I agree it's kind of pointless, but laying the blame with ITV isn't completely fair.
When the show was axed in 1999, the Nightly News was an adequate replacement and added a late-night news bulletin to the schedules - it was probably the first bulletin I'd watch on a regular basis.
However, the traditionalists such as politicians and groups like MediaWatch could stand the change, leading to the ITC bribing ITV into bringing it back - although it would be a 20-min bulletin three/four days a week. And then the BBC moves theirs aswell, just to show ITV they can do anything they like while ITV had to go through years of consultation and get ITC approval!
ITV did mess up the news bulletin to be fair. They should have integrated the regional news straight away, and only been permitted to move the bulletin following broadcasts of the Champions League or other live sport. Other drama and film premieres should have been confined to the weekend.
I'm glad to see the back of it myself, but I do think it gives the ITV News Channel the chance to do a traditional style News at Ten bulletin themselves, before the Nightly News at 10.30pm.
I think that the good reputation that the News at Ten had was because of Alastair Burnet, not the time of the broadcast.
A clever, talented newsreader who was also a very adept journalist who knew who to get at the important issues and present them in a way that appealed to a mass audience...this is the sort of person that should be "fronting" the main evening news on any network (Michael Buerk could do this, also).
So my answer is that I could care less when the ITV News is (9:47 pm, 10:02, 11:18, ...). What I think is important is that they get the right person for the job.
It is a simple approach. For a start, it should be called ''News at Ten''. No more no less. Correspondents such as James Mates, Bill Neely, Nick Robinson, Julian Manyon, Robert Moore, John Ray, John Irvine, Lawrence McGinty and Tom Bradby should be specially assigned to report live and especially for News at Ten, they need the same presenter four or five days a week (John Suchet or Nicholas Owen get my vote). It needs to be at 10:00:00pm Monday to Friday and it will eventually win over the BBC. That's what they need to do, that's what they can do. They can do even the simplist things like appoint a Diplomatic Correspondent. They need to have inclusions such as the ''And Finally'' slot which made News at Ten special. Exclusive reports, and focus on this programme will make it a winner like it once was.
Nicholas Owen should get to present the new programme, he is very good, and has a good sense of humour, as well as being able to be serious as appropriate.
I think that the good reputation that the News at Ten had was because of Alastair Burnet, not the time of the broadcast.
A clever, talented newsreader who was also a very adept journalist who knew who to get at the important issues and present them in a way that appealed to a mass audience...this is the sort of person that should be "fronting" the main evening news on any network (Michael Buerk could do this, also).
So my answer is that I could care less when the ITV News is (9:47 pm, 10:02, 11:18, ...). What I think is important is that they get the right person for the job.
I wonder if they could poach someone from the BBC - the ITV News presentation team seems particularly weak, I wonder if there really is anyone there who is "the right person for the job"?
Firstly its not called News at Ten when it isn't on at 10. Monday and Tuesday it was on at 10.30 and called the ITV News. Its the Radio Times that gets it wrong
Turnbull & Williams posted:
Phileas Fogg posted:
I think that the good reputation that the News at Ten had was because of Alastair Burnet, not the time of the broadcast.
A clever, talented newsreader who was also a very adept journalist who knew who to get at the important issues and present them in a way that appealed to a mass audience...this is the sort of person that should be "fronting" the main evening news on any network (Michael Buerk could do this, also).
So my answer is that I could care less when the ITV News is (9:47 pm, 10:02, 11:18, ...). What I think is important is that they get the right person for the job.
I wonder if they could poach someone from the BBC - the ITV News presentation team seems particularly weak, I wonder if there really is anyone there who is "the right person for the job"?
I'd say it was the BBC team which was weak, since Michael and Peter left the 10 its all gone wrong with presenters doing bulletins they shouldn't be doing, such as Fiona Bruce on the 10 and the dodgy combination of George and Sophie on the 6, one seems too heavyweight and the other too lightweight for a bulletin like the 6!
If they were to poach someone it should be Dermot Murnaghan as he was much more suited to the ITV Evening News that the Breakfast fiasco
I wonder if they could poach someone from the BBC - the ITV News presentation team seems particularly weak, I wonder if there really is anyone there who is "the right person for the job"?
I'd say it was the BBC team which was weak, since Michael and Peter left the 10 its all gone wrong with presenters doing bulletins they shouldn't be doing, such as Fiona Bruce on the 10 and the dodgy combination of George and Sophie on the 6, one seems too heavyweight and the other too lightweight for a bulletin like the 6!
If they were to poach someone it should be Dermot Murnaghan as he was much more suited to the ITV Evening News that the Breakfast fiasco
You do potentially have a point there - people are not in the right places. BUT as a whole the team is better IMHO.
BBC1 News could be improved with shift patterns like this:
Breakfast: Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams (Mon - Thu), Simon McCoy and Natasha Kaplinsky (Fri - Sun)
1:00 News: Anna Ford / Sophie Raworth
6:00 News: Dermot Murnaghan and Fiona Bruce (Mon - Thu), Jon Sopel and Jane Hill (Fri)
10:00 News: George Alagiah / Huw Edwards
Weekend Bulletins: Darren Jordon / Jon Sopel / Jane Hill
Basically, both Huw Edwards and George Alagiah can pull off the 10 on the BBC very well (but I agree about Fiona Bruce). But where is ITV's equivalent of this person? I don't see one myself. Dermot may well be their best bet, and it may indeed be that the BBC would be keen to get rid of him.
I wonder if they could poach someone from the BBC - the ITV News presentation team seems particularly weak, I wonder if there really is anyone there who is "the right person for the job"?
I'd say it was the BBC team which was weak, since Michael and Peter left the 10 its all gone wrong with presenters doing bulletins they shouldn't be doing, such as Fiona Bruce on the 10 and the dodgy combination of George and Sophie on the 6, one seems too heavyweight and the other too lightweight for a bulletin like the 6!
If they were to poach someone it should be Dermot Murnaghan as he was much more suited to the ITV Evening News that the Breakfast fiasco
You do potentially have a point there - people are not in the right places. BUT as a whole the team is better IMHO.
BBC1 News could be improved with shift patterns like this:
Breakfast: Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams (Mon - Thu), Simon McCoy and Natasha Kaplinsky (Fri - Sun)
1:00 News: Anna Ford / Sophie Raworth
6:00 News: Dermot Murnaghan and Fiona Bruce (Mon - Thu), Jon Sopel and Jane Hill (Fri)
10:00 News: George Alagiah / Huw Edwards
Weekend Bulletins: Darren Jordon / Jon Sopel / Jane Hill
Basically, both Huw Edwards and George Alagiah can pull off the 10 on the BBC very well (but I agree about Fiona Bruce). But where is ITV's equivalent of this person? I don't see one myself. Dermot may well be their best bet, and it may indeed be that the BBC would be keen to get rid of him.
I have to agree with you about the pres team on ITV, it is very weak!!!
Appointing Mark Austin who lets face it had very little presenting experience to anchor the evening news was a joke. And although the programme does well and he is a fave with the ladies, he is not suitable for News At 10.30. Katie Derham is a definate no no. Mary Nightingale could be a contender and she is a firm fave both with viewers and with ITV bosses. It is unlikely she would want the job having openly said her child and family are more important than any job. Nicholas Owen - Yeah he's good but is an old face and not really suited to the later bulletins. John Sucher the same. He's been around forever and has surely passed his sell by date as a contender. Kirsty Young could be wooed back, she has everything ,in my opinion and proved herself beyond any doubt that she is more than capable after her performance on 9/11. Trevror McDonald.........whatever! Move on and let someone else have a go.
Poaching someone from the BBC could be an option. They had shown interest in Huw Edwards before he got the 10. I guess it would have to be a pretty big offer to lure him away from the BBC. It appears they are grroming him to be the next David Dimbleby!!! He'd hardly want to leave now would he. Maybe they'll try their luck with Fiona Bruce. She's female and we all know how much ITV bosses like attractive ladies to present their news. Specualtion, speculation......
ITV News' presentation team is not weak at all. Nicholas Owen and John Suchet are both fantastic presenters, best on TV at the moment. Katie Derham is also great, and Mark Austin and Mary Nightingale are good. Having been to the ITN Studios it proves that the ITV News is not rubbish at all, and is a far superior service to viewers than the BBC. It just seems that ITV have made a mess over the last few years, mainly cause of David Liddiment.
People say BBC News 10 is the most watched bulletin, that it would easily beat a relaunched News at Ten. But if ITN and ITV relaunched it properly, it would beat the BBC. The BBC is nothing special, boring set, boring music, boring presenter, boring stories, same old formal news bulletin that gran watches before she goes to bed. News at Ten is news, but it is a News Programme that could easily work and is not your normal boring BBC news programme. Anyone who says ITV News is rubbish is a complete fool, and it is better than the BBC. ITV just need to prove it.
That's one thing I didn't like. Pre 1999 the News At Ten was different all other bulletins during the day, different set, titles, different mood to the music, reporters, type of reporting and special reports only seen on NaT, and it always started at 10pm.
When itv bought it back, it has never started (to my knowledge) at 10pm, and it was exactly the same as the other bulletins except for presenter.
What exactly is wrong with Huw? I think he's easily the best newsreader on TV. Since taking on the Ten (and since Michael & Peter left) he seems to have changed into the 'father figure' of BBC News and easily has the gravity to pull it off.
Breakfast: Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams (Mon - Thu), Simon McCoy and Natasha Kaplinsky (Fri - Sun)