Are there any television journalists who could answer this question; Do you prefer to work within the environment of the studio (a space designed to be featured on the TV as well desks around newsreaders, e.g. Sky News Centre 2005-current, BBC News) or to be in an office space designed and decorated just to be an office space and away from the studio?
I've worked in newsroom studios at a couple of places. One everyone was clearly in vision for a few years then they covered us up, but we were still in the same room. It's a bit of a pain really as you're aware that you are probably being seen by millions of people and you have to be careful what you're doing, no scratching an itch on your bum or throwing your arms up in the air in despair etc.
Colleagues of mine who were even nearer to the studio were often seen putting coats on or eating their lunch messily directly behind the presenter. The original Midlands Today setup was particularly bad for that as you'd often see people leaving for the day through the glass at one side of the studio. Very distracting.
Noise is the issue too, newsrooms get very noisy if there's stuff happening or breaking news. Lots of hubub and of course often people want to listen to feeds or other things when you're on air, so you've got to be quieter than a 'normal' newsroom which isn't ideal.
I later worked in a newsroom that was in the same open plan area as the studio but didn't have any of the problems above and it worked well. The good thing about it is that you do feel closer to the production than you do if the studio is down a corridor, also it doesn't seperate the presenters from the journalists as much. If between bulletins they'll come into the newsroom and interact with the editors rather than stay in the studio.
My parents liked it when I worked in a newsroom in the background of a studio though as they check on me and know I was well and at work!
