review of business news

The report of the Independent Panel, led by Sir Alan Budd, will be published by the Governors in spring 2007. The panel will review output, invite written submissions from interested organisations and call witnesses who may include BBC staff. It will also study specially commissioned content analysis and audience research reports. Further details about the members of the panel and the organisations conducting the research can be found at the bottom of the page.

In addition, the panel invites written submissions from any individual who would like to comment on the BBC's coverage of business news and will take account of these contributions as part of its process.

The BBC covers business stories on all its main television and radio news programmes and online. In addition the BBC produces a range of regular business slots within news programmes and specialist and current affairs programmes on television and radio.

The panel is interested to hear your views on all such stories and programmes. The terms of reference for the review are:

"To assess the impartiality of BBC news and factual coverage of business with particular regard to accuracy, context, independence and bias, actual or perceived; to assess whether the BBC portrays a fair and balanced picture of the world of business and of its impact on society more generally; to focus primarily on business coverage in mainstream output though specialist business programming should also be considered; and to make recommendations to the BBC Trust for improvements where necessary."

You can write with your views to the following address:
BBC Business Impartiality Review
BBC Governance Unit
Room 211, 35 Marylebone High Street
London, W1U 4AA

Or send an email to business.review@bbc.co.uk

The closing date for receiving responses is 5pm, Friday 12 January 2007.

Terms of reference, methodology, Panel and organisations submitting evidence