(19-08-2023, 01:41 PM)Moz Wrote: I just don't get the persistent 'anti-background sounds' lobby that seems to exist here. Not saying they're wrong - everyone is entitled to their opinion of course - just that I don't get it.
I think these things *add to* the broadcast and bring texture and reality.
It was raining in Manchester, and it was raining where I am just down the road, so it brought a connection and underlined that it was live coverage from location.
I also think that the buzz of a newsroom with the occasional shout or bang brings something to a broadcast rather than being a distraction.
I think that, for many people, the 'texture and reality' that background noise brings to news presentation generally ends up being an unnecessary distraction. In the middle of trying to listen to and understand the details of a potentially complex story -- about a serial murderer, a terrorist attack, a plane crash -- that kind of background noise serves no useful purpose other than to draw attention to itself, and draw attention away from the news topic being covered.
In my opinion, most viewers watching a news bulletin are not seeking the kind of 'connection' to a location that you allude to; in the example you cited, most viewers watching were not just down the road as you were, and would therefore surely have been less forgiving of background noise pulling focus from the story being discussed.
I recall watching various OBs over the years where the gentle patter of rain in the background has suddenly become a MASSIVE RELENTLESS DOWNPOUR -- and in the middle of a correspondent trying to do their bit to camera, as a viewer, one's attention immediately becomes distracted by the monsoon conditions that have suddenly appeared, and you're no longer paying attention to the story.
Similarly, it might add some 'buzz' to be watching a BBC Verify slot, for example, in the newsroom and to randomly hear someone in the background shouting "Can you send that to me?" or to suddenly hear a loud bang or thud off-camera, but if that happens in the middle of a report, I find myself no longer paying attention that report -- all my attention is now on who's emailing what to whom; or wtf that loud bang was. Perhaps that's just me.
Indeed, I can only speak for myself, but I don't get those who are so in favour of embracing background noise to add some kind of 'ambience' or 'buzz' to news presentation -- for the simple reason that, all too often, it ends up doing nothing but drawing attention away from the content, and distracting from the actual news.