A recording of the 55-minute meeting, during which editors and correspondents discuss developing global stories across the BBC's TV, radio and online properties, is available on the BBC's website. The meeting has clearly been reshaped for a public audience; the course of the meeting is narrated, and each of the speakers are introduced in turn. Listeners were invited to chime in with their comments on Twitter using the hashtag #BBCWS80.
Although the broadcast was largely self-promotional, it also forms part of a widening effort to increase transparency in the newsroom.
In May of last year, for example, The Atlantic Wire opened up its editing room to the public in a two-week experiment. Readers were invited to pitch stories and give feedback on existing articles, as well as observe the pitching and editing process between full-time staff.
The Guardian launched a similar initiative in October 2011. The newspaper continues to maintain a live schedule of upcoming web and sports stories on its website. The assigned reporter’s name and a link to his or her Twitter handle is listed alongside a short description of each story. Readers are encouraged to contribute by contacting the assigned reporters.
The move toward transparency has undoubtedly been accelerated by public outrage over the phone-hacking transgressions of several News International papers. Tell us: Are you interested in learning more about the inner workings of news organizations? And are those organizations going about it the right way?