Is BBC London hyperlocal?

I wouldn’t say that BBC London is hyperlocal. Hyperlocal is something like SE1. BBC London covers a huge geographical area. 

In what way does BBC London Facebook act as a forum for groups of people?

It gives people a platform to discuss issues. Most of this is done between members of the public, but there is the opportunity for the BBC to feed back into the debate with comments and links to articles. It’s not a forum in a typical sense as people only relaly add their comments to posts we have created, rather than on topics which they have set themselves. 

How do you decide which topics and stories to use on Facebook?

In the same way we look at how we would fill a half hour news bulletin or website page. So asking what the story is, what it means for people, and how do we tell that story. 

How do you respond to citizen stories that are too niche for your viewers – either because of locality or subject?  Are there any initiatives to include stories from niche communities?

I don’t think that stories are categorised as ‘too niche’. Any stories which come from people are assessed in the same way – broadly by asking the question ‘What’s the topline? How do we tell it?’ 

If there isn’t a story then we wouldn’t cover it, if there is a story then we would. Obviously this is weighed against resources and if other outlets have carried the story. 

How integrated are the BBC London Broadcast, Radio, Online and 

Facebook?

Everyone in those departments can use Facebook, and we share posts across pages. 

Do you often use 'citizen journalists'? How much public input do you have in curating stories and gathering content?

We sometimes work with people outside the BBC. This doesn’t mean that everyone who we work with would describe themselves as a ‘citizen journalist’. We often hear from people who want to tell their story, or a story about someone they know, but they may only want to tell one story, not many stories in the same way a journalist would. We listen to our audience and often use UGC (user generated content) for events which we weren’t able to capture (eg fires, breaking stories) 

What are the demographics of your main viewers?

Regional TV viewers tend to be at the older end of the population.