03-02-2023, 12:48 AM
(03-02-2023, 12:07 AM)jaycee331 Wrote: It really is a strange time for TV news. We're in an era of two new challengers in the market and instead of standing on their strengths, BBC News and Sky News just seem to have given up.Not really though. I mean both of their strengths are that they are news outlets, which their 'challengers' aren't - they both know that people who want to see the news are going to watch them (though the two rant channels might do well in certain slots, I've seen no evidence that this is actually taking from the news channel audiences). And this isn't just a value judgement on the types of channels, neither GBN or Talk have the resources to actually cover breaking news properly - that's just a fact.
Despite the changes to BBC News, it'll still be covering the kinds of events that lead to a spike in news channel viewing figures as per now. Plus, in terms of relative strengths, the BBC's are a) it is the BBC and b) international news. And I don't really see what ground Sky is supposedly ceding. Sure, it's presentationally not as 'exciting' as it was 10/15 years ago - with its OTT graphics and dark warehouse of translucent plastic. But the channel has a far better reputation now than in the period you lament - it's very successfully ditched its slightly trashy/tabloid reputation to become a very respectable news operation. And surely, if you actually want news, it is content that matters.
Though, of course, for your long list of complaints, few seem to be actually based in news content. You are obviously entitled to an opinion about presentational matters, but it should always be remembered that this has virtually no bearing on the actual performance of either channel as ordinary viewers do not in fact really care. Your other main complaint seems to be a wish for more shouty panel debates - which don't really belong on a news channel and are a niche I'd happily cede to the two 'challengers'. Plus, in terms of the BBC, you have Question Time and Politics Live - which, while they may be utter LCD dross, do still outperform anything on GBN or Talk by healthy margins.
Also, you say it is a strange time for TV news. Fundamentally, news channel viewership is tiny compared to network news bulletins - even low performers like Newsnight get three times more viewers than the better performing BBC News channel hours - the BBC News at Six brings in over 100x more viewers than either the two 'challenger' channels average. That is where TV news actually is.