The Newsroom

Flash flooding in Cornwall

BBC v ITV v Sky (August 2004)

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CW
Charlie Wells Moderator
Basically the flash fooding in Cornwall has trapped up to 50 people in cars.

Anyway I think the news was broken in the following order... Sky, BBC, ITV

Interesting looking at each channels interviews seeing how their presentation differs. When Sky did a phone interview they just showed a screen saying "Sky News Live" above the astons. ITV used a more colourful 'ITV squares' background above the astons. In comparision BBC showed a map focusing on Cornwall as their background for the phone interview.
LO
Londoner
ITV News broke this before 5 o'clock and I couldn't see any mention of it on Sky or News 24 at that point.

ITV are also asking viewers to email pictures of the floods
CW
Charlie Wells Moderator
I know BBC 'broke' it after 5:30pm - not long after Sky News reported it as Breaking News.
CA
cat
Oops - I think we created a thread at the same time, so I've deleted mine.

Regardless, will repeat my original post...

----
Right, this is a source of continual annoyance for me.

Why is it that British TV networks are so unutterably dire at getting pictures out of locations across the UK, including central London. Rhetorical question, perhaps.

About half an hour ago or so the news networks starting reporting about floods in Cornwall, people trapped in cars, cars flying all over the road, village needing to be evacuated, massive search and rescue operations going on... enough for them to lend themselves to about 20 minutes of on-going coverage.

And yet none of them have any pictures. There are crappy little maps up, and in fairness to Sky and News 24 they have both had a fair few phone interviews - Sky probably more so than the others. But what use are they without pictures?

Were this the US, much though I hate local tv networks there, we would be seeing pictures and from helicopters and reports from local correspondents. Over here, the best we can manage is interviews with local publicans. So much so that both ITV and Sky (and News 24 probably when it get round to it) are appealing on air for people to email in photos.

Feeble.
LO
Londoner
ITV News had a run of phone interviews with locals and the RAF etc shortly after 5
LO
Londoner
Sky is first with the Nottinghamshire murder hunt arrest breaking news though
AP
AdamP
Charlie Wells posted:
I know BBC 'broke' it after 5:30pm - not long after Sky News reported it as Breaking News.


It was on News 24 at quarter to five.
LO
Londoner
News 24 now has pictures
CW
Charlie Wells Moderator
Also shown on BBC 1
CA
cat
Curious that they are taking audio coverage from Five Live.

Not sure whose helicopter it is, or if the Beeb have rented it out, or something. Quite good pictures, though; just a shame they came two hours after the reports broke, and that they aren't live.
FU
fusionlad Founding member
Might be good time to watch BBC Spotlight tonight, those in the south west or with DSAT, they're normally pretty good with big stories.
RT
rts Founding member
Interesting to see the BBC getting pictures before Sky. With the SkyCopter, you'd think they'd be there now.

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