As in other areas of journalistic standards, the BBC has pioneered interesting formats for providing audience participation in high quality news and current affairs debate in both radio and television. Its weekly flagship television programme Question Time is a good example. The ‘public’ contribute by putting questions to a range of panellists who represent broadly right, left and centre political positions. In McNair’s (1995: 75-6) view:
‘Here, one might argue, the liberal democratic role of broadcasting is found in its purest form, mediating between the public and the politicians, providing the former with access to raw political discourse, and providing the politicians with a channel of direct access to the people.’
The BBC has also been front-runner in adopting new technologies. The programme’s webpage invites the public to ‘join the Question Time audience’ and provides an application form.21 The general public can also participate in the debate during the programme by sending text messages, emails and most recently messages on Twitter.
The programme is also publicly available on the BBC’s online download service.
Generally, the BBC website has set a high standard for employing the new media in the cause of interaction with the public and encouraging participation. The BBC’s website devotes considerable space to user-generated content, online postings, various BBC outreach initiatives, and editors’ blogs. In the words of one informed expert: at the BBC ‘public engagement and openness are taken more seriously than ever’ (survey questionnaire response from former BBC executive, July 2010). All leading UK news media providers now have sophisticated websites and make provision for online blogs in the cause of interaction with their audiences and readerships. The Guardian has repeatedly been deemed best online newspaper at the internationally Webby awards.22
