Richard Sambrook: Transparency is the new objectivity, and the Internet is not your enemy

I came across this post by Mercedes Bunz in the Guardian about a talk given by Richard Sambrook at the Oxford Social Media Convention. Sambrook is the head of the BBC Global News Division.

On the importance of objectivity and transparency:

Objectivity, he then pointed out, had always been an idea important for the news. For him it was once designed to deliver journalism that people can trust. But in the new media age transparency is what delivers trust. He stressed that news today still has to be accurate and fair, but it is as important for the readers, listeners and viewers to see how the news is produced, where the information comes from, and how it works. The emergence of news is as important, as the delivering of the news itself.

Then on the relationship between Twitter and journalism, and between journalists and the Web in general:

You get a lot of things, when you open up Twitter in the morning, but not journalism. Journalism needs discipline, analysis, explanation and context, he pointed out, and therefore for him it is still a profession. The value that gets added with journalism is judgment, analysis and explanation – and that makes the difference. So journalism will stay – he was optimistic about that. However, journalists must understand one rule: if you believe you are in competition with the internet, find your way out. Collaboration, openness and link culture are rules, you can’t deny at the moment, he said.

Related posts:

1. Washington Post columnist on why reporters should use Twitter