The jury at the new inquests into the deaths of fans at Hillsborough has this week concluded that they played no part in the tragedy. The press coverage following the event in 1989 included damning headlines about fans' behaviour, including that they'd stolen from the dead and urinated on police. Bob Westerdale, now sports editor at the Star Newspaper in Sheffield, was working as a crime reporter on the newspaper at the time and went down to the Hillsborough stadium on that tragic day. He talks to Steve Hewlett about his coverage of the story, and how the versions of the 'truth' unravelled.
Veteran journalist and TV news anchor Sir Martyn Lewis is helping spearhead a UN backed campaign encouraging journalists to take a more 'constructive' approach to news stories. Linked to reports that indicate negative news stories can affect the psyche, the move is aimed at tackling a perceived apathy and feelings of disempowerment amongst news audiences. He joins Steve Hewlett and journalist Joan Smith to discuss whether it's the really the role of journalists to balance reporting positive and negative coverage of stories.
The BBC World Service has announced it will be moving the bulk of its London based Chinese Service to Hong Kong. The move is aimed at improving the reach and impact of the BBC in China. However, there's concern that the move risks putting the BBC's integrity and journalists safety at risk, as well as diminishing UK soft power abroad. BBC Chinese service journalist and NUJ representative Howard Zhang discusses with Liliane Landor, Controller, Languages, BBC World Service.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
