George Hill's posts, page 10

GH

George Hill 12 April 2013 6:27pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

So having already moved Question Time from an area that wouldn't be too sombre about her passing to her constituency the BBC have now opted not to play Ding Dong the Witch is Dead in the chart on Sunday, ignoring a large swathe of public opinion. However it's currently at number three in the charts and the BBC stating today they won't play it has pushed the story front and centre, so wouldn't be surprised if it helps bump it a couple of places higher.

Brekkie - I'm really starting to get annoyed at your disrespectful attitude which you have shown since the start. Personally I think the BBC have made completely the right decision. Yes, the publicity may well help it move further up the chart, but they just couldn't play it. Doing a news insert is a good call.

GH

George Hill 12 April 2013 4:09pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

thegeek posted:

Inspector Sands posted:

Incidently, the producer featured, Adrian Van Klavern is the former controller of 5 Live who got moved aside during the Savile affair and is now in charge of the World War 1 anniversary

also a brief appearance by the new DG

And the editor in charge of the Nine O'Clock News is Mark Damazer - former Radio 4 controller.

GH

George Hill 12 April 2013 12:04pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

britbat posted:

Inspector Sands posted:

The sudden death of the leader of the opposition has happened during the lifetime of most of us, John Smith in 1994. that was totally unexpected

Very true - though mercifully (from the news perspective) early in the morning, and before rolling news.

This behind the scenes video of BBC News from 1989 deals with a situation which may have seen a political obit used - resignation of Nigel Lawson as Chancellor -

Thanks for the clip. It's amazing to play spot the names as you go through - so many people on that clip are current/recent management.

GH

George Hill 10 April 2013 11:08pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

CyberCD posted:

David Dimbleby to present on BBC One - coverage starts at 9.15am next Wednesday.

Very disappointing news. The BBC really need to ditch Dimbleby. He is good at best, but not standout. They should have used this to cement the new generation with Edwards etc.

GH

George Hill 9 April 2013 5:36pm

BBC News: Presenters & Rotas

Muckspreader posted:

George Hill posted:

Jaxford posted:

AdamABC posted:

George Hill posted:

Interesting that John Humphrys has only signed a 9 month extension contract with the Today Programme, and he is 70 in August. People have been saying this for years, but I do expect he will go before long. I predict a Radio 4 reshuffle, probably in all four news strands (with Eddie Mair moving to Newsnight) before the year is out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/apr/05/bbc-john-humphrys-today-mastermind

Isn't there a chance that Emily could take over on NN? To be honest, we're still unsure if she has a regular slot on NC, so maybe this could be because she is moving to Newsnight more regularly?

Although John is a much loved presenter, I think it might be time for him to go and bring in a new presenter. It said on the article that George Entwistle wanted to have another female presenter on Today but I'm not sure if Tony Hall is also going along with that.

Eddie Mair has said before that he doesn't like television and prefers radio so I don't think that he'll move to Newsnight. He would make great Today presenter. Another person I think could be a possible candidate could be Nick Robinson. He has been the political editor since 2005 and moving to Today would be a good thing for him.

John Humphreys replacement will be Ritula Shah from the world tonight. Radio 4 listeners rate her very highly, myself included, and she ticks all the pc boxes they will want. Nick Robinson is likely to be the next man on the programme, although that might be a while off yet.

There are a whole number of people who could be in line to be the next Today presenter.

Lets face it, it may well be a woman, as is the current political will. So lets look at who it could be:
Ritula Shah - yes, very good indeed. Known to R4 audience. Not enough of an attack dog though.
Philippa Thomas - has presented on R4, and well known for strong foreign backround.
Stephanie Flanders - Again, well known, but wouldn't be my choice.
Jane Garvey - why not.
Victoria Derbyshire - like her or loathe her, she is highly respected and has a strong interviewing backround.
Aasmah Mir - probably not heavyweight enough, but might be considered.

And for the men, lets see:
Eddie Mair - well, obviously. Hard to see how he won't be on Today at some point.
Nick Robinson - Would clearly just slot in. Nuff said.
Any other man - with Eddie and Nick in the frame, lets be honest and say that no other men could even be considered.

Actually I think other female candidates are likely to be Emily Maitlis, Martha Kearney and yes perhaps Stephanie Flanders. (Although they are unlikely to put her on when Evan Davis is still there). Other candidates could be Mishal Husain, although I think she will get a big TV job domestically before long), Sian Williams and Carrie Gracie. I can't see them putting Philippa Thomas on Today yet - more likely to become presenter of the World Tonight first. As for Victoria Derbyshire/ Aasmah Mir - I think they are both highly unlikely.

GH

George Hill 8 April 2013 11:06pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

Jon posted:

RDJ posted:

Brekkie posted:

Moving on to the funeral and wonder if it'll be Dimbleby or Edwards for the BBC. I'd guess Alastair Stewart will cover it for ITV unless they go for the street party approach with Schofield and Etchingham.

Dimbleby I guess considering he done Diana's and the Queen Mother's. Huw probably providing a VO.

The most recent one of those was 11 years ago though. Things have changed since then.

Yes - I think it's more likely to be Huw Edwards with Sophie Raworth/ Fiona Bruce/ Sian Williams in supporting roles.

GH

George Hill 8 April 2013 5:04pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

Huw Edwards still going in studio C with a simulcast. I see they are using London skyline backdrop.
(Just hearing a report from Huw on R4 bulletin as a former political correspondent)

GH

George Hill 8 April 2013 4:40pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

Sian Williams has tweeted that the BBC News at Six will be coming live from Downing Street.

GH

George Hill 8 April 2013 2:28pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

scoobiesnack posted:

First time I've seen Nick Robinson at 14:15 ish, I wonder what he had planned for today?

He was on news channel within a minute on the phone.

GH

George Hill 8 April 2013 2:23pm

Baroness Thatcher has died

Ronant posted:

scoobiesnack posted:

crownprince posted:

Sian coming across seemingly upset by the news.

Her outfit was a little ruffled I thought - top button undone. I get the feeling she'd had to change outfit in a real hurry. I wonder how close their dressing rooms are to the studio? I think it broke at 12:45 - 12:50 didn't it? Far easy for the guys in these situations - just pull a black tie out of the drawer.

News broke on the News Channel at 12.48, you can still watch it on iPlayer restart. Joanna Gosling and Chris Eakin broke the News, neither of whom reappeared at 1.30.

Just watching this now - you hear Chris just freezing while reading the headlines as he is told the news. It then goes to the coming up strap and clearly he wants to stop reading, obviously knowing that it isn't going to happen. He looks quite shocked. People literally running in the newsroom behind.

GH

George Hill 8 April 2013 2:11pm