The BBC’s response to Lambert Summary The BBC believes Richard Lambert’s report is valuable in that it endorses the decision to launch BBC News 24 and sees the channel as a key part of our public service portfolio for the future. We also take on board much of his constructive criticism. The review concludes that the channel’s performance against its approvals is satisfactory in all areas and better than that in some; that its existence has improved the BBC’s whole approach to newsgathering; and that News 24 is highly regarded by a range of opinion formers. Richard Lambert believes that the channel has a very important part to play in public service broadcasting and, to this end, urges the BBC to define its remit more clearly. Since he wrote the report, we have already gone a considerable way to meeting his desire for greater clarity about the purpose of the channel through the publication of the Statement of Programme Policy. We have also continued to develop the channel and improve its service in the months since Richard Lambert’s visits: for instance, the report was written around the time we were introducing new on-screen graphics and these have become a successful and established part of News 24. The channel has also provided effective coverage for BBC ONE of stories ranging from the Soham tragedy to the Firefighters’ dispute; and latest figures show audience numbers are continuing to grow. In this response to the review, we reaffirm our commitment to the “broadsheet” agenda and define the qualities that should distinguish BBC News 24 as a public service rolling news channel. Specifically: ?? BBC News 24 is highly valued by its growing audience and is the news channel that opinion formers value most. (Source: MORI survey for the Lambert Report.) It remains our ambition to be the highest-quality, most respected continuous news service in the UK and we will seek to do that by (a) offering an agenda which is more analytical, more international and more diverse than those of our competitors; and (b) recognising that our primary purpose is to provide a home for compelling and serious journalism rather than aiming for market leadership at all costs. We believe, as our flagship BBC ONE bulletins have shown, that it is possible both to be more serious than ITV and Sky News and to gain the biggest audiences; but our focus for News 24 will unambiguously be on quality first. ?? We will deliver state-of-the-art interactive services branded closely with BBC News 24. ?? We will improve the profile of our coverage from around the UK by (a) more frequently taking examples from outside the South East of England (b) more effective indications on air when we are broadcasting from locations around the UK; and (c) a new agreement within the BBC between News and Nations & Regions ?? We will broadcast special ‘days’ from Scotland and Wales ahead of this year’s parliament and assembly elections 1 ?? In the coming financial year, we will reduce slightly the amount of pre-recorded built programming on News 24, but we will seek advantage from this by increasing the profile of breaking news and by ensuring that the built programming which remains is high quality and distinctive. ?? In particular, we will turn "Head to Head", a weekly debate and analysis programme which currently runs for six months each year, into a year-round feature of the schedule by investing more money in it ?? We will introduce a new, improved business programme in the late evening. ?? We will increase the profile of News 24 on BBC ONE through greater collaboration with Daytime scheduling and the channel generally; and we will re- brand some News Specials under the News 24 banner . ?? We will make £100,000 of commissioning money available in the next financial year for live coverage from Europe ?? We have reworked the channel's identity coming up to the top of the hour to make it more contemporary and stylish, and will continue to make the on-air look sophisticated and modern. The review’s recommendation that there should be greater financial transparency will be achieved through fuller accounts of the delivery of News 24 in the BBC’s future annual reports. In particular, the Governors will explicitly consider the BBC News/BBC World relationship on fair trading grounds every year, as outlined below. Channel mission Breadth and depth News 24 should clearly reflect the core values of BBC News: to be the UK’s first choice for News and Current Affairs producing the world’s best journalism which helps all audiences make sense of what’s going on in the world. The Lambert review acknowledges News 24’s standing in the market-place as “broadsheet” compared with Sky’s “Daily Mail” positioning; and he shows that, after a poor start, News 24 has come to be more highly regarded by opinion formers than Sky News. Day to day, our business, science, environment, consumer and arts coverage is strong and the weekend specialist programming covers a huge range of topics. But we recognise that we have still further to go in building programming excellence and ensuring that News 24 shows all the benefits of BBC journalism and analysis. The recent ITC and BSC research publication, “New news, old news”, found that users value 24-hour television news services because they are “in-depth’ (51%); convenient (44%); up to date (36%) and more varied (23%). It is striking that News 24’s audience figures rise significantly when there is an on- going story, often to more than 10m a week on its various platforms, suggesting that viewers appreciate both the convenience and the depth of the coverage. So although News 24 should not pursue ratings above all else, we do need to cater for the way licence-fee payers choose to use the service. Sometimes this will mean focusing on a major news development at the expense of other stories (e.g. Iraq war) but we will have a higher threshold for abandoning normal scheduling than commercial rivals (as 2 with Soham, for example). Ultimately, greater development and availability of interactive services will allow us to offer both more convenience – instant access to news of the viewers’ choice – and depth through the channel’s analysis and live coverage. The weekend schedule on News 24 is where the channel is most distinctive from the other news channels and reaches some of its highest audiences. The range of programming complements the wide range of items available every day on the channel by offering more in-depth and crafted output which enjoy longer time for story-telling. Among the regular programmes are Africa Direct, Europe Direct, Australia Direct and Arab World Direct - all covering stories from their region which are uncovered on other outlets. Dateline London offers a weekly discussion of British and World news seen through the eyes of foreign correspondents based in London. And One to One and Straight Talk are dedicated to political discussion and interviews. In addition, the weekends offer more leisure-oriented news --- travel, movies and personal finance. There is also extended sports coverage. These programmes genuinely deliver a different agenda from Sky, and offer opportunities for the best of BBC journalism to be given extended air time. But despite the value attached to all these programmes, all or any are dropped if there is a major breaking story. In summary, News 24 aims to be the highest-quality, most respected continuous news service in the UK and seriousness of agenda need not be an impediment to popularity. However, should there ever be a conflict, we will be driven by quality of content rather than the quest for market leadership. World coverage We agree with Richard Lambert’s view that News 24 should consciously seek to broadcast a wider range of international stories than its commercial rivals and to provide greater depth, and that this should be done as part of regular news programming, not just in scheduled programmes. We believe we already substantially deliver this although we may need to give our international coverage more impact. In the past year there has been extended coverage of the French elections; the German election result (contrary to Richard Lambert’s criticism of the “unlikelihood” of News 24 previewing the German elections, we ran a series of films doing just this - before knowledge of his report); the launch of the Euro; the Loya Jirga and the return of the King to Afghanistan; the sustainable development conference in South Africa; CHOGM in Australia; the floods in Central and Eastern Europe and the US mid- terms. 3 News 24 carries international news throughout the night from 0100-0600, and includes The World Today at 0500-0600 offering international news, business and sport. This programme is aimed at an upmarket business audience and is regularly the most viewed programme produced by News 24. In addition, seven days a week, the 0930-1000 slot is dedicated to international news produced by BBC World. And 0030 on weekdays offers an international business programme, World Business Report. The co-existence of BBC World gives the channel access to unrivalled expertise which we should continue to exploit as well as the BBC’s outstanding newsgathering strength. Regional coverage An essential element of News 24’s public service remit should be the provision of a national showcase for stories and perspectives from the UK nations and regions. As Richard Lambert suggests, regional coverage is unlikely to become a top priority for the BBC’s commercial rivals. Although, as the review recognises, the channel’s performance has improved, we need to do better still.