Several people I'm aware of complained about BBC Christmas Day news coverage. I was not amongst the complainants, but did ask Robert Pigott for his views about how the Archbishop of Westminster's Christmas Message was dealt with. I contacted Robert on 29th December 2012, providing him with a transcript of the first news report at 1pm - the report about the Archbishop of Westminster's "Christmas Message."

Here is the substantive part of my email to Mr Pigott -

I've been reviewing the BBC's Christmas Day news reports, and wonder if you can help me with one or two queries.

The BBC news at 1pm on Christmas afternoon was introduced by Chris Eakin.

Chris Eakin: The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has used his Christmas Message to make his most outspoken attack yet on the Government's proposals to introduce gay marriage. The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, said the process had been undemocratic and shambolic. Our Religious Affairs Correspondent, Robert Pigott, reports.

Robert Pigott: (strains of 'Once In Royal David's City') With carols, candles and Holy Communion, Roman Catholics at Westminster Cathedral heralded the coming of Christmas. The Church's leader in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols told them that Christmas was a reminder that human lives could be raised to an entirely new realm. But Archbishop Nichols claimed that this Christmas the Christian ideal of marriage was under threat. He accused the Government of behaving in an Orwellian fashion, and using undemocratic means to create a new sham version of marriage.

Viewers then saw Vincent Nichols (not in the main body of the Cathedral) say the following: "Frankly the process is shambolic. There was no announcement in any party manifesto. There's been no Green Paper, there's been no statement in the Queen's Speech. And yet here we are, on the verge of primary legislation. From a democratic point of view it's a shambles."

After that you were shown speaking to camera (apparently as people were just leaving the Cathedral)

Robert Pigott: This was Archbishop Nichols' strongest attack yet on the Government's plans for gay marriage. There was real anger in his passionate criticism of the Government's plans, and a call to Catholics to join the political struggle against them. ......

Now, I'm not entirely clear that what the BBC reported the Archbishop as saying in his Christmas Message was indeed said to congregants at a service in Westminster Cathedral . Please could you clarify that point?

The other thing I'd like to know, relating to the above question, is precisely how the interview with Archbishop Nichols came about?

I look forward to hearing from you, and would appreciate it if you could treat this as an urgent request. Thank you.

I sent a reminder to Mr Pigott on 7th January and then again on 9th January. But instead of a reply from Mr Pigott there came a response from the BBC's complaints department, which you can read in my blog last Monday.

The complaints department, as you will see, draws attention to what it says is the difference between Vincent Nichols' "Christmas message" and his "homily." The BBC said "There is a clear distinction between the two."

However if you check the actual words used by Mr Pigott, you will appreciate that he never used the word "homily" in the context of this report. So it seems the BBC is trying to pull the wool over people's eyes. Furthermore, the BBC has still not explained exactly how the interview came about and, until such time as they do, it would be reasonable in all the circumstances to assume collusion between the Corporation and the Roman Catholic Church.

Next Friday, 25th January 2013 will, it seems, be one of those exceptional occasions when a CBBC drama portrays anyone who is romantically attracted to another person of the same sex. Episode 5 of The Dumping Ground: "What Would Gus Want?" is to be broadcast at 5pm, and then repeated at the weekend. (see blogs on 2nd and 3rd January 2013)

The Director of BBC Children's spoke about the 'mission' of CBBC at a conference last September. Here is part of what he had to say -

Joe Godwin: Our vision - actually more specifically our mission - is to create unforgettable content to inspire all children across the UK ... It's on everything we do, it's on all the noticeboards around the building. And I'll explain what that means. I know 'Mission Statement' has got a bit of a bad reputation as being something somebody came up with when they hadn't got enough work to do. But this has some purpose: It's to remind us why CBBC and CBeebies need to be different from all those other children's channels.

Joe Godwin: 'Unforgettable' is about ... the power of high quality children's television to stay with children for their entire lives. That's why we will be talking about things from our childhood later. Because at its very best, it can inspire you to think differently, to do things differently, and create memories and stories and associations that stay with you forever. So 'unforgettable' is about quality.

Joe Godwin: 'Inspire' is because I want most of our content, as much as possible, to have a purpose to it. Again this is about why the BBC's children's channels are different to all the others. It has a purpose - and that purpose could be to inspire you to think about something. It could be to inspire you to do something, it could inspire you to admire somebody, it could inspire you to change the way you behave to people. ...

In February 2012 Mr Godwin suggested that The 4 O'Clock Club was one of the unforgettable programmes that kids would be talking about to their own kids in thirty years' time.

Teacher Mr Thorne greets his colleague, Miss Poppy
from The 4 O'Clock Club (18/1/2013)

The British Broadcasting Corporation is well aware that the term "homosexual" can cause offence. Even as long ago as 1996 Producers' guidelines were advising that "gay" and "lesbian" should be used in preference.

"Homosexual" is, however, the word of choice for those who do not believe in equal rights. Google phrases such as "homosexual rights" and "homosexual marriage" and you'll see that most of the results yield web pages with anti-gay sentiments.

So, bearing this in mind, why we are still hearing the word on the BBC news channel? It was repeatedly used during yesterday's BBC news reports about the ECHR rulings. And, more to the point, why was the word used by the BBC's gay employees?



BBC news on Tuesday 15/1/2013 at 11am
The Corporation is reputed to employ proportionately more gay people than in the general population. I'm not sure it is true, but that was the stated belief of BBC journalist Andrew Marr in "From Seesaw to Wagon Wheel" - Safeguarding Impartiality in the 21st Century.

In my view that would also explain the BBC's decision to emphasise the single Christian victory in the European Court of Human Rights, and play down the losses by the two Christians who believed they had a (presumably God-given) right to discriminate against anyone who doesn't think and behave in exactly the same way as themselves.

It is interesting to check out BBC news from July 2008, when a vast amount of airtime was devoted to reporting "devout Christian" Ms Lillian Ladele's victory in her industrial tribunal. Here is just one such report.

Newsround's coverage at 4.20pm and at 6.50pm completely avoided mentioning tho two cases relating to anti-gay discrimination, as did Newsround's web write-up. One could easily be forgiven for suspecting the BBC, and most especially its Children's Department, does not respect all people equally.

Out of the blue received an email shortly after midnight (00.18am) It was sent from bbc_complaints_website@bbc.co.uk - Case number CAS-1864515-KWGH47

Thank you for contacting us. Robert Pigott has passed on to us for a response.

The cue to Robert's piece referred to Archbishop Vincent Nichols' "Christmas message", not to his homily. There is a clear distinction between the two.

Robert's script said correctly that Archbishop Nichols had used his homily to warn that the Christian ideal of marriage was under threat. In fact, the archbishop specified that the government itself was itself the cause of this threat.

His report then switched to what was clearly a television interview, and not the homily, in which Archbishop Nichols described the government's actions as "shambolic" and explained why he felt the process of introducing gay marriage had been undemocratic. Robert's address to the camera also clearly referred to the interview and not the homily.

The interview was carried out shortly before Midnight Mass solely to provide material for the BBC's coverage of Christmas messages on Christmas Day, as is our usual practice. The questioning was prompted - by agreement with his staff - by the reference in the homily to marriage and the alleged threat to it by the government. Its use in that way was entirely clear to, and intended by, Archbishop Nichols. It did, therefore, constitute a Christmas message, as distinct from his homily, to Roman Catholics.

We hope that addresses your concerns.

More about this development in a future blog

Emily Maitlis and her friends don't 'get' marriage equality -

Dancing on Ice starts this evening on ITV1 (6.15pm) and, according to Newsround's website, the twelve celebrities taking part in this series will include Gareth Thomas:-

Welsh rugby player Gareth played more times for his country than anyone else. The former Welsh captain hit the headlines in 2009 when he revealed he was gay. Now a movie's being made about his life.

It is true that Gareth "hit the headlines" in 2009, when he came out as gay. However I can confirm that the news was, at that time, kept well away from Newsround viewers. The rest of the BBC, however, was very keen to make Gareth's 'coming out' into a huge story. You see, a few days earlier the Corporation had attracted the ire of millions for publishing a web 'debate' entitled "Should homosexuals face execution?"

But they can always rely on their loyal gay staff to help out in difficult times. So not only did we see countless BBC interviews with Gareth Thomas, but we also saw newsreader Jane Hill 'out' herself as a lesbian in BBC staff magazine, Ariel. The story was then widely reported in the UK press.

If all these efforts were supposed to pull the wool over people's eyes to prove the BBC is a diverse-friendly organisation, the truth was revealed, once again, on Christmas Day 2012 when the Catholic Church was given free rein to spout their anti-equality message, without even the pretence of balance.

Yesterday's news reports about CofE and gay bishops on the main terrestrial TV channels -


BBC News at Six (lead story)

Fiona Bruce: The Church of England agrees for the first time to allow gay men to become bishops. Even those in a civil partnership will be eligible. While welcomed by some, the move is already proving controversial.

Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham: I think it's good news for clergy who are in civil partnerships, who are now able to become bishops.

Prebendary Rod Thomas: It will be much more divisive than what we have seen over women bishops. If you thought that that was a furore, wait to see what will happen the first time a bishop in a civil partnership is appointed.

Fiona Bruce: Also on tonight's programme ....

Fiona Bruce: Good evening, and welcome to the BBC News at Six. The Church of England is, for the first time, to allow gay men to become bishops, but only on condition they remain celibate and repent for any homosexual relations in the past. The move is likely to prove divisive with traditionalist Anglicans. And for women, the ban on becoming a bishop remains. Here's our Religious Affairs correspondent, Robert Pigott.

Robert Pigott: This is a church under pressure, divided about fundamental issues and under attack from a secularising society. In recent months it's been battered by a series of events, leaving it increasingly isolated from mainstream life. In November Anglicans were locked in bitter recriminations as their attempt to introduce women bishops ended in failure. (short clip of Maria Miller speaking in the Commons) Last month the Government exempted the church from presiding over future gay marriages, prompting anger among progressive Anglicans. That followed the collapse of an attempt to create agreement in the worldwide Anglican Communion about how to approach homosexuality.

Robert Pigott: The bitter dispute about homosexuality in the church began with the appointment of the cleric, Jeffrey John, as Bishop of Reading. He stood down, but the issue led to a steadily deepening rift in the church. Attention surrounding the dispute gives the decision by Anglican bishops all the more significance. There's been an angry reaction from conservative evangelicals. They've said that they will bring in their own bishops from overseas rather than serve under a gay bishop at home.

Prebendary Rod Thomas: It will be much more divisive than what we have seen over women bishops. If you thought that that was a furore, wait to see what will happen the first time a bishop in a civil partnership is appointed.

Robert Pigott: The church says future bishops in civil partnerships must acknowledge any active homosexuality in the past, and repent of it and promise to be celibate in future. Progressive Anglicans say the church's concession is partly an acceptance that it's far adrift of mainstream attitudes to homosexuality.

Bishop of Buckingham: I think it is a problem for a national church if it falls out of step with the moral instincts of a large number of people in the country, who are very committed to equality and to treating people fairly, and feel that perhaps our conventional practice has not been fair or just or moral.

Robert Pigott: Progressive Anglicans say the concession represents only a small step towards sexual equality in the church. But given the tension surrounding sexuality in the Church of England, it's also a very symbolic one and will lead to further angry division among Anglicans.

Fiona Bruce: Well Robert joins me now. Robert, this is clearly going to be controversial. And these rules about gay bishops having to be celibate - I mean how is that enforceable?

Robert Pigott speaking to Fiona Bruce - BBC News at Six (4th Jan 2013)

Robert Pigott: Well in a sense it's not, Fiona. In one way it is. That is if clergy are going to be asked not to teach that active homosexual sex is OK - so that could be monitored. But how can the church possibly tell whether they're going to keep a promise to remain celibate? Several clergy who've been in civil partnerships have frankly refused to make such a promise, and have made a great show of not doing so. And certainly Jeffrey John - the person who set all this off in a sense - he refused to acknowledge whether he'd had any past homosexual acts. And certainly refused to repent of them as the rules suggest. But in a way the church is in a very difficult position. It's very aware of being isolated and on a limb, separate from society. And I think they also worry that possibly the way they treated Jeffrey John when he went for a job as Bishop of Southwark, and decided that he couldn't be appointed because of his homosexual past, possibly because of his civil partnership, they decided that they might be on very dodgy ground as far as employment law was concerned. So I think the church is very nervous. That's why it's preempted a study set up specially to look at this problem of civil partnerships. The report hasn't yet come out. But the House of Bishops has come up with this decision anyway. So I think that suggests quite a lot of anxiety.

Fiona Bruce: OK, thanks very much.


         

ITV News at 6.30pm (third story after man with hand transplant and news that girl who was targeted by the Taliban is out of hospital)

Alastair Stewart: .... The Church of England says 'yes' to gay bishops. But serious divisions remain.  .....

Alastair Stewart: The toxic issue of homosexuality for the Church of England was re-ignited tonight after the Church dropped its opposition to gay men in civil partnerships becoming bishops. They must remain celibate, but evangelical Christians are still threatening to fight the significant change of policy in the General Synod. Neil Connery has our report.

Neil Connery: The Church of England will soon see Justin Welby take over as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. But at the start of this new year the age-old issues of sexuality and faith remain a source of strife. Today the church announced it will allow gay clergy in civil partnerships to become bishops if they promise to be celibate. The move follows similar practices in place for those wanting to become clergy. Vicar Gareth Jones welcomed the move as a sign that the church was in touch with modern society. 

Gareth Jones: I think it's a positive reflection on a church which is seeking to be more transparent. It's not really a hidden matter that we have gay men and women within the church. We always have done. I've often said to my congregation here that if it wasn't for our gay clergy the church would collapse. 

Neil Connery: The issue has split the church for many years, and was highlighted in 2003 in a row over gay cleric Jeffrey John becoming Bishop of Reading. He was forced to step down from the role after protests from traditionalists. 

Neil Connery: The news today follows the church's decision in November not to allow women to become bishops, and the ongoing tensions over gay marriage.

Peter Tatchell: The caveat that they must be in celibate relationships strikes me as grossly unfair.

Neil Connery: This decision by the Church of England's House of Bishops to allow gay clergy to become bishops if they promise to be celibate represents a major concession. But conservative evangelical Anglicans have already said they'll fight the move. Neil Connery, ITV News, Lambeth Palace.

Note that the ITV News at 10.15pm was very similar to above 6.30pm report, but was then shown as the fourth story.

Channel 4 News (7pm - second story)

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: The Church of England is to allow gay clergymen to become bishops, so long as they promise to remain celibate. It's a question that has divided the church for decade at least, and comes amid the ongoing row about gay marriage. Let's go live now to Lambeth Palace and our correspondent Simon Israel.

Simon Israel: Yes, Krishnan, well this about-face decision has emerged, yet it was in a press release back last year, just before Christmas that it was actually announced. It's only just caught the attention of everybody today. But, in effect, the House of Bishops has decided that any male member of the clergy in a gay partnership can now apply to be a bishop. And that is something that tonight a statement from Lambeth Palace made clear. And I'll read that "The House [of Bishops] believed it would be unjust to exclude from consideration for the episcopate anyone seeking to live fully in conformity with the church's teachings on sexual ethics or other areas of personal life and discipline." Well this is hardly a sudden U-turn, more a snail's pace transition from the days going back a decade to 2003 when, you may remember, Jeffrey John had to withdraw as Bishop of Reading under pressure from the Archbishop of Canterbury then, Doctor Rowan Williams. Well, today, the decision has been welcomed by some members of the clergy.

Father Gareth Jones (Vicar of Great Ilford): Personally speaking I think it's a positive step - and it's a step towards greater transparency within the church. You know, it's no surprise to a lot of people that, like in society, we have gay men and women and straight men and women, so we do within the church.

Simon Israel: So, another attempt to bring the church into the modern era. And so soon after the Synod turned the plan to introduce women bishops into an embarrassing failure to embrace equality. And I suspect that this decision on gay bishops is also going to have a rough ride. Already some of the traditionalists are talking about it being a divisive decision. And I quote from a particular organisation, Reform, tonight that said "if the church doesn't stick to the authority of the Bible, it is difficult to see what the church is in business of doing."

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Simon Israel at Lambeth Palace.


BBC News at Ten (lead story - see clip below)

I contacted the Corporation on 11th December 2012 to ask about any diversity advances in children's programmes.

My email -

A few days ago the Member of Parliament for Monmouth, David Davies, said he believed "most parents would prefer their children not to be gay." 

Whether or not David Davies is right, the prevalence of prejudiced attitudes on the part of parents is quite troubling. So I was wondering what BBC Children's is doing to help kids feel OK about themselves, no matter what their sexual orientation.

Please could you advise of any recent CBBC drama series, or any in the pipeline, which actually include lesbian, gay, or bisexual portrayal as part of an inclusive approach? I believe that, in the past, such portrayal was considered appropriate by the BBC.

The BBC did not respond to the part of my enquiry about helping kids feel good about themselves but I was told about one programme - The Dumping Ground - which, the BBC said, "features a same-sex couple that would like to foster one of the young residents. The drama allows the characters to debate the topic and address the prejudices surrounding the issue."

However, it now seems the characters do more than just debate the topic and address the prejudices. According to the Media Centre website "Johnny and Elektra come to blows about whether gay couples should be allowed to adopt."

So what we really have here is a children's TV programme, scripted by adults, with at least one young person championing the prejudices of bigots.

A new Tracy Beaker spin-off called The Dumping Ground will begin its first transmission run this Friday on the CBBC channel at 4.30pm

Apparently the series will at some point include "a same-sex couple that would like to foster one of the young residents." Characters will, I'm told, debate the topic and address the prejudices surrounding the issue.

The following is taken from "Portrayal of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People" published by the BBC in late 2012:

Happy New Year

Normally Christmas is thought of as a time of goodwill and kindness to all people. But the Roman Catholic Church, it seems, would prefer to use it as a time spread a message of prejudice and discrimination against LGBT people. So on Christmas Day the Archbishop of Westminster spoke out in forthright terms against proposals to equalise marriage laws in England & Wales.

Being Christmas, you might think the media would avoid reporting such unpleasantness. And, indeed, the Archbishop of Westminster's sentiments were given short shrift on ITV. They were mentioned briefly in ITV's news at 1.15pm and again in their 8.30pm news bulletin.

However Archbishop Nichols was given pride of place on most of the BBC's morning and early afternoon news broadcasts. It was a case of poor editorial judgement, because a viewer could easily be forgiven for assuming that the BBC is in tune with what Vincent Nichols had to say.

Contrast the BBC News at One with ITV's news bulletin at 1.15pm

ITV's evening news on Christmas Day began at 8.30pm. Two sentences, and no more, were given over to Vincent Nichols' remarks -

Nick Thatcher: From Westminster Cathedral there was a controversial message from the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Archbishop Vincent Nichols attacked the Government's plans for gay marriage, saying there was no mandate for changing the law and calling the proposals undemocratic and shambolic.

The BBC evening news on BBC One was broadcast at 10.45pm. Once again, substantially more time was devoted to this item -

Mishal Husain: Well, in his Christmas address the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has attacked the Government's proposals on gay marriage. The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, said the process has been undemocratic and shambolic. Our Religious Affairs correspondent, Robert Pigott, explains.

Robert Pigott: (strains of 'Once In Royal David's City') With carols, candles and holy communion, Roman Catholics at Westminster Cathedral proclaimed the joy of Christmas. The Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols used the occasion to criticise the Government's plans for gay marriage. Ministers say no church will have to provide same-sex weddings, but Archbishop Nichols accused them of behaving in an Orwellian fashion to create a sham version of marriage.

Vincent Nichols: Frankly the process is shambolic. There was no announcement in any party manifesto. There's been no Green Paper, there's been no statement in the Queen's Speech. And yet here we are, on the verge of primary legislation. From a democratic point of view it's a shambles.

Mr Pigott went on to talk about the final sermon by Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury. Pigott's report included this piece to camera -

Robert Pigott: Rowan Williams was an Archbishop with the bearing and presence of a holy man: widely revered by Anglicans - often misunderstood by others. His extraordinary intellect and eloquence were largely wasted by a Church pre-occupied by disputes about sexuality. The Church will now look to Justin Welby for harder-nosed leadership, to overcome its own divisions and win the respect of an increasingly sceptical society.

Season's Greetings

Traditional nativity scene from this year's Blue Peter Christmas Special with lyrics to help viewers sing along to 'O Come All Ye Faithful'

Newsround will no longer be broadcast on BBC One. The final BBC One bulletin went out last Thursday at 5pm, and was presented by Leah Gooding and Ore Oduba.

The programme began with an explanation of why, in future, Newsround will only be seen on the CBBC Channel.

Leah: Now today is a very important day for Newsround. We're saying goodbye to BBC One.

Ore: But don't worry about it {I can see people crying at home} Worry not, because Newsround will still bring you the top news stories every day on the CBBC Channel. And there's plenty on the website as well, of course.

Leah: But after 40 years we're leaving the BBC's flagship channel. Here's Ricky to tell you why.

(Ricky's video)

The second item on Thursday was a selection of Newsround's stories from 2012.

Leah: 2012 has been a huge year of news, both here in the UK and around the world too.

Ore: Yeah, from Egypt's first democratic election, to Superstorm Sandy's huge impact upon the American presidential race, to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee back here: it's been a momentous twelve months.

Leah: These were the headlines from 2012

(Leah's video)

Ore: So that was the big news of the year. But for most of us 2012 will be remembered as the most incredible year of sport - we were spoilt for choice.

Leah: Absolutely. We had Wiggo becoming the first British winner of the Tour de France, ...

Ore: ... an unbelievable dramatic end to the Premier League season ..

Leah: .. and, of course, the Olympics and Paralympic Games of London 2012

(video of sports events is not online)

The round-up of 2012 section concluded with the best of the rest - some 'weird and wonderful stories' presented by Ore.[The online version excludes new Bond movie box office hit story which began the sequence on BBC One])

Leah: So that is it for the last ever Newsround on BBC One. It's been a privilege to bring you all the best news stories over the past 40 years. But we're not stopping.

Ore: No we are not. We'll continue over on the CBBC Channel - bigger and better than ever. In fact, LG's gonna be right back here just before 7 [this evening]. She can't get enough of it.

Leah: We'll have a whole new set of longer bulletins over on CBBC in the afternoon. And that all starts on January, after the Christmas break.

Ore: But for now, it is time to say goodbye .. on BBC One. So here's a look back at the best of children's BBC over the years. Merry Christmas

Leah: Bye

Ore: See ya

(clips from Blue Peter, Saturday SuperStore, John Craven's Newsround, and Live & Kicking)

Dani Harmer has been something of a mainstay of the CBBC channel for about a decade now. Today, for example, Dani appeared in Tracy Beaker Returns at 9.30am, then she starred in Dani's House at 11.30am. And at 5.10pm kids will have a chance to see her in one of the earliest Tracy Beaker stories.

Love is in the air at Dani's House




Dani helps smooth the course of true love.

Scottish plans to allow lesbian and gay people to marry were announced on 25 July 2012. There was no Newsround bulletin that day on BBC One, but the evening bulletin on the CBBC channel at 6.55pm did include this short report.

My blog on 25 July 2012 includes a screenshot of Newsround's web report about the Scottish Government announcement. But a significant change was made to the headline. The amended webpage report can be seen by clicking on the screenshot.

Originally I assumed that the headline was altered because the term "gay marriage" is not ideal. We are, after all, talking about marriage equality. So it seemed, at the time, that a headline "Same-sex marriage to be introduced in Scotland" was more accurate than the original.

However, having seen the recent Newsround report about proposed changes to the law in England & Wales, it now looks like the edit was because CBBC bosses simply feel that the words "gay" and "lesbian" are inappropriate for children to know.

Not a million miles from Victorian times, when words like "leg," "bottom," "trousers," and "ankle" were considered by some to be rude, and shouldn't be spoken or heard.

Ratus Ratus tells viewers about Victorian prudery - (Horrible Histories)

Blue Peter today included a section on Christmas presents. Bobby Fuller and Will Nye (Jake and Danny from Sadie J) had a quick look at what's around at the moment. Viewers found out about a new Furby which is fed with a smartphone or tablet app.

Next up on their list was the Playstation Wonderbook: Book of Spells, which, kids were told, is hi-tech stuff.

Will (left): So, now that I've learnt my spells, do you think I can get a date with Hermione?

Other toys on their list were Twister Dance, a Ravensburger augmented reality jigsaw puzzle, and Bin Weevils Collectables.

The third story on Newsround today at 5pm was about Government plans to amend the marriage laws in England and Wales. Newsround avoided using the terms 'lesbian' and 'gay' throughout, although they had previously used the term 'gay' when they reported proposed changes to marriage laws in Scotland.

Ricky: Next - two men or two women will soon be able to get married to each other in England and Wales. At the moment same-sex couples who want to marry can only have a civil partnership, which gives similar rights but is not the same as marriage.

Nel: The Government want to change the rules so they can get married and tie the knot in some religious buildings.

Ricky: The Church of England and Church in Wales will not conduct same-sex weddings. But some other Christian groups, and some other religions say they are open to the idea.

Nel: The proposals are welcomed by many same-sex couples who say they should be treated the same way as everybody else.

Sian Payne: I'm not religious. It's not that I have a religious belief in marriage; I have a personal belief in marriage. Marriage means something. It's not just something that's really important to people who have a faith or a belief. And it's no less important for same-sex couples than it is for opposite-sex couples.

Ricky: But some people don't agree with same-sex marriage, saying that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. The Church of England says the changes would mean 'marriage' means less. In a statement they said -

Nel: "We believe that redefining marriage to include same-sex relationships will entail a dilution in the meaning of marriage for everyone."

Ricky: And earlier this year Scotland became the first part of the UK to agree to introduce same-sex marriages. It's thought it will become law in England and Wales in 2015.

Newsround website: Same-sex marriage plans set out for England and Wales

According to Chaos Theory, in some circumstances it's possible for a minuscule almost unnoticed event to result in devastating consequences. The usual example quoted is that of a butterfly flapping its wings which could, according to the theory, result in a hurricane weeks later on the other side of the globe. It's known as the Butterfly Effect.

So what has all this got to do with the BBC and other mainstream media?

Basically it is that the seemingly most insignificant word, report, prank or whatever has the potential to do harm.

How can this be avoided?

Put simply, we can't really stop this from happening. We can, perhaps, lessen the likelihood by saying and doing absolutely nothing, or at least being more cautious about what we do and thinking through the potential consequences of our actions.

Isn't it possible that the relentless reporting of what would otherwise have been a relatively harmless prank call to King Edward VII hospital might have put great pressure on the person who took the call - Jacintha Saldanha?

Interestingly Newsround did not mention the death of the nurse, perhaps because they appreciated that the news would upset their audience. On Wednesday Newsround reported the hospital had said sorry for divulging confidential patient information about the Duchess of Cambridge.

Today the hospital is shifting all blame to the Australians. BBC News channel reports, as its lead story, that the hospital's chairman has made a complaint "in the strongest possible terms."

But without King Edward VII hospital's management's misjudgement in employment and training practices, and without reporting of a trivial event by the 24-hour news media, Jacintha might still be alive.

A recent and unrelated prank by another Australian can be seen on Newsround's website.

Newsround report about Pope Benedict XVI. This was from the 8.17am bulletin today -

Ore: The Pope is opening his very own Twitter account today. The head of the Catholic Church reckoned it'll help him spread the word. Apparently, though, the Pope himself won't be tweeting. Top Church sources say Pope Benedict prefers writing by hand than using computers.

The story was also reported on the early afternoon bulletin, with video showing the Pope's Twitter account in several languages.

So far the Pope has not tweeted anything at all. Newsround says that "Catholics will be able to send messages direct to his account."

No-one who could be in left in much doubt about where the BBC's sympathies lie in the Rotherham Council adoption case. Last night a BBC news report referred to it as "that scandal over the foster children." For a supposedly impartial broadcaster, using the term 'scandal' does seem rather harsh. So let's look more closely at how the BBC has dealt with the issue, and with reporting on UKIP generally.

When children slowly grow into young adults, they will at some time start to appreciate politics and what each political party stands for. So even though the Rotherham couple may treat their foster-kids with love and care, the kids themselves might have eventually suspected that their foster parents did not approve of others, like them, from abroad. No-one has to be a member of a political party. But remember, in this case, the couple actually chose to support UKIP, and what it stands for.

Would this story have even been worthy of a news report if the couple had been members of the BNP? And would BBC News spend a day talking about 'mounting criticism' of Rotherham Council if the kids had instead been moved out of a BNP family environment? Perhaps CBBC's Newsround understood this consideration.

As mentioned in my previous blog, BBC national news had little, if anything, to say about the anti-gay remarks expressed by UKIP's culture spokesperson, Winston McKenzie. Nigel Farage indicated his backing for McKenzie when he told Tim Willcox yesterday that he completely supported Winston’s "Christian" position opposing gay adoption.

BBC's News at Ten, last night, included a report on the three by-elections, but nothing was said about UKIP's anti-equality stance. Neither was a word said about those discrimination issues on Newsnight's discussion shortly afterwards on BBC Two.

In the view of Newsround Blog, David Cameron was quite right to call UKIP generally "fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists basically." Clearly, from what we saw during the Croydon North by-election campaign, he could have added 'homophobes' to that list. It's a pity that Ed Miliband has not similarly stood against UKIP's bigotry.

But the real 'scandal' here is the BBC giving this obnoxious party so much free and uncritical publicity.