Gary Lineker to leave Match of the Day: How does BBC cover stories about itself?
Whenever a major news story involving the BBC occurs, journalists from BBC News and BBC Sport are required to report on the company, just as they would any other information in the public interest.
BBC News and BBC Sport are internal departments of the BBC, which means that journalists working here are not always informed of the major decisions being made at the top of the corporation.
This means that employees approach news involving their employer using the same methods and standards as they would for other stories—trying to verify information, contacting the press office, and requesting comments and interviews from people involved in the story.
They then aim to communicate the news to the public in the most fair, timely and transparent way possible.
Journalists working for BBC News and BBC Sport sometimes even “doorstep” their bosses – approaching senior figures at home, in corridors or on the street for unscheduled interviews to discuss important, newsworthy issues.
Sometimes, for various reasons, stories involving the BBC may be reported elsewhere first. Other media organizations may have obtained information from sources that have not yet reached BBC reporters, or may have published news reports differently.
BBC Sport operates a ‘dual-sourcing’ policy on the news it reports – verifying information with at least two independent entities before publishing it to ensure our news coverage is accurate.
