"BBC WORLD"

I must be watching the channel at the wrong times lol

Now the new countdown ends with the words 'Putting News First' on screen, it made me thinking this: BBC World doesn't actually puts new first. Instead, CNN and Sky News are putting news first. These are continuous news channels whereas BBC World consists of half hour news bulletins. And it's only logical for a news channel to interupt programmes when news breaks. Or does 'Putting News First' mean something different? Like "how far the news gathering team behind BBC World will go to deliver its news" as said on bbcworld.com.

But then: it has totally fallen out of context. I personally do not believe most viewers interpret 'Putting News First' that way. It would mean the interview-like clips with correspondents need to come back on the channel but I think we had enough of those by now.

The previous catch phrase ('Demand a broader view') in my opinion reflects the channel's content much more. The in-depth reports and documentaries are more far reaching than for example 'CNN presents'. Besides, there is no other international news channel who broadcasts so much current affairs programmes other than the news.

That said though, I can imagine 'Demand a broader view' doesn't sound very exciting to be told at the end of a countdown at the top of the hour.

Couldn't they just take N24's old slogan - 'Takes You To The Heart Of The Story?' I think that would be more appropriate for BBC World as when it is news bulletins it could take you to the heart of the story. Also it wouldn't sound too bad on the countdown.
On the countdown, couldn't the red full screen stream and the voice be brought in earlier so that the actual counter kept on counting down and the whole lot finished at 00.00? It would be more precise than having to guess 'that's 00.00 so we've still got 4 seconds to go'.

I personally can't think what was wrong with the catchphrase "making sense of it all" - I thought that slogan summed the channel up well. They used that before the "demand a broader view" one came in.

Making sense of it all and Demand a border view, both are great, I dont understand why the BBC decided to use... Putting News First. I find it as stupid as Fair and Balanced, isnt this what news channels ought to do?

I think that slogan is very much justified in the sense that apart from those half hour long news bulletins scheduled at the top of every hour, the reaiming half hours are filled with programmes that are all pretty much related to the news: that's WBR, News Extra, HardTalk, where the guests are always related to the major news developments or played a key role in what makes the latest headlines, Asia Today, Fast Track which covers the latest stories in the world of "travel and tourism" and used to be presented like a news bulletin, Talking Movies for the latest films, etc. I think those can be called news programmes since they are supposed to keep you up-to-date in different areas. In fact, on weekdays, BBC World schedules can be considered those of a news channel. Now I have to admit that editions of Explorations, Extra Time, Earth Report or Hard Talk Extra cannot be termed news programmes, but all in all the slogan can apply. The fact that they never hesitate to interrupt a programme to cover breaking news as they happen is also relevant to a "putting news first" policy.
Of course, the previous slogans "demand a broader view" and especially, as itsrobert points out, "making sense of it all" are more appropriate to a channel that airs so diversified pieces and covers about everything, from the noweyian election campaign to the troubles experienced by the prime Minister of New Zealand, from the islamist trend in South East Asia to the new rules issued by Hugo Chavez in terms of radio quotas. The fact is that unlike CNN, one can watch BBC World for more than 15 minutes without being dwelled on the same stories. "Putting News first" doesn't go along with the BBC's open-mindedness in terms of world affairs programming.



You mean Rageeh Omar saying "With 57 news bureaux around the World, BBCNews is next" or Matt Frei popping up on your screen saying "Using the latest technologies to bring you the stories as they happen, BBCNews is next"?
Yeah, I've had enough of them. At that time there were also those "Just a moment" breakfillers that were useless and annoying.



I have to agree, it's problematic being shown a countdown that doesn't mean anyting.

What I find funny about FNC taking pride in pretending delivering "True journalism, fair and balanced", adopting the slogan "We report, you decide", or even calling itself "America's most trusted network for fair and balanced news" is that some dictatorships do the exact same thing when calling themseleves "Democratic Republic of ...". In fact when an institution knows there is something important that it doesn't deliver, it mentions it in its slogan or motto.
We've got to remember that in the "demand a broader view " period, BBC World aired numerous clips saying "In a complex world, you need balanced reporting" or "With expert business global coverage and analysis, BBC World brings you the details as well as the business headlines" (that's from a clip first shown in february 2003 if I remember well). In fact it goes without saying that at the very least a channel has to deliver that kind of things.

Well certainly the current catchphrase is not really right, I guess BBC World can say that they have increased the amount of news output generated throughout the week, but of course we have to put up with more ad breaks now.

I think "Making Sense Of It All" is a better phrase and sums the channel up better then "Putting News First" which can't be right especially in regions where news starts on the half hour!

Thank once again for your reaction, Haibara. Though, with the interview-like clips I actually meant the ones featuring John Simpson, Hilary Andersson and Emily Buchanan in which they were "recounting real-life experiences, showing the lengths to which they have gone to report for BBC World" as quoted from bbcworld.com once again. And that's how you could interpret "Putting News First" as well: in order to give the viewer the news, BBC journalists go that extra mile.

I see. Apologies for my misunderstanding what you meant.
Although some of those "interview-like clips" were rather good in providing viewers with testimonies from those they saw extensively, for instance during the War in Afghanistan. Some, especially those featuring John Simpson showing "the burka he had to wear when smuggled into Afghanistan" really give the impression that BBC journalists and correspondents take their task seriously, with a great sense of mission, risk taking and dedication to report from the very heart of the story they cover. Others, though, are not that relevant, for example when a female reporter says "we found ourselves trying to get where everybody was fleeing from" or something similar. I don't think you have to be inhabited by an idealistic vision of journalism to simply get to where your corporation wants you to report from. There is another of those clips which ends with "The truth can change things, and we tell the truth". It sounds so simplistic, so FNC-like, how can one take it seriously?
Remains that this series of clips meant at paying tribute to - or glorifying? - the great professionalism demonstrated by the team of BBC reporters, can, as you pointed out, explain the new slogan, which would, in that case, be kind of tricky as far as its real meaning.



That's right. I remember last November soon after they redesigned the newsroom, the 2000 CET edition of BBCnews (with Nik Gowing) was cut almost every 5 minutes, and that lasted a month or so. But yet that doesn't mean more commercial presentations are aired, but simply that the breaks are more numerous and frequent. Where's the interest of scheduling breaks when you have no commercials to fill them with? Simply aimed at showing more frequently their programme trailer, to keep viewers up-to-date with what's coming up? It was really nerve racking. Just like those presentations about Hard Talk, ClickOnLine or the Viewer Panel that prompt viewers to visit the BBC World website, all featuring the same music. Recently they have become ubiquitous on this channel, and they have started to play them one after the other. It just drives me crazy when I hear "log on to bbcworld.com", and then "Who's next in the hot seat...", and then "The information superhighway...", and then "Click and join our viewer panel", four times in a row the same music.



I wonder what it's like to get those bulletins at the bottom of the hour. There the countdowns really don't mean much at all!

How low can ya go?? lol, a 3 second countdown!!!

. I've seen TOTH's on N24 with no countdown at all!