- Peter Rippon
- 4 Jul 06, 04:03 PM
First it was Grandstand, then Top of the Pops: the seemingly unstoppable demise of some of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s oldest and most established brands got us wondering in the PM programme office what, or who, is likely to be next?
Naked self-interest soon focused the discussion on the question "will it be us?"
Like the other brands, we've been around a long time - 36 years.
We are also very Old School in how we broadcast. We go on air when we want, not when the listener wants.
We have a healthy share of the UK radio audience at the moment, but on broadband your choice of station is global. And, as Mark Thompson pointed out to the Radio Academy, listeners will soon be creating their own schedules on My´óÏó´«Ã½Radio.
It's all food for thought and part of the intense Creative Future debate we are having. Having said all that, we do still have some things going for us. We still manage to produce what my boss would call "great content". We have a healthy weekly reach of three and half million listeners and, after the Today Programme, we remain comfortably the most listened to news show on radio.
So I reckon there is life left in us yet. Which brings us back to the original question... if not us, who? Any suggestions?
Peter Rippon is editor of World at One, PM and Broadcasting House
- Gary Smith
- 4 Jul 06, 01:26 PM
Hands up if you think we sit around at the ´óÏó´«Ã½ having meetings about what stories we are NOT going to cover? Well here’s a surprise: if you’ve got your hand up, yes you’re right!
Not because there’s a conspiracy to protect the government – but because there are loads of stories every day across the UK and the world, and we can’t get them all on air, even if we want to. We have to make difficult choices.
Today the accuses the ´óÏó´«Ã½ of burying a new story about John Prescott – that he stayed at the home of an American billionaire keen to turn the Millennium Dome into a super-casino.
This was on Saturday. We covered it on various programmes on Monday - on the Daily Politics, and on News 24 (rather earlier than Pandora suggests). There are now various further allegations on political blogs.
So have we got our judgement right in not doing it prominently so far – for example, as one of the 10 or so stories on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One’s Six O’Clock News?
I’d say yes, it’s not quite crossed that threshold yet – at the time I’m writing this - to become a major story. But we have a couple of correspondents looking at it, so if it takes off, we’ll have it on air.
And unless I’m missing something, the Independent’s own editors don’t rate it big enough to mention as a news story anywhere in today’s paper...
[Footnote: Our and Radio 4's World at One have covered a call by the Conservatives for the standards watchdog to investigate the allegations.]
Gary Smith is editor, political news
- Ben Rich
- 4 Jul 06, 09:41 AM
Sunday brought one of those editorial dilemmas that we often face.
In the early morning, news came through that . It led the bulletins on radio and television. At around 10.30am, .
So which of these events should be at the top at lunchtime and later?
We know some of our viewers hate sports stories, and we were also aware that these tragic deaths in Afghanistan were very important too. Equally, around a third of the entire UK population watched England's World Cup quarter final, and it was a huge national as well as sporting event.
Also, when two British soldiers died last week in Afghanistan we not only led with it, but had a second report from one of our defence correspondents analysing the controversy over the mission itself, and the equipment our troops had been given to accomplish it, and another live interview. That previous coverage was also part of our thinking.
For people who don't like sports stories, the choice would be clear. But if you accept that the World Cup should be big news, the question is how big? In the end we put David Beckham at the top, although I suspect even some of our team thought it should have been the other way round. But then on the same day eight people were killed in two separate road accidents, and two women were found murdered at a massage parlour - where did those stories belong?
These sorts of choices confront us most days, and all you can do is weigh the factors as best you can, and accept that there is more than one valid view on what course was right.
Ben Rich is deputy editor, One and Six O'Clock news
The Independent: "What are we to make of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s coverage of the latest scandal to engulf John Prescott?" ()
Financial Times: A media commentator describes how new technology will change the relationship between the public and the ´óÏó´«Ã½ (and other broadcasters) ()
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