Not sure but I think there was some kind of alarm going off on tonights 10 o clock news right at the end and at the beginning of Newsnight straight after. It looked like Kirsty Wark was trying to ignore it. Has anyone else noticed this or do I need an ear test.
Yes, I heard it too at the start of Newsnight, very faintly in the background, it sounded to me like equipment being moved, like a metal creaking noice, so thought nothing of it.
Indeed - a fire alarm is a fire alarm and the order to evacuate cannot be ignored, even by a presenter who is live on air!
However, TV Centre is such a large building that parts of it can be fully evacuated, while other parts can be left partially (or even fully) staffed depending on the nature of the emergency.
When the IRA bomb went off outside the main reception, News 24, the National news studios and the bulk of the news centre were evacuated. The entire News operation moved to the BBC Westminster studios at Millbank for a few hours, but a Joint Service was operating back at TVC in the BBC World newsroom which is actually in a different part of the building and was opened to staff again. Throughout the whole period, however, Presentation for all networks remained at TV Centre.
Should the order come to evacuate though, you evacuate.
Is there not some sort of PA system at TVC that accompanies evacuation alarms? If this was an alarm going off then would there have been a PA anno to accompany it?
(lol - just read back what I typed - a "PA ANNO to accompany it" PA ANNO = Piano! - oh nevermind!)
Anyway - yes there is a PA - but it's not audible in studio spaces for obvious reasons! A presenter will probably be fully aware of what's going on though through the earpiece.
- oh nevermind!)
