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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Director-General underlines news values for war and peace
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Director-General Greg Dyke today (Thursday 24 April 2003) outlined
the risks to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ of crossing the line between patriotism and
objective journalism.
Speaking at a journalism symposium at the Goldsmiths College, University
of London, Mr Dyke said: "If Iraq proved anything, it was that
the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ cannot afford to mix patriotism and journalism.
"This
is happening in the United States and if it continues will undermine
the credibility of the US electronic news media."
He
said that, in the UK, impartiality means giving a range of views,
including those critical of the Government.
"We
[the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½] are here for everyone in the UK, a trusted guide in a
complex world. We perform this role best by exercising the freedom
to air a wide range of opinion and to report the facts as best we
can. In doing so, far from betraying the national interest, we're
serving it."
Outlining
the challenges raised by the recent conflict such as more 24-hour
news, the risks faced by embedded reporters and un-attributed, unreliable
information on the internet, Mr Dyke said: "These are serious
challenges for any news organisation aiming to increase the quality
as well as the quantity if its coverage.
"For
the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, as the country's most trusted source of news and current
affairs, we have a particular responsibility to take account of
them.
"While
seizing every opportunity to improve the range and choice of our
output, we cannot afford to compromise on its honesty and integrity."
Recalling
that at times of conflict and crisis the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s coverage always comes
under intense scrutiny from all sides, Mr Dyke said: "Only
by constantly resisting any pressures which threaten our values
will we be able to maintain the trust of our audiences.
"That's
why we must temper the drama and competition of live, rolling news
with the considered journalism and analysis people need to make
sense of events."
He
rejected criticism from the Government over keeping a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ reporting
team in Baghdad, saying: "The whole culture of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ journalism
is based on the drive for accurate and impartial reporting."
He
said reflecting a range of opinions and eyewitness reports from
around the world allowed people to see the whole picture.
"And
we must never allow political influences to colour our reporting
or cloud our judgement.
"Commercial
pressures may tempt others to follow the Fox News formula of gung-ho
patriotism but for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ this would be a terrible mistake.
"If,
over time, we lost the trust of our audiences, there is no point
to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½."
Referring
to a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ interview with the American Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,
by David Dimbleby, Mr Dyke said: "When excerpts were played
in the States, many commentators agreed that American interviewers
wouldn't have taken such a robust approach", said Mr Dyke.
"The
aim certainly wasn't to win some intellectual battle of wills or
to trip Mr Rumsfeld up. It was all about testing his arguments and
not letting him gloss over difficult issues.
"On
American television today politicians don't face that sort of interrogation.
For the health of our democracy, it's vital we don't follow the
path of many American networks and lose the will to do this."
Notes
to Editors
A full
copy of the speech is available
here
*
An independent MORI poll found that 86% or respondents watched ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
ONE for news coverage of the war in Iraq (ITV - 67%; Sky News -
32%) and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ ONE was the most trusted channel by 36% of respondents
(ITV - 10%; Sky News - 8%)
*
Nearly 90% of the UK population turned to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ since the war
started
*
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ News Online was recording 130 million page impressions a week,
compared to 85 million in the week following September 11
*
Online usage in the USA increased by over 40% and by 10% in Canada
*
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World audiences increased by 77.4 million homes during the conflict
to reach 300 million homes in 200 countries
*
The World Service has a weekly audience of 150 million people worldwide,
now, including a record four million listeners a week in the USA
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