Skygeek's posts, page 5

I have always lived in hope that one day, Mouseboy, you would finally grasp that just because something works in America, it won't necessarily also work here. However, you seem hell bent on yet again delivering your sermon on how local TV channels here are missing the obvious because it works in America so it'll be a 100% success here. As many others before me have said, you are most likely wrong.

A large number of channels covering local audiences in the US are often affiliated to a big network like NBC, ABC or CBS, but we don't have that structure in the UK, meaning that any local channel will either be showing repeats or low budget in-house productions when they're not showing news. I know some channels in the US don't have any affiliation, and instead may show syndicated stuff, but we don't have that system here either.

The in-house stuff local TV in the UK produces will then be low budget, because unlike in the US people are not used to having these local channels, and so they don't turn to them. People are used to going to the ITV and BBC for local news, or the websites of local newspapers etc, because that's how it has always worked, and as much as you protest to the contrary old habits die hard.

Your point about 'coverage complexity' being a weak argument is rubbish. It is bloody difficult for any one service to cover an area such as London, because of how devolved all the councils are and how things don't happen consistently council to council. You talk of how LA is full of smaller cities, but how well covered are these smaller places? I suspect that, much like people living in rural parts of BBC and ITV regions, they also think that they aren't particularly well covered by big broadcasters covering a large patch. Likewise, because they're used to the system of good local news, they may be very well covered. But that isn't how it works here.

All in all, you can say as much as you like that local TV is awful here because US broadcasters are fantastic and wise and wonderful, but you're wasting your breath. You consistently fail to put across convincing arguments as to why local TV should work really well here, and when people disagree you tend to roll your eyes, belittle the member involved and repeat why you're right and everyone else is wrong. Give it a rest!

My favourite was the cheesy game show piss-take one.

Are there ever two ways between the gallery and presenter on air? They occasionally happen over here during morning cable shows (I know Morning Joe does it regularly) when the presenter "makes" who ever is talking in their IFB say it on air. I've noticed a few occasions where during Sunrise on the weekends they make comments of producers ridiculing them (this weekend was Stephen Dixon's shoes).

In the US they occasionally do these. They feature the local towns, interview politicians and show what's good of it. But they always. Have someone back at the studio to report on the serious news.

I'm sure going on the road, maybe renting out space in a pub as a studio where they could broadcast from with an audience. Shows them connecting with the viewers.

I think Channel 9 in Australia Today Show seems to do this twice a year with different locations each day.

That's true of the two people to whom you refer, but remember, it's principally the producer's job (most nights, me) to brief the guests on any sensitive legal areas (and sometimes to spare the feelings of guests whose papers might have printed stuff that Sky News as an Ofcom-regulated broadcaster doesn't feel comfortable running.)