Why BBC Scotland must take the chance to change

AST year, in the light of increased devolution, the director general of the BBC Tony Hall ordered a review of the corporation’s news coverage in Scotland, including the idea of a dedicated Scottish Six O’Clock News. Whatever happened, he said, changes would be made to create a stronger BBC Scotland and it seemed like recognition that when a country changes profoundly, its institutions must change too.

So if, as expected, Tony Hall tells MSPs on Thursday that there will be no Scottish Six, it will be a frustrating and disappointing end to the process and a lost opportunity to fix a system that has not been fit for purpose for some time. Currently, the network news is shown from London at 6pm with Reporting Scotland following at 6.30pm, but increased devolution means the 6pm programme can often lead with stories that have no bearing on Scotland, particularly if they are about education or health. There is also very little scope to present a major UK story from a Scottish perspective.

A new 6pm programme with BBC Scotland deciding the running order made up of Scottish, UK and international news stories was the obvious solution, although it would not have been free of problems. The corporation would have needed to keep a close watch on the costs for example, and the producers of a Scottish Six would have to ensure that it was as outward looking as possible. The consumers of news in Scotland do not want parochial, but they do want news that reflects the country they live in.

It may be that, in rejecting a Scottish Six, the BBC has opted for a revamped Reporting Scotland or a hybrid with a Scottish anchor presenting Scottish items before crossing to the London studios for UK and international news.

However, neither of these options are satisfactory and risk giving the impression that, rather than recognising that devolution affects how news is covered, the BBC still thinks the “big” stories should be covered by London and that things can pretty much carry on as they are. The reality is that Scotland has changed. The BBC should change too.