P H otograp 08·12·09 Week 49 explore.gateway.bbc.co.uk/ariel H: step H en THE BBC NEWSPAPER GIBSON Staff with hidden talents among traders a at Pacific Quay Christmas Market Quay to a crafty Xmas page 4 ◆ Victoria Derbyshire ◆ Uploading the ‘next ◆ Cutting red tape – broadcasts live from big thing’ with BBC is dealing with HR Zimbabwe Page 3 Introducing Pages 8-9 easier now? Page 10 > NEWS 2-4 WEEK AT WORK 7 OPINION 10 MAIL 11 JOBS 14 GREEN ROOM 16 < 162 News aa 00·00·08 08·12·09 CITIZEN JOURNALISM POSES CHALLENGE The etiquette a Sharper skills needed to sort of social media a & a Room 2316, White City 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS fact from fiction, says Boaden 020 8008 4228 by Sally Hillier Editor NICK Candida Watson 02-84222 u THE RAPID RISE of user generated content Reynolds Deputy editor and social media sites promises new possi- Cathy Loughran 02-27360 bilities but has also ‘opened a can of worms’, SOCIAL MEDIA; WE LOVE IT. I’m making a very Chief writer Helen Boaden, director of news, has warned. good living out of social media myself. Sally Hillier 02-26877 At a White City seminar on Monday, she But if you want to be ‘social’ it’s about more Features editor pointed to the ‘huge benefits’ of citizen jour- than just starting a Twitter account. For to be Clare Bolt 02-27445 nalism – during the February snowstorms, social is to be human. As Stephen Fry wisely Broadcast Journalist for example, the BBC received 65,000 pic- said recently, Twitter (and he could have eas- Claire Barrett 02-27368 tures – while making clear that there were ily said all social media) is ‘human shaped not Art editor also significant downsides to this particular business shaped’. media revolution. And human beings are strange creatures. Ken Sinyard 02-84229 Recalling the demonstrations over the Prey to emotions and irrational impulses, yet Business co-ordinator Iranian elections, when mobile phones and the only animal that worries ‘what’s the right Silvana Romana 02-84228 digital cameras captured images, Boaden thing to do?’. Ariel mail said: ‘Less remarked upon was the speed of The ethics and morals of social media are [email protected] their distribution and the way the social ground in the internet.’ still evolving. As everything and everyone goes Ariel online explore.gateway.bbc.uk/ariel media sites tried to drive the agenda. It was no coincidence that Robert Peston’s online, what becomes important is how people BBC Jobs 0370 333 1330 ‘Much of this activity centred on Twitter, blog had attracted up to three million readers behave, not what they’re called or what social where the hashtag Iran elections became the a day at the height of the credit crunch ‘be- tool they are using. electronic meeting point for those who want- cause people felt he knew what he was talking Recently two incidents have brought the ed to share news or to distribute pictures.’ about even if the bankers, economists and ethics of social media and publishing on- Guest contributors this week But while UGC had given the BBC’s Per- politicians appeared to have lost the plot’. line into sharp relief. First Rupert Murdoch sian tv service a direct relationship with its Social networks might be faster than main- described the likes of Google as ‘parasites’ MARTIN ASSER, search engine audience over that dramatic period, there stream journalism, but the latter would have and threatened to sue the BBC for using his optimisation specialist, explains how had been ‘real editorial dilemmas’, Boaden the edge if it could continue to convince its newspapers’ stories. A few days later one of to ‘get to the top of Google’ Page 7 explained. ‘There was little balance on Twit- audiences that it was accurate and trustwor- Rupert’s papers, The Times, reprinted a tribute ter and the other social networks; they were thy, Boaden believed. to Edward Woodward from Edgar Wright’s per- SHARIF SAKR swapped his job as overwhelmingly in favour of the opposition She also wondered about the impact of sonal blog. The trouble was they had not asked a tv producer and investigative candidate, Mir Mousavi. social media on the system of liberal democ- Edgar’s permission first, nor had they paid him. journalist for a six month attachment ‘And there was a huge amount of false racy, at the heart of which was the idea that Edgar was understandably annoyed. So who’s as Working Lunch’s web producer information generated by people who wanted people could have a shared debate about the parasite now, cried the blogosphere? Page 15 to influence the debate on both sides. things that shaped their lives. Then the new chair of the Press Complaints ‘Errors which emerged on Twitter includ- ‘On demand news means that audiences Commission seemed ed the suggestion that three million people can simply opt out of that shared agenda if to suggest that the Jobs textphone 028 9032 8478 The ethics had protested in Tehran in the middle of June they don’t like it, can’t be bothered or find it PCC could regulate BBC Jobs John Clarke 02-27143 when it was probably a few hundred thousand; dull,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure that any of us – es- blogs. There was a tart and morals Room 2120, White City, London W12 7TS that Mousavi was under house arrest when pecially politicians – understand the potential reaction from blog- Advertise in Ariel he wasn’t; that the president of the election implications of this in the long term.’ ger Sunny Hundal. are still Ten Alps Media 020 7878 2313 monitoring committee had declared the elec- On the other hand, she thought that people’s Sunny pointed out that www.bbcarielads.com tion invalid – which he hadn’t.’ ‘natural curiosity’ about big events – whether in when bloggers make evolving Boaden believed that professional journal- news, sport, or entertainment – would always mistakes they correct Printing ists needed to acquire not just skills and train- pull them together to find out more. them prominently (one Garnett Dickinson Group ing in social media techniques, but sharper ‘In the future, it may be harder for our origi- convention is to leave the text online but with Rotherham 01709 768000 judgment about establishing facts. nal journalism to punch through a welter of a line through the offending section). However Subscribe to Ariel ‘That’s where I think specialism will be- information,’ she concluded. ‘But when big one of the long running complaints against the Six months: £26, £36, £40 come critical. In the BBC we will increasingly things happen, I suspect people will want PCC is that some newspapers, when they are Twelve months: £50, £60, £68 rely on specialists, to slice through the gos- proper grown up media they trust to tell them grudgingly pushed into admitting error, make (prices for UK, Europe, rest of world sip, trivia and opinion that can find a breeding the facts and explain why it has happened.’ sure that any corrections are buried well away from the original story and airbrushed out of respectively) history. ‘Thanks but no thanks. We behave bet- Cheques to: Garnett Dickinson Print, MASSED CHOIRS RAISE THE ROOF ter than you,’ said Sunny to the PCC. Brookfields Way, Manvers, So if you think social media is just an easy Wath Upon Dearne, Rotherham S63 5DL A THOUSAND un- seum, London and way to get a story, think again. One man’s story Tel 01709 768199 trained voices in Glasgow City Hall is another man’s personal tweet. Ransacking INFORMATION IN AN EMERGENCY London and 600 and master someone’s social media to get a news angle is Telephone 0800 0688 159 more in Glasgow the Hallelujah Cho- like jumping into someone’s garden, stealing Ceefax Page 159 www.bbc.co.uk/159 (including this rus from Handel’s their flowers, shouting ‘I need this for some- singer, right) united Messiah. The re- thing important’ and then jumping back over Ariel is produced by Internal at the weekend sults, says learning the fence again. Bad behaviour, unethical even, Communications for people at the BBC to sing Hallelujah, project manager and not BBC behaviour I would hope. raise the roof – and Ruth Milway, were You’ll also have to behave well while those money for charity. ‘overwhelming’: around you behave badly. Social media can The Sing Hallelujah ‘Even for some- be an emotional and partisan thing. I’ve been project, which has one like me, with called a parasite, and worse on message already involved no classical music boards. Indeed only this week I was dubbed a 500 choirs around background, the ‘power mad cretin’ by some anonymous wit the UK, is a BBC effect was totally who objected to the fact I removed his com- Learning and Radio uplifting,’ Children ment from the internet blog. Fearlessness, 3 collaboration in Need got a boost honesty, humility, a sense of humour and a PLEASE RECYCLE YOUR COPY OF ARIEL inspired by BBC with collections thick skin are all qualities you will need. Two’s The Choir. after the events. And these are not things you will learn on a The weekend’s The choirs can be training course, or through a new application spectacular was an heard in Radio 3’s on your iPhone. open invitation for Performance on Good luck and see you on Twitter! amateur singers to December 10. Visit mass at The Coli- bbc.co.uk/sing Nick Reynolds is social media executive, BBC Online > ARIEL ONLINE: BBC NEWS AS IT HAPPENS – EXPLORE.GATEWAY.BBC.CO.UK/ARIEL< a 08·12·09 News 3 Dragon’s advice Victoria Derbyshire meets schoolkids in Harare for schoolboy inventor Hemel Hempstead schoolboy Robert Appleton will be watching the Copenhagen Climate Change con- ference closely.