Television: Rules of Coverage

Written evidence submitted by ITN (TV 02)

ITN fully supports this review and the detailed consideration that your committee will be undertaking of this important issue. It is now 23 years since TV cameras were first introduced into Parliament. We believe that those reforms - and the subsequent changes to them – have made Parliament more transparent and have improved the democratic process immeasurably. It is worth noting in this context that the most recent survey on this subject found that two thirds of MPs believe that televising Parliament has made it more transparent. Furthermore, 93% thought that a Parliament closed off to television would now be unthinkable (BBC Parliament, Com Res Survey in 2009).

Fears that were expressed over two decades ago have clearly not materialised, and this progress provides a good foundation for the rules to be developed further with the goal of opening up parliamentary democracy on television even more. It is our firm belief that the more open Parliament is, the more we will be able to encourage public engagement, widen understanding of parliamentary processes and improve transparency.

1. BACKGROUND

ITN is the UK’s biggest independent producer of public service broadcast news. The news services we produce for our main customers - ITV and Channel 4 - reach nearly 10 million people every day. ITN will also resume news provision for Channel 5 later this month, meaning we will again supply all three main commercial PSB broadcasters in the UK. We therefore play a crucial role as the BBC’s main competitor in the provision of high quality, impartial news, reaching a diverse cross-section of the British population.

ITN's award-winning journalism is also watched by millions more viewers worldwide, through global partnerships with outlets such as Reuters, CNN and NBC, and platforms including Livestation, YouTube and MSN.

As well as providing high-quality, trusted broadcast news output, ITN operates three other divisions: footage sales arm ITN Source; video creation business ITN Productions; and advisory services from ITN Consulting.

ITN has four shareholders: ITV plc (40%), Daily Mail and General Trust (20%), Reuters (20%) and United Business Media (20%).

All of our news services use – to differing degrees – footage from Parliament. Use of Parliamentary footage is at the editorial discretion of each news service, and current rules mean that the material we use most often in our reports comes from the main Chamber. We frequently use sound bites from exchanges at PMQs and high profile Commons statements and debates of national interest. We use the footage as pictures to illustrate major Commons events such as Budget Day, or particularly dramatic debates where the story is very much about what occurred in the Chamber. We try to avoid using shots of "green benches" as "wallpaper" to illustrate our news reports, as that can be off-putting for viewers and often does not help illustrate or explain the issue being debated. We do however use a considerable amount of Committee material on Channel 4 News, but it is very rare for any of our news services to use footage from Westminster Hall.

2. ISSUES WITH THE CURRENT RULES

Significant progress has been made since the first television cameras entered the House of Commons in 1989, and we welcome the fact that we are now able to use a greater variety of shots than in the past. However we believe there are several issues with the present rules which hamper our ability to reflect the widest possible activity in The Chamber, Westminster Hall and Committees. Our viewers are hungry for variety and insight, and we believe that the current rules prevent us from reflecting the full range of work that elected representatives are conducting on our behalf.

2.1. Style and presentation and special camera techniques

The current rules set out quite a prescriptive list of rules for the director (at 2(b) and 2(c)) concerning style and presentation and special camera techniques. These rules restrict our ability to capture the atmosphere of the Chamber and restrict us in the filming of reaction shots, thus curtailing our ability to provide an interesting view of proceedings that our viewers are more likely to engage with.

We would suggest that it is possible to keep the general principles of providing a "full, balanced, fair and accurate account of proceedings" without having such strict rules. Indeed, the conventional "grammar" of television news would mean that MPs would still normally be filmed in mid-shot, and would be in vision for most of the time when they are speaking. The overarching result of relaxing these rules would be to give the director more flexibility to provide a more natural view of the proceedings.

2.2. Camera positions

At present our camera positions in the Chamber, Westminster Hall and the Committees are limited to high angle shots, looking down on MPs’ heads. This creates a distance between the viewer and what is happening in real time and mitigates against capturing the intimacy of the chamber, which is particularly important when filming the front bench. The current shots match badly and do not run smoothly with the TV news footage that appears in the rest of our broadcasts. This means we are much less likely to use sound bites from speeches in the Chamber.

We therefore recommend that the Committee consider having cameras at a lower level in the Chamber, Westminster Hall and the Committees. Eye level shots would make the resultant coverage less remote and more engaging for viewers and provide a better indication of the atmosphere in Parliament. Essentially it would mean we would be more likely to use the footage in our broadcasts.

2.3. Restriction on filming galleries

The Specific Guideline for Picture Direction 2(a)(i) prohibits us from filming shots of particular visitors in the Galleries. This impacts on our coverage of Parliament, as occasionally a notable guest to the Chamber is referred to, or even welcomed to the Chamber at PMQs or during a significant debate. Without a cutaway shot of that person, it is much less likely that the remark will be used in news bulletins.

Our recommendation would thus be for the Committee to consider changing rule 2(a)(i), to allow shots of particular visitors in the Galleries, perhaps with a specified time limit on how long the shot can last or and how many times the shot can be shown.

2.4. Divisions

The Specific Guideline for Picture Direction 2(a)(iii) says that during divisions a wide angle shot of the chamber may be used. Divisions are sometimes exceptionally newsworthy and it would significantly improve the news coverage if the director was allowed to use a variety of shots from the Chamber during divisions, showing MPs going into the Lobbies to vote and to broadcast sound from the Chamber.

We would therefore suggest that the Committee consider relaxing the rule 2(a)(iii) to allow for a much more interesting and engaging broadcast for viewing audiences.

2.5. Westminster Hall and interviewing MPs

Our ability to conduct interviews with MPs on the Westminster estate has traditionally been limited, hampering our ability to capture the views of parliamentarians as news is breaking. Exacerbating this - as the tuition fees riots showed - there are occasions when access to MPs has been severely restricted for security reasons. Furthermore, even when no security risks stand, MPs are often reluctant to head to Palace Green or Millbank. This has significantly hindered our ability to gather breaking news stories and engage with a wider variety of politicians who are keen to comment but unable to commit the time (or indeed simply want to avoid adverse weather conditions).

Accordingly, we welcome the Committee’s recent decision to allow extra interview points in Westminster Hall and the Lower Waiting Hall. Going forward, we would also propose a reserved position for accredited broadcasters in Westminster Hall where broadcasters can turn up and interview MPs without the need to obtain permission in advance.

2.6. Committees

Since Bowtie is limited in the number of committees it can film and sometimes a committee which is not being covered live becomes newsworthy, we would ask for the ability to film and broadcast those events held in House of Commons committee rooms which are not already being covered by Bowtie. We would also recommend the flexibility for broadcasters to be able to film such committees at relatively short notice in order to give us more opportunity to cover MPs in their own environment.

3. WIDER CONCERNS

As the Committee may know, discussions took place between the Sergeant at Arms and broadcasters at the end of last year about broadcasting in the Commons in general. Without going into detail here - because strictly speaking this falls outside of the remits of this review - we arrived at a number of recommendations that we believe will contribute towards the goal of opening up access to Parliament. These recommendations include measures to show - and speak to - MPs in as wide a way as possible, suggesting more camera positions in the Palace where we can interview MPs and for instance on special parliamentary occasions or crucial votes, a pool camera to be able to capture the atmosphere in areas such as Portcullis House Atrium, Committee Corridor and the Colonnade.

However, there is one important administrative issue that we believe does fall within the remit of this review: the process we have to go through to obtain permission to film. It is our strong recommendation that the Committee amends the rules to ensure there is only one point of contact that broadcasters can liaise with to obtain permissions to film.

4. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

In summary, there are several recommendations we would like the Committee to consider as part of its review:

· Relax rules concerning picture direction for the director in the Chamber at 2(b) and 2(c) to be replaced by application of the general principle of providing a "full, balanced, fair and accurate account of proceedings."

· Allow lower level camera angles in the Chamber, Westminster Hall and the Committees.

· Change rule 2(a)(i) to permit shots of particular visitors in the Galleries of the Chamber.

· Relax the rules restricting filming certain parts of the Chamber during divisions at 2(a)(iii) to allow for a variety of shots to be used.

· Introduce a reserved position for accredited broadcasters in Westminster Hall to allow for interviews with MPs without the need to obtain permission in advance.

· Introduce one point of contact for obtaining permissions to film.

I hope this brief summary of our recommendations is helpful to the committee in the initial stages of its inquiry.

February 2012