BBC's
news service offers more choice and relevance on the web
Users
of the BBC's award-winning online news service will have easier
access to content more relevant to where they live, it was announced
today (Thursday 18 July).
Using
the same BBC News online material, international and UK users will
now have the choice of separate news editions with agendas relevant
to their needs.
World
Edition
International
visitors to the BBC's news services on the web will be able to choose
a new publicly-funded World Edition at BBCNews.com from Tuesday
23 July.
It
will feature news and analysis emphasising a global news agenda.
BBCNews.com
will also offer easier access to international coverage of sport,
arts, science and technology, as well as the BBC World Service's
site which features text and audio in 43 languages.
The
cost of providing a news agenda more relevant to international users
is being met entirely from the BBC World Service's grant-in-aid
from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
Costs
for the supply of BBC News to the BBC World Service are already
met through grant-in-aid. The incremental cost is modest as no new
editorial content is being created.
UK
Edition
Users
in the UK will be able to choose a UK edition through BBCi, including
- as now - full world coverage, but giving greater prominence to
UK stories and features at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news.
The
same news reporting will be available to all users - the difference
is in the way in which it is presented for each audience.
Both
public service gateways will be free of advertising and give access
to all the web content produced by the BBC.
All
users of the BBC News site (either from the UK or abroad) will be
given the choice of direct access to their preferred edition - either
international or UK - from Tuesday 23 July.
They
will be automatically directed there on subsequent visits. Users
have the option to change their preference at any time. Regular
users will be alerted to the change over the next few days.
Mark
Byford, Director of the BBC World Service & Global News, said:
"This is a timely innovation, especially at a time when the
global appetite for international news and analysis has increased.
"Web
users will still find the same commitment to impartial, authoritative
and editorially independent journalism they expect from the BBC.
"But
now they will be able to find the stories most relevant to them
with greater ease."
Richard
Deverell, Head of New Media, said: "Users of the UK edition
through BBCi will still find all the international stories, features
and background for which BBC News is famous.
"But
they will also find that greater prominence is also given to regional
news in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"The
changes should provide all our users with the news they want even
more quickly and effectively."
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