The Royal Wedding

It looks like the articles have been updated in the past day and now redirect to new the URLs. On the special reports page http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11767495 currently in the background panel though the URLs are in the old format they all redirect to new URLs.

Perhaps a bit of an odd editorial choice though on the BBC News website, leading with the story that the couple are going to be meeting royal advisors today - otherwise at the moment adding nothing spectacularly new to the news story. When, in Cornwall, people are being rescued from the rooftops by Royal Navy helicopters and there has been severing flooding in 5-6 towns with a landslip cutting off rail movement in and out of the entire county. Good to see the NC is leading with the story though.

I enjoyed the pooled interview by Tom Bradby. Genuine question: how was it decided that ITN would cover the interview? Did ITN / Sky / BBC meet and draw straws? (Genuine question). Or does the Royal Household make such decisions? I have to say that Prince William and Tom Bradby did appear very chummy. Perhaps they are polo or drinking buddies?

In fact, haven't seen Tom Bradby for years on tv. I hardly recognised him at all. Much older than I remembered him to be.

He was specifically asked for, according to MG
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/16/tom-bradby-william-kate

Yes - apparently Tom and William got on well when Tom was the ITV News Royal Correspondent, so William requested him for the pooled interview. (There is, or was, a cameraman who works for ITN who is also preferred by the Royals, and in pooled news coverage he is often the operator closest to the Royals)

BTW - the BBC got 6.4million for The One Show (the first BBC One outlet that could show the pooled interview - which was embargoed until 1900 to avoid the problems caused by the 1800/1830 split BBC Six/ITV National News) ITV extended their 1830 bulletin to an hour with the second half billed as a Kate and William special, but the second half only averaged 5.9million - so Tom's interview got more viewers on BBC One than ITV1...

The BBC trailled The One Show in most of the English regional programmes I believe, as well as with pointers and during the Six. Quite a smart move I guess, and a significantly higher audience for The One Show than normal (it's around the 5-5.5 million normally this time of year)

Also presumably quite galling that some of the papers have taken screen grabs from BBC One not ITV1 - as they have The One Show logo on them.

Sky1 put a banner on the screen last night at around 5.20pm about the news and to tune into SkyNews & SkyNews HD

A white banner along the bottom

'Prince Willam and Kate Middleton to Wed
For more information turn to SkyNews on 501 or SkyNewsHD on 517'

So .... looks like an all dayer on a Bank Holday then. PM more or less confirmed the Bank Holiday this afternoon.

Is it really ethical for a news organization to allow public figures to choose which of their journalists gets to conduct the interview? One would think that the fact that the journalist is a friend of the royals represents a significant conflict of interest. How likely would he be to ask unpleasant or probing questions?

Well it wasn't an 'interview' in that respect, compare it with an appearance to 'sell' on Norton, O'Grady or Titchmarsh. It wasn't the place for investigative journalism. It was a public introduction mearly that.

How likely is anyone to ask unpleasant or probing questions in this situation. This isn't a Paxman Newsnight interview for goodness sake.

It is highly likely that approval of the reporter selected to do the pool interview was a requirement from the palace for the interview happening. This isn't that unusual.

I think the "friendship" angle has been overplayed. I suspect it is more that William liked Tom Bradby more than Jenny Bond or Nick Witchell when Tom was ITN's Royal Correspondent for ITV News? Naturally he'd request Tom do the interview - and naturally that would mean ITN did it (albeit with Sky apparently providing a sound person at short notice?)

Its nothing new really. When Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones announced their engagement, they gave an exclusive first interview to Sue Barker for the BBC. I seem to remember that Barker was 'responsible' for the pair meeting at a charity tennis event.

The fact is that someone had to do the interview and there was only to be one interview.

If the happy couple don't pick the interviewer then how would it be decided?