House's posts

…and finally

Very sad that today is TVF’s last day (and this my last post). But it’s occurred to me that Asa has handled this so well - giving us just the right amount of time to come to terms with it closing, for Rob to make TVLiveForum a reality, and for us to reminisce and pay thanks. It’s been genuinely lovely reading many of the posts over the last month recalling favourite presentations, or moments in pres or TVF history. And, of course, to raise some money for a great cause as thanks to Asa. Another admin web-master might have just said ‘we’re closing tomorrow’, or given such long notice it either stopped feeling real or drowned out a year of discussion in sadness. But not Asa. Bravo.

And leaving it up as read-only is a selfless and much appreciated decision. So much history captured, as well as old discussions for us to return to.

TVF going out with the same care and thoughtfulness of its 20 year run.

Thank you Asa, and good bye TVF ❤️

…and finally

If TVF were on television, this is exactly how I see it bowing out. Confident, professional and graceful to the end.

Thank You Asa!

£455 raised for charity in the roughly six hours since Rob posted the link. Wow. Great outcome for the charity, but also a great show of the love, respect and thanks we all have for Asa and TVF. Nice job Rob, Brekkie and everyone who's donated or shared.

Simon McCoy

I wonder if Andrew Neil let the cat out of the bag a little prematurely, given his tweet came 40-odd minutes before the official GB News announcement and while Simon was on-screen in his last day at his current employer. LBC held back the Eddie Mair signing until a few days after he'd left the BBC, and Colin Brazier and John Pienaar didn't appear on screen again for the BBC or Sky after the announcements they were joining GBN and Times Radio, respectively. Is it not at least good etiquette to hold the news back until Simon's actually left the building, if not tomorrow?

(This post comes from genuine curiosity, by the way, about the 'right' way to do this.)

Simon McCoy

Who's hosting and what the slant is can be deceiving, too. Nicole Wallace, a veteran Republican political strategist and advisor, has developed into a very strong broadcaster on MSNBC's 4-6pmET slot, which is far from a conservative programme. And despite being a left-leaning news channel, they employ mostly established, objective news correspondents to hold down their daytime programming. Their running orders may be politically aligned in terms of which stories attract what attention in the running order, but not how they're covered necessarily. And a lot of that is likely about selecting the stories likely to attract and appeal to their viewership, rather than it be ideologically-minded. Even places like Fox News have employed reputable presenters in the past, such as Shep Smith or Alisyn Camerota. Despite Fox News's undeniable right-wing agenda, Shep Smith's programmes were always far more balanced and reputable.

I think GB News is going to end up far more like LBC, where the channel as a whole has little obvious voice or agenda, and where viewers/commentators judge each 'host' or programme on its own terms. In that sense, I see McCoy and Brazier's hirings as akin to Eddie Mair, John Pienaar or Shelagh Fogarty's departures from the BBC. If I were Sky or ITN or the Beeb, I wouldn't hesitate to hire any of them back.

Not sure where the 'sounds like he'll be doing a lot of OBs' has come from, though. The first paragraph of the press release literally states he's presenting an afternoon slot. What I hope is that he gets to spend more time interviewing and reporting than throwing to endless news reports or pre-recorded pieces. The BBC News Channel, after all the cuts and changes, feels more like a never-ending series of BBC 1 news bulletins than ever, and that probably wastes a lot of their on-screen broadcasters' talents when 15-20 minutes of every half hour is them sitting waiting to be cued again.

Simon McCoy

One thing I will say about GB News that's different: their press releases are pre-written Mirror/Buzzfeed articles in plain sight. I don't think I've ever seen a press release quoting word-for-word a funny thing a new hire did at a competitor.

I do wonder what morale is like at the Beeb right now in general, with the various cuts and new 'visions' that have been implemented in recent years, and the number of established names on-screen and in production who've moved on. Simon McCoy noted on twitter what a shame it was that the Beeb's own article on Clive Myrie getting Mastermind didn't mention the News Channel, even though that's where Clive established himself as presenter and that he'll continue to present there. Taking an opportunity to work somewhere new and vibrant, when your own position at the Beeb has little long-term security, probably makes some sense.

And I'm honestly far more likely to give GB News a try now that I see the likes of Simon McCoy on there than I was previously. People were concerned with the conservative slant Times Radio would have, but it's struck a good balance and has hardly hurt the reputations of John Pienaar and the like. And if Simon McCoy can combine his trademark personality, interview skill and ability to produce viral moments/clips on GB News, he'll be a very smart hire.

Simon McCoy

Big Moira.

Simon McCoy

While it’s a crying shame Simon’s leaving the BBC and I very much hope he lands somewhere else soon (notwithstanding any personal considerations he might have - Simon, like the monarch, has a moral and public duty to continue to the very end), I think it’s fairly obvious he’s leaving as part of the latest round in cuts. We knew that some NC and WN presenters would be leaving as they seek to share more resources, and he leaves on the same day as others.

That said, I would absolutely grab him if I were GMB right now. Even just two or three days a week. What GMB, and more recently Breakfast often lacks isn’t controversial opinions or Morgan rants, but rich onscreen personality and unmanufactured humour. With the right co-presenters, Simon would be the perfect fit.

BBC to move more roles outwith London

It’s plausible that, in practice, most of the programme will still originate in London and they’ll just have a presenter there for ‘we’re in Bletchley, talking to locals about what they think of the European Convention on Human Rights’ stuff. Similar to when Emily co-presented from the US during the elections. To do the whole programme from location regularly could be chaotic.

BBC to move more roles outwith London

I always got the impression a lot of the onscreen team and at least some of the production crew on Click were freelancers rather than staff reporters? It's certainly not a programme that's particularly London-centric in its end product (during non-pandemic times), and most of the bits that are likely still would be (i.e. visiting a London-based company for a report). Frankly, if there's a programme that should be able to come together with staff all across the country, it's Click. So I imagine that, beyond dragging Spencer to Pacific Quay every now and then to record some links, it'll mostly be desk-based staff and editors who move.

The significance? I don't understand which message the BBC is trying to send. Is this about moving jobs out of London behind the scenes? If it was, the Newsnight and Today changes don't relocate any positions. On the other hand, if it's about giving the public the impression that BBC programming is not London-centric, why would you move shows where their location is unknown to viewers 98% of the time? It frustrates me because I'm struggling to see in what way the BBC produces better (or, even, different) output, or better value-for-money, with these changes? It just seems like a great waste of cash every few years, followed by further workforce reductions when they remember how budget constrained they are.

BBC to move more roles outwith London

THREAD

1)Because of the changes in BBC News announced today, my job as Editor of Live Political Programmes has closed. I’m hugely proud of the teams and the programmes they delivered. Programmes, not just news, really matter.

— Rob Burley (@RobBurl) March 18, 2021

BBC to move more roles outwith London

The Today programme co-presenting over a third of their editions from outside London perhaps explain why they've suddenly added a fifth regular presenter after doing fine with just four – there's absolutely no point in being on location or reporting from outside London if you're only going to talk to the same guests DTL, so presumably the presenters will do more of the reporting and features they usually do when on location (which thus requires more of the team, on top of travel).

Still, though, that seems like a lot of expense for no real gain beyond optics. Same with Newsnight: moving London-based presenters and producers, and technical crew at least some of the time, around the country all the time just racks up travel and hotel costs without particularly contributing to non-London economies, or increasing output. Just months after the BBC's latest round of 'we need to avoid duplication – send one reporter to cover for all networks, not a specialist per programme, more generic content etc.' they're now doing this. Moving staff permanently out of London makes more sense long-term, but is still a short term expense the BBC cannot really afford right now.

The sensible thing for Newsnight to do would simply be have Kirsty Wark predominantly present from Scotland, as she did at points during the pandemic. Doesn't change the need for studio, if not gallery crews with her, though, but I think the pandemic has shown a number of staff for a programme (producers, editors etc.) can be located away from where it's filming without detriment.