The Marr effect: BBC calls end to arms race

BBC correspondents who wave their arms while delivering television news are breaching the corporation's own guidelines, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

In recent months, the sight of reporters gesticulating wildly during even the blandest of dispatches has become a familiar bugbear to millions of viewers.

But the IoS has obtained a copy of an official BBC guide on how to behave in front of the camera. It stipulates that arms should never be "raised above the chest".

Last night, the fad for reporters to adopt flamboyant on-screen personas was criticised by some of the BBC's most senior broadcasters, past and present. Martin Bell, the former foreign correspondent, condemned it as "utter madness" – and likened it to "the return of semaphore".

John Humphrys, presenter of the Today programme, said he was relieved to be working on radio, where no one expected him to move his hands.

Another BBC insider said the gestures made reporters look "like Magnus Pyke", the eccentric scientist who was once a stalwart of programmes about wacky inventions.

And it is not just other journalists who have been irritated by the trend. The BBC's news presentation "guru" admits that, at times, it has frustrated even him. Vin Ray, the author of the BBC's pocket guide for journalists, The Reporter's Friend, said he sometimes felt reporters were "using their hands too much".

Opinion is divided on the reasons for the arm-waving fad. Some blame the "culture" of 24-hour news, and the increasing pressure on reporters to grab viewers' attention brought by multi-channel television.

Others feel there is a simpler explanation. Journalists, they say, are imitating Andrew Marr, the BBC's charismatic political editor whose energetic dispatches from Westminster have turned him into a household name. None of this cuts any ice with Mr Bell, who reported for the BBC for 30 years before becoming the MP for Tatton in the 1997 general election. "It's utter madness. Semaphore is back. Today's reporting seems to be about journalism as a performing, rather than a reporting, art.

"What we don't get very much any more is picture-driven news. Instead, it's what I call 'roof-top telly' – someone standing in front of a palm tree somewhere frantically waving their arms when there's nothing going on."

Blaming the obsession with arm-waving on the rise of 24-hour rolling news, he said only a handful of BBC correspondents were "holding out against it". Among their number was Matt Frei, the BBC's Washington correspondent, and the veteran war reporter John Simpson.

Although he stopped short of directly condemning the fad of hand-waving, Mr Humphrys said: "I was certainly brought up in the non-hand-waving school."

A BBC insider added: "I think a lot of the problem is that Andrew Marr has got them all so worked up by becoming such a big personality overnight. They all want to be like him, and it shows.

"Mark Mardell, who's been standing in for him this week, seems to be desperately trying to outdo him. He's behaving like Magnus Pyke."

Clues as to the reasons for the increase in arm-waving may be found in the wording of The Reporter's Friend, which advocates the use of "showbiz" techniques.

One instruction reads: "A certain amount of movement ... can help make reporters look less 'stiff' and more natural. Giving yourself something to do can help you look more relaxed – but there has to be a purpose. So take these approaches in small doses and vary your style ... Most people naturally use their hands in conversation – therefore you should do it in pieces to camera. However, take care that your hands do not become a distraction."

Another section says: "Reporting live involves a larger element of 'showbiz' than some correspondents feel comfortable with."

Mr Ray, who is also the BBC's deputy head of newsgathering, says the intention of the guide was to offer tips on "engaging" audiences.

He denied ever having to intervene to tone down a reporter's "performance", but admitted: "There was a spate about a year ago when people were using their hands too much."

Mr Ray's advice will soon be available more widely. The Reporter's Friend has been adapted into a book, A Television News Handbook, published by Macmillan in May.

The hand-wavers

Dr Cary Cooper, professor of psychology at UMIST, identifies four categories of BBC "hand-waver"

The Extrovert: Richard Bilton (social affairs correspondent) Characteristics: Wide-eyed stare, exaggerated pointing.

What it says: "He loves the knife-edge of live broadcasting. He points to 'describe' where he is."

The Strategist: Jenny Scott (economics correspondent) Characteristics: Clasps and unclasps hands, strikes arm out for emphasis.

What it says: "She seems organised. She moves her hand to stress a specific point."

The Prop-user: Nick Bryant (Washington correspondent)

Characteristics: Uses scenery and everyday objects as aids.

What it says: "He does things such as flicking through The Washington Post to show he is not in London."

The Enthusiast: Andrew Marr (political editor)

Characteristics: Excited delivery, and fast and furious hand movements.

What it says: "He's totally immersed in his subject. It's as if he's performing a show for the viewer."