TGE BBC has made “significant improvements” in the way it delivers news and current affairs from Scotland on its network programmes, according to a report being published today.
According to the BBC Executive, news stories from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are being better labelled on network programmes, as to where they originate from – in comparison to critical findings issued last year by the BBC Trust, which represents the TV licence fee payer.
Say reports, the chair of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons said the report was “encouraging”.
He is quoted saying: “The Trust is determined that the BBC should serve all audiences, and licence fee payers themselves tell us they want to know more about what is going on in the nations and regions of the UK.
“It is encouraging to see that BBC management have acted on this, and made operational changes to ensure network news and current affairs coverage reflects the different politics and policies around the UK more precisely.
“We now look to the [BBC] Director-General and his team to build on this progress and demonstrate to the Trust that they can sustain the momentum already built up in order to deliver long-lasting change.”
Jeremy Peat, the BBC’s national trustee for Scotland, is additionally quoted, saying: “We have made good progress, but there are no grounds for complacency. There are plenty of grounds where improvements can be made.
“We are focusing on ways in which the network news can be made far more appropriate to the whole of the UK and that is where I think great steps have been made to improve it.
“We need to take practical measures to make sure the right stories get through and the right knowledge is imparted. We are almost there and getting there.”
