BBC News 24 Under Pressure After Lambert Report
Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell has called on BBC News 24 to be “more distinctive” following a government report into the channel by former Financial Times editor Richard Lambert.
After reading the report, Jowell commented: “I’ve said before, that the BBC should provide us with public service channels that are distinctive from commercial channels. I see no reason why News 24 should be any different.”
The report recommends a number of changes in both the structure and the content of the 24-hour news service. It also claims that future reviews of BBC digital services should be handled by Ofcom, and not left to the governors, a view that is likely to be supported by commercial broadcasters who have lobbied hard for the BBC to come under Ofcom’s remit.
According to Lambert, the news channel needs to provide a better service, including more breaking news stories. Despite the fact that BBC News 24 has a far larger budget than commercial rival Sky News, it is Sky which secures breaking news stories first. As Lambert comments, it is a testament to its reputation that most UK newspaper offices tune into Sky.
In a statement, the BBC argued that it sometimes has a higher threshold for breaking news because it employs a ‘more detailed checking process’ than its competitors, due to its commitment to ‘journalistic standards’. However it was the BBC which committed this year’s biggest news blunder, with its special report; The Diamonds that pay for Bin Laden’s terror broadcast last October on the Ten O’Clock News, which falsely linked Oryx Natural Resources with public enemy number one Osama bin Laden.
The Lambert report suggests that News 24 should increase its national and regional news output. Commercial broadcasters and BBC journalists have lobbied hard for the BBC to deliver its public service remit and expand its regional news output. Regional news is an area of broadcasting which has suffered from a wider decline accelerated by the consolidation of the old regional ITV companies.
Jowell added: “Richard Lambert’s report has persuaded me that the BBC governors need to deliver a clearer remit for News 24, one that will produce a high quality public service rolling news service whilst at the same time develop a distinct identity for the channel, setting it apart from other 24-hour news services.”
The government has asked the BBC to respond to the Lambert report before the end of February and publish a revised remit for News 24 by the end of April. Media commentators have suggested the outcome of this report will be a key indicator in determining the role of the BBC in relation to its commercial rivals in the new digital marketplace.
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk
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