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News Xchange 2005
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Do you know how many rolling news channels are on air or in the pipeline in the world right now?
Do you wonder which new tricks "dish monkeys" are up to? Are you aware that French broadcast media
applied self-censorship in their reporting of the riots in the country? Can you tell if viewwers expect
equal editorial standards on regular and rolling news channels from the same broadcasting organization?
If you don't, you didn't attend the fourth News Xchange conference in Amsterdam on 10-11 November.
News Xchange, the conference "for broadcasters by broadcasters" which this year attracted nearly 500 professionals
from the TV and news gathering industries from over 50 countries, touched upon all these issues and many more.
Delegates heard that 25 years after CNN went on air there are now some 75 rolling news channels worldwide, with at
least half a dozen more to start shortly or next year in Venezuela, Russia, India, Africa, France and elsewhere.
This explosion in the number of channels with their continuous need for breaking news stories and permanent coverage
means the proliferation of "dish monkeys", journalists tied to their satellite dishes to feed constant updates and
background (often fed to them by their own station in the first place).
Jean-Claude Dassier, the director general of the French rolling news channel LCI, told participants to the conference
that his decision not to show more footage of burning cars was partly motivated by political reasons.
"Politics in France is heading to the right and I don't want rightwing politicians back in second, or even first
place because we showed burning cars on television," he said.
The public's perception of editorial standards may differ as regards rolling news and main stream channels, Helen Boaden,
director of BBC News, noted. "Audiences expect a very high level of accuracy [in the major bulletins] and are very
unforgiving if we get things wrong. But with 24-hour news people understand that stories unfold and change.
As long as we are trying as hard as humanly possible to get it right, they are happy," she said.
Every year News Xchange gives the opportunity to broadcasters and other media professionals from around the
world to exchange ideas and experiences and to debate some burning issues such as, this year, the impact of
new technolgies on editorial policies, the coverage of China, the portrayal of Arab and Muslim people in
the western media and the safety of journalists working in zones of conflicts.
For full coverage of News Xchange 2005, we recommend viewing the following websites:
Richard Sambrook, BBC's Director of Gobal News, Blogs News Xchange 2005:
http://newsxchange05.blogspot.com/ (Link is no longer working)
Follow the Media.com:
http://www.followthemedia.com/writeon/newsx14112005.htm. (Link is no longer working)
Media Guardian:
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/links/0,7493,1648108,00.html
Mediachannel.org:
http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/1853
UK Press Gazette:
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/
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About News Xchange
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The News Xchange has been created to provide broadcast news organizations around the world with a
first-class not-for-profit conference that is both affordable and of relevance to broadcasters around the world.
Underwritten by Eurovision, the conference has received the support of the 70 members of the EBU's
Eurovision News Exchange and the 29 members of European News Exchange (ENEX), the co-operative of
commercial broadcasters. In addition, we are supported by the major international broadcast news agencies and networks.
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2005 Sponsors
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2005 Host Broadcaster
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Platinum Members
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Media Partners
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