about how they stay safe and about how they approach speaking to those affected by what happened. and would you listen to an ai podcaster series? we will hear about how one team has recreated the voice of a celebrated talkshow host two years after he died. that's coming up on the media show. we going to begin in la. all of you will have seen the fires that have swept through parts of the city. at least 25 people are known to have died, thousands of buildings have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have had to evacuate and covering this disaster raises ethical and practical questions for news teams. we've been speaking to reporters who have been covering the story from the start, first of all, it's here from jonathan hunt of fox news.

i'm standing right now in what is called the unified command centre and by the way, thank you for having me today. this is the headquarters of the entire response across the whole of the la region, about 3200 personnel from los angeles fire department, you can see one of the command trucks behind me, the los angeles sheriffs department office of emergency management services so of course they are running everything from here. we are in the parking lot of the iconic rose bowl in pasadena. normally this would be full of the vehicles bringing 90,000 people to watch a game here. a football game, american football, of course, but today is just full of these kinds of trailers you see behind me and a huge operation being run. 50 a huge operation being run. so you've got some extraordinary access there at the command centre. i wonder how you negotiated that and why do you think those in charge of it agreed to letting you listen in on some of these conversations. you know, we have some very good contacts, some of our

producers, i won't take credit for that myself, but one of our producers in particular has very good contacts with the sheriffs department. they were happy to let us in and i think the various emergency services have faced some criticism. nobody criticises the people on the front lines doing the work by trying to save lives and trying to save homes but there has been criticism of the leadership and i think they... i think what... was not privy to the conversations of course of the top of the department here but i imagine they wanted to reassure the people of la and indeed, across the globe that they are doing everything they can, whatever the decisions that were made in the immediate run—up to these devastating fires, over the decisions that were made on the first day, since then they have become, as the title of this place says, unified command and they are really doing their

best and i think i'm imagining thatis best and i think i'm imagining that is what they want the world to see. fit that is what they want the world to see.— that is what they want the world to see. at the moment then jonathan _ world to see. at the moment then jonathan you _ world to see. at the moment then jonathan you are - world to see. at the moment | then jonathan you are focused then jonathan you are focused for fox news viewers and listeners on what is happening at the command centre but i know you have been covering the fires more closely, more close—up as well, i wonder in those first few hours and days as the fires began to spread how you and your fox news colleagues calculated where you would report from and how you would report from and how you would stay safe while at the same time informing your audience. same time informing your audience-— same time informing your audience. . , , audience. yeah, i spent the first six days _ audience. yeah, i spent the first six days of _ audience. yeah, i spent the first six days of the - audience. yeah, i spent the first six days of the fire - audience. yeah, i spent the first six days of the fire up i first six days of the fire up in the pacific palisades and, you know, it's a dangerous situation. what i would say is that fox, as with all of the major media organisations here, they are very, very good with safety, they give us all the gear we need to buy the full fire suits, masks, helmets, etc, and obviously everybody is

encouraged to wear all of that here because you walk around in a fire like that and you don't have anything on your head, for instance. you're not even wearing a baseball cap. you get one enbo in your hair and suddenly you are trying to put that out with bare hands and you are getting badly hurt —— ember. so they are very big on making sure we have all of the gear we need and then it's the bosses running things are very good as well at leaving us as individual crews, myself, the producer i'm with, the cameraman i am with to make our own decisions based on safety. it's not something you can second—guess at the moment. unfortunately, we have been through a lot of these kind of things and we have a decent idea of where to go and when to be — although i have to say this was a fire and have a nature i do think any of us has

ever seen before. my wife is also a reporter here with the local fox affiliate and she was driving out of the palisades on tuesday night, finishing her shift, and she was driving along the iconic sunset boulevard and suddenly, flames — she caught it all on her dashcam — flames coming from both sides of the road here and i can tell you just watching that, i had a panic attackjust watching it, knowing she had been through that. and she was absolutely terrified. when you see video like that with flames coming at you from both sides, it's an extraordinary thing and an extraordinarily dangerous thing and thank god she got out. �* ., . . , thing and thank god she got out. , ., . ., , ,, thing and thank god she got out. �* ., . . , y., . out. jonathan, we wish you and our out. jonathan, we wish you and your family _ out. jonathan, we wish you and your family and _ out. jonathan, we wish you and your family and your _ out. jonathan, we wish you and | your family and your community well and thank you, indeed, for making time for us in the middle of a very busy reporting day. jonathan hunt, fox news correspondent who was with us from the unified command centre in pasadena. let's stay in los angeles and bring in my bbc news colleague emma vardy who

is the bbc�*s la correspondent. many of you listening will have seen and heard emma on the news in the last week or so in particular. i rememberturning particular. i remember turning on particular. i rememberturning on the television in the newsroom a few days back and seeing you wearing lots of protective equipment has reported on a think it was the six 0'clock news so tell us about your preparations as you went onto doing live reporting on those kind situations. i mean the first 24 hours of the fire was just extraordinary. because the flames are right on top of us, smoke was so thick it was blocking out the sun and you could barely anything in the middle of the day and so the middle of the day and so the goggles may have looked ridiculous but they were absolutely necessary because your eyes were stinging and, of course, the flame retardant suits need no explanation. but we were taking precautions off—camera also, coming into a situation where we were making those calculations, looking at whether the emergency services were but we couldn't have

documented this as closely and witnessed what we witnessed without getting, you know, without getting, you know, without risk in mind somewhat close to wet and on those early days the fires were just extraordinary, just everywhere. —— close to it. you could find yourself in the thick of it very quickly so that's what you would have seen. it was very intense, the wind was blowing towards us and i've never experienced anything like us and with a very experienced producer and crew have done lots of fires i have the benefit of that as well, we all work together on it and work together bit by bit but an incredibly intense experience. i can see you talking to us on a video feed but of course lots of people are listening to us so just describe where you are because behind you i could see a scene of absolute devastation.- a scene of absolute devastation. �* w . devastation. i'm in the pacific palisades _ devastation. i'm in the pacific palisades overlooking - devastation. i'm in the pacific palisades overlooking the - devastation. i'm in the pacific i palisades overlooking the ocean and we are somewhere back from the ocean but as far as the eye can see there is absolute devastation all around me. this would have been prime real estate, just imagine the beautiful homes that would have been here with the view of the

sea. all now absolutely devastated and the winds were blowing so hard those first couple of days, you can see how quickly the fire swept across this land between here and the water. and now, just the shells remain and we've been driving through miles and miles of this devastation for days. find through miles and miles of this devastation for days.— devastation for days. and how do ou devastation for days. and how do you judge _ devastation for days. and how do you judge when _ devastation for days. and how do you judge when you - devastation for days. and how do you judge when you arrive | devastation for days. and how i do you judge when you arrive at a story such as this where the emergency services are present, where people directly affected are present and you are doing your work as a journalist, how do you judge when to approach people affected or people working to contain the fire and when not to?— when not to? yeah, like jonathan _ when not to? yeah, like jonathan said, - when not to? yeah, like jonathan said, it - when not to? yeah, like jonathan said, it is - when not to? yeah, like jonathan said, it is a - when not to? yeah, like - jonathan said, it is a minute jonathan said, it is a minute by minute decision. firefighters go through moments of intensity and moments where you can see that they are able to sort of relax a little bit too and you can politely sometimes call out how is it going? it's not an official interview request but it feels right in that moment. sometimes you can see they are already

sort of thing hello and being quite friendly and you can kind of check—in and get the vibe. you get a feel for it when you've been in situations like this, where emotions are very high, people are dealing with really emotional situations and sometimes in that moment, people really want to talk because they want to tell you what they are going through, they want other people to see it and feel it and then you get that sense from them and you feel that not if somebody is in shock or really, really devastated, there's got to be a duty of care there too but i think it will have the right in a situation to tell the world what they are going through, what they are going through, what they are experiencing, so that it can sometimes warn others of the danger orjust communicate what human beings are going through in this incredible situation, so it's a judgement call, you know, you get a feel for people when you do thisjob and get a feel for people when you do this job and you speak to a lot of people. in these very intense situations.- lot of people. in these very intense situations. and you've done lots _ intense situations. and you've done lots of — intense situations. and you've done lots of broadcasting - intense situations. and you've done lots of broadcasting on l done lots of broadcasting on the television and on the radio as well as reporting on the bbc website to british audiences,

just as you are now. i wonder if there are particular aspects to this disaster that, as you cover it, you think, "i need to get this across to people who are not in this country that this is how it is."— this is how it is." yeah, i mean. — this is how it is." yeah, i mean. a _ this is how it is." yeah, i mean, a couple - this is how it is." yeah, i mean, a couple of - this is how it is." yeah, i j mean, a couple of things this is how it is." yeah, i - mean, a couple of things really struck me here that would not be surprising to americans but really eye—opening to people in the uk particularly when there were lots of bullets on the floor. exploded bullets. they had obviously, people had, gun ownership is common in america and people give ammunition at home and therefore in a fire it got hot and exploded and we are seeing the remnants of bullets, some intact, all over the streets. that was surprising to me, being from the uk, not so remarkable in america but something i wanted to communicate but also hear the use of private firefighters, you've a very wealthy neighbourhoods with his private firefighters which cost thousands and thousands per day stationed outside certain homes. meanwhile, schools, care homes. meanwhile, schools, care homes to ordinary public facilities are burned down. that's more remarkable to me too but in america very

capitalist society you would say well of course if you've got the money then you pay for it. perhaps a little more accepted hear other people have started to raise questions about this being a little more controversial. so it's a culture difference between the uk and the american sort of society that always strikes me when i'm talking to a british audience compared to when i talk to my american colleagues, so the sum of that as well and also just a place like so the sum of that as well and alsojust a place like la. it's alsojust a place like la. it's a place like no other, it's a unique place, is world—famous, you cannot experience the disparity between rich and poor here is huge. and so watching extremely rich places that you may think of as being untouchable also being destroyed in this fire is just something we have never really seen before and that's extraordinary to an something that we've been communicating. not to take away from the many ordinary people have lost their homes, absolutely, but it is striking to see when you see a bunch of celebrities involved in the disaster like this as well. there's a lot of things

to communicate here that are unique to la and that you wouldn't see anywhere else. emma, thank you very much indeed for taking us through your experiences of the last few days. that's the bbc�*s emma vardy and you can hear the wind on emma's microphone as she was speaking to us before we had from jonathan hunt from fox news. many thanks tojonathan and to emma. to analyse the media come —— coverage of these fires wannell speak to allison agsten, director of the university of southern california's annenberg centre for climate journalism and communications. alison, thank you for your time. i wonder what your assessment has been of the media coverage of this story. of the media coverage of this sto . ~ , u, , of the media coverage of this sto . ~ , , ., of the media coverage of this sto. , story. well, because of my role, story. well, because of my role. i'm — story. well, because of my role, i'm thinking - story. well, because of my role, i'm thinking a - story. well, because of my role, i'm thinking a lot - story. well, because of my i role, i'm thinking a lot about climate change and whether or not it has been communicated with these fires and so far, i feel it has been pretty strongly underreported and some of my preliminary analysis and finding that in a selection of five outlets, i looked up, all

of them but one were mentioning climate change and less than 10% of instances the one outlet that really showed differences perhaps not surprising to you in the uk. the guardian. what would you _ in the uk. the guardian. what would you like _ in the uk. the guardian. what would you like news _ in the uk. the guardian. what would you like news media - in the uk. the guardian. what would you like news media to| in the uk. the guardian. what would you like news media to be doing that it's not doing at the moment when it's covering these stories? i the moment when it's covering these stories?— these stories? i think it's not too hard _ these stories? i think it's not too hard to — these stories? i think it's not too hard to parenthetically i too hard to parenthetically mention climate change when we talk about the cause of these fires because increasingly, people asking what caused these fires? i think you would hear anybody including me that climate change is the cause of these fires in los angeles but certainly, they set the stage. this is the backdrop for this catastrophe, this disaster has exploded to this degree because of conditions here that are related to the effects of climate change so i'd love to hear reporters say when they are talking about the cause maybe we don't know yet. we don't know what ignited this fire. but what we can tell you is that climate change is definitely involved to some

degree. definitely involved to some decree. �* ~' ., definitely involved to some decree. �* ~ ., ., �* degree. and i know that you've been conducting _ degree. and i know that you've been conducting an _ degree. and i know that you've| been conducting an experiment on your street which, sadly, has been affected by these fires. just tell us about that. sure. i was evacuated from the sunset file last week. i am one house down from the perimeter of the fire. we are very, very fortunate because of wind conditions to be able to come back to our home last week. before i was allowed by the police back on my street, i marched around and talk to the local news crews in the area, took three of them. i asked each of them how are you covering climate? are you including it? one of the local crew said," i'm a change. that's an interesting angle. i'd be happy to talk to you about it." another one said— and this is one that could be the most — "i'm not sure how my news director feels about me talking about climate change" and the third outlet, big public news outlets from germany, said," climate change? of course, wejust germany, said," climate change? of course, we just talked about of course, we just talked about it in our last bloodshot".

would be interesting to hear from the news director, wouldn't it, but i don't suppose that would be a possibility in that moment. with us please, listening to us is colour and frost, from the radio times. climate change is one direction of the story and another is celebrity, emma vardy alluded to that earlier. have you been comfortable with the degree to which celebrities caught up in this disaster have attracted coverage? i caught up in this disaster have attracted coverage?- attracted coverage? i wouldn't say comfortable _ attracted coverage? i wouldn't say comfortable but _ attracted coverage? i wouldn't say comfortable but i - attracted coverage? i wouldn't say comfortable but i would i attracted coverage? i wouldn'tl say comfortable but i would say unsurprised. just the historically, we've been very western— historically, we've been very western centric with our coverage of disaster across the globe — coverage of disaster across the globe and as emma pointed out, the juxtaposition between the riches, — the juxtaposition between the riches, the luxurious nurse, the — riches, the luxurious nurse, the glamour of the setting and the glamour of the setting and the suffering that some of these _ the suffering that some of these people are going through, that is— these people are going through, that is without taking away, as emma — that is without taking away, as emma rightly pointed out, that celebrities form a timely proportion of these people affected however we have honed in on _ affected however we have honed in on them as we always do. —— tiny _ in on them as we always do. —— tiny when _ in on them as we always do. —— tiny when i _ in on them as we always do. —— tiny. when i see someone like paris — tiny. when i see someone like paris hilton moaning that her

malibu — paris hilton moaning that her malibu home was destroyed, i mean. — malibu home was destroyed, i mean. i— malibu home was destroyed, i mean, i do think that someone like paris — mean, i do think that someone like paris hilton probably has a hotel— like paris hilton probably has a hotel or two to go to so it's unseemly— a hotel or two to go to so it's unseemly but all we can do is report — unseemly but all we can do is re ort. a, , unseemly but all we can do is reort, , , unseemly but all we can do is reort. , ., report. maybe she was noting she had lost _ report. maybe she was noting she had lost her— report. maybe she was noting she had lost her house. - report. maybe she was noting she had lost her house. i'm . she had lost her house. i'm sure she — she had lost her house. i'm sure she was. _ she had lost her house. i'm sure she was. and - she had lost her house. i'm sure she was. and as - she had lost her house. i'm sure she was. and as all of them — sure she was. and as all of them are _ sure she was. and as all of them are. i mean, they are suffering _ them are. i mean, they are suffering as much as we — so many— suffering as much as we — so many things in life, it's things— many things in life, it's things a _ many things in life, it's things a great levellers, aren't— things a great levellers, aren't they? external, internal disasters. _ aren't they? external, internal disasters, illness, tragedy, these — disasters, illness, tragedy, these are the things that make us human _ these are the things that make us human. these people have always— us human. these people have always been writ large on our screens _ always been writ large on our screens i_ always been writ large on our screens. i don't think it takes screens. idon't think it takes away— screens. i don't think it takes away from _ screens. i don't think it takes away from the story, it's probably getting a lot more attention than it would were they— attention than it would were they not— attention than it would were they not there, but i think we have — they not there, but i think we have to — they not there, but i think we have to proceed with care as reporters _ have to proceed with care as reporters that we don't somehow ascribed — reporters that we don't somehow ascribed to them more capacity for suffering, that it somehow i for suffering, that it somehow i worse — for suffering, that it somehow i worse tragedy than other things— i worse tragedy than other things going on in the world. but the — things going on in the world. but the reason it is supporting —— receiving so much coverage is only because celebrities are caught up in this, it isn't only because the areas affected are in some cases wealthy. it's

also because this is a story which connects too issues that affect all of us, including as we have been discussing 3012 00:17:07,509 --> 00:17: