The Newsroom

Bloomberg

New European lineup (May 2012)

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CM
cms43
I'm no business person, but I've been really impressed by the new presentation of Bloomberg's European lineup. The addition of a 12 o'clock hour is brilliant - this afternoon they're having an intensive conversation about the Egyptian elections as well as covering some other news stories as well as certain 'news' channels. The new studio they use for some of the programming has a great view and all the programmes have a consistent, smart look. I just hope they give another hour to Hong Kong or allow them to joint-anchor an hour with London. That would be nice!
MQ
Mr Q
The new titles (of those I've seen -- I haven't yet had a chance to glimpse The Pulse, City Central or Last Word) are certainly a vast improvement on what we had up until last week. However, I'm not sure about the music. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the signature that the title theme ends on seems to abruptly cut in -- it just sounds awkward to my ear. Which is a shame, because the visuals are incredibly well executed. That said, I probably still prefer the rapid time-lapse visuals they used prior to the last graphics set. I'll be interested to see if these end up being used by Asia as well, or if Asia retains its own look (and presumably comes up with something different for On the Move Asia). I also wonder if there are any plans to fully adapt the revised graphics (for widescreen) used by Bloomberg US.

As for the new set used for City Central/Last Word -- I've only caught a bit of it from videos on the Bloomberg website. It looks OK, but a bit ad hoc as well. (I'm never particularly thrilled to see a plasma screen on a plain stand.) They've also made some changes to the main set in recent weeks, with the newsroom returning to something of a 'secondary' hosting position rather than using it for entire programs (ie. First Look). I'm also pleased to see that they've ditched those awful blinds during First Look and most of Countdown. I understand they do need blinds once the sun starts shining through the windows, but I'd be happier if they replaced the blinds with something that looks a little less tacky. It's one of the few instances where the London design ends up being more complicated and 'busy' than what they use in the (otherwise similar) New York newsroom studio. Once again, the original set up -- where they used relatively flat or muted colours -- was much better in my view.

38 days later

MQ
Mr Q
For those who are interested, the new titles used by Bloomberg Europe were created by a design studio called The Mill . You can view the full series of graphics at their website.

Having seen the full set now ('Last Word' and 'City Central' don't air on Bloomberg's Asian feed), I think the best of the lot is the first in that clip - the graphics for 'First Look'. 'On The Move' is perhaps the most disappointing of the six.
CM
cms43
Mr Q posted:
...the best of the lot is the first in that clip - the graphics for 'First Look'. 'On The Move' is perhaps the most disappointing of the six.


I still think Linzie Janis' 5am hour was better - especially when it was branded as 'Global Connection', but still the current 'First Look' is great and the graphics/music isn't that bad. I agree that in comparison to the striking previous graphics, 'On The Move' now has worse graphics (and to a certain extent, The Pulse).

As I've mentioned before, the Johnson-Lacqua pairing is great but the Barton-Janis pairing is awful (his quintessentially British voice and her Americanised twang, his all-business approach, her lighter presentation style etc.) also Nemazee-Johnson is virtually non-existent, they present from different parts of the set, don't share interviews and only stand together at the top, bottom and close of the 10am hour! I'd have Thomas-Janis at 5am, Johnson at 7am, Lacqua at 8am, Nemazee at 9am, Barton at 11am and Johnson-Lacqua at 12pm. (Cranny at 4pm!)

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