BBC News Channel - changes announced

It could be:

2200 BBC News at Ten
2230 Weather & sport
2245 Newsnight
2330 Hardtalk

Bingo as if by magic the news channel then effectively ends at 2100.

There could merge Hardtalk and Newsnight together. It could also be Newsnight gets a daytime repeat the next day at 11am on BBC 2.

I don't think that the BBC think cuts to BBC News will benefit anyone as they are aware that cuts anywhere will dent the services they provide. Cuts are being made to nearly every service and BBC News is an easy on to do. Though BBC News is by far the most used and trusted news source in the UK, this hasn't exactly benefited everyone. In fact I'd go far as to say as many of the BBC's detractors, given they are predominantly other news outlets or Jeremy Hunts who own major news outlets are actively encouraging the BBC cutting the News department. Given the BBC is keen to have a good public image, especially after it's last few years, I'd say that the News department is an area where there is little resistance to cutting within the establishment.

The problem for BBC News is that unlike services like 6 Music the only members of the public who have a strong opinion of BBC News are those who think it's a biased propaganda outlet - though whether this is to the Tory establishment or to Lefty-PC-Liberal-Communists is yet for them to agree on, although they both agree that the BBC should be closed. Also it doesn't help that one of the two areas highlighted in the recent 'BBC shouldn't compete' argument is BBC News, something the BBC's competitors were quick to leap on - Sky have never made any attempt to hide their loathing of the BBC's News Channel in fact going so far as the European Courts to attempt to regain their monopoly and it also doesn't help that the petulant presenter of the ITV News at Ten has made some childish forays into the debate.

BBC News is further easy to cut because all political parties hate it as they all believe it is biased against them, which it isn't. The Corbynites are annoyed that the BBC keeps highlighting the farcical nature of Corbyn's leadership, the Conservatives are annoyed that the BBC exists and also keeps looking at the actual effects of the cuts, UKIP and their supporters hate the BBC because Nigel isn't on all the time and because when he is on the expect him to answer some difficult questions, the SNP's supporters are still annoyed at the BBC over one bloody Nick Robinson report and the Greens and the Lib Dems aren't angry, just disappointed that the BBC doesn't let them on as nobody could give a sh*t about them. Thus a hostile political climate, no doubt egged on by vested interests from certain parties (*Cough* Tories and Salmond and Murdoch *Cough*), is not really helping the BBC News department at all.

Ergo, BBC News is screwed because those who actually use it and like it are, god I hate this phrase, a 'silent majority' and those who hate it have all the power. Thus cutting is easy as nobody will say no.

Wow this is just sad to see. A slow and painful death of a once great rolling news channel.

Why don't they just simulcast World News in prime time instead of all the these replays and taped stuff??

I agree. All the cuts the BBC are forced to make are disproportional compared to other services. Even Channek 4 are so concerned that they are running ads self-promoting. It does seem very politically motivated and more so since the election last year. I know that under the last Labour Government that the BBC were under attack but not as much as now. We all know the current Government are in bed with a certain competor and want them to succeed.

The BBC is an organisation to be proud of. It's got worldwide recognition and has been instrumental at providing unbiased news to certain corners of the globe and influential in other situations (1991 Soviet coup comes to mind). To compare where services were proposed to close back in 2010, the BBC actually listened to viewers and kept the services on air, this time they haven't and there is obviously some political interference in the running of the BBC. BBC News has done well to stave off cuts till now but the quality of the NC has gone downhill rapidly. I can understand having an hour of international news so that domestic viewers can see what's going on outside the UK and can understand new ideas like Victoria in the morning but even that has already changed the astomphere on the NC and means that it's destroyed a format that works and is a service people use. A good compromise would be to have Victoria on 10-11 with the way she does things and have rolling news either side, with Buisness Live for those that value buisness news, although would maybe have it at 9:30 so that buisness people can tune in, it does air rather early currently.

With the current changes, why simulcast Newsnught when there is BBC iPlayer? The Papers and Sportsday are good and provide a useful service and in depth discussion for what's in the papers the following day. Isn't Newsnight shorter on a Friday anyway?

I'm thinking of writing to my MP to try and protect the BBC from further cuts and try to recover some of what has been lost. It's a national treasure that needs saving. Other broadcasters internationally look to the BBC. It's a global symbol which shouldn't be lost or depreciated like it is now.

http://weatherfieldgazette.co.uk/norris/TVFTODAY.png

Is that pot within safe areas?

It's weird to think if you look back 10 years ago, News 24 was just standard BBC News bulletins back-to-back, whereas Sky had more appointment to view programmes. And now the tables have turned.

I don't see anything particularly alarming in these changes. Breaking News worthy of stopping the Newsnight repeat rarely happens at that time of night and if it's big enough like the Paris attacks, of course they'll break away. An extra 15 mins of VD hardly makes a huge difference - I wonder if it will still start at 9:15 on BBC Two to try and get the Breakfast viewers to turn over - and I don't see any problem with the return of News 24 Tonight. There's plenty of interesting, regional content that can be used whilst retaining the option to go to breaking news if needs be.

Newsroom Live though? Any need for a new name for what is effectively just BBC News?

Though any break away will presumably have to be staffed by the skeleton crew left on the channel or will need to be an opt-in to BBC World News coverage. These changes will, I'm sure, mean further redundancies in the pool of production journalists who keep the channel on-air (and would be needed to provide breaking News coverage).

With the exception of Derbyshire which is part funded by BBC Two, how on earth is producing any kind of alternative content for the News Channel like Outside Source, Best Of The Regions, etc, cheaper than sitting a newsreader in front of a camera to read a rolling bulletin?

Outside Source, Hard talk, Click etc and the overnights would be part funded by BBC World News, Best of the regions seems to be just a bit of a rebrand.

Of course, but when was the last time there was UK-only related breaking news at 11:15pm? My point is the BBC has to make cuts somewhere and these seem sensible to have minimal impact.



Outside Source is produced by World.

Best of the Regions will be already pre-prepared content for 6:30. The news isn't just a newsreader in front of a camera - it's lives, booking guests, updating packages which all require lots of staff. Why not use content that's only been broadcast once (perhaps twice with lunch) in one small part of the country?