Are not in the least bit interested in the us super bowl, so why on earth did you devote so much time to it . Meanwhile, phil boyne sent us this video. Hi, team. Im a little surprised by the bbc news� fascination with taylor swift. And you will need to mention her daily on the News Programme or the app for flying somewhere or having a boyfriend or some other insignificant event. I recently noticed a story hidden on the website and barely covered on the news, if at all, i dont remember seeing it, about a lady who died under her coat waiting in a e for over six hours with a Brain Aneurysm which should surely be a major story and scandal . This sort of major issue seems to get ignored to cover an American Multimillionaire singers life. There is so much going on in the world and at home you could report on and its disappointing you choose to waste time covering a person that im sure the majority of your audience couldnt give a hoot about. My name is phil, im 61 and definitely not a swifty. Well, joining us on the Newswatch Sofa is Richard Burgess who is director of news content for bbc news and who will be staying with us for most of The Programme to discuss your feedback this week. Thank you as ever for coming on newswatch. Can you explain the volume of coverage compared to stories like the nhs death case that phil there mentioned . I think is always with a news agenda, its about a mix. So, you need a mix of stories and of course we need to cover those really serious, important stories which i think we have done really well this week with branwenjeffreys looking at the state of our School Classrooms and the impact of pfi contracts, alison holt looking at issues around Disability Care and the nhs. But at the same time, we know that audiences welcome light relief. Taylor swift is a major star, the super bowl is a major cultural and Sporting Event and i think it is important that we cover it and give it. You know, show the interest in it that some of our audience have. You say its a major cultural event but American Football just isnt a major sport in this country and what viewers are asking is why should british News Audiences be expected to care about it given the volume of coverage that it got . Look, audiences are split on sport, we know that. But this wasnt a sport that is a big sport in this country. No, us sport, probably their people are even more split, i would imagine, on us sport. The super bowl, it has an amazing amount of money that it generates, theres all the interest around the people watching it. Obviously there was the taylor swift storyline, it even entered into us politics this year around the president ial race and some Conspiracy Theories regarding it. So, i think its a broader story than just a Sporting Event but, of course, we know that some audiences are going to be less interested in it than others. Particularly the Celebrity Angle on it, people feel that there is too much attention given to a big name celebrity and it is at the expense of other arguably more important news. Well, i dont think it is at the expense, samira. Ive mentioned some of the other big stories that weve covered this week and again, i think it is about the mix and i think it is about the balance of bulletins, the website. And we see that there is a lot of interest in these types of stories. We are going to look at another story now so stay with us, richard. On tuesday, bbc ones early evening bulletin led with news that would have caused shock and upset among many radio fans. At 6pm, steve wright, one of the bbcs best known and longest Serving Presenters has died at the age of 69. He presented programmes on radio 1 and radio 2 for more than 40 years. A short time ago, bbcs sara cox broke the news to radio twos audience. We are all absolutely. Devastated and shocked and blindsided by this news. Paulinejordan had this reaction to the coverage. Once again, the bbc has gone overboard. The sudden death of a 69 year old man is dreadful for his family, friends and colleagues and condolences are needed but not to the exclusion of items that really should be aired. Once again, as was highlighted last week over the kings cancer, we have the same sentence is repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated. Im sure that if you do mention this, you will have some bbc chap explaining how newsworthy this was, ijust dont believe it. You are our news chap this week, richard. Apparently it is the excess that bothers viewers, to be fair. We know steve wright was very important, its the fact that there is so much coverage when there is not actually that many facts at that point. Thats what bothers people. I think the coverage was more about the tributes to him and the shock at his death. Whichever way you look at it, steve wright was a major figure in radio for more than a0 years and on our most popular radio stations. A pioneer, innovative in the way that he delivered radio in this country, loved by his listeners. Incidentally, by far our most read story this week on the website was about steve wright and his death because i think it was a real shock to people. So i think it was less about repeating facts, im not sure that is what we did, i think we reflected peoples immense sadness at his death. You make a distinction then between paying tributes as a newsworthy thing but that viewer then mentioned the kings Cancer Diagnosis last week and the big issue that came up then was there were very few facts and bbc devoted a whole bulletin essentiallyjust repeating the same sentences again and again. Instead of moving on and giving proper coverage to really important stories like gaza and ukraine. Yeah, i mean, isaw The Programme last week and i recognise there are viewers who were not happy with how we did that. I think it was because it was such a significant story and it had just broken, it broke at 6pm, so we felt we had to continue to update the story for people joining so that they could hear this significant Breaking News and by the time it was 10pm, there was much more other news within the bulletin including some of those stories that you mentioned. Do think there is a case now to reconsider where you draw the line between wanting to stick with a story that has just broken and acknowledging that viewers sometimes feel a bulletin is not there for rolling news, its there for a number of stories . These areJudgment Calls and even within a newsroom, people have disagreements over these things and so sometimes people think we should stick with things for longer and we need to continually update because it is a major breaking story and then on other occasions, you know, there is the view that we need to give a more rounded picture of everything that has happened on the day. I think when it is such a big story and it hasjust broken, i do think there is such a Significant Interest in it that we need to just be keeping viewers aware that this has happened and bringing them all the news that we have. Stay with us, we have one more thing i want to talk to about, richard. Another story reported by bbc news on tuesday also caught the attention of some of you. Take a look at this. Now, tetleys, one of the uks best known tea makers says supplies of tea are tight and sainsburys has also issued warnings about the availability of black tea. It is all down to the continued attacks in the red sea. Katy austin is here now and just how tight are tea supplies then . Well, theres no need to worry. There should be enough tea. In the shops but i think it is fair to say there is some strain on the system. Tonyjohnson, amongst other viewers, reached this conclusion. So, really, there isnt a shortage but by reporting the story, bbcjust would create panic buying just like i think they did with toilet rolls during the covid pandemic and causing a problem when one doesnt actually exist. Its just irresponsible journalism. So lets ask richard about this. There arent really any shortages of tea, but they could have been of tea, but there could have been if people had been panicked after watching that story and the question is wasnt it irresponsible to run that story that way . Well, i think some of the major tea brands have warned about concerns about their supply lines. Again, it is one of these Judgment Calls where you have to decide are you going to reflect the story and explain which katy did straightaway. She said there is no need to worry so you are kind of calibrating a story that is already out there or do you just ignore it . That is an editorial decision that you have to make, i think on this occasion we decided that, you know, this was on the front page of a newspaper that morning, we decided that it was the right thing to do to give the viewers the information, the correct information regarding this story. And we didnt hype it up, it was towards the end of the bulletin and i think katy was really clear about what the reality was. Yeah, i suppose anyone would argue that tea, unlike American Football, is not a british issue but there is this whole dilemma about what point you pick up on a story from a newspaper because the bbc announcing something amplifies it in a way that a paper isnt the same, is it . Yeah and look, there are stories in the newspapers everyday that we look at and we dont do because we think either its not significant enough or it hasnt been properly stood up. But on this occasion, yeah, a cup of tea is obviously of huge interest to many in our audience and we just felt this was a story that was worth us trying to put the lens on and explain the facts as far as we knew them. Richard burgess, thank you for being the bbc chap on the sofa this week. Thank you. Thank you for all your comments this week. If you want to share your opinions about what you see or hear on bbc news on tv, radio, online, and social media, e mail newswatch bbc. Co. Uk or you can find us on x, formerly known as twitter newswatchbbc. You can call us on 0370 0106676 and do have a look at previous interviews on our website bbc. Co. Uk newswatch. That is all from us for now, thank you forjoining us. Do think about getting in touch and perhaps even coming on The Programme. We will be back to hear more of your thoughts about how if the bbc covers the news next week. Goodbye. Have you ever wondered where your old laptops phones and tvs go to die . Every year, our planet generates over 50 Million Tonnes of electronic waste. The generates over 50 Million Tonnes of electronic waste. Electronic waste. The problem is, thin. S electronic waste. The problem is, things just electronic waste. The problem is, things just dont electronic waste. The problem is, thingsjust dont last electronic waste. The problem is, thingsjust dont last as electronic waste. The problem is, thingsjust dont last as long electronic waste. The problem is, | thingsjust dont last as long these things just dont last as long these days. Take phones for example, the entire industry seems geared about us replacing our handset every couple of years or so. But us replacing our handset every couple of years or so. Couple of years or so. But only about one couple of years or so. But only about one quarter couple of years or so. But only about one quarter of couple of years or so. But only about one quarter of that couple of years or so. But only | about one quarter of that waste couple of years or so. But only i about one quarter of that waste is properly recycled and that is really bad because our devices contain potentially toxic chemicals. fine bad because our devices contain potentially toxic chemicals. One man has been looking potentially toxic chemicals. One man has been looking at potentially toxic chemicals. One man has been looking at how potentially toxic chemicals. One man has been looking at how one potentially toxic chemicals. One man | has been looking at how one company is looking to combat this in kenya. This community on the outskirts of nairobi is home to one of the largest dump sites, not only in kenya but also east africa. Although it was declared a full 20 years ago, over 800 tonnes of garbage is still dumped on this sprawling 30 acre site every day. And in recent years, an increasing proportion of this is e waste. Men, women and even children scour the stacks of waste for discarded electronics. Breaking them apart for their motherboards, batteries, wiring, anything that can be resold for parts. It has become an important Income Stream in what is a desperately deprived area. I have come to this part of the dump site to meet an e waste collector. There are thousands of people who work here in the dump site and it is a dangerous environment to work in. Stanley is one of them
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