First hand account: Conservative Election

After returning from US it was straight to Westminster for the Tory leadership election result. A few observations from there

When the result was about to be announced, the screens in the Commons that show the order of the day, who's speaking in the Commons etc - cut away from it to display Sky News.

On the Green outside the Commons the full media scrum was out - I'm managed to grab some stills just to post here - hopefully I'll post them soon! Even Kenneth Clarke joked to John Pinnear & an guy from 5 Live who were interviewing him almost at the same time why the BBC needed some many personnel there. As well as those 2, Nick Robinson & Mark Mardell were reporting from separate canopies on the green.

Despite Clarke giving his first live interview to the Six, he proceeded to speak to Adam Boulton to give the better interview. Sky suceeded in getting Clarke & Portillo on at the same time (Miguel was in the Millbank studio). No-one else acheived this. Sky, with the fewest staff appeared to have the best coverage. I don't think Nick Robinson (N24 got a live interview)

Sky were using special graphics showing the faces of the contenders, with a cross through Portillo's face. I don't know about BBC's graphics because I didn't catch a monitor.

[B]JOKE: The Green was so busy, with hundreds of people on it, that there were probably more watching Nick Robinson there than there were actually watching News 24 at home. [b] [i] the type of industry joke that appears to have died down recently!!!

(Edited by SkyNews at 12:20 am on July 18, 2001)

And I like John Pienarr's joke on the Ten tonight:

You could probably have fitted almost all the Conservative MPs voting today under the umbrellas on the green!

I heard a line somewhere, I think it was Robin Cook referring to last Tuesday's debacle. (Another of Hague's mistakes as leader, failing to clarify the rules!)

Unlike the Tory party poll, at least the Big Brother vote results in someone being eliminated.

Here we go again on the old News 24 vs. Sky debate - I think News 24's coverage was just as good - I actually preferred their graphics. I thought Nick Robinson presented the piece from Westminster well, and the BBC also did well because they were the first to be told by Michael Portillo that he was leaving politics!

Oh lets not start this debate! Sky News was good, as was BBC News24, as was Radio Five Live. All were different, all equally good in my opinion - let's leave it at that!!

I must emphasise that I was there so I only saw what the reporters were putting out not the coverage/presentation on TV.

Just noticed myself on the ITV/ITN package from Westminster!

5 Live appeared to be doing a fairly good job with their reporter mingling with his radio mike. It took him about 20 minutes after the Six interview to get one though.

(Edited by SkyNews at 12:32 am on July 18, 2001)

I don't want to get involved in who was best etc. But to put the record straight Ken Clarke spoke to Nick Robinson live on News 24 at around 5.50pm ... a good 15 minutes before he was on the 6 o'clock news. You could tell it was one of his first interviews as he was surrounded by photographers etc while he was doing the interview. Portillo did a BBC interview with Andrew Marr where he announced he was standing down from frontline politics at around 5.30
As to why so many BBC people ... remember Sky have only one outlet to supply ... the BBC will have been live on News 24, 5 Live and PM on Radio 4, added to that the 1800 R4 and 1800 BBC1 programmes were about to go on air so they are bound to need more people.

I wasn't aware of the Robinson/Marr interviews.

(Edited by SkyNews at 12:11 pm on July 18, 2001)

Anyone interested in me posting some shots of outside the Commons of Tuesday's media scrum?

The best interview was on C4 News, Eleanor Goodman interviewed Ken Clarke in the pouring rain, and he gave his hat to her to protect her from the rain, he took it back off her though at the end of the interview. What a gent.

The best interview was on C4 News, Eleanor Goodman interviewed Ken Clarke in the pouring rain, and he gave his hat to her to protect her from the rain, he took it back off her though at the end of the interview. What a gent.