- Mark Popescu
- 12 Mar 07, 05:28 PM
I've taken over from Amanda Farnsworth as editor of Daytime News on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One - responsible for the One O'Clock News and Six O'Clock News. They're two of Britain's most watched news programmes - and are broadcast into the heart of the family home. That means we have a special responsibility to be careful over the stories we choose and the language we use.
I recognise that the judgments we take in a newsroom - often a fevered environment - can seem very brutal when you're watching television at home in the kitchen or living room. So a decision on whether to use the word "bastard" on the Six O'Clock News - a decision I had to make last week to - is tough. For some people, this is extremely offensive language.
My first reaction was that we should try to avoid using the word at six o'clock, as I recognise it is a time when families are watching. As editor, I accept that getting that right tone and language is extremely important. There was an extra complication - Mr Mercer used the word three times, and so to report the story fully, it would need us to say it three times.
The more we examined the story, the more we realised that the story itself was about the use of language in the army and that it was impossible to explain why a senior Conservative had been sacked from the Shadow Cabinet without explaining what he had actually said. We did examine whether we could use a graphic with the word BD, but that didn't get around the problem of what our reporter would actually say.
We looked at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ editorial guidelines and discussed the issue with editorial policy and with senior management. I concluded that given the importance of the story - the programme was leading on it - and the impact of the language used on Patrick Mercer's career, the viewer would only have a full understanding of what had happened if we used the full quote in its proper context. We agreed with editorial policy that we would give a warning before the report, telling viewers that it contained offensive language.
Incidentally, I note that most other broadcasters also chose to use the B word in full. But I'd be interested in your thoughts as to whether you think we got it right.
Mark Popescu is editor of daytime news
- Rod McKenzie
- 12 Mar 07, 11:55 AM
When David Cameron sacked Patrick Mercer from the Tory front bench we didn't need any persuading it was a good story. Politicians and others from the chattering classes lost no time in putting the boot into Mercer.
But some our listeners have experience of the armed forces; they were quick to raise a very different line of argument. 90% of the many texts we received that day supported him - most claiming army links.
One told us that he was glad Mercer was prepared to tell it like it is; another that army people are scared to talk about race because the rest of the country is so PC. Others claimed they'd seen exactly the sort of behaviour Mercer had alleged: laziness and incompetence - and when complaints were raised they were dismissed as racism.
Of course there were other views; that his comments were racist and unacceptable and he should have known better.
But the argument that civilians - especially liberal ones - simply don't understand or empathise with military life came through as loud as a sergeant major's drill commands on the parade ground. Not for the first time. Anyone who is a bit different, redheads for example, the skinny or overweight - can expect to get a ribbing in the military. It's a tough job for tough people and the best can handle it.
We've also heard from senior NCOs (non-commissioned officers) who served with Mercer who leapt to his defence - saying that he'd never been guilty of racist name calling and at one point all his company sergeant majors were black.
So is the Army institutionally racist - or are we far too hyper-sensitive? It's not for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to say - but it's a debate we'll continue to reflect on Radio 1.
Rod McKenzie is editor of Newsbeat and 1Xtra News
On this week's Newswatch, the programme which discusses viewers' complaints about Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TV News, Peter Horrocks, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's head of Television News, defends the coverage of the cash for honours story. There is also a discussion with David Liddiment from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Trust on how the public can have a say on the future of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. You can watch the programme by clicking here.
The Guardian: Interview with Channel 4 Head of News and Current Affairs, Dorothy Byrne, who accuses the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ of being out of date and not making the most of its resources.()
The Times: Reports that there will be a new series of Top Gear, despite comments made by presenter Jeremy Clarkson that there would not be. ()
Daily Telegraph: Interview with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, who is wheelchair-bound after being shot in Saudi Arabia in 2004, on taking up extreme sports. ()
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