I get that the news channel has to modernise, but if they seriously think having someone standing at a touchscreen for a couple of hours is what the future looks like for news channels then I think I'd rather opt for CBeebies.
It's the news channel. There are plenty of other programmes that could fill that slot. One that springs to mind, is BBC News.
Can someone point me to a source that says studio B is being mothballed please.
"TV Studio B will be taken out of daily use, with World News, Newsnight and the Andrew Marr Show broadcasting from other NBH studios. It will be retained for some of our big events and other programming"
....according to what staff were told yesterday.
Sorry, I can’t find this quote anywhere other than this forum. Do you have any other source for this fact? I can only see suggestions that some of the studio changes will remain, not all.
If the BBC are considering limiting guests on Andrew Marr and Newsnight, then that’s a serious mistake. You don’t, and never will, get the same level of conversation and discussion DTL. We’ve all learned that some things can be done online, but it’s no substitute to face-to-face.
If the BBC are considering limiting guests on Andrew Marr and Newsnight, then that’s a serious mistake. You don’t, and never will, get the same level of conversation and discussion DTL. We’ve all learned that some things can be done online, but it’s no substitute to face-to-face.
I would certainly hope that social distancing won't remain in place forever. However, if the current production methods for Newsnight and Marr are the 'new normal', then I think both programmes will suffer and lose something they won't be able to retrieve.
It's somewhat ironic: the smaller automated studios (C and E) need fewer people on the floor to operate, yet are extremely limited in being able to cater for socially distanced guests properly.
Studio B is by far the best studio for allowing safe social distancing even with several guests in place. But, perhaps the bottleneck then becomes the technical room or green room which feed the studio and don't qualify for the required distancing.
Either way, this is clearly a decision taken on purely commercial grounds as the operating costs of B must be vastly greater than the other two.
It would be interesting to see if E or C could set-up 3 distanced guest positions on the catwalk in front the the big screens to still allow live guests to come in and maintain the distancing rules whilst still allowing that "real" feel to proceedings that you don't always get DTL. Or even 2 positions for the papers?
It may not be feasible at all due to the camera positioning and templates in those relatively confined spaces. And Again, the support services pre-show might also not be big enough to allow safe movement of contributors.
Safety aside, as the whole purpose of the cuts is to save money, I guess we'll just have to get used to seeing contributors almost exclusively DTL for the foreseeable future.
It's very sad. As you mention above, nothing will ever compare with having a live grilling of a guest right there at the desk in the studio.
Safety aside, as the whole purpose of the cuts is to save money, I guess we'll just have to get used to seeing contributors almost exclusively DTL for the foreseeable future.
It's very sad. As you mention above, nothing will ever compare with having a live grilling of a guest right there at the desk in the studio.
Presumably since lockdown there's been a reduction in expenses for guests as they're not having to pay the guests travel expenses, and in some cases overnight accommodation (e.g. some guests on Breakfast). Unfortunately though not all guests have a reasonable quality webcam and/or a reliable internet connection.
We can blame Covid-19 for some of these changes. If it hadn't have happened then cuts would have obviously still been made, but nothing as drastic as what we are seeing.
We can blame Covid-19 for some of these changes. If it hadn't have happened then cuts would have obviously still been made, but nothing as drastic as what we are seeing.
I think the way in which these cuts are being made is influenced by the reduced service that started as a result of COVID-19. If there was no virus, I seriously couldn't see cuts being made in the way that they have.
It's somewhat ironic: the smaller automated studios (C and E) need fewer people on the floor to operate, yet are extremely limited in being able to cater for socially distanced guests properly.
Studio B is by far the best studio for allowing safe social distancing even with several guests in place. But, perhaps the bottleneck then becomes the technical room or green room which feed the studio and don't qualify for the required distancing.
Either way, this is clearly a decision taken on purely commercial grounds as the operating costs of B must be vastly greater than the other two.
Studio B requires a far greater number of crew on the studio floor, who all need to remain socially distant from each other and other people in the studio, and it is far less suited to some of the production techniques designed to reduce person-to-person interaction (such as using radio talkback and radio mic packs and personal mics etc.).
Added to that the issues around handling studio guests within the wider NBH building, and nervousness about travel on public transport amongst many, I can see why there hasn't been a rush to bring the larger studio back into use.
Cost may be a factor (News have got to deliver some very significant savings now as they backloaded a lot of their cost cutting) - but I wouldn't say it was the only factor.
It's somewhat ironic: the smaller automated studios (C and E) need fewer people on the floor to operate, yet are extremely limited in being able to cater for socially distanced guests properly.
Studio B is by far the best studio for allowing safe social distancing even with several guests in place. But, perhaps the bottleneck then becomes the technical room or green room which feed the studio and don't qualify for the required distancing.
Either way, this is clearly a decision taken on purely commercial grounds as the operating costs of B must be vastly greater than the other two.
Studio B requires a far greater number of crew on the studio floor, who all need to remain socially distant from each other and other people in the studio, and it is far less suited to some of the production techniques designed to reduce person-to-person interaction (such as using radio talkback and radio mic packs and personal mics etc.).
Added to that the issues around handling studio guests within the wider NBH building, and nervousness about travel on public transport amongst many, I can see why there hasn't been a rush to bring the larger studio back into use.
Cost may be a factor (News have got to deliver some very significant savings now as they backloaded a lot of their cost cutting) - but I wouldn't say it was the only factor.
But aren’t we discussing the more permanent changes? At some point, however far away that may be, social distancing will cease yet the plan appears to be to maintain the status quo? (Though correct me if I’m wrong because as discussed earlier the sources in this thread don’t seem that watertight).
It's somewhat ironic: the smaller automated studios (C and E) need fewer people on the floor to operate, yet are extremely limited in being able to cater for socially distanced guests properly.
Studio B is by far the best studio for allowing safe social distancing even with several guests in place. But, perhaps the bottleneck then becomes the technical room or green room which feed the studio and don't qualify for the required distancing.
Either way, this is clearly a decision taken on purely commercial grounds as the operating costs of B must be vastly greater than the other two.
Studio B requires a far greater number of crew on the studio floor, who all need to remain socially distant from each other and other people in the studio, and it is far less suited to some of the production techniques designed to reduce person-to-person interaction (such as using radio talkback and radio mic packs and personal mics etc.).
Added to that the issues around handling studio guests within the wider NBH building, and nervousness about travel on public transport amongst many, I can see why there hasn't been a rush to bring the larger studio back into use.
Cost may be a factor (News have got to deliver some very significant savings now as they backloaded a lot of their cost cutting) - but I wouldn't say it was the only factor.
But aren’t we discussing the more permanent changes? At some point, however far away that may be, social distancing will cease yet the plan appears to be to maintain the status quo? (Though correct me if I’m wrong because as discussed earlier the sources in this thread don’t seem that watertight).
The thing is, I think what management are getting to is that "it works now so it will work later". That being the "generic" news service (no branded programmes other than 1,6&10), more simulcast (mornings and evenings) and the need not to bring in guests to the studio.
I agree that it works, however there are many faults in the current service being provided. If they just carry on as it is, then many issues not least to do with simulcasting and having too many presenters for reduced slots will have to be dealt with.
There are many questions to be answered. I think the one that is most prominent one on my mind is whether the cuts will actually make any changes to the scheduling we are currently.
If they just carry on as it is, then many issues not least to do with simulcasting and having too many presenters for reduced slots will have to be dealt with.
There are many questions to be answered. I think the one that is most prominent one on my mind is whether the cuts will actually make any changes to the scheduling we are currently.
That’s literally the whole point of this thread. There will be several hundred redundancies.
We can blame Covid-19 for some of these changes. If it hadn't have happened then cuts would have obviously still been made, but nothing as drastic as what we are seeing.
The vast majority of the News job cuts, 450, were announced in January and were part of a £800m savings programme that started in 2016.
Since Covid another 70 have been added but I suspect some of those might also be attributable to other factors, such as increasing drop in TV licences bought generally - separate to the over 75s scheme.