[Media-watch] Fw: Riddoch Programme

[Yvonne & Ian Brotherhood]

Dear List-members,

Thanks for the messages of support. They seem to have worked. I received a message from the Riddoch Programme's editor, Philip Wells, asking why I wanted such access. Reply is below.

Cheers,

Ian



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Yvonne & Ian Brotherhood 
To: philip.wells at bbc.co.uk 
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 1:06 PM
Subject: Riddoch Programme


Mr Wells,

Thank you for your message.

I am not requesting access to tapes of the past two years programmes. I am enquiring about what procedures are in place for people who might wish such access - my understanding was that all broadcasters are required, for legal reasons, to retain full and unedited archives of all broadcast material for a minimum period. Is this still the case ? If so, do any procedures exist whereby members of the public, researchers, academics etc, can study the material before it is destroyed or becomes inaccessible ?

You ask the reasons for my request :

1. Simple curiosity - to check whether or not such access is possible, and if so, how it works (e.g. can such archive material be requested by individuals, institutions ? Is there a fee ? Can material of interest be copied, transcribed ? etc) 

2. Want to check when certain guests were invited, and whether those invitations correlate to political developments.

3. Want to check what proportion of guests were politicians, journalists, terrorism 'experts', members of anti-war groups, soldiers' family members, other concerned individuals etc.

My interest is primarily academic, but I make no secret of the fact that I believe that several prominent pro-war voices have, for a long time, been using the Riddoch Programme as a platform for views which have become increasingly 'radical' as the war has dragged on - Jim Wylie, David Capitanchik and Eric Joyce represent a small minority view in Scotland - a fact which I'm sure is easily confirmed by scanning the reaction your programme receives whenever they appear. If a minority view on any other subject (e.g. abortion, euthanasia or similarly contentious matters) was given such a regular airing then I'm sure you would expect serious questions from listeners regarding editorial policy.

I trust the above answers your questions, and I look forward to hearing from you again.

Regards,

Ian Brotherhood

PS My previous letters were sent directly to the show - lesley at bbc.co.uk

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