[House]

Also, has Maryam been on air at all last 2 weeks, after the initial first week? Meanwhile, Sarah Campbell is truly all over the schedule and she is great.

It’s been the Easter school holidays, so not surprising a presenter may not have been on much. Remember this was very much soft launched, so there likely isn’t a good editorial reason to deny leave requests for staff who’ve otherwise been working normal shifts for the past year.

I’m still curious as to why they’re alternating between Studios C and E, when WN and the NC each managed entire days in one studio. Is it because they need two crews in anyway to cover the News at One, so they just alternate them?

[lepeterrr]

I'd be intrigued to know how much money this has actually saved, given for example they are paying presenters like Martine etc still, despite her not being on air currently.

[Chud]

I'd be intrigued to know how much money this has actually saved, given for example they are paying presenters like Martine etc still, despite her not being on air currently.

Yes it’s very odd we are seeing people like Sarah Campbell and presenters from the regions instead of the half dozen people that have been full time regulars on both channels.

[DTV]

I'd be intrigued to know how much money this has actually saved, given for example they are paying presenters like Martine etc still, despite her not being on air currently.

In terms of licence money, the plans were quoted as saving £25m (about 40-50% of the previous News channel budget). Presenters do cost, but the handful who appear to be in some sort of limbo wouldn't really make up that much of the budget - Croxall and McVeigh are both below £150k in salary terms. Most of the cuts will have come from wider behind-the-scenes production costs, elimination of remaining duplication and reductions to newsgathering.

I think the tendency to overegg the importance of presenters in budgetary terms were part of the reason that the News channel were able to remain relatively unscathed in cuts for so long - cutting things like double-headed presentation was a very visible cut, but actually saved little money - allowing the channel to appear to be doing its bit, while not really sacrificing much.

[Chud]

I'd be intrigued to know how much money this has actually saved, given for example they are paying presenters like Martine etc still, despite her not being on air currently.

In terms of licence money, the plans were quoted as saving £25m (about 40-50% of the previous News channel budget). Presenters do cost, but the handful who appear to be in some sort of limbo wouldn't really make up that much of the budget - Croxall and McVeigh are both below £150k in salary terms. Most of the cuts will have come from wider behind-the-scenes production costs, elimination of remaining duplication and reductions to newsgathering.

I think the tendency to overegg the importance of presenters in budgetary terms were part of the reason that the News channel were able to remain relatively unscathed in cuts for so long - cutting things like double-headed presentation was a very visible cut, but actually saved little money - allowing the channel to appear to be doing its bit, while not really sacrificing much.

From double headed presentation to a radio phone in. Times have definitely changed.

[Independent]

The international feed is still airing "Across the UK" segments during quarter breaks, despite the UK feed is taking Nicky Campbell...

I think this is really a consequence of World no longer having a breakfiller or something like This Week in History to fall back on.

I think Across the UK is preferable to This Week in History. It's the same everyday for that week. It was like the dog segment on the UK channel that was repeated every night before the merger that members on this forum talked about.

[qwerty123]

I'd be intrigued to know how much money this has actually saved, given for example they are paying presenters like Martine etc still, despite her not being on air currently.

Yes it’s very odd we are seeing people like Sarah Campbell and presenters from the regions instead of the half dozen people that have been full time regulars on both channels.

Sarah Campbell is presumably full time BBC staff so her appearing won’t cost anything that wouldn’t be being paid in any case. The only particularly surprising appearance is from Anjana Gadgil and then only because she is vocally refusing to present the main South Today bulletin (as this gives the appearance of her selectively taking part in industrial action to the benefit of her own career).

[woodnorton]

...
If they could run TV packages but crafted to work for radio as well, and have all their guests visualised like they've been doing for Campbell, there's no reason that something like 5 live Drive or PM couldn't work well on TV.

Even better, a new programme (maybe one hour long) which is a long interview with a key figure where the public can put questions to them, would work very well.

It worked well in the past, I seem to remember Election Call, the election version of Radio 4's then Tuesday call, was simulcast in the 70s or 80s, with either Sir Robin Day or Michael Barrett presenting.  It needs to be a single caller putting a question and the presenter getting the interviewee to answer, not the  Liz on line 1, and Alex on line 2 having an on air shouting match as phone ins have become.

[ALV]

The Politics Live simulcasts are back ever since the merger. At the quarter break at 1115 the UK feed faded to a filler, then switched to Politics Live.

[strollfan]

The Politics Live simulcasts are back ever since the merger. At the quarter break at 1115 the UK feed faded to a filler, then switched to Politics Live.

So am I right in saying this means this morning's schedule on BBC News (UK) now resembles this?

06:00-09:00: BBC Breakfast (simulcast of One)
09:00-11:00: Nicky Campbell (simulcast of Two and R5L)
11:00-11:15: BBC News
11:15-13:00: Politics Live (simulcast of Two)

In 7 hours of content on the news channel thus far today, only 15 minutes of original, exclusive programming? That's reaching new lows of poor.