The MediaGuardian has made a bit of a splash with its story that the BBC is going to pay for photos or video sent in by the public.
The article talks about this is a “departure for the BBC” quoting comments by the head of News Interactive, Pete Clifton, from three weeks ago. At the time he said he did not expect to pay for content from viewers.
The new guidelines, available online, mean the BBC would consider making an appropriate payment “on very rare occasions where material is particularly editorially important or unique and depicts something of great significance.”
The change in approach has sparked a debate over whether a publicly-funded body like the BBC should be spending money on material from its audience.
I don’t see what the fuss is about. News is a competitive business and there will be times when someone has taken the must-see photo, or has captured compelling video of an event.
But the new guidelines don’t suggest to me that the BBC is going to start paying for most of the material its receives from the public. If anything, they suggest the opposite – don’t expect any money for sending the Beeb your photos or video.
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Agreed. These provisions seem to be about allowing the beeb to keep up with commercial operations, who will definitely pay for people’s snaps, and thus get the scoop.