BBC News Channel: Presentation

I disagree. This storm is already historic due to its size and conditions, and what will happen next. There is no speculation as there was with Irene, which I agree was over hyped and in the end a non event. We are talking about one of the most important cities in the world grinding to a halt, it's a very serious event, and I believe it warrants global coverage, and domestic making it its lead story is wholly justified.

Like other cases of breaking news on the News Channel, the BBC should always endeavour to give headline summary of other news at :15. This should happen no matter how big the story. Even less than a minute of other news. I've said this for years now! Giving just one other story in half an hour aside from the story is just not good enough.

The other story is about abuse and failures in care homes, which is deeply worrying and ever more relevant to an ageing population and the many families who have relatives in care. I feel it was slightly disrespectful to not give this serious story the coverage it deserved. It was just stuffed before the weather, where typically lighter stories are found.

Also, perhaps diversion from the Savile story, which although very tedious, deserves some coverage. Lots of other smaller stories out there today, which should not be completely shunted. We'll see what the Six and Ten do, and the real test for me is Newsnight, which I suspect will lead with something away from the storm.

I do think domestic is getting on this simply because there isn't a big story today.

For which has all happened on the BBC News at 5 O'Clock.

That's a ridiculous argument. Let's abandon coverage of Syria then because no westerners have been involved.....

This is a huge storm. Of course it's a big news story.

Agreed!

People are moaning about all the coverage domestic are giving the hurricane.

My thinking is they are just utilising the fact that they have reporters/high profile anchors in the US for the Presidential race anyway. (i.e. John Sopel in the Washington studio).

Plus, it also helps that they have Ben Thompson in New York acting as a general correspondent for the hurricane as well as his usual business duties.

Me too.

This is on target to be one of the strongest hurricanes on record with something ridiculous like 11ft storm surges, over 100mph winds... and it's about to hit one of - if not the - most populated area of the USA, including both New York (the financial capital) and Washington DC (the political capital) with only a week until the presidential election... and this is not news?! Andrew, you say it doesn't affect people outside of the US... try telling that to all the people who are stranded in both the US and those elsewhere in the world because all flights are cancelled. Heck, it will even have economic implications worldwide thanks to the closure of the New York Stock Exchange. This is a big deal.

My thinking is you're talking nonsense. They're reporting it as it's a massive news story, not because they happen to have some reporters nearby.

OK, I think my argument was slightly overstated and I think I got a bit carried away. Maybe a bit naive too.

I should have been more specific in my argument about the extent of the coverage. I do stand by my argument that 24 minutes of continual coverage is excessive when I bet the most salient, concise points could be made within 10/15 minutes. They should have touched on other news stories before nearly half an hour into the coverage. Short of talking about the current, ongoing evacuation, causes meteorologically, possible/probable consequences, I think it is perfectly possible to condense that into 10 minutes, 15 minutes at most.

It was just the repetition ad nauseum that really p'ed me off.

I did touch on the effects for business and cancelled flights. The news of the Stock Exchange being closed and the full extent to this into tomorrow's closure too wasn't known at the time of my post. Of course we should cover Syria - we are very much involved diplomatically if not anything else.

Fair enough. There is a sense of repetitivness, I will give you that. Other than saying there is a hurricane on the way, why it is so big and how people are preparing/being affected, there isn't much else to say until the hurricane actually arrives.

My thinking is, you're also talking nonsense.

They have extra resouces, so are utilising them. Simple.

Just realized that a week on Friday (9th Nov) BBC News Channel/24 will be 15 years old! It's certainly come on a long way since it's inception.