BBC News Channel: Presentation

I always liked that one too, it was a very nice set. I also always liked the House of Commons style Leather seat they used to use for newsroom interviews which was a really nice touch but that seems to have disappeared in favour of that godawful CSO of Big Ben.

On the subject of which, how shoddy was the CSO from Newcastle with that children's commissioner woman on Newsnight the other day? Shocking.

Actually they have used both the studio and the newsroom at Millbank when TV Centre has become suddenly unavailable. They used the newsroom for the various power cuts, but when they had to use Millbank after the IRA bomb, it was the studio - with Dateline London's set in it http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/newsdesk/disaster.php

Perhaps because that's where the cameras had been left after they were last used?

That was nearly 10 years ago, though! Dateline moved to TVC in 2007 or 2008, and I'm not sure if the news channel has had to decamp to Millbank since 2003. I've not seen the Millbank newsroom on air for quite some time - even The Record's CSO uses a shot of MB1.

Why can't Dateline london can't move back to N8? BBC World News would be in a much better position to accommodate it with bulletins coming from the pod before handing over to the main table. That's how it was done when News 24 was in there, why can't BBC World news do the same?

Whoops .....

"The informal presentation style of some of the presenters on the BBC News Channel' is to be discussed on Newswatch tonight.

Agree 100%

Oh for goodness sake. Informal... one thing I will give them is they are formal - too formal in a lot of ways!

They must really be scraping the barrel for issues to cover....

The only thing I thought wasn't suitable on that programme was when Babita Sharma punches Jon, not once but twice. I liked it at the time but I can understand why some would object to that. But all the other items they pulled up were fine - and god do the presenters need to inject some fun into such a rigid 24 hour programme.

I liked the way the controller of the news channel said to Raymond Snoddy 'some find the news channel a bit stuffy'... made me giggle.

Banter can be useful if it is done properly and if it remains within the boundaries one expects on a news programme (it is the news, after all). I think we all fully agree that some light-hearted moments are always welcome and - indeed - very often are used to pad time anyway.

However, I agree with the correspondent above. The incident where Babita Sharma punched Jon Sopel actually amused me at the time. On reflection shortly thereafter, I don't think I have ever seen such a similar incident on any news channel or programme ever in history, and probably we will be unlikely to ever see it again. One imagines she (and maybe he) was politely tickled on the wrist for such on-aor behaviour. IIRC, it also made Emily Maitlis appear uncomfortable as well.

Despite what we all think of various newscasting "celebrities", one would never anticipate either Natasha, Sian, Susanna, Kay or Sophie to (jokingly) punch their fellow anchor. Such behaviour probably oversteps the mark somewhat. (Imagine Reginald Bosanquet punching Alistair Burnet for fluffing his lines? - never!, or Huw Edwards getting into a tangle with Michael Buerk?)

Having said that, it's not just physical actions that teeter on the edge of correctness. How about James Dagwell's wet pussy comment and Simon McCoy's famous reference to Tomasz Schafernaker's frozen ball(s), which caused the latter to laugh uncontrollably throughout a lengthy weather bulletin?

You would never see that sort of humour on CNN or AJE, where things are really "stuffy" in comparison, yet also well-balanced with moderate humour.


Edit: Forget Babita Sharma the Pugilist: This is a more serious newsroom boxing match!

http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/fight-breaks-out-in-newsroom/73ujdphm

What I can't believe is that someone actually called them to complain about John and Emily's banter.