SCOTLAND’s leading historian Sir Tom Devine has backed a proposal for a BBC’s Scottish Six television news programme.
He is the most senior figure to speak in favour of the plan which has been attacked by Unionists, including the former Tory MP and Scottish Secretary Lord Forsyth.
“I support it in principle. I think a nation should have its own main news,” he told The National.
Sir Tom rebutted critics who insisted a Scottish Six would be “parochial” and “introspective” arguing instead a dedicated main television news broadcast for Scotland would counter such risks as big international and UK stories would be covered alongside major events happening north of the Border.
He said the current BBC arrangement for “national” and “regional” news bulletins led to the current situation where the main stories of the day were covered in the London-produced news programmes with the Scottish produced regional ones left with the less important stories.
“If you don’t have a national news emanating from Scotland then the only alternative of getting news about the country is through a regional news programme where you end up in a limbo of parochialism,” he said.
“All the major stories of the day have been covered on the network programme with the regional programme covering the less important stories and trivia. I believe having a national Scottish news would prevent the danger of parochialism and introspection.
“There would be an editorial judgement about what was the biggest story of the day – whether that was an international or a UK story or a Scottish story.”
He insisted a future Scottish Six must be of the highest quality, well resourced, able to attract the best journalists and with excellent links and ability to get coverage from the corporation’s foreign correspondents.
“There’s got to be a substantial injection of resources. By that I’m not suggesting in any way people from the south should be parachuted in. There’s got to be an increase in resources to allow the staff to operate at a high level and there’s also got to be secure connections to the wider BBC output, particularly in terms of world news,” he explained.
He said the high standard of Scottish journalism meant a Scottish Six could be delivered to a high quality so long as proper resources were in place.
Citing the former Today presenter Jim Naughtie and the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg as Scots journalists who had excelled at network level, he insisted Scots journalists could deliver a quality programme.
“It’s not so long ago that journalists in the south were complaining about the Scottish dominance in the BBC and a form of media Scoto-phobia developed – that you had to be a Scot to get ahead,” he said.
“There is no problem about the quality of (Scottish journalists) you just have to make sure that the hiring policy is such and salaries are such that you get the best. The other thing about this is potential development is that it can’t be allowed to fail. It can’t be allowed to produce parochial mediocrity. It’s got to be the highest possible quality.”
Sir Tom spoke out after plans for a Scottish Six news bulletin were criticised by Lord Forsyth earlier this week as paving the way for a ‘descent into inward-looking parochialism’.
The plan is being considered by the BBC following criticism of anti independence bias by senior SNP figures, including the former first minister Alex Salmond, of how the corporation covered the 2014 referendum campaign.
The corporation was also flooded with complaints from Yes supporters over its coverage of the arguments backing Scottish self-determination.
Earlier this week Blair Jenkins, former head of news and current affairs at BBC Scotland and former head of the Yes Scotland campaign, said the Scottish Six ‘has been a good idea for 20 years’.
He added: ‘I can’t get too excited about it because it has been talked about for so long and I feel, “just get on and do it”.
“But if BBC Scotland are now going to do it, they are going to have to be tough. They are going to have to be determined, because there will be a substantial campaign to kick it to death. It’s going to come under sustained assault.’
A BBC spokesman said last night: “We are still in the middle of a review into our Scottish news provision. No decisions have yet been reached.”
The National View: No real argument stands up against a BBC Scottish Six
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