... and given that pretty much all of the information the BBC were citing as 'from eyewitnesses' was really 'from eyewitnesses speaking to Sky News', then one questions whether anything is top priority really.
Sky were leagues ahead, from what I saw. Most of the time News 24 just had a banner up with other reports running about sports/Israel/Boston, and the briefest of live updates from Yorkshire.
Considering it's been their top story for days, you'd have excepted a bit more. Sky have been a bit crud recently, but when it comes to the crunch they still can't be beaten.
I have to disagree with you on that one c@t. Sky News appeared to be reporting the majority of eyewitness reports, or from as they put it 'several sources'. Sky then said PA was reporting the arrest. BBC News 24 seemed to be waiting for official comformation of an arrest from Yorkshire Police, not eyewitnesses, they seemed reluctant to say that PA was reporting an arrest, without the Police confirming it. At one point Sky News was reporting the arrest from 'several sources', while BBC News 24 was reporting that the Police 'neither deny or confirm' that an arrest has taken place or that there was a 'serious incident', prompting the presenter to say 'There seems to be a lot of confusion at the moment'. They then went to Israel I think, but thats another issue!
I also have to disagree with c@t and come out in defence of the BBC because it seems that, with all due respect - she hasn't a clue.
The BBC is public service and has to get it right all the time. The BBC cannot break a news story like Mark Hobson being arrested based on a few eyewitness accounts.
That's a luxury that Sky News has - if they get it wrong it's just their credibility that takes a knock. The BBC can't as it is publicly held to account.
BBC News 24 were not quoting eyewitnesses quoted on Sky News. If c@t had actually watched the BBC's output she would have seen that the BBC also spoke to eyewitnesses from the scene on the telephone. Throughout the breaking news the BBC were quoting police sources from the Press Association (PA).
Let's also not forget that the BBC crashed out of a programme and were first with their reporter in North Yorkshire. They were first with pictures from the scene of the garage and were first with the police news conference at 7.30pm.
It would be interesting to to see the viewing figures for Sunday evening but I suspect that will be - as they have been for the last few months - a tie with Sky News.
Fact is - Sky might be first with their banner on the screen but they also might be wrong. The head of Sky News has said a few times that Sky will go with a story and hope it turns out to be right. To their credit they mostly are, but that's the tabloid news beast - the BBC cannot do that.
BBC News 24 however might be slightly more cautious with a story but at least you know that they are right.
Sky News was the undisputed winner in the race to report the arrest of quadruple murder suspect Mark Hobson.
It beat rivals BBC News 24 and the ITV News Channel hands down yesterday when Hobson was picked up at a service station near the village of Shipton on the A19 north of York.
Sky reporter Michelle May started broadcasting from Shipton at about 4.45pm, an hour after armed police swooped on the garage owned by Derek North, who alerted police after Hobson came into his filling station to buy matches and cigarette papers. May told viewers that a "rumour" had prompted her to travel there. Her crew was the first television team on the scene, and it is also thought she arrived before ahead of print journalists.
Her camera crew broadcast live pictures of the armoured vehicle that took Hobson away from the scene just before 5pm. At 5.10pm Sky was first to confirm the arrest, beating the other broadcasters and the Press Association, saying three separate police sources had corroborated the story.
ITV's reporter arrived in Shipton at about 6pm - by this time locals Anne and Trevor Hainsworth, who had been on the station forecourt when police arrived, had repeated their story to Sky several times. The BBC was last on the scene.
After the revamp of BBC News 24 six months ago, former director of news Richard Sambrook said he preferred his network to be accurate rather than first with a story.
But even after the two eyewitnesses had told Sky what had happened, the BBC reporter was still saying that police would not "confirm or deny" the arrest. It remained cautious until after 7pm when police confirmed the story.
The story was a coup for Sky: recently the BBC has captured ground on its rival, and the two 24-hour news networks are roughly neck and neck on ratings terms
We all know what happens if the BBC rushes in an reorts a story without it being confirmed, and BBC online was reporting it as soon as SKY got it. Sky can misreport something and get away with it, where as the BBC can't.
Without wanting to say "I feel vinidicated" by that Guardian report (oops, I just did)... I do really wonder why people come on here and spout total and utter tosh about News 24's coverage of some events.
I do hope, Timmy, that Guardian report clarifies things for you somewhat. And the next time you come on and start being an arse, you will consider first of all not whether Sky or the BBC get their facts right, but whether you yourself have things straight.
The thing is the BBC were unacceptably late in covering the stories. All they have to do is cover themselves by reporting things as "rumours" or "eye-witness statements" etc. rather than fact, and if things are wrong, correct themselves.
Viewers have a brain - as long as rumours or opinions are not presented as fact, they'll be respected.