Why young BBC journalists fail to be impartial, by ex-news chief
YoUNG BBC journalists fail to understand impartiality because they have not had the correct training, one of its former news bosses suggested yesterday.
Roger Mosey, who was previously head of television news, also warned there was a lack of insight on ‘conservative groups, faith groups and older people’ which it needed to tackle to represent them fairly.
Mr Mosey and other former BBC chiefs discussed their concerns about the younger generation of reporters with a Lords committee.
In the Corporation’s news division, some senior journalists were believed to be concerned that younger colleagues have got too close to campaigning organisations on issues such as trans rights. And Mr Mosey, a former editor of Radio 4’s Today programme, said training was ‘essential’ to get them to understand impartiality.
He told peers: ‘Some younger journalists don’t understand [impartiality] in the way it was classically imbued into BBC journalists over the years.
‘There’s no particular reason why they should because they haven’t in some cases had the right training.’ He also said social media has made it difficult to define what impartiality is, adding: ‘I think the other thing is that there has been unquestionably some impact in the BBC from identity politics and the absolutely proper concern about diversity within the BBC, which then sometimes rubs against diversity of opinion externally and provides more challenges for journalists.’
Mr Mosey concluded: ‘I think training is essential to this. It is important that people do get that sense of classic BBC values. They stood the BBC in good stead for the best part of 100 years.’
Former director of global news
Richard Sambrook, who is now a professor at Cardiff University, carried out an impartiality review on the BBC’s social media use.
He told the Lords communications and digital committee that staff were being ‘lured’ into the online environment, which is often ‘argumentative’, as they want to be ‘part of this tide’. But he warned the BBC’s editorial standards must also apply online.
Former Today programme editor Sarah Sands said many employees had worked at the BBC for a long time so there was not the ‘diversity of experience’ that would give ‘different perspectives’.
The corporation revealed its ‘most significant push’ to make sure its programmes were fair, accurate and unbiased in october, in response to a review led by Arts Council England chairman Sir Nicholas Serota. The BBC said: ‘Roger was highlighting the importance of classic BBC values and we share that view, which is why we have a ten-point plan on impartiality which includes training.’