BBC News: Presenters & Rotas

Katty Kay is the usual presenter while Matt is in the UK, though other presenters have covered in the past.




I'm not sure - perhaps he's taking time off? Either way it does seem weird that the BBC would have three newsreaders to present two to three days of Newsnight a week between them and then have to get random presenters to cover during holidays. While I accept they all other programming to Newsnight too, it's pretty pathetic. I could understand drafting the likes of Jon Sopel and Eddie Mair to present during holidays before they added a fourth presenter, but since Emily Maitlis' appointment it makes no sense.

I also don't see how flying Matt Frei in from the States is the most cost effective way to cover a week or two a year. Surely if Matt Frei can be trusted on the News at Six and Newsnight, other UK-based presenters could be? I can imagine Sian Williams, for example, holding down the Newsnight fort just fine...

We news junkies are always amazed when someone out of the ordinary is put down as a fill in on a programme, in this case Matt Frei on Newsnight. However, let's remember that this sort of thing happens all the time in industry. People are often sent overseas or to other branches to fill in for someone who is going on vacation. I have personally had to do it in my job many times, and am sure many of us on here have done the same.

It might even be something that is written into last years performance appraisal. I am sure the BBC has an HR department? LOL.

Improvement plan for next year: "must try harder and must gain some exposure in presenting different current affairs strands, such as Newsnight, to slow down the Americanisation of the encumbent"

Joking aside, we all go through this sort of thing in our jobs. News presenters aren't aliens! They also must learn their strands and develop their skills in some manner. So, why not on the job?

While that's true, and I'm completely behind the BBC and what it stands for, the BBC needs to start facing up to how much it spends given the license fee freeze. I don't see how it's cost effective to fly Matt Frei out from the States - meaning BBC World News is down a correspondent to cover for him in the WNA studio - to present three days when there are countless others already in the country who could cover it instead. Why not even give Michael Crick a shot at presenting, given Martha was a fairly regular presenter during parts of her stint as Political Editor of Newsnight? I just see no need for Matt Frei to, effectively, be prepped to become a leading BBC presenter by flying him in for a week a year.

Perhaps the BBC have high hopes for Matt Frei (and Mishal Husain for that matter, who does the Six and Ten a lot these days) becoming a leading BBC News presenter in the future, such as the likes of George, Huw etc nowadays

Annita McVeigh presenting solo tonight?

Yep, it seems so. First time I've ever sat through the whole Saturday Sportsday and some of the camera shots they use are terrible! Both Matt Gooderick and Amelia Harris very good, but I feel like they're children when they sit in "the big chairs"!!! Would like to see Matt Gooderick do a bit of actual news presenting, sure he'd be quite good, he's done E24 but ought to do a shift or two - bound to be popular with the ladies!

A very odd story breaking right now is the incident in Arizona where Annita pointed out that the Congresswoamn was dead, yet then she also quoted Reteurs as her being alive but critical. Looks like we'll have to wait and see. Odd to see BBC leave the story for Sportsday at around about 7.38 whilst Sky is tapping in and out of it, with their Fox feed and CNN is keeping with it, and the studio has gone all red.

Slightly odd today, Nicholas Owen stayed until 1330, when Juliet Dunlop came in and now Clive Myrie's here at 1700, he'll probably stay until midnight I assume.

EDIT: Oops, maybe not, Juliet's back at the wall now so maybe Annita will solo like last night or be joined by someone else at 1900.

And Annita's here at 1800 solo.

Clive's doing the teatime BBC1 bulletin too!!

EDIT : Juliet Dunlop back on now

And now Annita on a hour early, at 6pm

Just a thought and i might be way off with this but could this be permanent change, I.e. going single headed at the weekend in the evening? I remember a few months ago that it was reported that a weekend presenter would be cut. Could this be it by alternating Clive and Annita every weekend single headed?

John and Emily back together after a long break.

Possibly - I'd imagine Annita and Clive would be on similar contracts, given they'd effectively be doing the same amount of work, but presumably they'd save money on relief presenters for weekends (which would be at least halfed?) and making more time for Clive to present BBC 1 bulletins.




And back at their best, too. Lots of chemistry, from David Beckham to pandas to dentists.

Chris Eakin isn't at Bristol Crown Court, is he? A reporter, close to the BBC microphone, keeps asking the detective questions and sounds remarkably like him, but it was Jon Kay on earlier.

Edit: Chris Eakin broadcasting live from the court now.