broadcastnow.co.uk 23 August 2019| Broadcast | 7
NEWS & ANALYSIS
When naïve people
criticise the BBC
for not holding
politicians to account,
they forget that
appearing on broadcast
TV is voluntaryNICK ROBINSON
Today, BBC Radio 4If there is a failure
then it’s the failure
of the TV media to
expose when politicians
are saying stupid or
misleading thingsROBERT PESTON
Peston, ITVWithout sounding
pious, we are a
public service
trying to navigate
people through a
ludicrously complicated
and destabilising timeEMILY MAITLIS
Newsnight, BBCTHE BATTLE FOR GENERAL ELECTION DEBATES
Head of Sky News John Ryley
launched a campaign last year to
introduce mandatory TV debates
for all main party leaders prior to
general elections.
He was dismayed by then-prime
minister Theresa May’s decision
to decline to debate with other
party leaders before the 2017
election and is lobbying for the
creation of an independent
Leaders’ Debate Commission.
Ryley claims 2010 was the
last true general election debate,
when the successful three-way
format was praised for allowingthe electorate to better under-
stand the policies and personali-
ties of David Cameron, Gordon
Brown and Nick Clegg.
“The electorate expects that
debates should take place,” Ryley
told Broadcast. “The tectonic
plates of the world are shifting;
Britain’s role is changing and we
should absolutely put our politi-
cians under scrutiny in this way.”
Prime minister Boris Johnson
previously backed Ryley’s cam-
paign but refused to take part in
the early-stage Conservative Party
leadership debates last month.more likely to use TV and radio as
a “form of press release” by con-
sistently repeating their message.
Their plan is to create a soundbite,
which will then be repeated on the
rest of the day’s news coverage.
“This gives me real anxiety,” he
said. “We may as well give them
the camera and the microphone.”
“When naïve people criticise the
BBC for not holding politicians to
account, they forget the fact that
appearing on broadcast TV is a
voluntary process.
“If a politician keeps getting
knocked about and made to look
like an idiot then their advisers will
tell them to turn down interview
requests. To avoid that, they stick
rigidly to their lines.”
Robinson’s solution to this
issue is to broadcast journalists’
questions as well as politicians’
answers within soundbites, so the
public can better understand when
a politician is being evasive.
Newsnight changed tack recently
and decided to interview fewer
guests for longer, a practice that
started when former FBI director
James Comey came on the show
almost a year after he was fi red
by Trump.
“This instituted a bit of a sea-
change, as speaking to Comey was
fundamental to our understanding
of the 2016 US election,” said
presenter Emily Maitlis.
“We decided to trust the audi-
ence’s attention span. If you’ve
fought hard for an interview then it’s
important to conduct it properly.”
Brexit complexities
ITV News political editor Robert
Peston believes politicians are
being “more honest and open than
ever” (see page 1) but that doesn’t
necessarily make their statements
true, especially regarding the
complexities of the Brexit process.
The former BBC News
economics editor said the public
repeatedly confuse dishonesty
with ignorance.
“I don’t think politicians are
being less honest, but unfortu-
nately, I think that much of
what they are saying is wrong,”
he added.
“If there is a failure then it’s the
failure of the TV media to expose
when politicians are saying stupid
or misleading things. This is about
our ability to analyse and help
people understand the truth.”
John Sergeant, the BBC’s
chief political correspondent
between 1992 and 2000, agreed
that there are failures on the part
of TV journalists.
“Too many politicians are
getting around questions on
Brexit by saying ‘nobody knows’,
and that’s not good enough,”
he added. “Brilliant questions are
required to get brilliant answers.”
The situation is exacerbated,
according to Sergeant, by the
technical nature of the Brexit-
related subjects. He said these
topics are being debated
along different lines to the
traditional ‘left versus right’
political discourse.Maitlis, however, said Brexit has
given TV journalists an opportunity
to truly understand the subject,
having spent three years focusing
so much attention on one story.
“In the past, we would be given
10 minutes to get up to speed on
prisons policy, or something like
foot-and-mouth disease. Someone
would be coming on to talk about
cow rendering and you’d think,
‘Shit, what’s cow rendering?’
“It may feel like we’ve been going
around in circles on Brexit but
the fact we’ve been concentrating
for so long means we are better-
read than usual – we understand
the politics, the limitations and
the complications.”
Maitlis concluded by providing
a case for the role that TV media
continues to play in the political
landscape. “Without sounding
pious, we are a public service
trying to navigate people through
a ludicrously complicated and
destabilising time.”TV debates: David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown in 2010I don’t think politicians are
being less honest, but I
think that much of what
they are saying is wrong
ROBERT PESTON
ITV