I expect he will have gone on the Eurostar, but that's not the point, there have been various news stories within this country where you'd expect an OB (comparable occasions when ITV did) and they haven't had one.
And its not just Huw that has gone. Christian Fraser, Nuala McGovern and Karin Giononne are all in Paris.
I thought Nuala was in Bordeaux too. And Karin Giannone, Huw Edwards, Christian Fraser, Damian Grammaticas and Evan Davis in Paris. Along with Reeta Chakrabarti in Italy. And the Pope in the Vatican I presume.
The problem is they get endlessly criticised and slagged off when they send people to present on location, so now they almost never do, even when the story justifies it.
Speaking of people going on OBs, they defaulted, yet again, to Westminster when Ben Brown was covering the local election results. That's at least four, possibly five, times they've been at Westminster recently. Now, I can understand covering the Westminster attack and the news presenters being in Westminster but Ben Brown, from Westminster, in a London in which no elections were taking place, for *local* elections that have nothing to do with Parliament, and outside a Parliament that has been dissolved and doesn't even exist at the moment...
Did the evening showing of Hardtalk get cancelled when 100 days started?
Although I pretty much always watch online, it always surprised me before when it was relegated to a post-midnight slot. It's one of the most sensible interview shows on TV and I've always said it's deserving of an earlier slot - or even a late-night broadcast on BBC One/Two.
(Saying that, I suppose it gets that now BBC One has frequently handed over to news by 12:30)
:-(
A former member
Edit. I believe the first broadcast of Monday/Tuesday Hardtalk at 00.30 is Classic episode, for its 20th birthday, I wonder if there is a problem with the tape,
I've mist-read what you said. No hard talk slot been gone for a while. It used to have 20.30 slot.
Last edited by A former member on 9 May 2017 12:15am - 3 times in total
Did the BBC say they are reducing the number of OB's for breaking news stories only? I think sending people to cover the French election is justified (especially given the current political climate). Has James Reynolds moved from Rome to Paris or is he there temporarily to add more correspondents during the election?
Did the BBC say they are reducing the number of OB's for breaking news stories only? I think sending people to cover the French election is justified (especially given the current political climate). Has James Reynolds moved from Rome to Paris or is he there temporarily to add more correspondents during the election?
I seem to recall that's what was insinuated. With an election the BBC can make sure they have the resources already in place. I imagine on instances like this they can send the live trucks ahead of time to avoid renting and they can plan travel accordingly. They can be flexible travel wise rather than taking the quickest plane out.
I think the BBC said it was going to reduce the number of times studio presenters were sent on location and rely instead on correspondents based there instead.
Sending Ben Brown to Westminster for local elections coverage is an inexpensive way of adding production and some presence to the story (there are plenty of permanent circuits, kit and crews based there etc) plus lots of commentators, political and journalistic,are easy to find at Westminster and get on air as guests.
James Reynolds and Thomas Fessey both relocated to Paris for the election coverage.
People tend to forget that the correspondents also have to provide coverage into BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC World Service, in addition to the News Channel, BBC World News and BBC One bulletins.
For stories like this, without extra people on site, the regulars would spend their entire time in studios rather than getting out and doing proper news reports.
Did the BBC say they are reducing the number of OB's for breaking news stories only? I think sending people to cover the French election is justified (especially given the current political climate). Has James Reynolds moved from Rome to Paris or is he there temporarily to add more correspondents during the election?
I seem to recall that's what was insinuated. With an election the BBC can make sure they have the resources already in place. I imagine on instances like this they can send the live trucks ahead of time to avoid renting and they can plan travel accordingly. They can be flexible travel wise rather than taking the quickest plane out.
This makes sense. I imagine though that this year they're scrambling to get teams together and a studio (like in the good old days) for the upcoming UK election. Do the BBC usually give a lot of coverage to the German elections? I know they always cover the French and US elections (and the UK one obviously). Could they gain more attention this year due to their importance?