Election Coverage

We are heading into the general election campaign. If there is a June 7th election, it will have to be called in mid-May.

So, all broadcasters will be putting their election plans in place. What do people know about them? and what do you think the coverage should be/will be like?

I've heard that the BBC election coverage will be pretty much the same as previous years. Peter Snow with his big screen and the various others that always get involved. The look will NOT be corporate (quite a surprise to me) and I think the election theme from past years will be used.
The studio might be corporate though (eg Vote 2000 USA, studio corporate, titles weren't)

Thats what I last heard anyway, they might have changed it completely for all I know

Also, does anyone know what the BBC Election theme is called? I have a feeling it is by Rick Wakeman but apart from that I don't know. Any idea's?

(Edited by Isonstine at 5:35 pm on April 20, 2001)

The election will be covered very fairly and impartially by the BBC with unrivalled comprehensive coverage.

(Just waiting for cheshirec now)

News 24 has cleared their June schedule to become 'Election Focused'

I expect some good corporate stuff throughout the campaign.

The only thing I found good about the Beebs election 97 was the funny little figures (no not Dimbelby, Snow and Paxman) they used for their graphics.
Here are some of the things posted on the GE97 site, the day after, they did reports throughout the night on the coverage, and here is what they all said.

Buildup to the election:


ITN claim they won the ratings war during the campaign, but will they come out on top during the night?


Can Dimbelby, D. fight off the challenge of Dimbelby, J.? And which way will Peter Snow swing?


Or will you be watching BBC2's alternative view?


Channel 4 does it differently. Find does it do it better?

(Channel 5)
What will the new kid on the block have to offer?


Sky's 24 hour campaign coverage lead the way. How will their results service match up?
--------

Election night reports:


Sky:
Peaks:An almost breathless sense of occasion (2.09am)
Results are coming in so fast that the 'Virtual Studio' has now been all but abandoned.

Oh look, it would just be easier, instead of all this curt and paste rubbish, if went and actually read the reports on GE97.
Link@

http://www.ge97.co.uk/election_day/media_watch/

Click on the pictures on the side, to sum up the BBC's coverage they said:

BBC want to know the word for a group of excited Liberal Democrats to desribe the Lib Dems at party HQ.

David Steele doesn't want to count his chickens... Last time 18% only meant 20 seats!'

BBC cut away from Hamilton's losing speech to go to Edinburgh. (That says it all!).

And anyway, from what I know, a few of you are perhaps too young to really remember the last election night, the BBC's coverage was not the best as they were stuck in a studio about the size of a desert that cost millions, waste of money.
And I heard the BBC being attacked by yet another party today, yesterday it was Labour, today the Conservatives, telling them to 'Get back to real issues', and 'It is typical of the BBC'.
So they are not in favour with either of the main parties at the moment.
And remeber this, Sky have longest serving political correspondent, in Adam Boulton, who was first to announce the election results accurately since 1992.
And anyway, why would they want it to be corporate, previous election have never been corporate, they will not change now.
The graphics are apparently for both the Beeb and Sky, very hot!

And on the topic of impartial, everyone in their right minds know that the BBC is firmly Blair's Broadcasting Corp... read it and weep boys:


'If this sounds a bit rule-of-thumb, independent academic studies of TV coverage in the 92, 97 actually found Sky News the 'most balanced' of the 3 national news services. '
- Extract from :
http://www.sky.com/skynews/storytemplate/storytoppic/0,,0-1010717,00.html

The BBC still has its election 97 website available at www.bbc.co.uk/election97

Ahh but have you been to

www.itnelections.co.uk
or is it www.itnelection.co.uk

Very suprising what you will find there.......

Oh no! They have changed it since I last checked.
It was last time the place where the ITN interactive service was managed, you could see it working etc.
Shame it is gone really.

from what ive heard the beeb are planning to use the main newscentre as its election base studio (how cool)

Well only a couple of days ago you were posting a topic saying that the Labour Party were complaining about the BBC's news coverage. So how does that make it Blair's Broadcasting Corporation, your argument is beginning to sound very muddled.

The labour party was complaining because of the lack of news about it on the BBC, instead the Beeb were concentrating on trivial matters, the point being they were angry with the lack of news about the labour party and it's real values, instead the BBC were reporting things that really were not relevant about the party, and hence, the government didn't like it.
The BBC has always been very pro labour anyway, and will remain that way.