The Newsroom

Sky News

Relaunch & beyond (October 2005)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
TI
timmy
Quote:
Don't get me started, Luke !

Suffice to say, with the disclaimer that my views are not necessarily representative of my former colleagues .. well, not all of them anyway ...
Also bear in mind I have never had any interest in rolling news or sport, especially so with the advent of increasing gimmickery and questionable tabloid news values ....
I was just a vision-mixer doing a job ...

Sky is a stressful, sullen place in general, especially so in News.
The work is fiendishly repetitive and boring.
The technical staff are treated like robots, not human beings.
Some of the gallery producers are next to useless. Others just plain rude.
The old gallery was cramped, dirty and poorly air conditioned.
Some of the gallery directors are too bored or incapable to direct clearly.
Some of the gallery directors think they're directing an epic.

All the above grate when you're stuck doing a difficult but tedious job for either 3, 4 or 5 hours at a stretch.

That's a concise summary !



Lord!
Perhaps someone should start something like myskynewsmemories.com - where former staff can describe their experience of what it's like to work somewhere that is probably the closest to Baghdad you'll get without actually being there.

I was there once and one of the channel's "star" presenters was at the old newswall and threw a tantrum about the sound that, at least, could be best described as volcanic. It quite jaw-dropping to watch a middle-aged woman behave like a five-year-old who's had their sweets taken away.

When someone once got the spelling of a locator wrong, one of the senior staff sent out an e-mail to the equivalent of "SkyNewsAll" naming and shaming her.

Staff crying in the toilets, walking out on the job, tantrums, screaming, throwing chairs, beating tables with fists - if you've been at Sky News you will have seen it all.
MA
Matrix
timmy posted:
Quote:
Don't get me started, Luke !

Suffice to say, with the disclaimer that my views are not necessarily representative of my former colleagues .. well, not all of them anyway ...
Also bear in mind I have never had any interest in rolling news or sport, especially so with the advent of increasing gimmickery and questionable tabloid news values ....
I was just a vision-mixer doing a job ...

Sky is a stressful, sullen place in general, especially so in News.
The work is fiendishly repetitive and boring.
The technical staff are treated like robots, not human beings.
Some of the gallery producers are next to useless. Others just plain rude.
The old gallery was cramped, dirty and poorly air conditioned.
Some of the gallery directors are too bored or incapable to direct clearly.
Some of the gallery directors think they're directing an epic.

All the above grate when you're stuck doing a difficult but tedious job for either 3, 4 or 5 hours at a stretch.

That's a concise summary !



Lord!
Perhaps someone should start something like myskynewsmemories.com - where former staff can describe their experience of what it's like to work somewhere that is probably the closest to Baghdad you'll get without actually being there.

I was there once and one of the channel's "star" presenters was at the old newswall and threw a tantrum about the sound that, at least, could be best described as volcanic. It quite jaw-dropping to watch a middle-aged woman behave like a five-year-old who's had their sweets taken away.

When someone once got the spelling of a locator wrong, one of the senior staff sent out an e-mail to the equivalent of "SkyNewsAll" naming and shaming her.

Staff crying in the toilets, walking out on the job, tantrums, screaming, throwing chairs, beating tables with fists - if you've been at Sky News you will have seen it all.


Good Morning and welcome to Sunrise from Sky News...

Enough said.
PS
Psythor
The behind the scenes shot on the Sky News Active was never this exciting!
SN
SN2005
gregmc posted:
Sky should be ashamed of their coverage. Presenting was ok... however, N24 got pictures with in 30mins-1hr of the event breaking, and even got a live camera and reporter on the scene shorly after. At this point, Sky were only just getting pictures in, which were all poorly edited, recorded straight off a computer screen, with someone going back to the email, and opening the picture attatchemnts.

Overall... sky was poor. News24 however, were much better, clearer, faster , and didnt break false news.. such as "One person killed" which was the case at one point on Sky.


I was watching N24, and turned over to sky news to see what they were doing. I saw Steve Dixon at the news-wall taking us through a selection of photos sent in by viewers, as if he was a construction expert. What was worse Ginny was nodding emphatically and then started barging in with her own conspiracy theories, and the whole thing got to Martin Popplewell a bit too, as when he went to talk to the camera, he said;

'The top threee on sky news..........................are coming right up'

Ginny burst into giggles...

I thought this summed up skys afternoon perfectly!

BBC World I agree that Ginny has the makings of a good presenter, its just that I think her lack of experience and her nervousness causes her to just seem to take a back seat, and pose. I can see that she really enjoys it, and she has had her good days.
MA
Matrix
SN2005 posted:
gregmc posted:
Sky should be ashamed of their coverage. Presenting was ok... however, N24 got pictures with in 30mins-1hr of the event breaking, and even got a live camera and reporter on the scene shorly after. At this point, Sky were only just getting pictures in, which were all poorly edited, recorded straight off a computer screen, with someone going back to the email, and opening the picture attatchemnts.

Overall... sky was poor. News24 however, were much better, clearer, faster , and didnt break false news.. such as "One person killed" which was the case at one point on Sky.


I was watching N24, and turned over to sky news to see what they were doing. I saw Steve Dixon at the news-wall taking us through a selection of photos sent in by viewers, as if he was a construction expert. What was worse Ginny was nodding emphatically and then started barging in with her own conspiracy theories, and the whole thing got to Martin Popplewell a bit too, as when he went to talk to the camera, he said;

'The top threee on sky news..........................are coming right up'

Ginny burst into giggles...

I thought this summed up skys afternoon perfectly!


I have to say in terms of that breaking news Sky fell flat on their arse. I first saw it (the story) break on BBC News Online and turned to News 24 who handled the situation really well and of course it was a coup that both Tom Symonds and Rjashes Mercanhdi were in the area and a construction lawyer was amongst those evacuated. Having said that it just went from bad to worse, I saw one guy, in the background, running around with his hands in his head at Sky and that really seemed to sum the afternoon up.

It almost juxtaposed the entire 'event' with Jane and Matthew and then Jon and Louise on News 24 handling it very well and Sky having Martin and Ginny seemingly struggle with the very basics, really did create a contrast.

Just what has happened to Sky News?
SN
SN2005
I think Ginny must have been down at Learn Direct, naturally trying to make use of the few brain cells that she has, this morning because, all of a sudden this afternoon she turned in to Ginny the Royal fashion expert. Add to that I think Steve must have joined her because he suddenly had a doctorate in PR! As for Martin Popplewell, well he was an expert in strip-bars, and Harry's appearance at 'a mint flavoured one' (strip-bar). I think Ginny is hiding something from her past, as both Martin and Steve suddenly looked at her..........what could they be hiding?????

I wonder what parts they'll play tomurrow, I think its Martin's turn to play the lead role.
FE
fernando
Psythor posted:
The behind the scenes shot on the Sky News Active was never this exciting!

When they used to have the gallery talkback accompanying the gallery shot on Active at 2300 I used to enjoy (after being in the seat since 1930 constantly) trying to goad my colleagues into 'unsuitable' comments just for a laugh.
Oh how fun.

Even though I am currently insolvent and consistemtly failing to find any work elsewhere, I am determined never to go back there again. Even if they would have me, which they probably wouldn't, due to my comments on here and opinions I have never hid in person.
MS
msim
Psythor posted:
The behind the scenes shot on the Sky News Active was never this exciting!


Except for the Vote 2005 election programme - probably more interesting than the show itself!
GI
gillw72
Powerful story by Dominic Waghorn this morning on the Chinese government forceably removing residents from the their homes to make way for new developments.

Can't help thinking he and his crew will be getting a free ride to the airport from the Chinese authorities this afternoon.
FE
fernando
Yes, they do seem to do some good international / world reports these days.

Unfortunately they then usually spoil it by saying
"So, what do you think ? ... is oppression a good thing ... or a bad thing ... "
GI
ginnyfan
Who was on this morning,I see Allan and Fay now?
MA
Matrix
fernando posted:
Yes, they do seem to do some good international / world reports these days.

Unfortunately they then usually spoil it by saying
"So, what do you think ? ... is oppression a good thing ... or a bad thing ... "


Isn't it just! The silly audience hooks completely destroy so much of what the correspondent/reporter has tried to buil up.

With regard to Dominic get a free lift to the airport I'd think a free ride to a cell and possible imprisionment is a much more likely outcome.

I know the BBC's correspondent, Rupert W-Hayes, after filming a report on China's inforcement of the one child policy had to "lye low" for a time.

But yes, Great to international and world news taking such a lead on Sky, just not a certain former White House advisor presenting it!

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