in winter storms sweeping across north america, which are being described as the blizzard of the century . thousands are still without power and there is ongoing widespread travel disruption nearly 20,000 flights have been cancelled in recent days. now on bbc news, it s hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. where do you get your news from? do you trust it to be true? for many of us, the answers to these questions are changing. social media is an increasingly dominant source of information. long established news sources, like us at the bbc, are in a fight for audiences and, yes, for trust, too. my guest, david dimbleby, became, in the course of a long broadcasting career, the face and voice of the bbc on the biggest occasions, from elections to royal ceremonial. can his journalistic values survive in a world where opinion so often trumps truth? david dimbleby, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. in the course of your broadcasting career, you have seen a massive tra
people to pray for his predecessor, pope emeritus benedict, whose health has worsened. officials say his health has deteriorated overnight. now on bbc news, it s hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. where do you get your news from? do you trust it to be true? for many of us, the answers to these questions are changing. social media is an increasingly dominant source of information. long established news sources, like us at the bbc, are in a fight for audiences and, yes, for trust, too. my guest, david dimbleby, became, in the course of a long broadcasting career, the face and voice of the bbc on the biggest occasions, from elections to royal ceremonial. can his journalistic values survive in a world where opinion so often trumps truth? david dimbleby, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. in the course of your broadcasting career, you have seen a massive transformation in the way news and information is produced and the way it s consumed. do you think, for the better?
but there should be some sunshine around in places. increasingly wintry. factor in the northerly winds, it ll feel colder than this. for next week, turning much colder for a time, increasing risk of frost and ice where we have had all of the flooded fields. things could be disruptive on monday, so stay tuned to the forecast. thanks, stav. that s it. there s more analysis of the day s main stories on newsnight, just getting underway over on bbc two. but the news continues here on bbc one, as wejoin our colleagues across the nations and regions for the news where you are. have a very good night. this is bbc news. we ll have the headlines and all the main news stories at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk, i m stephen sackur. where do you get your news from? do you trust it to be true? for many of us, the answers to these questions are changing. social media is an increasingly dominant source of information. long established news sources, lik
that the bbc is somewhat frightened of the monarchy. yes. chuckles you should know, in a sense, because you ve been covering the royal family, the monarchy, but particularly the big ceremonial events for the bbc, again, for the best part of 50 years. it now turns out as, again, you re opening up, you re being more frank, that you think there are many aspects of the monarchy that are, frankly, ridiculous. you don t like deference. i don t think you like the hereditary principle. i don t know where you get all that from, but i ll tell you what i do think. i don t like deference, no. i don t like bowing and curtseying. i think that s, you know, we re beyond that. i believe in a constitutional democratic monarchy. i believe one of the aspects of that is that the bbc, as broadcasters, should be able to look at the controversies that surround monarchy, how it s funded, what rights it has to change laws, which it does which nobody knows much about what rights it has to avoid paying taxes,
and i think, on the whole, the bbc does a good job of that. in other words, i don t know your political opinions. no, all right. we ve been talking for 20 minutes. i don t know what you think. you don t know what i think. that s as it should be. let me switch tack. let me switch tack a little bit. you say the bbc mustn t be frightened of government. you also contend in your book, i think it s fair to say, that the bbc is somewhat frightened of the monarchy. yes. chuckles you should know, in a sense, because you ve been covering the royal family, the monarchy, but particularly the big ceremonial events for the bbc, again, for the best part of 50 years. it now turns out as, again, you re opening up, you re being more frank, that you think there are many aspects of the monarchy that are, frankly, ridiculous. you don t like deference. i don t think you like the hereditary principle. i don t know where you get all that from, but i ll tell you what i do think. i don t like deference, no. i d