Scrap news channels?

Ok, time for spleen to be vent. Is there really any point to them? BBC News 24 - They repeat themselves every 15 minutes pretty much and pepper the rest of the time with second rate guests and excruciating 'banter'. Regular programmes might as well be on the main networks and if anything major happens it'll be put there as well. Sky news has the great ethos bigger/more is better hence the huge news wall to flash up tenuously related pictures, 10 presenters per setence and Mr.Holmes. Style over whatever they have instead of content over there.

If we really need a rolling news service can't we just have a decent version of that p*ss poor work-experience BBC News loop updated regularly?

You certainly did rupture your spleen there NerdBoy. However, I have the opposite point of view to you. I believe that we should no longer have news on the main channels simply because the service is available 24/7 courtesy of Sky & BBC.

News24 is excellent - I prefer it to news bulletins and also view it for pleasure too.

I think that news channels are great, but i prefer bbc news 24 to sky news.

I think they should keep NEWS 24. If you want to see the news whilst there's no national bullitin, then you can switch to NEWS 24.

However, what I do not agree with is after the digital switch over, to scrap the news on BBC ONE. This would muck up television. I like watching the nationals on BBC ONE. I don't want to watch NEWS 24 every time!

No.

They're very useful if breaking news comes in (but isn't important enough to be on the main channels).

Cor, top debate in here.

News channels have their place. Whether or not they're currently doing their best is another matter. Rolling news is useful if you miss a news bulletin (remember "the now o'clock news" campaign?), and can be good in a developing story, if there's enough information coming in.

Too often though, a story will break, and News 24 and Sky compete to provide blanket coverage based on one scrap of information. Spending an hour with a map or a still photo on screen does not make interesting television. At the other end of the scale, if there's no story to break, then you'll just get the same bulletin every half hour - as you can see with overnight coverage. There's surely a happy medium where they can make a bit of a more interesting.

(I realise I'm not making much in the way of useful suggestions here, just thought I'd add something a little more helpful than 'I don't like news channels')