and watch on iplayer. a number of viewers, though, have told us they don t believe a news channel is the right place for a phone in show. here are two of them. we now have the option of watching either a radio phone in programme which is simultaneously broadcast on radio five if we wanted to listen to it or switching to a competitor s news coverage. none of which hold a candle to the bbc s normal offering. so between nine and 11 am, every weekday morning is now a news desert. we ve also lost a number of excellent news presenters, the likes of anita mcveigh and martine croxall, who brought empathy and interest to their broadcasts. and whilst i know that the bbc in these straitened times have to save money, surely there are other ways in which this can be done without losing the fundamental quality of bbc news coverage. if i wanted to listen to a radio phone in or even participate, then i go to the radio and television news and bbc news is a particular medium which is important
hello and welcome to newswatch with me samira ahmed. with the new single channel for both domestic and international audiences are uk viewers getting a new service that meets their needs? and is the tv news channel the right place for a radio phone in show for 2 hours every weekday? it s 12 weeks since the bbc s two news channels became one single operation, so time to take stock of the new service, which we ll be doing throughout this programme with its boss, paul royle. at some times of the day, uk viewers see a separate, dedicated feed. for example, between nine and 11 every weekday morning when nicky campbell s five live radio phone in programme is shown. nicky campbell listen on bbc sounds