so we were never going down the speculative route because we knew it was too important. and also, you know, our brand credibility means an awful lot to us. the biggest discussion we had around monday s front page was whether to use the word terror . because it s obviously a massive difference between calling it terrorism and not, and it has huge implications. absolutely, and we used the word terror probe we didn t do it lightly, at that point, we d had a press conference from the chief constable when they confirmed that indeed, it was treated as a potential terror attack. so we didn t do it lightly, and it was certainly in context of what was happening at that point. but any language we ve used throughout our coverage has always been language used by the authorities, we ve not jumped to conclusions. sorry to interrupt, maria, kamal ahmed, obviously these are conversations you ve had
something of an issue how do we solve the - under supply of trusted news and information i on social media platforms? many of us will need to work i together to solve that problem, and the news movement is our attempt to do so. i four days old, it s - like having a newborn every external meeting i do, i rush back to make sure - we re still breathing. but four days in, we re still going strong. - and it s aimed at young people, is it? that s the first demographic. we are aiming at, but we know there s been a massive audience shift and the age demographic. of that shift is going up. so at the moment, younger people get their main news| and information from social. media, but that demographic is growing constantly. so we are starting young, - but we want to develop the age demographics we re looking at. thanks, kamal. and my other guest, maria breslin, is editor of the liverpool echo. maria, we should start with you obviously because the story that s been across every front
in the past in your previous job at the bbc. does that resonate with you, those decisions you have to take? absolutely, kate. i remember the horrific attacks in christchurch, new zealand. i remember when i was head of news at the observer when the 7/7 attacks happened in 2005, the london bombings. and maria absolutely nails it you have to take care. but it is a time, as well, katie, when there s so much brilliant journalism that s done that people need to have things explained. i think you re absolutely right, maria, this notion of the trusted source is really important. people come to the journalism they trust, and particularly the power of regional and local journalism shows its real brilliance through events like this. but it is important to tread carefully but at the same time, not to undermine the journalistic instinct to find out what has happened,
but, as the report that you ve just outlined shows, you have to be cautious and careful, and judicious. and it s always those judgment calls. and all of us as journalists, who been in the front line and managing journalists, know you have to keep discussing how you approach people who are often grieving. and, as you say, katie, we may have found out things much more quickly than relatives and as you made clear, sometimesjournalism missteps. but, as i say, it s important that journalism has its function of explaining to the public what has happened, finding out the truth about what has happened. we are an essential part of democratic society, an important part of holding those in power to account and explaining to the public what s going on. and doorsteps, as they re called in the old language, are part of that. but again, they need to be carefully used. maria breslin, you are editor
to be able to explain to the public, particularly in liverpool, i m sure, maria, who are scared. what does this mean, is there more, what s going to happen? let s think some more about some of the other ethical issues here. last week, a group called survivors against terror published a report criticising the media for intrusion, citing awful examples like a teenager who learnt first from a journalist that her brother had been killed. and this week, the wife of the liverpool taxi driver has complained about press intrusion. kamal ahmed, what is doorstepping, and how fundamental is it in a story like this, do you think? well, doorstepping is the way that some journalism operates, and often for very good reason. you re in that first information gathering phase, and you are trying to understand the facts and gather as many facts as is possible that means eyewitnesses, it means relatives.