The Editors - Matthew Shaw https://bbcstreaming.pages.dev/blogs/theeditors/ Welcome to The Editors, a site where we, editors from across BBC News, will share our dilemmas and issues. Here are tips on taking part, but to join in, all you need do is add a comment. en Copyright 2012 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:40:42 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.33-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Establishing the facts We've been hearing the rumours for months - contrary to belief tabloid newspapers rarely splash stories on their front page on a whim and we knew what people were saying in the business. The marriage of the Material Girl and her "Mockney" film director was on the rocks. Madonna is arguably the most famous woman in the world - her record-breaking success in the music industry has made her an instantly recognisable face on every continent. And her personal life has been played out in public. For millions of people the break-up of her marriage is a story of interest and they want to know what's happening.

Guy Ritchie and MadonnaAnd a lot of people choose to turn to the BBC - our entertainment news website is one of the biggest sources of showbiz news in the UK. Yesterday we woke up to a Sun front page exclusive - an announcement of their divorce was imminent. A fantastic showbiz scoop that all my team were envious of. But with just one source - which we sensed was true but couldn't prove - we were in a dilemma.

How do we report someone else's journalism which we haven't backed up ourselves? We can't ignore the story because we know our website audience would be talking about Madonna and would want to know what we had to say about it. Our immediate report online attributed the story to the Sun and made clear that the BBC couldn't at that point verify it. That's not being lily-livered or protecting ourselves if it wasn't true - it was just telling the truth. By 4pm - we had the statement and the story was out.

It's fair to say there's a lot of debate about some entertainment stories, especially when they're about stars' personal lives. But for a good proportion of our audience, these stories are as relevant to their lives as any political intrigue or bank implosion. And as long as we carry on establishing the facts as we know them and telling the truth then we're doing our job.

]]> Matthew Shaw Matthew Shaw https://bbcstreaming.pages.dev/blogs/theeditors/2008/10/establishing_the_facts.html https://bbcstreaming.pages.dev/blogs/theeditors/2008/10/establishing_the_facts.html Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:40:42 +0000 Weekly entertainment It's been called the return of entertainment news on News 24 - try telling that to the team who produce two Entertainment 24 bulletins four nights a week.

BBC News 24 logoOur new programme E24 aims to be the brasher younger sister of the daily round-ups, looking back at the best of the week's entertainment stories as well as giving a sneak peek at what's to come.

Blue Peter presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star Gethin Jones has signed up as one of our presenters, along with James Dagwell who’s one of the faces of Entertainment 24. They'll be talking to movers and shakers in the industry and there will be reports from here, Hollywood and Broadway.

Preparations ahead of the Oscars ceremonyWe don't want it to become a red carpet and junket show (please feel free to tell us off if that happens!) and we hope to surprise you with a few behind-the-scenes reports.

We’ll treat entertainment and arts news in exactly the same way as any political or financial story - finding out the facts behind the fiction and giving an insight into how the business works. But of course we also want the programme to be fun.

]]> Matthew Shaw Matthew Shaw https://bbcstreaming.pages.dev/blogs/theeditors/2008/02/weekly_entertainment.html https://bbcstreaming.pages.dev/blogs/theeditors/2008/02/weekly_entertainment.html Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:43:17 +0000