the use it for the short cut to click. join us on twitter for laser tech news and behind the scenes gossip. next weekjoin us for two special clicks from india. thank you for watching. see you then. hello, and welcome to newswatch. on this week's programme, what's the bbc‘s economics editor doing standing in the street trying catch numbers? and do we need to know that this distinguished human rights lawyer is married to a hollywood film star? it is an annual challenge for bbc news. how to make the complex economics of the budget accessible without doubling down. it was only to be expected that there we re was only to be expected that there were plenty of numbers around this week, but what surprised many viewers was that in a preview piece on monday, some of those numbers

seemed to be flying right into the hands of the bbc‘s economics editor. inflation could hit 2.8% by the end of the year. and that could mean a squeeze on living standards. the price of fuel has already hit an 18 month high. it costs now £9 more to fill up the average family car than it did a year ago. and what about that all important issue, business confidence? well, the latest surveys suggest that confidence is declining. graham ford was incredulous at what he saw and that does this telephone message. he was standing in the street, sesame street like, with figures coming down out of the sky. this lost all credibility for the news whatsoever, because we are completely distracted by all the things going on around him and you couldn't understand him. this isjust

him and you couldn't understand him. this is just another example him and you couldn't understand him. this isjust another example of him and you couldn't understand him. this is just another example of the news totally dumbing down. just give us news totally dumbing down. just give us the news from people who know what they are talking about in the studio. thank you very much. elsewhere in the report, other figures and words popped up in the nearby countryside, and there was also a strong line in finding descriptions in nature, which also applied to the economic outlook. with a little discernible brexit in fa ct, with a little discernible brexit in fact, what has been behind the sun continuing to shine on the uk's finances? —— a fact. so the economic waters at the moment are not too treacherous for philip hammond. but this will not be a budget full of the giveaways, despite the brighter economic environment. well, after hearing those lines and script and watching the graphics, another viewer, michael o'shea, rule —— recorded on camera his views on the report. it was frustrating and distracting, so much sol report. it was frustrating and distracting, so much so i cannot re call distracting, so much so i cannot recall what the report was now about. it reminded me of my year 7

pupils won their first use power point. they use every feature and gimmick of the software, regardless of its suitability or relevance to the audience. i appreciate that graphics as using news presentation, maybe, though, in a studio, where the presenter talks to a screen. we do not need to be entertained with the news presentation. in another report the following night, more numbers were dropping down from the sky. although this time not into kemal ahmad's cans. others were landing on the pavement beside him, and there were visual metaphors to. and to bridge that gap... with the bbc‘s economics editor on a bridge over the time, which then became the backdrop for a spectacular bar chart. was all this invention a fun way of making a complexity more accessible, or self—indulgent, dumbing down? richard lynch enjoyed monday's numbers in the hand tricks, tweeting: well, let's explore those reactions

with the editor of the bbc‘s news at six and ten, hillary o'neill. viewers do understand that you are using graphics to try to make it clear and understandable. but these ones, the figures dropping out of the sky, they were just numbers. they didn't mean anything. well, they did mean something. every single number there was relevant, it was a reason, the locations had been thought through and were therefore a reason. i thought it was informative and creative and entertaining and actually i don't have a problem with it myself. i do understand if some viewers thought it was slightly

distracting, but all we are trying to do, with a whole big collection of numbers and an awful lot of material to get through, is to make it as clear as we possibly can and to do that in a way that engages the viewer, and isn't just to do that in a way that engages the viewer, and isn'tjust numbers in the studio. we do quite a lot of that. it is nice to get out and about sometimes. it is interesting that you deliberately left the studio for that reason, because viewers say it ended up being distracting. he is standing around doing this in the middle of the street and in the end it is a number that he has just said out loud. street and in the end it is a number that he hasjust said out loud. it is not that there is anything graphic on the representation of the number that helps you understand anything. i think if there was only one number, i would accept that. i think when you have a piece with an awful lot of numbers, maybe the viewers who complained are just super numerate in a way that i am not, and experts on the economy, again, ina not, and experts on the economy, again, in a way that i am not. we do know that a whole range of people, which we are glad about, watch our bulletins. and we need to try to accommodate people who don't

necessarily already know the numbers. lots of the audience research shows that, first of all, people have a vague idea, quite often, but not necessarily the details. secondly, even if they do know the details, they don't mind being reminded of it, especially ahead of a big day like budget. specific complaint made by one of the viewers was that itjust looks like the bbc‘s graphics team got carried away by what you can do rather than what is useful. an interesting example is that with the scene on the street, there was an inflation figure which was up, and its drop down from the sky, which is com pletely its drop down from the sky, which is completely illogical. —— it dropped down. the details of what goes up and what goes down... but it is interesting, graphics are supposed to be clear. you have a figure that is going up and it comes down. but the arrow was up. i suppose you can pick up one tiny detail and say it should have come from another direction. i think overall, you are right that these things keep changing and keep evolving. that is because the technology allows us to. we don't want to get on the wrong side of that and do things just for

the sake of it, at that thing would have been meticulously planned and thought through, as the only motivation behind it would have been trying to make what is sometimes a very dry chunk of information interesting to people watching. you know, i'm sorry if some viewers found it a bit distracting, and we a lwa ys found it a bit distracting, and we always need to take into consideration, have we gone too far, are we serving our audience or are we pleasing ourselves? and of course thatis we pleasing ourselves? and of course that is what we will continue to do. in the two reports we were looking at, the 1—way kemal ahmad is out in elaborate locations, viewers thought he was pushing quite childish metaphors. sunny days, troubled waters. really? could you have not just on it in the studio? this is not a regular viewer. how many times do we do things about storm clouds grabbing, orspring... do we do things about storm clouds grabbing, or spring... going to different locations. in fairness, he was in those locations for a reason. he was in hampshire specifically because consumer spending is up there, and that was a reflection of there, and that was a reflection of the story that he was partly

telling. and also unemployment is at its lowest. in the second pc went to that location because it is an area where although the economy is growing at little, it is below where the rest of the uk is growing. —— second piece. so there were reasons he went. we come in for a lot of criticism sometimes as an organisation, and as a news organisation, and as a news organisation, for sticking to london organisation, for sticking to london or the time and sort of being in a studio and doing a tourfrom a metropolitan point of view. so we get out and about. hillary o'neill, thank you so much. a pleasure. to let us know what you think about the visual presentation of television news, or any aspect of bbc news. stay tuned for details on how to contact us. there was another example this week of the bbc‘s graphics department being busy making numbers fly around the screen, in a report from justin role at about possible restrictions on visas being given to indians wanting to work in the united states. —— justin rolat. but it was the way the

piece started that annoyed another viewer. she graduated from a top us university. she has worked as a softwa re university. she has worked as a software engineer for microsoft and facebook. but she isn't sure she would be welcome in america any more. i believe engineers like me are being pushed out of the us today. it is really unfortunate. sue robson rang us after watching that to make this point. i can't believe what i've just seen. an to make this point. i can't believe what i'vejust seen. an item to make this point. i can't believe what i've just seen. an item about trump's restrictions on engineers from india taking jobs from the usa, you've just shown an indian engineer putting on her eye make up and getting dressed, buttoning up her dress over her chest. and this is on international women day. if she was a man, you would not have shown him putting back his hair, doing up his flight, putting back his hair, doing up his flight, would you? you would have

just shown him doing hisjob. flight, would you? you would have just shown him doing his job. the charge of sexism was also made on tuesday after an item on the news at six about the persecution of these eadie people in a rough. it was introduced like this. —— the use eadie people in iraq. tonight, the lawyer working with the use eadie people will address the un in new york. amal clooney, the husband of hollywood film star george clooney, told the way she has decided to represent the yazidis and why their cause is important to her. vivian davies was one of a number of viewers who have this sort of reaction. is it really necessary to mention the fact that amal clooney is married to george clooney every time she is featured in a news item? mrs clooney is an intelligent woman who is doing thejob mrs clooney is an intelligent woman who is doing the job that she does beakers it who is doing the job that she does bea kers it is who is doing the job that she does beakers it is that intelligence, together with her knowledge and experience, and not because she is

married to a film star. cut it out, bbc. you can do better. finally, back to the budget, and the numbers, specifically the amount of extra funding for social care announced either chancellor, philip hammond. —— announced via the £2 billion of taxpayer money on social care in england, £1 billion available in the next 12 months. and there is a longer term review of how to pay to look after the elderly. jonathan ruddle described himself as frustrated by the coverage, writing: with that plea, we leave you this week. if you want to share your opinions on bbc news and current

affairs or even appear on the programme: that is all from us. we will be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. goodbye. i think saturday is looking like being the better day, the dry day of the two for most places, as we will have a weather front bringing wet weather to initially northern ireland and scotland in the morning. sinking south—east into northern parts of england, northern and western wales and the south—west of england. behind it, the skies brightened, and ahead of it it will be mild. in the sunny spells we could see 16 or 17, but a mild day across the board. this is where things change. saturday night will initially be dry for many, but in the early hours of sunday, weather fronts pushing in from the west will

pick up that rain and become quite wet and soggy by the time we reach the end of saturday night. another mild one, temperatures 7— ten. it does mean that sunday will be a website, especially across england and wales. maybe heady bursts at times. the wet weather holds on across eastern areas at times, but further west apart from a few showers it should brighten up. feeling a touch cool the here as well. —— cooler. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is gavin grey. our top stories: the desperate plight of tens of thousands of iraqi civilians trapped in mosul, as they flee from so—called islamic state. we hear from some of those who've escaped. translation: we got our freedom but it cost us a lot. i lost my house and my children were injured. the pentagon promises a full investigation into military personnel who shared nude photographs of female colleagues

on social media. volkswagen pleads guilty to us emissions charges and agrees to pay fines of $4.3 billion. divide and conquer — with nine songs in the the uk's top 10