BBC News at One / Six or Ten to be axed?

Is this like that time the BBC said it needed to focus more on producing listicles?

I don't know about listicles but I think the Beeb are talking testicles!

I don't think there's any need for this kind of comment, I find that pretty patronising. I would think the Head of BBC News would have access to substantially more information about how the audience consume and feel about their output than some people on the internet having a bit of a reckon.

This whole thread is a massive over-reaction. In an interview Fran Unsworth was asked where she sees the future of news in ten years' time and, thinking aloud, says that it may be the case that in a decade or so the media landscape will probably be very different and there may not be the interest in convential TV bulletins and they'd have to look at other ways of informing audiences. She is absolutely not saying the One O'Clock News is being axed as of now.

But then the BBC have clickbaited themselves by running the story on the front page with the headline "BBC News boss Fran Unsworth says some TV bulletins may disappear" as if its an announcement rather than a snippet from a newspaper interview.

I sense there will be one of those generic Linear vs Netflix Amol Rajan reports on the Ten later that always basically say the same thing

She said that she thinks that in the future linear channels won't exists and in the next decade bulletin news programmes will be drastically cut or non existent.

Fran has not just announced that she is going to axe the whole news department for her own benefit. I don't see why everyone is jumping to some sort of conclusions about the possible situations that she has suggested.

I don't agree that it is an overreaction. I'm in my early 40's and I and my friends sit down to the 6 and 10. So think about the 4-5 generations ahead of me who will most certainly sit down to watch the main bulletins. Fran Unsworth is a loose cannon. She may well be Head of News, doesn't mean she's always correct. She's made some bundling errors during her tenure. Time to move on.

Not sure if viewers really want more news, it's up at the moment due to the pandemic but in future years it will go back to its usual numbers. There's a reason that you don't have full length regional news at 1.30pm and 10.30pm plus where would Question Time, Graham Norton etc go.

I feel if some here had their way, BBC One would be mostly news with a morsel of other programmes.

I understand that, but the news boss has made (in perhaps a somewhat flippant manner) a suggestion that at least one of them will go. We can only speculate, but to say nothing wouldn't make this much of a TV forum.

I would imagine the news at ten is the most costly as a pure guess.

One is watched I suspect by the older generation, they may also watch the six, but the younger generation are more likely to watch the ten and not the six, therefore the six is the odd one out.

As the head of news she should absolutely be aware of how such comments in interviews, especially against the backdrop of significant cuts to BBC News staff, may be interpreted, especially when they are reported on the news site she heads up.


Absolutely agree - the headline frames it as the potential consequence of another round of cuts, not the thoughts of a BBC exec "thinking aloud" in response to a question. Remember "thinking aloud" got people drinking disinfectant in the US.

The head of BBC News whilst looking to the future should absolutely be defending the place of a traditional TV bulletin. If these were comments from the editor of Buzzfeed or something they wouldn't gain attention, but they are just careless from Fran in this case - or more specifically carelessly reported on by BBC News themselves.

I think such a proposal would be a very bad idea. I'm in my mid-30s and the main type of news I consume is network TV with a smattering of 24-hour news channel and/or online. I tend to gravitate towards the network bulletins purely because I want a balanced report. The problem I find with online news is that you can be very selective about what you read or engage with. That's a very bad thing as sometimes it's important to be forced to watch a less interesting news report and broaden your mind in the process.

I really do worry about the direction the world is heading in right now - polarised opinions, divisive and dictatorial leaders and a media that is giving in to external pressures. Right now the media should absolutely be standing firm and forcing people to engage with viewpoints they don't necessarily agree with. An informed electorate is an essential element of a democracy.

Anyway, if this proposal eventually does come to fruition, then I hope it's the Six that stays. The teatime bulletins are the ones I'm mostly likely to watch - most people are at work at lunchtime and for me, 10pm is a bit too late - I'd rather be winding down with TV that is a bit more relaxing or reading a book.

Or how about a more radical suggestion - ditch them all and bring back the Nine O'Clock News!

You would think the Head of the BBC News would know what they're doing, but then again You'd think the President of the United States would know what he doing as well!!

Just because someone is in a position of authority doesn't mean that they know a lot about their subject, even those that have been doing the job for years. I learnt this when I was working on a Radio Station in my early Twenties. It was an eye-opener as those towards the bottom of the chain had a lot more knowledge than those towards the top.

Those that show huge respect to such figures, either know them personally and they've proven themselves to them, or in the Majority of times, those that run to defend them have no real-life experience of the person being praised.

Over the years I've worked in various industries but none beat the Media and Politics when it comes to those that are in charge with very little real Knowledge. Often the Man or Woman off the street (or indeed the internet) would do a better job,

I will say this however, those in higher media positons are excellent box tickers.