BBC NEWS CUTS

Before anyone flies off the handle hear me out on this suggestion

Switch Newsnight to BBC1, move it to 9PM and turn it into a modern day version of Sixty Minutes with 50% National/World News, 10% Local News, 30% Current Affairs and the final 10% split between Sport, Newspapers and Weather. Close the Newsnight studio and use the News studio for all the interviews a'la Dateline London

That way you have a consolidated digest at a time where more would be likely to tune in. BBC 2 would then be free to broadcast more films, docs etc

(Now if you will excuse me I'm ducking for cover)

A sofa costs less than a (much needed) new set.

I wonder if they'll finally scrap having a separate presenter for the BBC One 1pm bulletin, and have whoever is presenting before or after on the News Channel.

Given the current political climate I imagine cuts to Newsnight wouldn't get too many objections from MPs, especially as I believe some are avoiding the programme. Reducing it to 30 minutes would make it easier to simulcast on the News Channel. Axing some dedicated staff and making them share resources with the rest of BBC News might also reduce costs.

Whilst arguably they could try axing BBC Parliament from linear TV and move it online it would be politically suicidal. I also doubt the savings would be significant.

Hopefully BBC Two daytime will opt to show World News programmes in the absence of Victoria Derbyshire. Simulcasting the News Channel all morning would be a pointless duplication since the digital switchover.

A few years ago I'd have all been for axing BBC Parliament but I think over the last year it's proven it's importance and over the next 5 years it'll probably be more important than ever.

Presumably, you wouldn't then still have the BBC News at Ten straight afterwards? (95 continuous minutes of news on an entertainment channel, anyone?!)

I absolutely wouldn't advocate putting any news programme into any/all of the 9pm hour on BBC One. I always found it extraordinary that for donkey's years BBC One had a measly 2 hours (i.e. 7pm-9pm) of continuous primetime entertainment programming sandwiched between two lots of news bulletins. Moving the late news to 10pm, thus expanding primetime to 3 hours (mirroring how it had long been on ITV) always struck me as a long-overdue case of common sense prevailing.

Well this is something UK should celebrate, having none of these talking heads spreading their biased opinions daily.

Except, these aren't really talking heads. They're not merely commentators, like a Bill O'Reilly, or Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh. Chris Hayes has been an editor at The Nation magazine since 2007, Rachel Maddow does lengthy research and investigation for her pieces, something regular 'talking heads' just don't do. Lawrence O'Donnell spent 6 years as an aide to US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

I would not call them talking heads, as most talking heads are just actually talking out their backsides. These people have good experience or knowledge about what they're talking about, and it's shocking how people like you can compare them to a regular talking head, like a Katie Hopkins or a Sean Hannity, and think that they are anywhere near the same, they are not.

Given how badly Panorama rates, the chances of Newsnight moving to BBC One is zero.




Doesn't most of the Parliamentary stuff get shown online anyway? Can't imagine it's that costly to run anyway as it's just footage from the cameras in Westminster.

The feed from the two chambers and elsewhere in the building is pushed online and through Parliament.tv, but I believe its literally raw, ie video and audio with no graphics aside from the portcullis. BBC Parliament just sticks some pretty graphics on that sans portcullis and the odd piece of explanation where needed such as what we're voting on or who's standing up or what the current discussion is. Which is nice if you wander in late.

Putting Newsnight on BBC One at 9pm would be ratings suicide for BBC One. Pure disaster, as the lead in to the News at Ten would be minute.

When you are up against new dramas etc at 9pm on ITV and Channel 4, BBC One will not give over an hour prime time for news, and then News at Ten following it. This could make BBC One a news channel for 1 hour 45 minutes most nights. Madness.

(Just poking my head up)

As I said it was an opinion and a worthy one as far as I'm concerned and no I'm not saying have newsnight and the ten following one after the other. I was saying merge the two into one bulletin..

Fire in the hole

In fairness though your post reads as follows: "Switch Newsnight to BBC1, move it to 9PM and turn it into a modern day version of Sixty Minutes with 50% National/World News, 10% Local News, 30% Current Affairs and the final 10% split between Sport, Newspapers and Weather."

You make no mention of "merging" anything, just a 60 minute programme at 9pm. This would imply (by accident or otherwise) that the 10 o'clock news will follow on from it in the absence of any other programme.