HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage (/showthread.php?tid=148)

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - thegeek - 21-10-2022

(19-10-2022, 09:06 PM)steve Wrote:  

(19-10-2022, 09:02 PM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote:  What, realistically, were they going to add to proceedings? What was about to unfold was heavily scripted and rehearsed, there wouldn't have been anything useful they could contribute at that point.

I think for all staff at every level knowing the editor-in-chief had ok’d announcing the most significant news many would have to broadcast was a worthwhile contribution. Especially in an organisation where every tiny detail is poured over. If the contribution was simply not to say ‘wait’ or ‘stop’ then that’s probably useful in a key way. Just my view!

It's been a while since I've read the BBC Obit Guidelines, but I believe announcement of a Category One death requires DG approval before broadcast. If he's already in the gallery then it saves having to track him down to get the go-ahead.

I agree with bbctechop though that extra people lurking in a control room can be an unnecessary distraction and is best avoided. I also work somewhere with Covid room limits still plastered on doors, and they're roundly ignored these days.

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - TVViewer256 - 21-10-2022

Can this nonsense about broadcasters knowing way before the official announcement stop? It's not true, I believe that's an established fact. They only knew very shortly before everyone else did.

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Bungo Bill - 21-10-2022

A good friend is a sub-editor at the Press Association and was on shift that day.

The first PA knew The Queen had died was from a tweet published from The Royal Family's official account. This was approximately one minute before Huw Edwards announced the news.

No news organisations, including the BBC, had prior knowledge she'd died.

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Newsroom - 21-10-2022

(21-10-2022, 12:00 PM)TVViewer256 Wrote:  Can this nonsense about broadcasters knowing way before the official announcement stop? It's not true, I believe that's an established fact. They only knew very shortly before everyone else did.

I couldn't agree more! 

Where are the mods to stop this lunacy conspiracy!

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - DTV - 21-10-2022

(21-10-2022, 12:00 PM)TVViewer256 Wrote:  Can this nonsense about broadcasters knowing way before the official announcement stop? It's not true, I believe that's an established fact. They only knew very shortly before everyone else did.

Fundamentally, as has been said before, a lot of this discussion is based on the conflation of knowing something for an absolute fact based on official confirmation and 'knowing' something is almost certainly the case based on inference. All evidence does indeed suggest that the broadcasters did not know for 100% fact until the Palace announced it, but that many people - including editorial staff at the broadcasters - had inferred that the Queen was probably dead or dying several hours earlier.

It's a bit like certain election results. There are certain constituencies that everybody knows are pretty much definitely going to go one way. But the broadcasters can't just announce those results the minute the polls have closed just because it's almost certain that, e.g. Liverpool West Derby goes Labour. ITV and Sky might sometimes declare ahead of official declaration, but even then that's only when the reporters are absolutely confident based on observing the count (and the BBC always wait until the official declaration). Things like this, you need at least some actual evidence before you can report, even if your educated inference is almost certainly right.

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Admin PC - 21-10-2022

Everyone - let's leave the discussion there about when broadcasters knew about the death of the Queen. That particular aspect of this thread should now be considered closed.

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Deejay - 21-10-2022

The “Chris” namechecked in that clip in the gallery isn’t Chris Cook, it’s the gallery producer who was outputting the news channel all afternoon. Chris Cook was abroad when the news of the Queen’s health first broke and immediately flew home. Unless I’m mistaken, I can’t see him in this footage - I think he arrived in NBH after the announcement.

There were a lot of people in the gallery at the time, yes, and the film crew turning up wasn’t ideal, but you’ll notice the calm and focus in the gallery. Those on duty did their job with absolute professionalism and the management didn’t shout from the back. And although it was pretty much a given this news was coming, no one knew until the PA Flash and Royal Tweet (which were pretty much at the same time).

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Frances - 21-10-2022

(20-10-2022, 10:05 AM)Transmission Wrote:  The BBC along with everyone else was of course expecting a statement would be likely following the day's events (both the ones obvious to everyone like the family flying to Balmoral and ones behind the scenes like MPs not responding to contact from journalists) but I know that the feeling at the BBC in the early evening was that if it wasn't announced by 1800 then as every minute went by it was getting more and more likely that nothing would be announced that evening and it might be the next day. The revised schedules that were being prepared for that evening were being done with the serious expection that they might still need to be used. I don't think the heads-up they had that "an" announcement was coming was very long at all.

I think they planned to end the rolling coverage at 7 if there’s no statement - then the only bulletin on that day at ten?

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Steve in Pudsey - 21-10-2022

(21-10-2022, 11:06 AM)thegeek Wrote:  It's been a while since I've read the BBC Obit Guidelines, but I believe announcement of a Category One death requires DG approval before broadcast. If he's already in the gallery then it saves having to track him down to get the go-ahead.

Wouldn't radio (and online) have required the same approval?

Of course in that particular circumstance where the news was anticipated you could imagine him pre-authorising the Editors on duty to go ahead as soon as the PA and/or Palace twitter announced it.

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RE: HM Queen Elizabeth Dies & Funeral Coverage - Transmission - 21-10-2022

(21-10-2022, 06:59 PM)Frances Wrote:  

(20-10-2022, 10:05 AM)Transmission Wrote:  The BBC along with everyone else was of course expecting a statement would be likely following the day's events (both the ones obvious to everyone like the family flying to Balmoral and ones behind the scenes like MPs not responding to contact from journalists) but I know that the feeling at the BBC in the early evening was that if it wasn't announced by 1800 then as every minute went by it was getting more and more likely that nothing would be announced that evening and it might be the next day. The revised schedules that were being prepared for that evening were being done with the serious expection that they might still need to be used. I don't think the heads-up they had that "an" announcement was coming was very long at all.

I think they planned to end the rolling coverage at 7 if there’s no statement - then the only bulletin on that day at ten?

Yes, it was regional news at 1900, EastEnders at 1930 and then Celebrity Masterchef and Ambulance replaced by The Repair Shop and a Planet Earth compilation.

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