GENOA: First for breaking news

The 'brave Sky News crew' as Jonathan Hunt has called them have brought the best LIVE pictures from the Genoa Summit today. No other broadcaster has delivered live shots of the rioting. The BBC, distant as ever, had numerous correspondents in the Red (secure) Zone away from the protesters, yet relied on a stringer to report the violence on a phone not a sat link .

The Sky crew, unlike their US counterparts, haven't even got gas masks and are attempting to work with tear gas & missiles hurtling towards them.

Like Kosovo, Sky were best a bringing breaking news to viewers. I doubted whether the new 24-hour news solid format would work. But, without the feature programmes at the bottom of the half hour holding them back, Sky have been able to provide unrivaled coverage.

I just hope the summit leaders are watching Jonathan Hunt & seeing the rioting a mile or so away from them.

Was that a press release

I haven't seen much of the coverage today, but have read about Mr Hunt being gassed.
I do know that all of the major European governments were watching Sky News during the Kosovo crisis, as there was a big trailer telling us so!
I have to admit, I didn't like the idea of this constant news atmosphere, but it does appear to be working.

I'm not starting a new thread about this but, Fox News have changed their website again!
It has had literally 5 new looks in the past year!
Although this one does look very good, can't they just settle on a design?
Have Fox News been using Sky's pictures I wonder?
If Sky were the only ones getting live pictures it would be a good change to Fox to laugh at CNN, even though it normally works the other way round.

I had a quick than at CNNI & they were reporting the impeachment of the Indonsesian President at the top of the last hour (2pm UK). 1-2 they had pre-recorded World Report. Phone reports would have been better than nothing for CNN. They chose nothing.

'Holding them back'? Now why aren't I surprised you've said that?

Although I agree, I turned over to Sky to see that guy and the presenters saying 'it's all well and good us in a safe studio' and all that. I thought it was an excellent OB but their unbelievable overuse of the 'Breaking News' caption is terrible! Yeah, if there's breaking news, then do make us aware of it but they seem to have it permanently on during OBs and some reports. Can't they at least use 'News Update' or something? What are they desperately trying to prove?

Cheers, Asa

I agree Asa, I think it is more of a case of making it a bit more dramatic.
The worst case of this I have seen was when those flats collapsed the other day, and yes, the coverage was excellent but they were using the breaking news animation for 4 hours for god's sake!
Then at 4pm when Viv Creegor was presenting there was that loud 'dah dah dum' noise and up it flashes again and then they go onto the next report which was to do with Genoa and it was there again!
I do like the breaking news animation a lot but it is being overused. I expect they will stop after they have the new graphics sorted out but until then, we're stuck with it!

I like the use of Breaking News on the screen:
1) It draws attention on the screen - to viewers & hopefully world leaders. Currently, on the Breaking graphic is red, the others are blue.
2) This is a true breaking story, with things changing all the time. Once things have died down (on the violence for the day - no pun intended) I'm sure the graphic will change to 'G8 SUMMIT VIOLENCE' in blue

The building collapse was true breaking news. The situation was changing every minute until noon today. There were new developments all the time.

There were not new developments in the building collapse all the time - what were they? A building collapsed, five people were wrongly believed to be inside and that was basically it. Yes, the rescue effort was going on all the time but nothing was really changing...

Breaking News tells you something new that you don't know - for that the Genoa riots are changing but people know so it is a case of Developing News rather than Breaking, surely.

I disagree SkyNews. Once the initial event has happened and people are made aware of it, it no longer becomes 'Breaking News'. After the initial 4(?) people got out safely, nothing else 'major' happened to warrant the caption. News Update would have been fine.

'It draws attention on the screen - to viewers & hopefully world leaders'
What?! I certainly hope World Leaders are not watching Sky News, nor any other channel and are instead trying to work out between themselves some of the big issues!

Cheers, Asa

the word 'breaking' indicates that something has just happened, the building collapse was not at all breaking news 4 hour after.
The aston read something like, 'breaking news - A 3 storey block of flats has collapsed in Tottenham, up to five people trapped'.
The building collapsed at 8am, yet the networks only picked up on it at 12am and declared it as breaking news. So from the start it wasn't breaking news.
I can understand the Genoa thing being called breaking news, especially if they had exclusive pictures but in the most part, all news networks get it wrong with breaking news astons.

I'm sure that at least the press secretaries etc. & the more junior ministers will be monitoring the developing (!) situtation in Genoa. Since the violence is dominating the agenda. Unless they go outside themselves - which would make an interesting spectacle - how will they monitor the situtaion as it happens. The police on the ground will be trying to deal with the situtation.