We’re always taught that it’s the way you ask the question.

So when the Observer asks: “Is BBC News broken? And if so, how do we fix it?”, you already know the answer.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put the BBC together again, let alone the “five well-placed commentators” deputed to carry out the task.

Can we stick to the facts?

The BBC is trying to report on and analyse an issue of deep complexity that crosses traditional party boundaries.

Are we broken? Well, we pick up bruises most days of the week, but that goes with the territory. I don’t see any fractured limbs. Or even a lack of confidence, as your commentators suggest.

People have the right to their opinions about the BBC. But don’t mistake them for facts.

Yes, we interview people that some might not want to see or hear. That’s never seen as proper journalism, properly carried out. Instead we’re told we’re giving them “a platform”.

And, yes, I am thinking of Nigel Farage, who recently appeared on The Andrew Marr Show and Question Time – and who, as the leader of the Brexit party, won a hatful of seats in last month’s European elections.

Yes, we always have a responsibility to interrogate lies and half-truths as your commentators suggest. But I doubt if anyone who watched the interview would argue it was anything but robust and challenging.

And then we’re told he’s on too much.

This was actually Mr Farage’s first interview with Marr for more than two years and it was his first appearance on Question Time in a year.

Then there’s the old chestnut that we didn’t adequately question the claim in the 2016 referendum that £350m would be repatriated to the NHS. In fact, BBC Reality Check pointed out the problem with the figure long before it appeared on the bus, and campaigners were repeatedly questioned about it.

Sometimes, as they say, the fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion.

Perhaps that’s why there’s a suggestion that we apply a “false equivalence” to our Brexit coverage, as if we should report upon it like climate change, a largely settled science.

Don’t confuse the BBC’s vital role in the democratic process with wanting us to side with a particular view. We are bound by specific rules in election periods, but we understand the difference between balance and due impartiality. News judgments still apply, even when spin doctors try to force us to bend our running orders to their will.

Some people want the BBC to fight their corner – and we are, precisely because we don’t take sides. Fran Unsworth

People feel strongly about the BBC. It shows they care, and the great responsibility of our role. But at this time of political passion, please don’t imply our journalists have their own agenda.

Don’t claim without any evidence that journalists such as John Humphrys choose to attack certain guests and let others reel off speeches uninterrupted.

Don’t claim without evidence that “people in government or positions of political power get challenged less, while experts are being devalued”.

We are an accountable organisation. Judge us not against opinions, but against our guidelines of accuracy and impartiality.

Stick to the facts!

Here’s one: we know that trust in media organisations is falling, and we must do something to address it.

But the fact is that according to Ipsos Mori at the end of 2017, audiences believe BBC News remains the most trusted, impartial and accurate news provider in the UK.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide turn to BBC News each week. Traffic to our website and our news audiences peak during moments of breaking news. People still turn to the BBC to make sense of the story.

Not quite broken, then. But, yes, there are still things to fix.

I’m proud of the wealth of diverse talent, on and off air, working at the BBC. Yes, like many other news organisations, we need to do more, and we will. We are committed to ensuring the BBC is open and accessible to everyone, and reflects the audiences we serve.

Yes, we should do more to reach out to different communities, and to young people. We’re trying hard.

In a time of uncertainty, some people want the BBC to fight their corner. Here’s the thing – we are fighting their corner. We’re on the audience’s side, precisely because we don’t take sides.

The BBC is for everyone – and our commitment to fair and impartial news is unwavering. So, please, in future, can we just stick to the facts?