Reportr.net

Following on from my post on Wednesday, expressing concerns about a study on the accountability of news websites, the researchers have amended their findings.

The original assessment by the University of Maryland’s International Center for Media and the Public Agenda gave the BBC a poor rating in transparency and openness.

I noticed that the study had analysed the website of BBC World Service radio, rather than the BBC News website.

The error was brought to the attention of the researchers by one of editors at the BBC News website. Initially the team said that they had analysed the right site, but had posted the wrong link.

Challenged on this, Susan Moeller later admitted that they had found “significant discrepancies” in the data, leading them to revise their assessment. It has also prompted them to reassess the fact checking system they had in place.

The BBC News website is now rated as excellent, third behind The Guardian and the New York Times. Ironically, considering this was a study on transparency, the ICMPA has not posted a correction note on the site, indicating that the original publication was flawed.

Technorati Tags: BBC, BBCNews.com
Site Search Tags: BBC, BBCNews.com