BBC News First

Forgive the topic title but for once, I had to blatantly point it out to our Sky News fans

BBC News 24 got the pictures of the bomb scene first although I would greatly criticise them for going to World/N24 joinup at 1am. I know they would need double the staff but feel they had time to stick World in their studio and N24 in theirs. World could continue with their normal worldwide-orientated news and N24 with the breaking news.

I've actually had to turn over and watch Sky

Cheers, Asa

But they still haven't got pictures! And ITN still aren't even showing anything about it!

Cheers,

..... and Sky are still doing phono's - nearly 40 mins after N24 pics. Beeb got a truck there too feeding pictures.

Sky also had problems around 12.20 when the presenter breaking the news kept being inturrupted mid sentence by a trail. Then a cut to the studio, and then a cut back to the trail.

The guy who took the pics was just in the N24 studio and was keen to point out he was a professional (!)

The BBC Truck is in 16:9...

Cheers,


(Edited by liam at 1:32 am on Aug. 3, 2001)

Sky had first pics at 2am - 2 hours after explosion, and over an hour behind N24. Must be due to refit

(Edited by andyrew at 2:11 am on Aug. 3, 2001)

What's strange (well not really I suppose!) is that itn still don't seem to have anythin on the NC.

Cheers,

Something I found very 'newsy' about all this was the diversity between the same story. Sky News claims the bomb detonated at 'two minutes to midnight'. BBC News said it was 'about midnight' and ITN reckons it was 'a few minutes after midnight'. It's like weather forecasts all over again!

Credit must however go to BBC News on this occasion, they were first with pictures, which makes the whole thing stick in our minds the most. Anyone can do a phone-link, but the pictures are something different.

Right, must go to bed now, this is twice in two nights that i've been going at 6.00am!

I think all the networks handled this well for the time it broke - Sky broke the news first but BBC seemed to respond faster with pictures after just over an hour. They shouldn't have joined BBC World but the coverage from 1.30 to 2am (where they dropped ABC World News Tonight) was really good in my opinion and they had a reporter invision (Ben McCarthy - he was at ITN wasn't he?) before Sky.

ITN coverage was pathetic.

Although BBC got the first pictures, their coverage was less dramatic once McCarthey was LIVE in-vision at the scene. On both Sky & BBC, the coverage was more lively when reporters relied on mobiles.

BBC was FIRST with the images of the explosion
SKY though broke the news first & had the first live report from the scene.

BTW: I first broke the news on TV home chat a within seconds of the Sky announcement & then brought the first pictures of the scene (as it was before the blast) within half an hour, or so.

(Edited by SkyNews at 1:28 pm on Aug. 3, 2001)

What time did Ben McCarthy start (and yes, he was on 5 News)? I know that ITN had Andrea Catherwood on location at 2am, but I didn't see any live reports on Sky.

Sky News had reporteres Louise Hastings and Chris Roberts live on location.  Hastings first live piece was at 12:09 - only NINE minutes after the bomb.

Ben McCarthy was LIVE at 1 or 1:30

(Edited by SkyNews at 2:13 pm on Aug. 3, 2001)

'Lively'??! Most viewers want to see what is going on for themselves, not someone on the end of a phone with a map stuck up on screen!

Cheers, Asa