BBC News Channel Presentation - 21/03/16 onwards

Studio E as seen from the newsroom. #weekendnewsclub @BBCNews pic.twitter.com/pG2e754DKL

— maxine mawhinney (@maxinemawhinney) April 3, 2016

The fabulous Darren Bett ready to bring you the weather on the balcony @bbcweather @BBCNews #weekendnewsclub pic.twitter.com/Ox4dNQDEDZ

— maxine mawhinney (@maxinemawhinney) April 3, 2016

Thanks for the heads up, one of the few times I've watched a points of view programme and seen a group of coherent, sensible, well-rounded opinions that I actually agree with. A fairly poor rebuttal from the News Channel representative, very much politician-esque using the stock lines, fallacious arguments and the fake 'we're taking it on board' response. I've never been one for the 'golden age' style arguments but the News Channel really was better 2 years ago - and I do have to concur with one of the commenters that in fact I do find myself switching to Al Jazeera and Sky in the mornings some times due to the fact that the News Channel is pretty much now only the News Channel in the afternoon.

Not all the changes are bad, I do like Business Live for instance, but there are some things that I fail to see as an improvement and/or making savings. There is no doubt the BBC has to make savings and can achieve this by simulcasting some programmes but I fail to see how backhours during weekends are cheaper than doing a whole hour given that the newsreader is just otherwise sat in the studio and most reports are prerecorded anyway; I still fail to see VD as either an improvement or a saving or a quality programme and the immediate repeat of Newsnight will probably end up as the dictionary definition of ridiculous. I'd rather have a simulcast of GMT at midday interspersing a morning block of rolling and the News at One + afternoon block of rolling news than VD.

The changes and defence of the changes just smacks of the classic 'make something sh*t so people won't care if we close it' ruse. The News Channel is quickly becoming something that is both hard to use and hard to defend - both things it wasn't less than 18 months ago.

Interesting that one of the NC viewers calls Breakfast 'lightweight' where as I think the show goes a tad lighter at 8.30am. Maybe she has a point when the business bulletins on Breakfast are consumer skewed instead of looking ahead to the opening of the European markets which NC viewers don't get until 0830 with Business Live.

I don't mind the back half hour programmes on the NC at the weekend. I think people would miss Click in particular and programmes like Our World give more time to one story in documentary form.

The Derbyshire comments from Sam Taylor bar the dumping of the human interest stories for breaking news is complete nonsense and as far as I'm concerned, the channel is now a part time service from 1100-2315 on weekdays.

I concur with the comments above - Sam Taylor didn't say much beyond meaningless platitudes about how the channel is "innovating" - and, where viewers were saying they were now watching Sky News, that even that is now broadcasting "branded" programmes, as if that makes all the changes acceptable.

Victoria Derbyshire: it's clear from the audience members featured that there is a desire for rolling news at that time in the morning, no matter how much Taylor bangs on about the programme's brief being about "original stories" and "audience interaction".

Taylor's argument for "Newsnight" being repeated straight after its BBC Two broadcast was even poorer: they're repeating it because viewers may not catch it at 10:30pm? If the programme is still the jewel in the BBC current affairs crown and setting the agenda, as Taylor claims, I'm sure viewers will ensure they catch it on first viewing (or iPlayer) as they've managed to do so for all the years it's been going. The fact that these comments come in the week where the programme dedicated 11 minutes to discussing Justin Bieber's hair makes it even more ridiculous.

As for Taylor brushing aside the notion that it's all to do with cost-cutting - not convincing at all.

You only have to look at Martine Croxall's Twitter page (with replies) to see how people are frustrated with the Newsnight repeat instead of The Papers.

@neillyfabi @chelle_1107 I would rather stay till midnight and be on air

— Martine Croxall (@MartineBBC) April 8, 2016

(Personally I've watched Newsnight twice since the repeat was introduced and on both occasions it was the repeat but there you go)

I don't think Twitter reflects the general population. I'd bet 99.9% of people haven't even noticed.

I agree, you're more likely to see tweets against than for, but it was interesting to see Martine's own opinion on it too.

But it is rather telling isn't it?

My Own Personal opinion is that they should keep rolling news 9:00-00:00 but keeping Business Live And Newsroom Live where they are-As someone said in a previous post not all the changes are bad but i also think that we are losing sight of the News Channel is about-Rolling News.

Saw Newswatch yesterday during Breakfast, and it's fair to say VD got a lot of flack. I don't actually mind the show on the odd occasion I've seen it, but I don't think the slot is right.

BBC News aren't helping themselves by not admitting it is a cost issue. Why don't they just admit that savings need to be made?

Yes, he was also a bit economical with the truth if what some of our BBC insiders here have told us is true. When questioned about the cost savings and why Victoria Derbyshire is on both BBC Two and BBC News (therefore reducing choice), he flipped it around and said that it is a News Channel production so would be going out anyway. As I understand it, though, VD is actually commissioned and paid for by BBC Two - so is a cost saving device for the News Channel. BBC Two is effectively paying for 2 hours of News Channel output.

Wrong.
It's 'part funded' by BBC Two.
Whatever BBC Two pay - it most certainly doesn't cover the cost of the show.

OK so in effect, if the News Channel doesn't pay for it entirely - then it wouldn't be going out on the NC anyway - because they couldn't afford it. So Sam Taylor is still wrong - it is reducing choice for viewers - and it is a cost saving measure for the NC - even if only partly so. That's not what was stated on Newswatch.