- Kevin Bakhurst
- 28 Mar 07, 06:15 PM
The of the British sailors and Marines have obviously raised a number of issues for us.
We had discussed the way we would handle such a situation a couple of days previously and decided we wouldn't show the pictures without trying to give the families of those held as much notice as we could. We also wouldn't show them if the British captives looked to be in undue distress or injured. The pictures would inevitably become a major part of the story and be shown around the world.
Today we actually had a few hours notice that the pictures were likely to appear as they were trailed by the TV station involved. When we found this out, firstly, we spoke to the Ministry of Defence to ask them to inform the families that this was likely to happen. We also explained the circumstances in which we would use them - and those in which we wouldn't. We liaised with Sky News, who agreed with our thinking.
When the pictures came in, we watched them all and although the British personnel looked strained and were almost certainly acting under duress, they looked in good health and said they had been treated well. The Ministry of Defence said that it hoped that this would be some comfort to the families and Naval colleagues at the moment - a sentiment we share.
Kevin Bakhurst is controller of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ News
- Richard Jackson
- 28 Mar 07, 04:20 PM
One of the worst jobs for any reporter has got to be when they are asked to try to make contact with the relatives of someone who's just died. They may be a victim of an accident, a crime, killed by a terrorist attack or died in military service. Whatever the reason, that knock on the door is a particularly hard thing to do.
The reaction is normally predictable. Most people, understandably, don’t want to talk. But, for some relatives, the chance to share their thoughts about a lost loved one can seem something of a release.
And in recent weeks on Five Live we've found people actually coming to us. This morning we featured the story of a family from Nottingham whose son was murdered outside their home. They wanted to speak publicly because they were unhappy about various aspects of the way they've been treated since their son's death. (You can listen to the interview here.)
Also this week we had exclusive audio with Jane Bowden, the fiancΓ©e of Peter Woodhams who was also killed outside his home. She'd come into contact with us during our investigations into the collapse of the Christmas club Farepak. Given the chance, she wanted to tell people how unhappy she'd been with the original police investigation into an earlier attack on Peter.
Instances like these don’t mean reporters will never have to knock on doors again. But it does show again how quickly the relationship between us and our audience is changing - and, maybe, how some people see parts of the media that they used to keep at an arm's length as a potentially useful ally in getting their message across.
Richard Jackson is editor of Five Live Breakfast
The Independent: Reports that nominations for the Sony radio awards have been announced, including a "broadcasters' broadcaster" category to mark 25 years of the awards. ()
The Guardian: Reports that a High Court hearing relating to the Freedom of Information requests to publish a review into the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Middle East coverage is under way. ()
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