Question Time

Very interesting.

I like, and agree with this bit:-

But the BBC's huge newsroom has too many people in it who are more interested in the technology of the multimedia world, rather than boring old things such as words.
For many of them, it is not a newsroom but a news-processing plant, shovelling the stuff out on all the BBC's various media platforms - and tough luck for you, the licence payer, if you don't have broadband, or are not interested in having your life ruled by a PC or a BlackBerry.


The black and white photo on that page however only shows two members of the original C4 News team, Sissons and Trevor McDonald. The others are left to right : Paul Coia, David Harrison, Olga Hubitsdca (sp?) C4 Continuity Announcers, on the ladder Pamela Armstrong who left ITN to present a health programme, and at the top Capital Radio DJ Nicky Horne who presented American Football.

He hasn't needed a regular TV gig - he has a regular radio gig - Today.



I don't agree. If the BBC only concentrated on providing one/two source of news in this multi-media digital age, they'd be accused of not giving value for money and/or missing the boat. In that case, it would be tough luck on the licence fee payer who has (minimum requirement of dial-up) internet, and a (basic WAP) mobile phone, and let's not forget the BBC Newsroom has been providing news for Ceefax as well for decades. In fact, they've streamlined the operation a bit because the content that appears on Ceefax/BBCi is the same as what appears on BBC Online and the WAP service - it's not as if four different people are writing the same thing four times over.

And forgive me, but doesn't it all boil down to words anyway? Once you've set up the apparatus for publishing material on the four/five different platforms (TV, radio, online, teletext, mobile) then surely the publishing part is just the same as ever? Writers and journalists typing out a few lines of text, subeditors whittling them down, editors giving them the green light? If Sissons doesn't a problem with those basic tenets of a newsroom, then I would suggest that in fact he's a bit scared/distrustful of modern technology.

Absolutely not. Writing for TV you can (should?) be less verbose than for radio as the pictures will tell part of the story. You don't need to introduce every contributor verbally as the astons will do that.

Writing for radio is different depending on which outlet it is, so a piece for Radio 4 will be different to a piece for Radio 2 and very much different to a piece for Radio 1, in terms of style, whether it's an in depth piece for Radio 4 or something more superficial for Radio 1, down to how contributors are introduced, Radio 1 often introduce politicians by explaining what their job title really means.

The World Service will need it writing with a more international perspective, and for some stories the local radio station whose patch it's on will tell it in more parochial terms. The TV and radio versions will be different again to copy for the online/interactive/Ceefax services, which are more akin to print media. (The video and audio content on the web is generally TV or radio reports rather than being specially created).

So for one news story the BBC is probably going to need to have getting towards a dozen versions of a report:

Domestic national TV
World TV
Regional TV
World Service Radio
Radio 4
Radio 2
Radio 1/1Xtra
Five Live
Local Radio
Web/Mobile/Ceefax
Newsround
Newsround Website
Newsbeat website

(Obviously not all of these come out of the Multimedia Newsroom at TV Centre)