BBC News 24

As pointed out, they've tried to change the TOTH, by restarting the headline bed at the "Also ahead this hour" section of the headlines. Sounds messy at the moment, unless they make more changes I can't see it continuing.

Another minor point of interest, at around 12:50, Tim and Liz had Maxine Mawhinney sat at the desk with them, to tell us some of the stuff being covered during the afternoon with "Matthew and Maxine", an interesting little filler - looked strange having 3 presenters round the desk.

I agree that the 2300 - 0100 shift could be up for the chop, which would be a shame, as I enjoy watching during this period, and I think it suits Peter Dobbie well.

I had a bit of a feeling that I'd spark a load of speculation.... silly me. No, as far as I know the 2300 - 0100 presenter isn't being chopped. I'm not going to deny anything else though, as by a process of elimination people might eventually get there. But, as I said, there's nothing major, it's not to the core bits of the channel, and many people probably won't even realise there's been a change. All the suggestions so far have been much bigger (in the terms most people on this forum think in*) than the reality.

*People in the news channels tend to look more at content, editorial lines, production team etc... rather than presenters and stings** The presentational aspects tend to follow on. Programmes built around a particular presenter or aping a particular style rarely work - there's got to be a sense of coherence which runs through the programme's remit, identity, content, reporters and visual look. That normally comes from a journalistic side. There are exceptions, of course, but channels/programmes that are driven by presentation rather than content, content and content tend not to work - and the people who make the programmes are usually much less centred on the presentation of a programme than people on here.

** Oh yes, this is a TV news Presentation forum..... I'll get my coat.

I've never really understood why you have two 3 hour shifts during the daytime anyway when you could just have 4 hour shifts all the way around...

Wasn't Business Today supposed to be going?

So this is the way the current presenter schedule seems to be shaping up...

Monday - Thursday

09.00 - 13.00 Simon McCoy & Kate Silverton
13.00 - 16.00 Matthew Amroliwala & Maxine Mawhinney
16.00 - 19.00 Jon Sopel & Louise Minchin
19.00 - 23.00 Chris Eakin & Jane Hill
23.00 - 01.00 Peter Dobbie
01.00 - 05.00 Martine Croxall (Mon, Tue), Alistair Yates (Wed, Thu)

Friday

09.00 - 13.00 Simon McCoy & Carrie Gracie
13.00 - 16.00 Matthew Amroliwala & Liz Pike
16.00 - 19.00 Julian Worricker & Louise Minchin
19.00 - 23.00 Chris Lowe & Joanna Gosling
23.00 - 01.00 Tim Willcox
01.00 - 05.00 Alistair Yates

Saturday

09.00 - 13.00 Carrie Gracie
13.00 - 19.00 Peter Sissons
19.00 - 00.00 Chris Lowe & Joanna Gosling
00.00 - 06.00 Deborah McKenzine, Karin Giannone or Jake Lynch

Sunday
09.00 - 13.00 Tim Willcox
13.00 - 17.00 Alistair Yates
17.00 - 19.00 Peter Sissons
19.00 - 00.00 Chris Lowe & Joanna Gosling
00.00 - 05.00 Martine Croxall

Available for Cover: Tim Willcox, Julian Worricker, Stephen Cole, Ben Geoeghan, Liz Pike, Rachel Schofield, Karin Giannone, Susanna Reid, Gwenan Edwards, Jake Lynch. + Other News Correspondents & Policitcal Correspondents

In reality of course, it will be rare to see Simon McCoy or Kate Silverton do a full week, due to appearances on Breakfast. It is also usually possible to see Tim Willcox most days of the week, at various times of the day, and it will be increasingly rare to see him on late Friday nights. Interesting that Karin Giannone & Deborah McKenzine are both keeping low profiles at the moment...

Isn't it Deborah Mackenzie?

Yes. lol

There's probably something I've missed, but why is the BBC News banned from Zimbabwe?

Because the country is run by a barbaric dictator who doesn't like it when organisations such as the BBC tell the truth.

Google is your friend - a search for Why is the BBC banned from Zimbabwe brings up this helpful article from Newswatch as the first result.

Has Alistair Yates officially taken the Sunday afternoon slot? Also, loved his intro....'And thank you for choosing BBC News 24'. i love the fact that he hardly uses 'Good Afternoon' or 'Good Evening' as a greeting.

Makes him unique!

Alastair seems to be split between News 24 and BBC World at the moment. He can regularly seen presenting BBC World on Friday and Saturday evenings. He also used to do Sunday evenings on BBC World, but that has ceased since he's started doing N24 on Sunday afternoons.

Yes he's a great all rounder really - he seems to be able to turn his hand to any style of news programming - from the bit I watched, he's had a busy afternoon but his unique style and ad-libbing ability really shone through.