- Peter Horrocks
- 26 Jun 06, 02:20 PM
Who'd have thought my first proper entry on the new 大象传媒 News editors' blog would be prompted by the activities of Noddy, Tracey Beaker and the .
Yes, the Party at the Palace may have been a grand day out, but for some people the opening sequence left them with their hearts in their mouths, as Huw Edwards broke the news of a "serious incident at Buckingham Palace".
Of course within a very short space of time it became clear that this was all part of the show. But enough people were misled by the spoof news bulletin for it to have caused concern.
Viewers contacted the 大象传媒 yesterday to say they felt it was inappropriate to begin the Children's Party at the Palace with a made-up news report.
Here's a sample: "I have a daughter and two grand children there, my heart was in my mouth. It was awful to open like that. There was no fun at that, for goodness sake how irresponsible". And there's more in a similar vein: "I cannot believe the crass insensitivity of this fake newsflash. We had a daughter caught up in the London bombings and a granddaughter at the palace. I was terrified when I saw this."
The tone of Huw and Sophie's news report had of course been considered and we assumed people would respond in the context of the fun and fantasy of the party at the palace. But having watched the opening sequence again, I can quite see the combination of Jonathan Ross's hurriedly broken off introduction, then the newsroom with Huw's sombre expression could have led some to have to concern.
All I can do is apologise for anyone who was momentarily misled. The lesson for us all is simply one of clear labelling... even if Ronnie Corbett as the butler Tibbs and Meera Syal as maid Mary are the main eyewitnesses to the crime.
Peter Horrocks is head of 大象传媒 Newsroom
- Steve Herrmann
- 26 Jun 06, 12:12 PM
We鈥檝e had our 鈥溾 of most popular stories on the site for a couple of weeks now. No major surprises so far, though the up-to-the-minute rankings have proved slightly addictive to some of our journalists (and me).
What have we learnt so far and has it changed what we do?
So far, it鈥檚 confirmed some things we already knew - that stories about sex, space, technology, showbiz, the environment or animals (or, better, a combination of any of the above) somehow always gets a lot of attention from our readers and viewers. There are also the perennially popular sub-categories, like .
But, as we also knew, the main headlines each day get well read too. So in the past week the most popular stories have included , the , the - and of course, the .
It hasn鈥檛 all been predictable 鈥 there was the day when the third most popular story was a long series of thoughtful on the future of the world鈥檚 cities (not an obvious headline grabber) - or the morning when the most popular video on the site was the full-length version of Gordon Brown鈥檚 Mansion House speech.
All this extra data can help inform our thinking 鈥 if we see there鈥檚 major interest in a story we might look at whether it鈥檚 worth following up with a further angle or more information.
We also get clues about what makes for effective signposting and promotion of stories.
But In the end we can鈥檛 let it get in the way of the editorial job we are here to do, which is to report on what we judge to be the most important and interesting news around the world, drawing on all the resources we can muster.
I think it just makes it easier for us - and you - to see what the audience's perspective is on it all.
Steve Herrmann is editor of the
Among the audience reponse received by the 大象传媒 in the past 24 hours were numerous complaints about a spoof news bulletin starting the coverage of the Queen's birthday party: some viewers said they had been scared because they thought it was genuine. There were also complaints claiming that reports of arrests of English football fans in Stuttgart labelled them British, which, some viewers said, was unfair on Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish fans.
We also received this e-mail:
I was concerned that your coverage, along with the rest of the UK media, chose to run the initially with the word 'gay' at the front of the headline. I was wondering if in future cases of child abuse you will ensure the words 'heterosexual', 'white', 'black', 'Asian', 'Christian', 'Muslim', 'secular' and so on will also be applied? I feel once again the media is putting gay men into the usual boxes of sex-obsessed, tragic, funny, victims or criminals.
The Sun: "Viewers flooded the 大象传媒 with complaints over a spoof Newsflash claiming there was a major incident at the Palace." ()
The Guardian: "Jonathan Ross is a chancer and politicians who accept an invitation to sit on his Friday night sofa know they are taking a chance too." ()
The Telegraph: In an interview, chairman of the 大象传媒 says criticism of the corporation's development of digital media is unjustified. ()
- Helen Boaden
- 26 Jun 06, 08:00 AM
Welcome to The Editors, a new blog written by editors from across the range of 大象传媒 News outlets - TV, radio and interactive - about their issues, dilemmas, and highs (and lows) they face in doing their jobs. From to Newsnight, via everything from Radio One Newsbeat to the , we hope all areas of 大象传媒 News will be represented here.
We are committed to being impartial, fair and accurate - these are the qualities which 大象传媒 News is rightly expected to uphold. But we also want to be open and accountable, and while this is nothing new (my colleagues and I are quite used to appearing on on News 24 and Feedback on Radio 4), we are hoping this blog will be a fresh way of having a direct conversation with you, our audiences.
But of course the real strength of blogs is that they can be a conversation - which is where you come in. Tell us your views, either by adding your comments at the bottom of individual entries, or by e-mailing us directly. We want to know what you think.
Helen Boaden is director, 大象传媒 News
