The Newsroom

UK General Election

Thurs 8th June 2017 - **Presentation related discussion only** (April 2017)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
NE
Newsroom
Will be frustrating that once again the BBC will come out on top (and with a clear majority) when Dimblebly is clearly beyond his best, they're slow with the results and frankly bigger isn't always better when it comes to the studio.

Sky seems to have been highly regarded (I didn't see much), whilst as always ITV did a great job and Tom Bradby thrives on election night IMO - but I do think they really missed having a second or even third person in the studio to do the virtual graphics and the soft set interviews. It was a bit awkward at times having Tom move around the studio to do another job.

C4 not quite getting it right with the Alternative Election I think - running ads immediately puts it behind the ad-free ITV and Sky News coverage, while Paxman is just annoying now. I really like the idea of a more entertainment based alternative so they probably went too much the other way with a fairly strong panel of politicians and experts, but losing that wouldn't help either. They could have done with continuing beyond 6am given the result too.


ITV won with regard to ALL reviews so far. See Guardian above, and here is another from the Press Gazette.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/itv-and-osborne-praised-for-election-night-coverage-but-bbc-wins-the-ratings-battle/
AN
Andrew Founding member
I can't see the point of an entertainment alternative overnight, if you are staying up all night you'll want to see the results and all the key moments, the time for entertainment is either before midnight, or the next day.

Dimbleby has loads of gravitas but he was a bit off at times, often cutting people off when they were about to extend the conversation as if they were running out of time, when all they were doing were going across to Emily or Reeta, that surely could have waited.
IT
itsrobert Founding member
Will be frustrating that once again the BBC will come out on top (and with a clear majority) when Dimblebly is clearly beyond his best, they're slow with the results and frankly bigger isn't always better when it comes to the studio.

Sky seems to have been highly regarded (I didn't see much), whilst as always ITV did a great job and Tom Bradby thrives on election night IMO - but I do think they really missed having a second or even third person in the studio to do the virtual graphics and the soft set interviews. It was a bit awkward at times having Tom move around the studio to do another job.

C4 not quite getting it right with the Alternative Election I think - running ads immediately puts it behind the ad-free ITV and Sky News coverage, while Paxman is just annoying now. I really like the idea of a more entertainment based alternative so they probably went too much the other way with a fairly strong panel of politicians and experts, but losing that wouldn't help either. They could have done with continuing beyond 6am given the result too.


ITV won with regard to ALL reviews so far. See Guardian above, and here is another from the Press Gazette.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/itv-and-osborne-praised-for-election-night-coverage-but-bbc-wins-the-ratings-battle/

I think Brekkie means that it's a foregone conclusion that the BBC will come out on top in terms of viewing figures, even though their coverage was lacklustre at best. It's just an accepted fact that most people turn to the BBC on these occasions, rightly or wrongly.


I have to agree with Brekkie and the article in The Guardian regarding the sheer size of the BBC's set. It felt absolutely cavernous and unappealing. ITV gets slated all the time for its "virtual reality hell" but I actually think the quality and reliability of ITN's VR set up is such that it really doesn't detract at all from the coverage. If anything, it made it feel much more cosy and visually appealing than the BBC. ITV's background was far superior to the BBC's real, but busy, mess.

I'm not entirely sure that ITV did need another presenter in Studio 1. The fact that Tom was darting all over the studio just added to the sense of drama and urgency. I also felt that it helped with continuity to have Tom conducting all the main interviews and analysis. Lighter relief was provided by Nina Hossain - and I have to say that using the atrium floor in the way they did was a stroke of genius. It added welcome contrast to the heavier studio-based content.

And the choice of Osborne and Balls as special guests was inspired. They made for very good television last night - when I turned over to the BBC they had John McDonnell and Michael Fallon on as studio guests - and I promptly switched back.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
I can't see the point of an entertainment alternative overnight, if you are staying up all night you'll want to see the results and all the key moments, the time for entertainment is either before midnight, or the next day.


I disagree, the C4 coverage had all of the results, and sufficient credibilty with Paxman and Cathy Newman plus C4 News reporters at the counts. The studio analysis was just done more in the vein of Have I Got News For You - it was satirical rather than pure entertainment, with credible pundits (eg Anne Widdecombe, Alistair Campbell) plus contributions from politicians doing the Millbank circuit.

Don't forget it's not that long ago that every BBC Election programme had contributions from Rory Bremner or Richard Stilgoe.

Quote:
Dimbleby has loads of gravitas but he was a bit off at times, often cutting people off when they were about to extend the conversation as if they were running out of time, when all they were doing were going across to Emily or Reeta, that surely could have waited.


Did they perhaps need to hit a clock start for nations opting in for the bulletin from Reeta or World opting out for their own bulletin?
LL
London Lite Founding member
Sophy Ridge on Sunday is extended to two hours on Sky News this weekend.
BR
Brekkie
I can't see the point of an entertainment alternative overnight, if you are staying up all night you'll want to see the results and all the key moments, the time for entertainment is either before midnight, or the next day.

I think the problem C4 have had is each time they've done it the election itself has been somewhat dramatic. It would work better for elections where it is an absolute foregone conclusion.
NE
Newsroom
Will be frustrating that once again the BBC will come out on top (and with a clear majority) when Dimblebly is clearly beyond his best, they're slow with the results and frankly bigger isn't always better when it comes to the studio.

Sky seems to have been highly regarded (I didn't see much), whilst as always ITV did a great job and Tom Bradby thrives on election night IMO - but I do think they really missed having a second or even third person in the studio to do the virtual graphics and the soft set interviews. It was a bit awkward at times having Tom move around the studio to do another job.

C4 not quite getting it right with the Alternative Election I think - running ads immediately puts it behind the ad-free ITV and Sky News coverage, while Paxman is just annoying now. I really like the idea of a more entertainment based alternative so they probably went too much the other way with a fairly strong panel of politicians and experts, but losing that wouldn't help either. They could have done with continuing beyond 6am given the result too.


ITV won with regard to ALL reviews so far. See Guardian above, and here is another from the Press Gazette.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/itv-and-osborne-praised-for-election-night-coverage-but-bbc-wins-the-ratings-battle/

I think Brekkie means that it's a foregone conclusion that the BBC will come out on top in terms of viewing figures, even though their coverage was lacklustre at best. It's just an accepted fact that most people turn to the BBC on these occasions, rightly or wrongly.


I have to agree with Brekkie and the article in The Guardian regarding the sheer size of the BBC's set. It felt absolutely cavernous and unappealing. ITV gets slated all the time for its "virtual reality hell" but I actually think the quality and reliability of ITN's VR set up is such that it really doesn't detract at all from the coverage. If anything, it made it feel much more cosy and visually appealing than the BBC. ITV's background was far superior to the BBC's real, but busy, mess.

I'm not entirely sure that ITV did need another presenter in Studio 1. The fact that Tom was darting all over the studio just added to the sense of drama and urgency. I also felt that it helped with continuity to have Tom conducting all the main interviews and analysis. Lighter relief was provided by Nina Hossain - and I have to say that using the atrium floor in the way they did was a stroke of genius. It added welcome contrast to the heavier studio-based content.

And the choice of Osborne and Balls as special guests was inspired. They made for very good television last night - when I turned over to the BBC they had John McDonnell and Michael Fallon on as studio guests - and I promptly switched back.


Couldn't have said this better myself Rob. The sheer size of the BBC set was wasted due to lack of activity, buzz, and the low number of people actually there. I do hope they do away with this set and the use of Elstree. They've an enormous space in W1, some planning and that entire space could be put to use.
WW
WW Update

I disagree, the C4 coverage had all of the results, and sufficient credibilty with Paxman and Cathy Newman plus C4 News reporters at the counts. The studio analysis was just done more in the vein of Have I Got News For You - it was satirical rather than pure entertainment, with credible pundits (eg Anne Widdecombe, Alistair Campbell) plus contributions from politicians doing the Millbank circuit.


But no musical acts? For some reason that eludes me, German television had them during election night broadcasts in the 1970s and into the '80s, giving the whole thing a vaguely Eurovision Song Contest vibe:

DV
dvboy


Did they perhaps need to hit a clock start for nations opting in for the bulletin from Reeta or World opting out for their own bulletin?


The nations all had their own programmes. Not sure if World opted out during the news however it was never bang on the hour. I suspect not because until the 4:00ish bulletin there was a markets reaction update from Sharanjit Leyl in Singapore.
AS
AlexS
Newsnight special at 18:00 tomorrow on BBC2 with Emily Maitlis
AS
AlexS
dvboy posted:


Did they perhaps need to hit a clock start for nations opting in for the bulletin from Reeta or World opting out for their own bulletin?


The nations all had their own programmes. Not sure if World opted out during the news however it was never bang on the hour. I suspect not because until the 4:00ish bulletin there was a markets reaction update from Sharanjit Leyl in Singapore.

It would appear from Twitter than Chris Rogers was doing some stuff for world overnight.
RK
Rkolsen
AlexS posted:
dvboy posted:


Did they perhaps need to hit a clock start for nations opting in for the bulletin from Reeta or World opting out for their own bulletin?


The nations all had their own programmes. Not sure if World opted out during the news however it was never bang on the hour. I suspect not because until the 4:00ish bulletin there was a markets reaction update from Sharanjit Leyl in Singapore.

It would appear from Twitter than Chris Rogers was doing some stuff for world overnight.


The World did opt. I only started watching around 0500UK and they had opts with Sally Bundock doing business and James Menendez from college green

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