I think the end bit is particularly true and telling...
Quote:
Instead of behaving like any normal continuous news network, News 24 appears to be trying to produce a series of hourly news bulletins, concentrating on prepared packages and background analysis instead of chasing breaking stories.
This is a deeply flawed approach. Of course the BBC should be providing breadth and depth - but it should also be going hell for leather for big stories when they break.
Sky's presentational success is often superficial: while Thompson was ad-libbing a la Damian Day in Phuket, heavyweights Alagiah and Amroliwala should have been beating him hands down from Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
The BBC has the resources to mount a world-beating continuous news organisation but is constrained by the structures of a Whitehall bureaucracy. That needs to change. Now is the time to appoint a charismatic, driven, imaginative head of BBC News 24 and BBC World, who has the power, respect and money to take immediate decisions that can be seen on screen within hours, not days.
I'd say that is a (remarkably) fair article from the Guardian.
A few points of clarification, though...
News 24 did manage to get correspondents in the area on the day of the event itself, and although I didn't think it outperformed Sky on Boxing Day by any stretch, it's worth remembering that Sky's India correspondent wasn't in the region, and that it took them 24 hours to get someone there.
I haven't noticed Kay Burley's lip gloss, and quite frankly I'm a bit sick of hearing people bashing the woman. For what it's worth, I think she's done a pretty solid job from Sri Lanka, and there's nothing I've seen that was inappropriate or unnecessary from her. It does get a bit tiresome seeing people using her as a punching bag for the flaws of all news organisations. Although the Alex Crawford ''we've been digging for hours, and it's now starting to smell'' report was a bit iffy, I'd agree. But then again, if you were with someone looking for their child, you can't help but think that you would do exactly the same thing, rather than stand around reworking your script.
Trying to equate Jeremy Thompson with Damian Day is grossy inappropriate, and does rather overlook the fact that he's been a foreign correspondent for decades. I think that sort of comment is massively misjudged, and neglects a heck of a lot of fantastic reporting he's been doing.
Finally, the idea that ITV has walked over anyone (I know they got news specials out, but regardless) is twaddle. All of the ITV reporting I've seen has been pretty flimsy, and the News Channel has been an absolute joke.
I think the end bit is particularly true and telling...
You (and Wells, for that matter) seriously think that Matthew Amroliwala has the gravitas to pull of something like Jeremy Thompson? I would agree that the coverage might look better than it really is, but it still really is better than a lot of the stuff the BBC has been doing. I'm not really a fan of George A. but I don't think he is any the more ''heavyweight'' than anyone else.
Although, the present Burley report from Sri Lanka is horrific, I will say that.
I am suprised Mark Austin hasn't anchored tonight's Evening News from the disaster area, you would've thought he would have popped up tonight. Did they only send him to present the Special?
It seems that he has relocated from Thailand to Indonesia. Nick Owen just said that Mark will be on the Lunchtime News.
The stripped (as opposed to stacked) BBC NEWS 24 DOG often appears during ABC World News Tonight broadcasts, although they do sometimes return to the hideous grey "RECORDED" block, and occasionall they bother with neither and/or forget to remove the Tower.
I think the end bit is particularly true and telling...
You (and Wells, for that matter) seriously think that Matthew Amroliwala has the gravitas to pull of something like Jeremy Thompson? I would agree that the coverage might look better than it really is, but it still really is better than a lot of the stuff the BBC has been doing. I'm not really a fan of George A. but I don't think he is any the more ''heavyweight'' than anyone else.
Alagiah and Amroliwala were both correspondents for many years before switching to the studio and I think you'll find Wells is referring to that and their backgrounds both professional and ethnic. Amroliwala has covered some massive stories during this 15 years at the BBC and was without a doubt one of their more senior peeps.
The guardian article is surprisingly fair- not what I've come to expect from the organisation. I think the point about getting to Aceh is very valid- this is where the story started, away from the tourist beaches of Thailand.
Sky undoubtedly got their arses in gear quickly on Boxing day morning and their "messages home" services is truly remarkable and deserving of recognition.
I was genuinely surprised at this, given that Sky had seemed to be in holiday mode for the week before boxing day- they shut up shop with "review of the year programmes" when others continued with the major news coming out of Iraq and Ukraine. During this time it would be fair to say that Sky provided worse news coverage than the drivel that is the ITV news channel- probably the first time that this has ever happened.
So it's a bit mixed really- Sky got it big and good for the enormous story of the year (and the BBC have to learn from this) but shut up for Xmas far, far too early; the BBC provided good coverage throughout but were slow off the starting block with the tsunami. ITV?...still a long way behind and probably regressing.
But 2004 certainly saw a power shift change for News 24 vrs Sky News....on Boxing day itself despite critical acclaim for Sky, many, many more people watched News 24 for the latest than Sky news. That would have been unthinkable 12 months ago and makes the sky relaunch all the more important.
The guardian article is surprisingly fair- not what I've come to expect from the organisation. I think the point about getting to Aceh is very valid- this is where the story started, away from the tourist beaches of Thailand.
I've just realised that your username isn't really the most appropriate anymore.
I think that BBC News 24 is at a considerable advantage because of the number of 'plugs' it gets from BBC News.
Also a lot of people, especially those who buy Freeview boxes, will tune in to News 24 over any other news channel as they believe they would be watching the best as it is the BBC. Many people who have Freeview probably do not know Sky News exists, what it is or how to get it.
Sky News is not advertised anywhere apart from the channel itself (always seemed a bit bizarre to me?!) whereas News 24 as I said is plugged on BBC News bulletins and on the Freeview ads.