Latest entry
- Alistair Burnett
- 16 May 08, 04:40 PM
A couple of months ago, I was at a reception to mark the 10th anniversary of the think tank, the Foreign Policy Centre, and the keynote address was made by the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband. I was struck at the time by the serious intent of his remarks and how he was attempting to give intellectual coherence to British foreign policy.
Over the past decades, various descriptions have been applied by foreign secretaries to what lay at the root of the UK's foreign policy such as being 'a bridge between the US and Europe' or 'punching above our weight'. But it seemed to me that Mr Miliband was attempting something more ambitious and a quick internet search showed he had been making a series of speeches laying out his themes but these had attracted very little attention. So I decided to ask the foreign office if David Miliband would be interviewed in depth for a special edition of the programme. You can listen to it here.
To my (pleasant) surprise, the proposal was taken up with enthusiasm by Mr Miliband and his communications team. It took a couple of months to get together - we had to commission four pieces to illustrate and critique his four themes and they had to find a slot in his diary - the first attempt was postponed at the last minute as Mr Miliband went on an unannounced visit to Iraq on the day we'd earmarked.
The four themes Mr Miliband has identified as the key policies the UK is pursuing are:
- counter terrorism
- preventing and resolving conflict
- promoting a transition to a low carbon, high growth global economy
- reforming and strengthening international institutions like the UN and the EU
Robin Lustig opened the programme by asking him about Burma and the debate over whether humanitarian relief should be delivered in the face of opposition from the Burmese military regime because they have not apparently been doing very much to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis. The interview gave us a news story as well as an opportunity to analyse policy in depth, because Mr Miliband told us the UN's Responsibility to Protect principle could be invoked in the case of Burma even though it was originally designed to enable intervention to prevent genocide or crimes against humanity. This was picked up by various commentators and has led to a lively debate on other websites such as the Guardian.
And speaking of blogs, the foreign secretary himself commented on the programme on his. It was his turn to be surprised as he said we journalists were taking foreign policy seriously.
We ended the interview by asking Mr Miliband about the problems the Labour Party has faced in recent weeks and the particular criticism levelled at the prime minister. Although, this issue is very much of the moment and we are a news programme, it did mean there was less time to question Mr Miliband on his defence of his argument that we can help China to promote low carbon growth despite the criticism of Beijing's human rights record, and on his assertion that recognising the independence of Kosovo did not undermine the authority of the UN.
Take a listen and tell us what you think.
Alistair Burnett is editor of the World Tonight
Recent entries
- Peter Horrocks
- 16 May 08, 02:21 PM
Last night the BBC broadcast a still which we said showed dozens of bodies lying in the waterfront of the Irrawaddy delta. We have since discovered that the picture was actually taken in Aceh, Sumatra following the tsunami of 2004. This was a mistake, and we will be correcting it on all BBC output where the still was used.
The BBC has first-hand evidence from its correspondent Natalia Antelava, who recently travelled in the delta, that there were many bodies in the water a week after the cyclone. However the picture we used yesterday to illustrate that truth was itself inaccurate. BBC News apologises for that.
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We will be reviewing our processes for checking pictures we receive.
Peter Horrocks is head of BBC Newsroom
- Rod McKenzie
- 15 May 08, 02:30 PM
Clare is a teenager and she's angry; the park in Belfast where she and her friends used to play in as children, then chill in as teenagers has been shut. There's a padlock on the gate. The reason? Complaints from adult residents that gangs of teenagers congregated there, they felt threatened and thought there could be trouble. Clare denies that she and her friends were troublemakers or drunk.
The story illustrates the frustration many teenagers in the UK face today. Excluded from adult meeting places like restaurants and pubs - no space at home - they head for open spaces, friends - and a bad reputation. Hoodies, litter, drunkenness, sex, fighting, drugs - the lot. Some of it is clearly true but much of it is not.
This Saturday BBC News launches a new programme - aimed at issues in the news which affect teenagers. We've called it "Revealed" and it's part of the BBC Switch zone on BBC2 on Saturday afternoon. Presented by two new-to-TV presenters Charlotte Ashton and Anthony Baxter, produced by Amy Burton who's come to us from Newsround, our first programme explores the negative public image of teenagers - in the press and the rest of the adult media.
Teenagers are much talked about in the adult media but the mainstream press rarely talks to them. We want to give young people the opportunity to tell their stories and look at the headlines from a different point of view. That's not to say we won't challenge teenagers - the usual rules of BBC News apply: we will be rigorous and impartial.
Our next programme explores the issues around getting rich young. It's an aspiration for teenagers - but how realistic is it to make a fast buck - and keep it? We'll be talking to people who want to - and who have made a million - and lost it.
The BBC offers current affairs and news programming for children in the form of Newsround - and for young adults and 20-somethings from Newsbeat on Radio 1 and 1Xtra but there is a gap in the market for 13-17 year olds and it's this gap in the audience Revealed is aiming to fill.
Teenagers have many demands on their times, busy lives and plenty of TV options - so serving this audience with a relevant, engaging and accessible programme is a big challenge but the team we've assembled is right up for the challenge. We'd love to hear what you think...and your story suggestions...especially if you're a teenager!
Rod McKenzie is editor of Newsbeat and 1Xtra News
- Liliane Landor
- 15 May 08, 09:42 AM
Last July, in the wake of Alan Johnston's release, I wrote on this blog that I felt slightly uncomfortable about the media hyping of World Service news. My point was that here in the UK, the WS usually goes unnoticed until something happens that sharply propels it back to the centre of people's attention.
Well, something HAS happened this week, and happily it wasn't a hostage crisis. But this time, I am sorry that the British press has failed to hype us!
At the Sony awards on Monday my department, WS News and Current affairs, won seven out of the eight awards we were nominated for. We swept the board - three Gold, three Silver and a Bronze. Hardly a mention in the British press, and even the BBC internal publication Ariel did not think we deserved more than a couple of lines.
Gathering so many awards in one big swoop is totally unprecedented for the WS...not because we do not deserve it or do not do brilliant journalism, but simply because of the context of the Sonys. We're competing with domestic BBC and independent sector colleagues for the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. To overcome that hurdle and win so many awards was a major achievement. And for the British radio establishment to recognise that we in the World Service do gold standard radio, lead the field on creativity and interactivity, and possess some of the best presenters in the country gives us a ringing endorsement.
Having it publicly recognised would have been the icing on the cake. But hey, I don't want to exaggerate the sense of disappointment. The fact is that the BBC World Service focuses on its audience - 40 million worldwide, including 1.35 million in this country. The programmes made in Bush House have a far larger audience than every other BBC radio station combined. The reason is that we make good intelligent radio and even if the British press hasn't noticed that fact, I am delighted that the Sony committees have.
Liliane Landor is editor of World Service news and current affairs
- Richard Sambrook
- 14 May 08, 03:11 PM
I'm delighted to see the Bangladesh Boat Project amongst the BBC World Service prizewinners at the Sony awards. This fantastic journey won the newly-created Multiplatfrom Radio Award. Here, my colleague Ben Sutherland, who was onboard the boat itself, will describe its success in more detail.
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By Ben Sutherland.
"Among the prizes given on BBC World Service's astonishingly successful night at the Sonys was the inaugural Multiplatform Radio Award, handed to the Bangladesh Boat Project.
It was richly deserved. Although of course I would say that - having personally been on the boat for two weeks , writing and editing stories and pictures detailing each step of the journey - it is the truth. Nodi Pothe Bangladesh - Bangladesh By The River in Bengali - was one of the most extraordinary efforts ever attempted in 75 years of the radio station.
At its heart, the project was about climate change, and specifically the sharp realities of having to live with the consequences of a heating world.
If predictions about sea level rises come true, much of Bangladesh will simply be erased from the map. Our aim, therefore, was to hire a boat and use it to travel the long, wide rivers of the country to meet the people most at risk.
There were amazing stories - tiger attacks, of collapsing villages, of people living on bare earth thrown up by the river. And then, of course, halfway through there was Cyclone Sadr, which turned the whole operation on its head. Suddenly we were no longer talking about a potential threat, but a huge disaster that we were right in the middle of.
But not only was the method of getting these stories remarkable, but so was our way of getting it out.
We weren't just using tri-media, and we weren't just World Service. We were on Radio 5 Live, News 24, Radio Scotland - and on Twitter, iTunes, Google.
In the words of the judges, "it embraced everything from podcasts to GPS and Googlemaps to add value to the listener/user experience and met those listeners where they really lived using third party sites such as Flickr."
The project was the brainchild of James Sales, the man whose idea the whole thing was and who instantly and outrageously successfully went from studio manager to project manager.
To some, the words "BBC World Service" still conjure up images of evening dress, stuffy studios and plummy accents. But this award comes hot on the heels of the Webby for Best Radio Website, and highlights how a radio station celebrating its three-quarter century is showing the way in broadcasting innovation."
Richard Sambrook is director, Global News
- John Cary
- 13 May 08, 03:05 PM
The first thing to say about the winner of Speech Broadcaster of the Year at the Sony Radio Awards is that he knows when to shut up. It was five minutes of silence that probably swayed the judges in favour of Simon Mayo, Radio 5 Live's weekday afternoon presenter.
Last December, Ricky Gervais was in to talk about the Christmas Extras special, and the Archbishop of Canterbury was waiting to start his own interview. The two of them got talking about their shared loved of The Simpsons, and Simon had the confidence simply to let them get on with it. Watch what happened for yourself.
Simon won the Sony DJ award in the early 90s during his stint on the Radio 1 breakfast show. There were doubters at first when he switched to 5 Live seven years ago, but now, according to Woman's Hour's Jane Garvey (formerly of 5 Live herself): "Simon Mayo performs more intellectual somersaults in half an hour than most Radio 4 presenters do in a fortnight."
For me, the award comes as I say goodbye to editing Simon after five years. I'm moving the next programme along in the schedule, Drive, which I guess will keep me too busy to listen live to Simon each day. Time for me to sign up to the programme's clutch of podcasts, showcasing Simon's best interviews, the weekly books panel and, above all, the Friday movie wittertainment with the incomparable Mark Kermode.
John Cary is editor of the Simon Mayo programme
- Ceri Thomas
- 12 May 08, 02:40 PM
Political blogs are running hot this morning with suggestions of a "stitch up" - a conspiracy between Today and the Labour backbencher Frank Field to distract attention from the launch of a government consultation on how we pay for social care. The accusation runs that we deliberately held back some comments from Mr Field in order to ambush a cabinet minister with them this morning.
Here goes with the mundane truth: Frank Field gave an interview to the BBC World Service yesterday evening in which, among other things, he questioned whether Gordon Brown would lead his party into the next general election. (You can listen here.)
We on Today failed to spot it - and the BBC system which monitors our multitude of outlets for news stories didn't pick it up either (possibly not anticipating a domestic UK story breaking on the World Service). So it wasn't until someone involved with the original programme wondered why we weren't making more of the story that we were aware of it at all, and that was at precisely twelve minutes to eight this morning. At that point we listened to the interview and decided it was worth a place on Today - and at around eight o'clock we told the Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, that as well as talking to him about social care we'd get a reaction to Frank Field's comments. (You can listen here.)
Small cock-up on our part for not picking up sooner on the World Service interview. No conspiracy at all.
Ceri Thomas is editor of the Today programme
- Jon Williams
- 12 May 08, 11:30 AM
Last week I wrote about the difficulties of reporting from Burma. As you may know, since last Tuesday, my colleague Paul Danahar has been reporting from Rangoon and elsewhere, against the wishes of the Burmese authorities. His reporting on the website, the World Service and on our global TV service, BBC World News as well as for the UK based programmes has shown the true impact of Cyclone Nargis, as well as the limited response of the regime. But it's a story the generals who rule the country would rather you didn't know about.
On Saturday, we became concerned for Paul's safety. He'd entered Burma on a tourist visa and was reporting illegally. We don't do these sorts of things lightly. However, I believe there were - and are - genuine public interest reasons for us entering Burma without permission. Yesterday, Paul was deported from Burma - less than a week after Andrew Harding was also expelled after he'd also tried to enter the country. Despite the staggering numbers of dead and injured, the Burmese authorities had diverted significant numbers of people to try and find Paul - presumably, people who otherwise could have been deployed to bolster the aid effort. Is silencing those telling the world of the catastrophe unfolding inside Burma, really more important than helping those most in need?
Paul was not alone in defying the wrath of the generals. A number of reporters are also operating inside Burma. But don't believe everything you see on television! While the BBC and most other UK broadcasters are reporting from Rangoon or the Irrawaddy delta, this weekend one news channel set foot across the Thai border, many hundreds of miles away from the areas worst hit by the cyclone, and claimed to be reporting from "inside Burma". It's not a lie - but it is misleading. Burma is a big place - "day-trippers" are allowed to go to some tourist parts of the country. But it doesn't equip those who travel there to comment on what's going on elsewhere. The truth is not always as it appears.
Jon Williams is the BBC's world news editor
- Derren Lawford
- 12 May 08, 10:05 AM
I'm just starting a new job looking after the multi-media presence of the BBC's longest running investigations programmes, Panorama, and I'd like to ask you for some help.
It's been a big 12 months for Panorama, covering a wide range of topics from corruption in the UN to teenage sex for sale in the UK and everything in between.
We've also seen our past stories hit the news again, most recently with Princes, Planes and Pay-offs coming back into the fore following a review into business practices at defence firm BAE Systems.
One of my responsibilities will be completely relaunching the Panorama website. In the next few months, I hope we will be bringing you a new and very much improved site. That's why I'd like to hear from anyone who already uses it, what do you rate and what do you hate? Your feedback here will help us as we set about redesigning the way it looks and works.
It's also clear to me on starting the new position, however, that as a team we don't always know how our stories affect people. Do they alter people's perceptions of the world? Do they change their behaviour? Do they stick in the mind for days or weeks after broadcast?
So please let me know about how past Panoramas have affected you or your thoughts.
Derren Lawford is editor of the Panorama website
- Peter Barron
- 9 May 08, 11:15 AM
We've often had debates among the staff (and presenters) of Newsnight about the value of user generated content (watch Jeremy Paxman's views here). In general we think our viewers don't particularly want to hear the views of other viewers on air. And they don't want to decide what goes in the programme. They want to leave it to us to come up with good material. But where does that good material come from?
On Wednesday we led the programme with an exclusive story about a loophole which means that foreign criminals can work airside at UK airports without undergoing criminal record checks. That story came from a viewer who was concerned about security at the airport where he works and sent an email to the BBC's UGC hub, who passed it to us.
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After the report aired, several further viewers wrote to us with their concerns and we followed up with a report on Thursday's programme.
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One viewer wasn't happy. He wrote: "I would prefer it if Newsnight reported the news and stopped asking us viewers to grass on people to help your program."
I think that would be a pity. These days there are millions of potential sources for news stories we could never have got to in the past. On Newsnight we won't often put your opinions on air (though you can leave them here on the website) but if you have a good story which you think should be told we'd like to hear it.
Peter Barron is editor of Newsnight
- Steve Herrmann
- 8 May 08, 01:10 PM
The results have been announced of the 12th annual Webby Awards and I'm delighted to say that the BBC News website has won the People's Voice award in the News category.
This award is decided by public vote, so THANK YOU to everyone who voted for us. It means a great deal to everyone working on the site - journalists, designers, developers and others - to know that you appreciate what we are doing.
Congratulations, too, to the New York Times, which won this year's Webby award for best News site (an accolade which we've been the proud recipients of in the past) as well as both prizes in the category for best newspaper website.
For the BBC News website, this year has seen some fairly big changes, and there are more ahead.
Behind the scenes, we've changed things around quite a bit organisationally, merging the online department with TV and radio news last October to create a multimedia newsroom. That has meant a lot of change for people working in our editorial teams - new bosses, different meetings, wider editorial discussions, and a physical move of the main online news desks to the new combined newsroom, which happens next month. There have been some early dividends from all this for the website, for example a clearer remit for all BBC correspondents and producers out reporting on a story to be thinking of and filing for the website as well as broadcast outlets.
Other changes on the site in recent months have included the launch of a new look and wider pages (these changes are still rolling out across the various sections of the site), the introduction of advertisements on the site when viewed outside the UK, and - most recently - the inclusion of embedded video clips on stories, which has already significantly driven up usage of video.
It is not the first time we have won the Webby People's Voice award, but in the midst of all these changes, and with more developments to come later in the year, it is especially appreciated now, so thank you again.
Steve Herrmann is editor of the BBC News website
- Mark Coyle
- 8 May 08, 09:00 AM
There was a slightly surreal element to the experience of watching three Scottish judges delivering the Nat Fraser murder conviction appeal ruling.
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Surreal in the sense that only in exceptional circumstances - such as the Lockerbie trial - have cameras been allowed into our courts.
On this occasion, BBC Scotland had been given permission to record the Fraser decision being announced.
A number of their lordships, we were told, were keen to demystify the work of the courts and make what goes on there more transparent.
Certain ground rules were laid down in advance. We were only able to show the three judges and we could not show Fraser or any of the lawyers involved in the case.
If there were any interruptions from the packed public benches, we were prohibited from including this footage online or on television. In the event, there was none.
The judges rejected Fraser's claim that there had been a miscarriage of justice in finding him guilty of murdering his wife Arlene, whose body has never been found.
The ruling delivered, a tape was taken from the court in Edinburgh and beamed from a satellite truck to Glasgow.
BBC Scotland was the designated "pool" broadcaster, meaning that we supplied the footage to other media outlets as well.
Once received, the entire hearing, lasting just short of 18 minutes, was put on our website and excerpts were used later on television.
Between about noon and midnight on Tuesday, this video was viewed 7,400 times. A second, shorter clip was viewed 5,329 times.
But there was another act still to come. As he was led out of court, handcuffed to a custody officer, Fraser was walked past the waiting media. This too was captured on camera and the resulting footage was accessed 3,829 times online.
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The questions rang out: "Has justice been done?" "Where's Arlene, Mr Fraser?"
Fraser stopped and replied: "The fight will go on, as will the, the..."
The custody officer was pulling him towards the waiting prison van but Fraser wanted his moment.
In his North East dialect, he told the officer: "Hud on a second..." in the same way he might have asked a friend to wait for him while he chatted to a third person.
Before the officer's persistence won and Fraser was hauled towards the van, he stated: "...as will the fight to get to the truth." And then he was gone.
On a footnote, we hear through the grapevine that their lordships were pleased with the way their proceedings were handled by the media. It may be that more cases will be opened up in this way.
It transpires that shortly after we put the first video clip online, a grandchild of one of the judges rang him to say they'd seen him in court.
M'luds are, after all, human like the rest of us.
Mark Coyle is BBC Scotland's continuous news editor
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