- Daniel Pearl
- 21 Jul 06, 01:38 PM
It's become a clich茅 that new technology has changed TV, for ever.
In some ways the biggest change is how much closer we, as programme makers, are to our audience. If you email us during the programme the chances are that, if I'm editing, I'll read your message almost instantly. So on Wednesday night Ian emailed me during the programme to say: "Why is your interviewer standing while Menzies Campbell is sitting?"
Now unfortunately for Ian, the item (watch it here) was prerecorded, so even if I had agreed with him that should sit, which I didn't, there wouldn't have been much I could have done. None the less, it's much easier for you all to tell us what you like and dislike, and the truth is we do read it. I recently found slumped in front of his computer. He looked despondent and when I asked why, he briefly showed me his email inbox.
Let's face it, it's not that difficult to guess 大象传媒 email addresses - and a hell of a lot of people take a punt on his. I didn't read any of his messages but I can reassure you all that, from the look on his face, he had.
Anyway, communication from you to us is not new. What I think is new is that we can now know what you are talking about and interested in without you ever telling us. Sounds sinister but it's not really. It takes seconds on a site like to discover what people are talking about and searching for. This has begun to make an impact on the programme.
So, for example, late on Monday night the most talked about subject was 's appearance on America's , in which he said that we are in the midst of a Third World War.
The next day we contacted Gingrich and that night he repeated his claims on Newsnight (watch it here). So in that sense blogging had an immediate impact on Newsnight's running order.
Also, we know what you are saying about us (really, we do).
If you write anything about Newsnight, or about me, on a blog, I'll probably find it via Technorati. So for example, I know that there's a whole debate going on about Ming Campbell's performance on Newsnight - the question being asked is whether Ming is the Lib Dems' Iain Duncan Smith... see or .
The thing I find strange about all this is that often people who write blogs, or contribute to them, somehow think that they are involved in a private forum.
I recently came across a comment claiming Jeremy disliked recording . I posted a response and the blogger seemed appalled - "the 大象传媒's watching us - spooky" was his reply. But if you write something about us on the internet surely I have every right to read it and respond - that's not spooky.
I had to confront this the other day. We often have students with us on work experience. Twice in the last 6 months I've come across blogs in which people trailing the programme have written things about the team. When I approached one of these people, her reponse was that the blog was supposed to be just for her and her friends!
It wasn't the confidentiality issue that bugged me, but that anyone would think that we as programme makers don't have as much right as everyone else to read what you're all writing, especially if you are writing about us. So, what do you think? Stick it on your blog and I'll respond.
Daniel Pearl is deputy editor of Newsnight
Daniel Pearl is deputy editor of the Ten O'Clock News
A guide to words and names in the news, from Martha Figueroa-Clark of the 大象传媒 Pronunciation Unit.
"The Pronunciation Unit recommends the pronunciation BUUL-wuhrk.
"Pronunciation dictionaries give the above pronunciation as the preferred British English pronunciation of 'bulwark' (the word), although other acceptable pronunciations of this word include BUL- (as in 'cup') initially or -WURK (as in 'her') finally. For the name of the ship, we checked the pronunciation with the Royal Navy Press Office."
(.)
- Richard Porter
- 21 Jul 06, 11:05 AM
Consider these two items:
• "The sight of a huge flotilla of ships carrying thousands of foreigners out of harm's way has only served to highlight the plight of those left behind. Civilians - mostly, but not exclusively, Lebanese - are the main casualties. There is now a rising chorus of experts who have raised the question of international humanitarian law."
• "British navy warships and helicopters are in Beirut this lunchtime - to rescue more British nationals - trapped by the fighting in Lebanon. They're being loaded on to two Royal Navy vessels - which will take them to Cyprus later this afternoon."
Clearly two news organisations with vastly different views on the main story at midday (UK time) Thursday.
Actually, they're both the 大象传媒. One was 大象传媒 World, broadcasting to audiences outside the UK. The other was 大象传媒 News 24, the domestic news channel. And at lunchtime today we had very different ideas about what we wanted to concentrate on. It's a great thing about the 大象传媒 that we have sufficient editorial independence to be able to make these decisions. Both, in their own way, are very focused on the audiences served by the programmes. Neither (in my view) is more correct than the other.
At 大象传媒 World we have devoted a lot of time to the international operation taking people out of Lebanon. And it's true that we have looked at it more through British eyes - partly because for safety reasons we're sharing a lot of resources with domestic 大象传媒 outlets in Beirut.
But we've also reported on what nations like India, Sri Lanka and Canada have been doing. And we keep coming back to issues facing the people who can't leave the country. One of our longest-serving Middle East correspondents, Jim Muir, is in Tyre in southern Lebanon, which has been very badly hit by the bombardment. Gavin Hewitt has reported on Lebanese people trying to escape to Syria. And of course this is a story with two sides - so our correspondents in northern Israel have been reporting on the consequences of the missile attacks there. News 24 has covered the same issues - and at times we've been "simulcasting" - ie both channels carrying the same coverage, presented from both Beirut and Haifa.
The challenge for us - whether we be serving domestic or international audiences - is not to lose sight of all the issues. It's complicated; it's changing rapidly; opinions are strongly-held on all sides and need to be properly reflected. So even if we spend a few hours of one day focusing on one aspect - such as the British evacuees - we must make sure that over time we keep coming back to the core questions. What's happening now? What caused this? What's going to resolve it? And many others...
Richard Porter is editor of
Richard Porter is head of
Among the audience response given to the 大象传媒 in the past 24 hours were, again, many calls about our coverage of the Middle East. Other points raised were objections that Condoleezza Rice was referred to as 'Condy' on Newsnight, and that an item on the Today programme might encourage children to use water pistols during a water shortage. We also received this e-mail, our favourite of the week:
I am sorry to be a nitpicking pedant however I have had frequent arguements with friends on this topic and I am very surprised that the 大象传媒 of all people would get this fact wrong... Bananaman did not live at 29 Acacia Avenue as you , he lived at .
(Story is now corrected.)
The Times: A columnist on the 大象传媒's coverage of the Middle East crisis: "Both the 大象传媒 and ITV have staged feelgood family reunions by satellite during news bulletins." ()
The Independent: "Lebanon's PM has enough problems but, even so, he might have been distracted by one trivial, nagging question when he met the 大象传媒's Middle East editor this week..." ()
