BBC News Channel: Presentation

These consultations never quite ask the questions that need asking, or ask them in such a way you're inclinced to reply positively.

My main emphasis on the news side was the channel needs to avoid getting lost in mundane breaking news, waiting around for something to happen rather than putting it to one side and continuing with the rest of the news before returning later, either live or as a packaged report. Of course all news channels are guilty of that, and the BBC less so than Sky, but just because they're on air shouldn't mean they carry anything available to them live. Some press conferences for example would be much better handled by just packaging together a report afterwards.

My other main point was about unnecessarily simulcasting content (not news programmes), especially when it's shown on BBC1 or BBC2. Things like PMQs which are covered by three BBC channels live.

Another gripe I raised in the consultation was that BBC News as a whole too often relies on civil servants and other organisations bringing stories to it rather than going out and finding stories itself.

I also mentioned that I can only bear to watch the news channel for 30 minutes at a time before the reporters' intonation of prepositions (LIVE, TO, FROM, AT, BY, NOT, etc) and their condensed 'accessible' vocabulary (some might go as far as to call it Orwellian; I held back) begins to numb my mind.

I agree with that point. I would say editors need to take more care when throwing to these live conferences, and often there is a period where the interesting section that was relevant to the story finishes, and we are left hanging on, when they should just throw back to the studio/ the reporter.

Especially during breaking news stories, there isn't even a summary of the news every 15 minutes. I don't see a problem in stopping the continued coverage for about 30 seconds-1 minute for a brief summary of other stories of the day, because there is always other news that needs to at least be mentioned. This 15-minute headline rule should always be followed. It was quite apparent during the death of Bin Laden when there was apparently no other news...

I agree completely that a packaged report gives a better understanding and of course more scope for analysis rather than repetitive continued breaking coverage which gets mundane and stale very easily.

In terms of Sport and business, I feel the BBC News Channel have that sorted. I'm particularly impressed that even at 11:40pm there is still a member of staff to do some business. My only criticism is that often on the NC the business is about 2 minutes long and covers about 1 story. This is down to better time management on the director's part.

There are no major gripes with the News Channel for me. I watch Sky News and I immediately see that the BBC News coverage is less lazy and more authoritative (sorry Sky News fans). It got me when Sky News HAD to cover every single Madeleine McCann news conference recently with her parents.

Who cares what happens in Europe? That's across the Channel. Nobody cares about the EU and their corrupt workings.

That's not the point. It's in the BBC News Channel's broadcasting license that it has to cover the affairs of the European Parliament, so they should be. This is probably why they show The Record Europe on the channel, to help fill that part of the quota (if there is one).

Nobody watches The Record Europe. Regular news channel coverage of Europe is woefully inadequate.

Economically, the continent is currently experiencing its worst drought in 35 years. BBC News recently ran a report about how the current lack of rainfall in the UK (they didn't call it a drought because that would be alarmist) is affecting farmers in Kent, which is all well and good, but viewers might be under the misapprehension that we can just import food from Europe instead. Except we can't, because the drought isn't confined to the UK; it is a Europe-wide problem. The BBC surely must be aware that Europe has experienced 50% less rainfall than average in the last two months, yet for reasons known only to them, this vital detail was omitted from the report.

With regard to European politics, the EU recently imposed budgetary measures on Ireland, which included a mandatory 12% reduction of the minimum wage (although the budget itself was covered by BBC News in some depth, the broadcaster failed to explicitly state that a lot of those measures had been foisted upon Ireland by the EU) and now the European Monetary Affairs Commissioner is telling Greece to privatise €50 billion worth of assets in order to prop up ailing French and German banks. People need to know the EU is not the Teletubbyland of fluffy bunnies and blue skies they perhaps thought it was. Yet try spotting any of this on BBC News. Nothing.

With regard to social issues, widespread protests are currently being held across Spain, where youth unemployment has spiralled to 45%. The protests started off peacefully but unfortunately the police have now decided they have had enough and are literally battering sit-down protesters until they cannot take any more. The virtually lawless state of Greece is on the verge of absolute destitution, with communist groups taking up arms and fascist neo-Nazis hunting down immigrants and their children and murdering them while the police turn a blind eye because they're not getting paid and are oftentimes equally as disillusioned as the rioters are. Even the do-gooding monks of Mount Athos are refusing to pay tax.

As a highly influential member of the supposedly civilised political, economic and social European Union which we share with these terrible people, anything that happens on a large scale elsewhere in the continent is bound to eventually have knock-on effects for the UK. So why is the BBC virtually silent vis-á-vis all of the above issues when it was so quick to parachute correspondents into Egypt and Tunisia?

I notice they're still using the daytime backdrop after 10pm - perhaps they're delaying it until the weekend news at 10:30pm?

Nighttime backdrop on now

They normally keep the daytime backdrop until the late national bulletin broadcasts.

I was pleasantly surprised and nearly fell off my chair when an Email I sent in got read out on Newswatch yesterday. I bet you can't guess which email it was. Ray Snoddy even moved away from the desk to recap on the piece.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011qgp5/Newswatch_10_06_2011/

I'll give you a clue, its 3mins and a bit in.

Well done Worzel! Check out the emails at about 5.00...I wonder which presenter that it?!