I have recently travelled around Europe to research a  on the challenges facing public service news providers and the findings were heartening. Everyone knew that a process of change was under way and everyone seemed committed to rethinking their work to engage those people who feel excluded and to keep public service news relevant for the next generation.

You only need to look across the Atlantic to see why the effort is worthwhile. Europe is lucky to have a strong tradition of public broadcasting and it must continue to be a vital source of reliable information in the tumultuous times which lie ahead. If it takes a little self-examination to ensure that happens, that's all to the good.

Bill Dunlop is President and CEO at Eurovision Americas Inc.

• Bill Dunlop is also the author of the report, “Perfect Storm: the multiple challenges facing public service news and why tackling them is vital for democracy.” Published by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), it can be read on

• Find out more about the 
  

Spring 2016. Inside Out Producer Dan Farthing rings from Newcastle Crown Court.

“You will not believe what I have just heard…” and what he went on to describe was indeed pretty extraordinary.

Dan was following a series of interlinked trials of more than twenty Asian men, accused of grooming vulnerable young teenagers in the west end of Newcastle. Reporting restrictions banning broadcasts until the conclusion of the final trial meant we’d seen little early evidence of Dan’s regular days on the press bench.

Then, out of the blue, the prosecution revealed Northumbria Police had used a CHIS - a covert human intelligence source - to supply information on so-called “parties” where teenagers were plied with drink and drugs and sexually assaulted.

And in this case, the CHIS chosen by Northumbria Police was a man convicted as part of a group who raped a child in 2002. In an extraordinary turn of events, XY, as he was known, had fallen out with his police handler and was threatening to go to the press - alleging he’d been asked to plant drugs and even drive girls to the “parties”. His fee from the public purse? More than ten thousand pounds.

For the lone figure on the press bench it was a red flag moment.

And so began more than a year of legal wrangling to allow the public to know about the police tactic. Defence teams - even in the normally staid, bewigged world of the court - were animated. They, like us, wanted to hear from XY. Eventually the judge agreed that XY, now under police protection should be brought to court to give evidence in an Abuse of Process hearing. Potentially his evidence and claims of evidence of planting drugs could scupper the trials.

The prosecution, however, did not want the press present.

Until then, much of the information on XY had been largely Dan’s - a producer in a small, dogged current affairs team in the North East. Challenging the secrecy of the court would mean that was no longer the case. We would need to share our story - both inside and outside of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ.

Joining forces with other news organisations, we argued for our case to be allowed to hear the evidence. Having won the right to stay in the press benches, we were able to witness XY’s extraordinary court appearance. Our programme, Operation Sanctuary: An Inside Out Special Investigation, edged closer to transmission.

The use of XY is surely a decision which merits public debate. The former head of the government body set up to tackle child sexual exploitation told us that as an ex-police officer he would not have sanctioned the use of a child rapist in this way. A grooming victim who now advises police forces across the country described it as a “kick in the teeth” for other survivors.

The police argue that to catch the kind of men who preyed on vulnerable children you need to work with difficult people. They lobbied vigorously ahead of transmission for us not to major on the employment of XY within the documentary. They had, they said, been given a clean bill of health by the IPCC - a report we have yet to see. Shortly before the final verdicts the Chief Constable, 52-year-old Steve Ashman, announced his retirement from the force.

Then as we headed back to court - this time to argue about the timing of lifting reporting restrictions - the police sent their own barrister to argue that the Judge should impose retrospective restrictions on significant sections of what we’d heard in open court last year. In effect, much of the detail of XY’s engagement would have been denied to the public - including his payment. The Judge declined and our programme will be broadcast tonight (on the day the trial has concluded). A freedom of information request about the cost to Northumbria Police of protecting XY has been turned down on national security grounds.

So we have, finally, been able to explain to viewers a key part of the controversial police tactic in tackling a criminal gang. But should it really be so difficult to report on the decision to pay a convicted child rapist from the public purse? Should it be necessary to spend even more public money to allow viewers and listeners to know as much of the whole story as possible?

And had producer Dan not been paying attention in his lone press bench vigil - perhaps none of us would have been any the wiser.

Operation Sanctuary: An Inside Out North East and Cumbria Special Investigation airs on Wednesday 9 August at 7.30pm on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ One in the North East and Cumbria and 8.30pm on the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ News Channel. The programme will also be available on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer

On Friday 16 May 2014, the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ College of Journalism will be hosting the third Social Media Summit on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Broadcasting House in London. The full agendaΜύof the event is available on Eventbrite. College website editor Matthew Eltringham introduces the days events, including a session with Director of News and Current Affairs, James Hardin²΅.Μύ

It’s becoming a springtime ritual - along with the shorts, the Pimms and the cricket, comes our .

This one - - will be the third we’ve held and the second with our friends and partners at the New York Times, with the support of the Knight Foundation - after #smsnyc last year and #bbsms in 2011.

The purpose of the event remains the same: to provide practical, relevant and useful conversation about how social media is affecting the journalism that we do day in, day out. But the focus of that conversation has changed dramatically since 2011.

#SMS has therefore become a default yardstick that allows us to measure the incremental, daily changes in newsrooms around the world caused by the pervasively disruptive influences of the global families of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their many relatives.

Read the rest of this post on the ²΅.Μύ

We’re not proposing to recreate a school of hard knocks in quite the same way! However the aspect of starting at the bottom and learning on the job, and of not having to be fully formed or with a good degree in your pocket in order to get in the door, is the very essence of an apprenticeship scheme.

In the past doing an apprenticeship helped you kick start your career. In journalism it was how you learnt the basics like court reporting, media law and shorthand. Today apprenticeships are important because they help attract recruits from a wide range of backgrounds by offering the opportunity to earn a wage while learning. People applying for the Radio Journalism Apprenticeship Scheme will be judged on their passion and potential, rather than their qualifications and experience.

The apprentices will have periods of study at Lambeth College in London, but most of their time will be spent working with our radio teams making programmes. ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio & Music Production makes programmes primarily for Radio 4, but also for Radio 3, Radio 2, and the World Service. Apprentices may find themselves working on Loose Ends, Radio 4’s entertainment show, photographing Primal Scream playing live in the studio for the website and Twitter. They may join the Science unit travelling to the Glastonbury Festival to record The Infinite Monkey Cage with Brian Cox. Or they could work in the Drama department researching a play based on a major story from that week's news.

These are not traditional β€˜news’ programmes, so people have been asking me, β€œwhy the emphasis on journalism skills?”

From my experience - and I’ve been in the department for many, many years working on programmes as varied as Desert Island Discs and Any Questions? - we in Radio & Music Production need to have a journalist's nose; setting those alarm bells ringing when it comes to balance, accuracy and impartiality, every bit as much as our colleagues in News.

I did a straw poll among our programme teams. This is what some of them said;

Karen Dalziel works on Woman’s Hour, she says, β€œJournalistic skills are very important on a programme like Woman’s Hour where you cover a vast range of subjects and genres, often with very little lead time for preparation.

β€œTake the issue of abortion in Ireland. This is a complicated issue in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. Understanding the historical, political and social context of the subject is crucial to avoid crass errors and to achieve a balanced broadcast. Journalism training helps you develop an instinct for checking all the angles, being aware of the potential pitfalls and the consequences of getting it wrong”.

The producer of one of our live conversation shows remembers sitting in the studio enjoying the lively chat when a guest, warming to their subject, inadvertently revealed something juicy but potentially damaging to another star’s reputation. Colleagues need to spot and deal with that sort of thing quickly.

Something as seemingly light hearted and delightful as The Nation’s Favourite Disc, when Desert Island Discs listeners were asked to choose their favourite tracks raised all sorts of issues for Eleanor Garland who was in charge of the selection. β€œAll the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's output needs to be rigorous, balanced and impartial.Μύ We needed to be sure that the final Nation's DID list wasn't being manipulated by any commercial interest or pressure group. A background in news journalism helped me to spot the potential pitfalls and the research skills to be able to find the stories behind the raw data. Why was an obscure track from an unknown band suddenly rising very fast in the list? And why were most the votes seemingly cast from Manila? Journalism teaches speed, accuracy and thoroughness - essential for any programme maker whether you are working on Today or working out which track most people (rather than a computer programme) voted for.”Μύ

You’ll recall, in the end, The Lark Ascending by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams came top.

At the end of the two year period, our apprentices will have all the skills and knowledge they need to gain an Advanced Apprenticeship in Journalism, developed in conjunction with the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

So, how will we measure whether the scheme is a success?

Well it comes back to the fact we’re looking for their passion and potential, and we should hear that on air. Also our programmes have occasionally faced criticism for featuring too narrow a range of voices, and we hope this scheme will help us cast a wider net. We want our apprentices to bring a new perspective to the stories we cover, as well as access to communities we don't always represent.

The application process opens on the 6th May and will close on the 20th May. The apprenticeship and work placements start in September.

Μύ

Angie Nehring manages the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Journalism Apprenticeship Scheme.

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The ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ offers free online journalism training and advice in addition to a regularly updated blog over on the .Μύ

The ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Academy also offers face-to-face courses to people outside of the organisation. More information can be found on the .Μύ

is a journalism think tank based at the . Today they're hosting the second annual , on the theme 'media and power'. gave the keynote address - about 'holding power to account' - and then joined a Q&A hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy from . This video of her appearance was made by the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's .

Steve Bowbrick is editor of About the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

• Read the text of Helen Boaden's speech and Polis Director Charlie Beckett's preview of the event .
• Watch other sessions from the conference and subscribe to on YouTube.
• Follow and on Twitter. The hashtag for the event is .