Sky News

Watched Anna Jones live walk on Youtube for the first time and while there looked at Sky News clips from the relaunch..... and realised that was more watchable than the current dross being dished up.
Presentation-wise, the channel has lost its way, I hope this revamp includes alterations to the presenters line-up.
The fact is that Sky have paid Holmes and his contract doesn't run out until later this year (I maybe wrong), so in the current climate with Ryley saving money, he needs to be on screen.
I hate Dermot's slot, four hours behind a desk, please someone pair him up with Anna Jones or Anna Botting and let them move around.
Kay is on far too long, after 7pm is a mess and I would rather see JT at 10, might be his sort of thing.
As for the SSN relaunch - a few lightboxes here and there and everyone judges it a success, you can still see the existing dull studio on certain shots on Soccer Saturday.

We're talking about graphics not the studio.

sky news problem with the graphics is simple. 16:9.

You either do as the US do and add extra info in the 16:9/4:3 margin or stay 4:3 and let people sort it out themselves.

A majority of 16:9 tV's are mis-set anyway according to ofcom (via ntl telewest & sky data from installer feedback) A quick look in many homes and pubs will bear that out.

At my gym, skysports news runs on the 19:9 plasma's and looks fine; news 24 however is 4:3 cutout filling a 16:9 screen.

The point is widescreen is tricky for graphic intensive applications - not that the graphics are the biggest problem.

Given the budget squeeze at Sky News do not expect much to come.

Juliette Foster is writing a novel based on Sky News:
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/pandora/article3342191.ece

I'm sorry, have I missed something but how can there possibily be a budget cut if Dermot's on a seven figure salary?

Look, you seem quite switched on - you don't actually belive that is his yearly wage do you? It's just PR spin which could be calculated a number of ways: He could be on a low as a 1 year contract at £250k with a further 3 year 'option' and still be spun and a 7 figure signing.

When it gets misreported in the tabloids, nobody minds as it looks good for the talent and the channel

or any combination to get £1M+

10/15 minute news wheels are not just presentation devices or just solo presenter shows: they require far fewer reporter packages to be made/updated - with fewer journo's, producer's and support staff

Also look at the 'personality' shows. Kay does not sit there chatting to the sports guys and correpsondents like TIm Marshall becouse its better editorial than stuctured, produced reports and studio follow ups with guests

The number of packages, location lives (not studio 2 ways) on air is the lowest it ever has been; many of the production staff I know/know off hate it and a fair few now hate working there - as a number of indiscrete facebook walls have let slip..

anyone experianced who works in TV production can tell you how cheap it all is now. To presentation enthusiasts 30minutes with flashy graphics, a few pans around the set, kay chatting to jon, tim, McNews presenter etc and talking heads at the high court, the city, westminster just looks like a rolling news format - to the industry it looks like content lite wallpaper.

In 2 hours today I have seen fewer produced (ie expensive) packages than an edition of Thames Valley Tonight. Content wise, the guests and studio chat with stations own staff remind me Drivetime at BBC Radio Anyshire.

Fair play to the production team for making so little seem like so much, and Kay is one on the few on TV who can pull it off. As long as they keep enough skills to do breaking news well it might just work.

It's true that there are many fewer lives now.

At one point you could turn on Sky News any time between 6am and 11pm seven days a week and there would be a minimum of a couple of lives every hour - from right around the UK - without fail.

The channel definitely has a much thinner feel now.

Some info on the new look site
http://skynews3.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/01/what-the-papers.html#comments

GaryC - I definitely know what current feeling is at sky news and it's something that has prevented me from ever going into the industry.

Although for me watching day in day out, it is hard to gauge just how much the channel has changed. One thing I noticed, last week, was that during a Bush and Abbas press conference and while Abas was talking they didn't even have a translator, Dermot had to ad-lib. They ALWAYS had a translator. ALWAYS.

I'm also aware of press spin, but what I'm saying is that if there's enough money to pay him say £100,000+ a year then why didn't they reinvest this money into the output of the channel. May be going Fox's root and having a band of Sky Contributors - that would be a cheap way of having regular guests on the channel.

I understand their obsession with personalities, because it looks good, and if they follow the old News Channel route it can work to a certain degree. I can't wait to see what they do when Eamonn goes, he looks more miserable by the day. That may well force them to go back to a double headed approach (I hope).

The newswall I suspect is a manifectation of this as well as it's far simpler to get a stock image than create a whole new design, and I to a certain extent like and agree with this approach. But if they've made three (Jeff Randall, Sky.com News and general) then surely it wouldn't hurt to make a few more.

I'm aware of limitations etc, but if money is as tight as you make it out to be then they MUST make the most of everything disposable to them, this includes the presetnation points and the jib-camera. Even though the mezz seems to have been wrecked anway.

Another thing I noticed is that over last summer they regularly went to breaks at 9 minutes past during the am sky news today.

Watching Sky News at 6, in the first half hour alone, I counted 8 lives interviews.

Depends on what job you want to do. Working in many aspects of the media beats a more mundane office job anyday - just expect to pick up skills and move on to something else (GOOD people are always in demand) Jobs for life are long gone (except in the UK state sector)

You would think they would use the studio more, but thats a different political issue for them: New set, lotts of angles etc = bad relaunch in many of the managment eyes. That is why now it's all tight shots - focus on the people - rather than dramatic sludio shots. Unfortunatly it's the same mistake they made at relaunch, just the opposite way round.

You ask why invest in Dermot if budget is tight? If they can 'do a kay' and have a solid presenter led studio show for 4 hours and still hold an audience it will save in the long run - on sat trucks, camera crew and reporters, editors and on travel needed to do location based reports. So a good presenter who can hold a show on their own will save money; even if they cost more than someone else.

is dermot able do do that, or is he the next mr holmes?

Of course you will see packages and 2ways on prime shows - material gathered for breakfast makes the 'walpaper' footage for the McNews bites by the junior presenters all day; and again stuff for live at 5 rehashed for 8-10 and added to for 10-12. The point is a fraction of the material that used to be made is needed.

Bottom line, expect more ways of doing news/sport weather in 10 min bites (Sports news style split screen anyone..) more studio features and more use of broadband phone reports; Packages for the less important regional stories will may go VJ produced and yes - more fox style correspondants.

Once it comes off freeview, who knows..

Don't know if anyone caught this, but I suppose it's worth mentioning. Sky's headlines sequence at midnight was a shambles. Throughout the whole thing, there was no sound other than the bed. Towards the end of it the swoosh and 'Voice of God' refused to appear so we got a caption concerning music levels.

Jason de la Pena then appeared without any sound so we were treated to the breakbumper (the award one) for about a minute or so followed by an apology.

First Sky News "breakdown" I've ever seen. 'Citing.