Reporting the Riots

Available for over a year

Rioting in London and the rest of England has dominated the news this week but how well has the media covered the story? Photographer Amy Weston, who took the defining picture of the unrest - a dramatic shot of a woman jumping from a burning building - and Sky News reporter Mark Stone reveal what its like to report from the violence and chaos of the riots. Fran Unsworth, BBC Head of Newsgathering and Roy Greenslade, Professor of Journalism, discuss the challenges for broadcasters when covering the crisis and which parts of the media have been most successful in getting the fast moving story to the public. The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced the sixty five UK cities which he believes could be pioneers for local television. But who does he expect to bid for the first local television licences and will his plans for local television be commercially viable? Steve Hewlett hears from Jeremy Hunt about his plans. Mark Dodson, the former chief executive of Manchester local TV news station Channel M, discusses whether the plans make financial sense and whether local TV could work nationwide.