1 THIS DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED FOR THE PANEL BY BBC NEWS MANAGEMENT THE HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT COVERAGE OF THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT News set-up BBC News has made complaints handling and accountability to audiences one of its top priorities. · The Director, BBC News is an active member of the BBC-wide Complaints Management Board. Helen Boaden has given priority to ensuring that all complaints are taken seriously, that the division meets the BBC’s Code of Practice on complaints, and that feedback from complaints is fed into editorial processes. This focus means that the feedback informs the key editorial meetings and forums whenever appropriate. · To assist her, News has a dedicated Head of News Complaints, Stephanie Harris, based in her area. Stephanie, who was previously seconded to the Deputy Director-General’s office to co-ordinate the pan-BBC Complaints Review in 2004, supervises and advises the departmental “complaints leads” on complaints handling, co-ordinates responses and monitors the content and pattern of complaints. News is one of only two divisions – the other being Factual & Learning – to have invested in a head of complaints. · In autumn 2004, BBC News launched the “NewsWatch” brand, consisting of a public-facing feedback and accountability website and an accompanying programme on BBC News 24, presented by Ray Snoddy. The website in particular means that we have the ability to respond rapidly to audience concerns. It differs somewhat in tone from the corporate BBC complaints website in that often the aim is to explain the thinking behind news decisions in a discursive way and to offer insights into the way we work. · BBC News employs a Middle East editorial adviser - Malcolm Balen, a former editor of the Nine O'Clock News. As well as being available to help monitor coverage, Malcolm gives advice on how to respond to criticism. This appointment has been widely welcomed, particularly among lobby groups in the UK. Entry points for complaints · The Jerusalem bureau is often the first place to receive complaints about BBC coverage from either the Israeli government (which monitors all output) or others. The bureau takes complaints extremely seriously and values the input of constructive criticism. Good contacts have been made on both the Israeli and 2 Palestinian side by following up an initial email complaint and eventually meeting up with the person involved. · Complaints may also come direct to the Director-General, the Deputy Director- General or the Director of News from the Israeli Embassy or pressure groups such as CAABU. Responses are co-ordinated, and are compiled with the help of the Jerusalem Bureau and the Middle East consultant. · The latter are also asked to advise on less high-level complaints, received for example by the Director of News or programme editors. The time spent assisting with complaints that have been escalated to the Editorial Complaints Unit and with appeals to the Governors’ Programme Complaints Committee has been significant over the last year, increasing the pressure on the bureau at times. · The majority of complaints about coverage of the Middle East are received directly by BBC Information. Because of their sensitive nature, in the absence of a prepared reply, most of these are forwarded by Capita to the two BBC Information Divisional Advisers to News. The advisers ask the relevant programme or section editor for a response, copying in the Head of News Complaints and the relevant departmental complaints lead to all the correspondence. · The BBC News website receives a large volume of email complaints directly rather than via BBC Information/Capita. When the BBC Complaints Review was implemented in February this year, it was agreed that special arrangements were needed for News Interactive because of the website’s 24x7 nature and the need to correct any mistakes as quickly as possible as a result of feedback from complaints. (The “user journey” for complainants about the news website is ostensibly the same as for any other part of the BBC – via the corporate complaints website - but the complaint webform is actually received directly in the newsroom.) · News Interactive employs four staff to process complaints, but section editors constantly monitor the inboxes with a view to making corrections. The ability to respond effectively to complaints about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – and for the complaints to inform the journalism – has been enhanced by the presence of the Middle East desk. (See note on editorial processes.) · The Middle East Consultant is often the direct recipient of complaints from interest groups because his name is now known in the various communities. He aims to act as a conduit in such cases, re-directing the complaints to the appropriate areas (and advising on responses as necessary.) Complaints monitoring · The daily forum for monitoring the feedback from complaints is the 0850 editorial meeting of senior News management. (See separate note on editorial processes.) The Head of News Complaints reports to the meeting on any significant feedback about coverage; as well as the overnight call logs provided by BBC Information/Capita, she is briefed by the BBC Information Divisional Advisers about the volumes of email complaints received. 3 · If there are significant volumes which merit the posting of a response on the NewsWatch website – which Stephanie edits – the 0850 meeting provides an efficient mechanism for producing a speedy response. · The News Editorial Board takes a complaints report from the Head of News Complaints as a standing item once a month. This covers complaints dealt with at divisional level (Stage 1) as well as Editorial Complaints Unit and Governors’ Programme Complaints Committee findings. The Board is also attended by the Middle East Consultant. This forum provides an opportunity to take a more strategic look at trends and learning issues as a result of complaints. · BBC Information’s Audience Analyst supplies News with a monthly report specifically about Middle East coverage complaints.