News reporting; balance, fairness and trust

The BBC's Political Editor Andrew Marr writes about balance, fairness and trust in news reporting, particularly in the run up to a General Election. Ultimately, he says, it comes down to trust;

"... fairness is about trust.

If you believe that I and my colleagues at the BBC are honestly and rigorously trying our level best to be fair, and that we do not have preconceived political positions, then you will be likelier to relax and concentrate on the information, not the informant.

We don't get it right always: there are difficult judgements to make, sometimes about tiny verbal nuances, every single day.

But we do try - and we will."

I particularly like how those masters of irony, the "BBC Web site photo people", have selected a montage of Tony Blair looking businesslike and determined, Michael Howard looking like a moronic country squire and Charlie Kennedy looking like a teuchter on a caravanning holiday.

Posted by Paul in Journalism - Reporting Politics at February 16, 2005 02:32 PM | 1 Comments