The Newsroom

Peter Sissons has died.

(October 2019)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
WH
Whataday Founding member
Steve Williams posted:
As mentioned, in those days C4 was very much ITV2 and hence Channel 4 News would be plugged at the end of the News at 5.45 and Channel 4 News would plug News at Ten.


That happened right up until 1993 when Channel 4 had to start selling its own advertising and paying for itself. All Channel 4 bulletins would end with something like "That's it for now. The next news from ITN is at 5:45 on ITV". Although I think ITV did away with this during the 80s and just had a caption on the ITN endcap.
IT
itsrobert Founding member
Markymark posted:
nbafan89 posted:
and Channel 4 have just put the first ever channel 4 news online as a tribute to him, here is the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_uY4-iQ64


RIP Peter

Two interesting things in that video for me, I could have sworn the present C4 News theme music was used from day 1, which clearly it wasn't, and secondly of course C4 was more or less 'ITV 2' (in a BBC 2 way) back then, so a lengthy plug from Martyn Lewis for that night's NaT


The more familiar theme, "Best Endeavours", launched on 31 January 1983, so this one didn't last very long at all. I'm glad they changed it!

RIP Peter Sissons, a true legend of TV news.
WH
Whataday Founding member
nbafan89 posted:
and Channel 4 have just put the first ever channel 4 news online as a tribute to him, here is the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_uY4-iQ64


Interesting how TV-Ark's copy of that edition is far better quality than ITN's.
JA
james-2001
Whataday posted:
nbafan89 posted:
and Channel 4 have just put the first ever channel 4 news online as a tribute to him, here is the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_uY4-iQ64


Interesting how TV-Ark's copy of that edition is far better quality than ITN's.


Looks like ITN's copy has a LOT of distortion at the start. Looks like some sort of loose connection to whatever machine was recording it, the fact the picture rapidly switches between different sources (including one of the correspondents waiting to go on air and an incoming news agency feed from Jerusalem) at around the 50 second mark, before the distortion sorts itself, would suggest this.

Still seems shocking what I assume is ITN's master archive copy is so poor, recorded off-air rather than from a studio feed on what looks like VHS (but I guess could be Betamax or Umatic) and with all that picture distortion and looks like ad breaks physically paused out (with picture roll and a few missing seconds of footage either side of the break).
Last edited by james-2001 on 3 October 2019 11:53am
SP
Spencer
Steve Williams posted:
When he did move it was very much for Question Time first and the news second, they offered him a choice of bulletins and he opted for the Six. But it was a very rancorous move from C4 who refused to accept his resignation and intended to send him on gardening leave for months and months, and it took endless legal wrangling to sort it out.


Michael Buerk, being interviewed about Peter Sissons on Radio 4's PM yesterday evening, mentioned that the BBC ended up paying Channel 4 a football-style 'transfer fee' in order to poach him. Hard to imagine the BBC getting away with something like that these days.
Brekkie and JamesWorldNews gave kudos
JA
james-2001
There's no way that could happen now without the Daily Mail blowing up in OUTRAGE.
BR
Brekkie
Steve Williams posted:
VMPhil posted:
Creamguide did a 'Newsnight vs Channel 4 News' feature a few months back which details that the early C4 News was considered a bit of a disaster, and changes were made very quickly, including ditching the original theme tune. Scroll down a bit on this page: https://mailchi.mp/8f22d8be21ec/creamguide-27th-july-2nd-august-2019


Good piece, that. Cough.

He talks about this at great length in his autobiography, about how the original set was horrible - because of the beige carpet everywhere and the world map, it was likened to "the international headquarters of Allied Carpets" - and the first few months were a disaster.

As mentioned, in those days C4 was very much ITV2 and hence Channel 4 News would be plugged at the end of the News at 5.45 and Channel 4 News would plug News at Ten. He also says that David Nicholas at ITN was so pleased to have landed the C4 News contract that he said they'd get Alastair Burnet to present it as their number one anchor, and indeed he did a pilot. But he didn't like it and C4 didn't want him because he was so associated with ITV, and apparently Burnet studiously ignored C4 News for the rest of his time at ITN.

He also says that, a year or so before he moved to the Beeb, John Birt approached him and offered him the job of BBC Political Editor, but this would be a much expanded role that not only included on-screen work but also the role of running the Beeb's entire political operation, including hiring and firing. Sissions thought that sounded a hideous job with far too much responsibility and turned it down - as presumably did everyone else, given that role never happened.

When he did move it was very much for Question Time first and the news second, they offered him a choice of bulletins and he opted for the Six. But it was a very rancorous move from C4 who refused to accept his resignation and intended to send him on gardening leave for months and months, and it took endless legal wrangling to sort it out.

Markyboy81 posted:
Am i correct in saying that Sissons never presented any weekend bulletins or the Nine during the 88-93 period?


Indeed, Lewis and Buerk were the Nine O'Clock News presenters in that period, a role that also extended to reading the main news at the weekend.

I've said this before, and it is just parroting from his book, but apparently Lewis and Buerk didn't get on, partly because they were required to sort out the rota themselves - they didn't mind what nights they did it, as long as one of them did it - and Buerk was convinced that Lewis was diving in early and booking loads of holiday in advance so Beurk didn't get any choice. He got on better with Sissons, who was more accommodating, and indeed Sissons says that at one point he read the news for 21 consecutive days.

Presumably there were some exceptions over those years and another face filled I from time to time. Huge difference to now when over the summer seemed like anyone walking past the office could present the Ten.

When did the weekend role stop - sure it had by the China red era and they were just doing Monday to Friday between them.
IT
itsrobert Founding member
I certainly remember one or two other faces presenting the Nine from time to time - for instance, John Humphrys and Nicholas Witchell. Presumably because neither Buerk nor Sissons were available. I think some time around 1994, Sissons and Lewis swapped with each other - Sissons went to the Nine and Lewis to the Six.

In terms of the Nine presenter also presenting the weekend late bulletins, it may have extended slightly into the china red and cream era. I just can't remember exactly when it stopped. Certainly it wasn't happening by the time the Ten launched because I'm sure I remember a big fuss about how the Ten branding was being used for the Sunday late bulletin. In fact, for a while, the Sunday Ten presenter used to link directly into Panorama, too.
ST
Steve Founding member
London Lite posted:
Peter presenting on Sept 12th 2001.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XocX6peVkwo


The opening (post-titles) link on this is a brilliant piece of writing, delivered with poise and precision.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
I always thought Humphrys was a regular fixture on the Nine in the fish fingers era?
IT
itsrobert Founding member
Steve in Pudsey posted:
I always thought Humphrys was a regular fixture on the Nine in the fish fingers era?

He was, but he still filled in from time to time well into the late 1990s. He also sometimes filled in on the One and Six as well.
BR
Brekkie
Interesting to see Peter in Dunblane back in 1996. You think of on-location as a much newer thing.

Newer posts