Unhappy news
Sir: I am saddened that Paul Johnson should feel that the Six O'Clock News on the night of the Birmingham bomb appeal was deliberately partial. As an analysis of the contents of the programme shows, we covered thoroughly the views of the judges, and we ensured that viewers real- ised the full horror of the original bomb- ing. The appeal itself centred on doubts about the nature of the confessions taken from those convicted of the crime, and on concern about the nature of some of the pathological evidence put forward at the original trial. It was quite proper for our reporter to examine these issues in cover- ing the background to the appeal.
Overall though, I was not happy, and nor was the team involved, with our coverage of the appeal in the bulletin. We should have placed more weight on ex- amining the reasons why the appeal was turned down, and included the reactions of the families and friends of victims of the original bombing. We should also have used a neutral term to describe the appel- lants.
I felt the account we gave on the Nine O'Clock News was fuller and I was happier with it. As Mr Johnson correctly and fairly says, 'television news bulletins are neces- sarily compiled in some haste and a lack of balance is sometimes accidental'. But Mr Johnson is unfair in ascribing the occasion- al slips produced by the pressures of a deadline to a 'progressive' culture in BBC News. Our news programmes are pro- duced and written by men and women who are committed to strict objectivity, and constantly strive for it.
Tony Hall
Editor, News and Current Affairs, Television BBC, Broadcasting House, London W1
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