BBC News Online

• Impartiality


  Central to the BBC's public service to audiences, applies to all of its output including news, online news, and radio
• BBC News coverage


  • Inclusive and reflects a wide range of views, balanced and fair
• BBC News Online is a global news gathering organisation with a global audience of 347 million
• The online consumption of digital news has been steadily increasing, with two thirds of adults reading or downloading news content
• Online news media is now the second most popular source of news information in the UK after television
• Older audiences are more likely to turn to reputable news sources due to concerns about misinformation
• Traditional news sources are generally considered to be most trustworthy
• In 2021, BBC News Online was the most popular news brand in the UK, with 46% of people stating that they accessed it for news information every week during February 2021
• Younger people are still more likely to encounter news stories via social media initially, rather than going straight to a branded news app or website and many are less trusting of the BBC
• BBC News Online

  • Has a responsive web design that adjusts to accommodate different screen sizes, allows for access across a range of devices
  • Allows for live streaming of the BBC News television channel
  • Has embedded audio and visual news
  • All BBC News stories are archived
  • Features and analysis allow for in-depth stories
  • Has links to local news
  • Headlines appear in order of most recently published
  • News can be personalised via the BBC News app
  • News can be shared by email, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp
• On the morning of Monday February 20th the finding of a body in relation to the Nicola Bulley case was top news on the bbc online website
• The headline was "Nicola Bulley: Missing woman's partner says family in agony' after body found"
• The story was illustrated with three large pictures creating a linear narrative that reflected the timeline of events
• The use of language and imagery was not overly melodramatic and reflects the need of the BBC to be seen as a reliable and unbiased provider of factual and accurate news
• The mode of address of the article was formal and serious and the house style was similar to the tone taken on news broadcasts and The Today programme
• The factual story is interrupted by an opinion piece, referred to as analysis by the BBC's Home Editor
• The tone of the analysis is reserved and serious but the piece asks questions of the police handling of the case
• The journalist uses a questioning technique that implies that police did not follow proper procedures in the case without openly saying it
• As the nation's most trusted broadcaster the BBC must tread a fine line between uncovering possible wrongdoing while not undermining public faith in institutions like the police
• There are no opportunities for audiences to leave comments, likely due to the BBC's strict rules for self-regulating content and the need to adhere to extremely high standards as the UK's most high-profile media organisation
• The page also includes two infographic maps and links to other aspects of the story, suggesting that the way the BBC cover news stories online is more traditional and less innovative than other online news outlets