ITV

Tag: O’Clock News

  • BBC newsreaders overpaid; Jack Straw

    BBC newsreaders overpaid; Jack Straw

    MUMBAI: House of Commons leader Jack Straw said that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) newsreaders are paid too much. He mocked those journalists who ‘prance’ around TV studios. At the same time, Labour MP Chris Mullin alleged that the tabloid virus is beginning to infect BBC television news.

    Straw became the leader of the House of Commons earlier in May. During a debate at the House of Commons, he preferred presenters to actually sit at a desk and read the news.

    As reported by BBC News, BBC newsreaders are overpaid and should not ‘prance around studios’, Commons leader Jack Straw has said.

    The former foreign secretary said he thought that was what newsreaders were paid for – “and too much”.

    A spokesman for BBC News said: “We welcome feedback from all quarters of our audience.”

    Straw was responding to Labour MP Chris Mullin, who complained that BBC newscasters “walk around the studio like a couple of ham actors emoting”.

    Mullin said: “Can we find time to debate the extent to which the tabloid virus is beginning to infect BBC television news? “Have you noticed that newscasters increasingly no longer read news to camera, but they walk around the studio like a couple of ham actors emoting?

    “I think it is called news with attitude.”

    Mullin also said the Six O’Clock News was “cynically edited” to delete the fact that the prime minister had quoted former Conservative leader Michael Howard during prime minister’s question time.

    “Do you agree with me that if the BBC can’t do better than this it is going to have difficulty justifying its licence fee?” he asked. Straw said he would pass his remarks on but editorial decisions were a matter for the BBC, not for MPs.

    “On the issue of accuracy, all journalists, including the BBC, have a responsibility to ensure that quotations are attributed accurately,” he said.

  • BBC current affairs veteran Robinson to call it a day

    BBC current affairs veteran Robinson to call it a day

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC’s current afairs veteran Mike Robinson has decided to step down as editor of the Panorama block. He is retiring from the BBC after spending 25 years with the organisation. He has been the editor of the BBC’s flagship current affairs strand for more than five years.

    He and his team have produced many shows including the story of the row between the government and BBC which culminated in the death of David Kelly, which won the RTS Home Current Affairs journalism award and was the first of a number of Panoramas examining the government’s case for war.

    Other programmes include John Simpson and Tom Giles’s tale of death by friendly fire in the Iraq war, which won the RTS International programme award; and the trilogy of investigations into the anti-depressant Seroxat, which had a significant impact on both the programme’s audiences and the field of drug policy and regulation.

    Panorama’s RTS award winning investigation into corruption in horse racing also had significant impact, forcing the Jockey Club to hold an internal enquiry and strengthen its security measures. Before joining Panorama, Robinson had worked in a variety of roles including Editor of the One O’Clock News and News Editor across BBC TV News as a whole.

    After joining Panorama as a film-maker in 1992, he produced a number of documentaries, including The Story of Child B; Valentina’s Story and When Good Men do Nothing on the genocide in Rwanda, and the famous Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana. The latter recorded one of the largest TV audiences in BBC history and picked up a Bafta, one of two which he won.

    BBC News director Helen Boaden said, “Mike’s passion for Panorama and his commitment to serious current affairs have made him an outstanding Editor of the series over many years. He’s never been afraid of tackling vested interests, current orthodoxies and unfashionable issues and subjecting them to rigorous, scrutiny and appraisal. We shall miss his vision and his tenacity very much and wish him good fortune in the coming years.”

    Robinson said, “I am delighted to have been worked for so many years with a talented Panorama team still committed to producing ambitious and significant television journalism across a broad agenda. With its public funding, the BBC still occupies a privileged position within British society and I greatly appreciate the backing I’ve enjoyed for the difficult and challenging journalism for which I have had responsibility. After 25 years with one broadcaster, I relish the challenges and opportunities that the future holds.”