The Sky-BBC spat heats up, with Sky News chief John Ryley responding on the Sky editors’ blog. I’m delighted to see him making use of this new communication channel, incidentally: where the Beeb have got into the habit of using their Editors Blog to respond to coverage and criticism, it’s been disappointingly rare from Osterley.
It’s a curious response, in truth. Not much of a defence, certainly not a retraction, and not the credo it might have been. ‘Such editorial decisions are always difficult judgements involving a balance of moral and journalistic imperatives,’ he writes. ‘Those are things that we take very seriously at Sky News, and it is healthy that these issues should be debated.’ And..?
From there, it’s really just an anti-BBC rant. Yes, the game’s punchline was that the hostage was doomed anyway. Yes, the BBC has broadcast first and asked questions later, with unfortunate consequences. But bringing it up in this context just seems a bit petty. This is an opportunity for Sky to spell out exactly what it stands for, and exactly why it’s different to News 24. I’m not hearing it so far. And if both sides have dropped the gloves, it’s a rare chance to do so in plain, blunt terms.