‘Sometimes it’s impossible to stay totally objective, as the tsunami showed’ (Independent)

As much as I respect what Sky News were doing for their audience, it does seem strange for a reported who was in Phuket to defend editorial decisions that were, presumably, taken at HQ in London.

The head of BBC News 24, Rachel Attwell, said that Sky News concentrated its effort in Thailand because it is where the tourists were missing. It’s true that Sky had two full teams and satellite systems in Thailand, but given that it was the scene of the largest number of British deaths in peacetime since the Second World War, the move was perhaps understandable.

I think it was wrong for Rachel Attwell to go after Sky on this one. Sky have a different audience who want different, arguably parochial, coverage. And Sky do very well providing it. If these two different news channels could just concentrate on their audiences and stop the bitching, perhaps both of them would improve.