Some very sad news on this, the 10th anniversary of TV Forum, but Johnny Pearson, the composer of The Awakening, the original News at Ten theme tune has died.
Very sad news indeed. Without his original composition, I'm sure ITV News themes (in all their guises) would not be as iconic and remembered as they have been over the years. Has anyone listened to the original "The Awakening" in its full four-minute glory? Just at the point you think you're listening to the wrong music, the iconic notes hit you!
Quite annoying how lately they seem to be lazily showing the same reports that were on the News at 6:30 for the Ten. It used to be the case that if I caught the 6:30 news, I'd tune in again at 10pm for a slightly more in-depth look. Is it me or is the Ten basically a rehash of the 6:30 lately, mainly in terms of content? Looks that way tonight for some reason
ITV are also disappointing on the graphics outlook yet again - a couple of thrown-together Budget graphics showing stats is pretty much it. Today's Budget programme itself looked pretty much the same as last year, with the clunky mess on screen: aston stacked on top of live bar, stacked on top of special ticker. Summary titles used to introduce the programme.
Shame Johnny Pearson's death has gone unmentioned by NAT so far this week!
Shame Johnny Pearson's death has gone unmentioned by NAT so far this week!
Agreed. I'm sure they could have squeezed something in to at least one of the NAT bulletins - especially given the music's role in helping esablish the NAT brand.
According to today's Evening Standard, Archie Norman has decreed that News at Ten should be more serious and less tabloid.
More detail:
Quote:
The talk at ITV is that chairman Archie Norman has let it be known that its flagship News at Ten should adopt a serious tone and eschew tabloid values. Norman, who used to be Tory deputy party chairman, knows the value of a strong news operation as a way to win friends at Westminster. ITV's long-running review of news and current operations has yet to reach a conclusion. But it now looks a lot less likely that the broadcaster will cut its hour-long mix of national and regional news at 6pm - something that was mooted a few months back. The troubled launch of Daybreak, which replaced GMTV, has also made ITV cautious about radical change.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/markets/article-23934648-in-the-air-itv-advertising-set-to-fall-6-8-percent-in-may.do
Making News at Ten more serious can only be a good thing in my opinion. Since the 2004 relaunch, ITV News has been my principal source of television news but I've hardly watched it at all since about November 2010. Yes, admittedly wearing my anorak, I was turned off by the November 2009 relaunch. I think getting rid of the NAT brand was a huge mistake, especially after all the publicity surrounding the launch less than two years before. However, it's more than that. I gradually grew tired of the editorial agenda - far too much celebrity gossip, insistence on a 'human interest' angle to every story - "what will this mean for YOU?" - and over the top reporters with big egos who were getting on my nerves. As a result, I've been watching far more of BBC News and the difference between the two is marked. The BBC is much more serious and for the most part, the reporters tell the story, rather than trying to make themselves a part of it. Also, there's far less human interest, although admittedly on some bulletins there is some celebrity gossip. If ITV News returned to a more serious editorial agenda I'd be back with them in a shot, as I've always thought ITN is a remarkable news provider. I would watch Channel 4 News but I just haven't got time to sit down for an hour every single evening, which is why NAT was the perfect programme for me.
I also agree that NAT should have mentioned the death of Johnny Pearson this week. Like some of you have said, his music was iconic and is still with us even to this day, albeit reworked. It was a key part of the branding that made NAT great and they should have at least mentioned it in passing. Couldn't they have used the original NAT closing theme to end one of this week's programmes as a tribute? Something like that would have been enough.
News at Ten doesn't perform well in the ratings and it will never beat BBC News at 10. Appealing to a niche audience definitely makes more sense than trying and failing to make a mainstream tabloid bulletin, so perhaps driving it more towards Newsnight or Channel 4 News could only be a good thing to head up ITV's news coverage. Currently, its Daily Mail TV.
News at Ten doesn't perform well in the ratings and it will never beat BBC News at 10. Appealing to a niche audience definitely makes more sense than trying and failing to make a mainstream tabloid bulletin, so perhaps driving it more towards Newsnight or Channel 4 News could only be a good thing to head up ITV's news coverage.
Yes, but remember that for many years News at Ten was streets ahead of the Nine O'Clock News in the ratings. It was
the
bulletin to watch in Britain before 1999. I don't think it's fair to banish News at Ten to the dustbin of history forever as it could make a comeback - more remarkable things have happened in TV. Whilst I agree that in its current form it would never beat the BBC, I would never say never.
News at Ten doesn't perform well in the ratings and it will never beat BBC News at 10. Appealing to a niche audience definitely makes more sense than trying and failing to make a mainstream tabloid bulletin, so perhaps driving it more towards Newsnight or Channel 4 News could only be a good thing to head up ITV's news coverage.
Yes, but remember that for many years News at Ten was streets ahead of the Nine O'Clock News in the ratings. It was
the
bulletin to watch in Britain before 1999. I don't think it's fair to banish News at Ten to the dustbin of history forever as it could make a comeback - more remarkable things have happened in TV. Whilst I agree [that in its current form it would
never
beat the BBC, I would
never
say
never
.