0:03:21 > 0:03:26Now, the main purpose of BBC News is to inform its audience,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29but is there such a thing as too much information?
0:03:29 > 0:03:32That was the charge that's been made over the past week by viewers
0:03:32 > 0:03:35of the BBC News Channel, some of whom were watching
0:03:35 > 0:03:37the Prime Minister's speech about Brexit last Friday,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41and found their eyes drawn to the right side
0:03:41 > 0:03:43of the screen, as we look at it.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47We are clear that as we leave the EU, free movement of people
0:03:47 > 0:03:49will come to an end, and we will control
0:03:49 > 0:03:54the number of people who come to live in our country.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57But UK citizens will still want to work and study in EU countries,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00just as EU citizens will want to do the same here.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03There's quite a lot going on on the screen there,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05the breaking news banner with the description
0:04:05 > 0:04:11of what Theresa May is saying, the scrolling ticker below that,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13summarising other news stories, tweets reacting to the speech,
0:04:13 > 0:04:14oh, and the speech itself.
0:04:14 > 0:04:21Susan Rowe was one of those who found it all too much.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23The live speech reaction panel and the right-hand side
0:04:23 > 0:04:25of the screen, with random comments from journalists political
0:04:25 > 0:04:33commentators rendered it almost impossible to concentrate
0:04:33 > 0:04:35on the contents of the speech.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37There was already comment at the bottom of the screen.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Please give the British public the chance to listen and watch
0:04:40 > 0:04:42without being constantly interrupted by random comments from all
0:04:42 > 0:04:47and sundry, which pretty much repeat each other anyway.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The practice of splitting the screen in this way is also used
0:04:54 > 0:04:56during the live broadcast of Prime Minister's Questions,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and last week James Turner objected to the presence of this tweet
0:04:59 > 0:05:03from Carrie Symonds, who was the Conservative Party's
0:05:03 > 0:05:04Director of Communications.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07A fact not made clear on air.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10And after this week's PMQs Adrian David also thought...
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Do let us know what you think of those tweets appearing on screen,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27added value or just a distraction?
0:05:27 > 0:05:33If you think it's the latter, you may like to know that
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Prime Minister's Question Time is shown not just on the news
0:05:35 > 0:05:38channel, but also on BBC Two, where it appears full frame,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42without tweets running along the side.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44There will be details of how to contact us
0:05:44 > 0:05:46at the end of the programme.
0:05:47 > 0:05:53Sunday night saw the big night of the year for the film industry.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Some love watching the Oscars for the glitz,
0:05:56 > 0:05:57the outfits, the drama.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00For others, as we will see, the appeal is not so great.
0:06:00 > 0:06:06For Breakfast on Monday morning, Rebecca Jones is outside
0:06:06 > 0:06:08the post-ceremony Vanity Fair party collaring some of
0:06:08 > 0:06:09the night's winners.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10Yes, morning everyone from Hollywood.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12I have a great British success story here,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17and the headline reads for itself.
0:06:17 > 0:06:27From Hollyoaks to Hollywood - I've got the winners of the best
0:06:36 > 0:06:38short film for The Silent Child, Rachel Shenton, Chris
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Overton, from Britain!
0:06:39 > 0:06:40Show us your Oscars.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Yes.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44And they've already got your name is already engraved on them.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47David Baker also felt the BBC's news values were wrong on Monday morning.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02And Rosemary Smith agreed.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22On Tuesday, BBC News reported on calls from public health
0:07:22 > 0:07:30officials for Britain to go on a diet.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Health editor Hugh Pym set up the numbers for the 6
0:07:33 > 0:07:34and 10 o'clock bulletins.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Here's the obesity problem.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40A child's diet might include breakfast with nearly 500 calories,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43a packed lunch with more than 1000, an after-school snack at around 250,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and pasta and a pudding for dinner, with more than 800 calories.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50But that's nearly 600 above the recommended limit
0:07:50 > 0:07:54for children, which is like eating an extra meal a day.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Most television reports on obesity like this one show footage
0:08:02 > 0:08:05of the bodies but not the faces of overweight members of the public.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08One news watch viewer, a medical doctor who preferred
0:08:08 > 0:08:09to remain anonymous, e-mailed us recently with his
0:08:10 > 0:08:12thoughts about that practice.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Hugh Pym was also on the air on Thursday with some statistics
0:08:42 > 0:08:45about what has become a familiar story this winter,
0:08:45 > 0:08:51about cancelled nonurgent surgery in English hospitals.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Figures out today reveal the scale of the cancellations.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56In December, there were nearly 27,000 fewer routine operations
0:08:56 > 0:08:59carried out in England than the same month a year earlier.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03In January, there was a drop of nearly 14,500.
0:09:03 > 0:09:10And for the most recent two week period, bed occupancy
0:09:10 > 0:09:13in hospitals at more than 95% was the highest this winter.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Steve Gordon wrote to us with his reaction.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Finally, Andy Cross is a keen watcher of BBC News programmes
0:09:49 > 0:09:51but has a frustration he shared with us recently.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55He recorded this video to explain.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Could you please explain the logic of scheduling news programmes
0:09:58 > 0:10:04at the same time on different channels every night?
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I watched the News at 10 on BBC One, and then I'm invited
0:10:07 > 0:10:10to either watch my local news or turn over to Newsnight, starting
0:10:10 > 0:10:12at the same time on BBC Two.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14As someone who enjoys news programmes, it's so frustrating
0:10:14 > 0:10:18to have to either choose between two programmes or record one for later,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21especially as there's always a taster of what's to come
0:10:21 > 0:10:26on Newsnight given at the end of the news.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Newsnight has testimonies from the women at the centre.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32If this is two competing channels, I'd completely understand,
0:10:32 > 0:10:33but they're both BBC.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37To add insult to injury, Question Time then competes
0:10:37 > 0:10:39with Newsnight every Thursday as well.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Don't BBC One and BBC Two talk to each other?
0:10:42 > 0:10:50And why only on the later programming?
0:10:50 > 0:10:52BBC Two offers an alternative to the News at Six.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54The later scheduling is a pain to everyone, really.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57If you like news programmes, you can't watch them all,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59and if you don't like news programmes, you can't
0:10:59 > 0:11:00get away from them.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01It's very frustrating.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Thank you for that.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And to all of those who got in touch with us this week.
0:11:07 > 0:11:13We welcome all your opinions on BBC News and current affairs
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and broadcast as many as we can whether sent in by e-mail,
0:11:16 > 0:11:17telephone or video.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19You can leave a message on our phone line...
0:11:19 > 0:11:20Or send us an e-mail...
0:11:20 > 0:11:24You can also post your views on twitter...
0:11:24 > 0:11:28And do have a look at our website, where you can watch any programmes
0:11:28 > 0:11:29we've made over the past year.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32That's all from us, we'll be back to hear your thoughts about BBC News
0:11:32 > 0:11:33coverage again next week.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Goodbye.