It's not the On-Screen team who by the way is miles stronger than GMTV. It's the people producing the show...
Viewers aren't interested in the blame game. They don't care if Christine is *awesome* and Adrian is *hysterical* - if the show is a pile of plop they won't watch - and then everyone has failed.
By the way - you're inexplicably using random capital letters. They only go at the start of a sentence, or the name of a particular person, place or object (a "proper noun").
Now now, Gavin, be careful. I corrected ginofish on his spelling, punctuation and grammar once (actually, more than once) and was chastised by the moderators.
That aside, you're right on the content issue but what strikes me most is that nobody has
really
thought about what people
want
to watch in the morning. It appears that now, more than ever, people want to know what is actually happening in the country and around the world and would like a little bit of 'substance' to back it up. This is one of the reasons for Breakfast and Sunrise performing so well and increasing reach and share. In 15 minutes on either of those you know:
a) the headlines;
b) the latest developments on a story that might actually have an effect on families, housewives and working mothers, etc. (such as MMR jabs, the flu jab, the rising cost of petrol);
c) how England performed overnight in the Ashes (or whatever sporting headline is appropriate); and
d) what the weather is forecast to be.
Of course, both Breakfast and Sunrise have another feather in their caps - the on-screen talent. It's a huge bonus that both have their own versions of a housewife's favourite (Bill or Eamonn) and in Breakfast's case two working mothers who appear to a) lead relatively normal lives and b) suffer the same hardships as the rest of us.
In the States, it's noticeable that the morning shows reserve the fluff pieces for later in the broadcast. The first 15 minutes of the broadcast is dominated by the headlines, a throw to the news anchor for the rest of the day's stories, a little sport and the weather. Major interviews - including with members of Congress, etc. - run anywhere between 7.15am and 8.15am. Much of the lighter entertainment-based information comes after 8.30am. This is one of the reasons behind the decision of NBC to extend the Today Show into a 3rd, and then 4th, hour. Equally, the most popular cable news morning show is Fox & Friends, a show that - despite any political leanings - will give you the headlines, sports and weather in 15 minutes and tell you how the latest bailout of a failing industry might impact upon you.
