Reporting the EU; TV Election Debates

Available for over a year

The BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 have announced a joint plan to hold three debates ahead of next year's general election. If politicians agree to take part, one debate would see Nigel Farage appearing alongside David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband. The broadcasters have written to the parties with their proposal. However, the plan has been criticised, with suggestions that negotiations will be long and tricky, and there's the possibility of legal challenges from parties who find themselves excluded. Steve Hewlett is joined by Jonathan Levy, Head of Newsgathering at Sky, who has been involved in the process; Jenni Russell, political columnist for The Times, about why the leaders' may well choose to avoid debates this time round, and Chris Birkett, from The Digital Debate, whose idea for an online-only platform is also being considered. A new report from the Reuters Institute of Journalism argues that the British media's coverage of the EU is falling short. In spite of increased column inches and headlines since the Eurozone crisis hit, the study claims mainstream papers and broadcasters still struggle to distil and dramatise the complexities of EU policy and process. Steve Hewlett hears from John Lloyd, FT columnist and co-author of the report, and discusses the challenge of enlivening EU reporting with BBC Europe Correspondent Chris Morris, and former Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie - author of the famous 1990 headline, 'Up Your Delors!'. Producer: Katy Takatsuki.