BBC.co.uk’s online controller Seetha Kumar is trying to straighten recent reports about its plans (or lack of) for social media…
— Guardian.co.uk had said BBC.co.uk was “planning a radical relaunch of its website to include more social media”.
— Telegraph.co.uk had reported it would debut a Facebook app carrying its iPlayer VOD service.
But Kumar writes on her blog: “I had read the stories earlier last week with bemusement and the incorrect reporting of our plans has clearly caused confusion.”
Kumar acknowledged the corporation is considering opening BBC News stories to reader comments, “allowing us to keep pace with what users have come to expect”, because “interacting with audiences is intrinsic to our heritage”. “Our aim is to be part of the much more joined up internet that is emerging.”
Telegraph.co.uk ran a correction to its Facebook story in which the BBC acknowledges the BBC News site will be “refreshed in the new year”.
With the appetite for public spending cutbacks having recently spread to the BBC, Auntie appeared cautious to stress in the correction: “Any investment in BBC Online is tightly assessed (by the BBC Trust) for market impact and public value before we commit to it.”