[harshy]

I think it’s all opaque now including the ticker and flipper, it’s look pants but that’s in tone with everything released this year from NBH.

[Moz]

A picture is worth 1000 words.

The Nottingham vigil was a disgrace - so much raw emotion from the speakers but the BBC not only had the Aston taking the bottom third but a pushback reducing the picture to about a quarter of the screen.

But it’s usually not is it?

And surely you only needed to *hear* the speakers?

[aaron_scotland]

But it’s usually not is it?

And surely you only needed to *hear* the speakers?

What a weird thing to say, why don't we just have radio then.

[LDN]

News is about information, most of that can be conveyed by text, graphics and what the presenter is saying. Most of the time the pictures are fine in a box in the corner.

If you want full screen pictures and no graphics, then Pathé News is your thing.

That argument is somewhat undermined by some of the changes that BBC News has made:

[*]Removing the second, descriptive line of text from the lower-thirds. 
[*]Reduction of most stories to a single four- or five-word headline, which is often left on screen for several minutes at a time. 
[*]The frequent deactivation of the ticker/flipper, replacing it with nothing but a URL. 
[*]Displaying nothing but the same three or four headlines on a loop on the ticker, on the rare occasions when it functions (rather than 6 or 7 major headlines, along with sport, business etc); or using it to endless cycle contact information that is already shown on screen in pushback. 


You're right -- news is about information, but the BBC's actions have shown that text -- at least on the lower thirds -- is no longer considered an essential part of how they share that information with the audience. 

BBC News has greatly reduced the functionality, usefulness, and the value, of the lower-thirds in recent months. Just how useful is it to audiences to introduce a story, play out the package, return to the studio, and chat with a guest -- several minutes of on-air time -- showing absolutely nothing on screen but the same four-word story title? And while showing them no world headlines or anything else on the ticker except the URL? 

As a result of the BBC's changes, the lower thirds are now, quite literally, a waste of space.

[Moz]

What a weird thing to say, why don't we just have radio then.

What I meant is that you don’t need to have the picture full frame to get as much from it. The majority of information is audio and textual, with pictures adding about a third of the information I’d say.

There are times of course that the picture goes up to delivering 90% of the info and then the straps need lowering.

But there are other times when the picture is just put on as something needs to go there!

---

That argument is somewhat undermined by some of the changes that BBC News has made:

[*]Removing the second, descriptive line of text from the lower-thirds. 
[*]Reduction of most stories to a single four- or five-word headline, which is often left on screen for several minutes at a time. 
[*]The frequent deactivation of the ticker/flipper, replacing it with nothing but a URL. 
[*]Displaying nothing but the same three or four headlines on a loop on the ticker, on the rare occasions when it functions (rather than 6 or 7 major headlines, along with sport, business etc); or using it to endless cycle contact information that is already shown on screen in pushback. 


You're right -- news is about information, but the BBC's actions have shown that text -- at least on the lower thirds -- is no longer considered an essential part of how they share that information with the audience. 

BBC News has greatly reduced the functionality, usefulness, and the value, of the lower-thirds in recent months. Just how useful is it to audiences to introduce a story, play out the package, return to the studio, and chat with a guest -- several minutes of on-air time -- showing absolutely nothing on screen but the same four-word story title? And while showing them no world headlines or anything else on the ticker except the URL? 

As a result of the BBC's changes, the lower thirds are now, quite literally, a waste of space.

Agree with all this.

And currently the graphics are just ugly. This permanent red and full opacity is just wrong.

They could easily have just as much information but laid out better and with a cleaner design.

[harshy]

Ha this is ridiculous now everyone is going to think bbc news is in permanent breaking news mode, who’s coming up with these wacky ideas, it makes no sense whatsoever, it’s also now inconsistent with everything else as the regionals and breakfast won’t be using these straps it’s a joke it has to be.

[all new phil]

I don’t mind it to be honest. If anything I’d use smaller text and lower the height of the straps to make it all a bit more compact.

[Moz]

I don’t mind this with red bar all the way across, but when it raises to give more information the background should be translucent black as before.

   

---

Ha this is ridiculous now everyone is going to think bbc news is in permanent breaking news mode, who’s coming up with these wacky ideas, it makes no sense whatsoever, it’s also now inconsistent with everything else as the regionals and breakfast won’t be using these straps it’s a joke it has to be.

Perhaps they’ll have a new colour for Breaking News?

[Stuart]

I don’t mind this with red bar all the way across, but when it raises to give more information the background should be translucent black as before.
Perhaps they’ll have a new colour for Breaking News?

I have the impression that someone has run off with with most of the colours from the graphics palette

[Worzel]

I don’t mind this with red bar all the way across, but when it raises to give more information the background should be translucent black as before.

---

Perhaps they’ll have a new colour for Breaking News?

If I were a betting man, I bet it just cycles between BREAKING and whatever story it relates to, when we eventually see it. I really don't understand the thinking with it in red mode constantly.

If they use a completely different colour for breaking news it won't match the website or social media graphics so will disjoint things further.

It's all very American news channel, but a decade too late, even Sky News have less brash graphics these days.

What I don't understand is how GB News (whatever your stance on them is) can put out a working ticker all day and have two lines of text on their graphics, with what seems like a smaller gallery team? Yet BBC News can no longer manage this?

Branding wise everything is just so disjointed now, they just need to start again from the ground up. It's a good example of different teams working on different elements which leads to such massive inconsistencies. From the outside, it looks like there's a bit or a tug of war going on internally with different people about how things should be branded (to me anyway).

Take Reith Serif, its been largely dropped from any studio graphics/titles, but persists on the lower thirds. When the Sans Breaking and Serif story headline alternate, it's always looked inconsistent, more so now as it forever-cycles.

Although not exactly the same, but even in radio (my area of knowledge and work in radio production and branding), even with extensive sound brand management, things can get disjointed over a long period of time and its just cheaper in the longer term to make the investment in creating a new imaging package, than tweaking and messing with existing legacy things on the fly as quality just slips over time, sometimes through no ones fault.

BBC News' look (in fact the whole corporate image) should be brand managed like Coca Cola.