[LDN]

Outside Source is a great name for a news programme

*record scratch*

Got to stop you right there. Outside Source is a terrible, terrible name for a news programme. It means absolutely nothing to 99% of those who watch it. 

I imagine someone patted themselves on the back quite heartily when they came up with the Outside Source name -- an oh-so-witty play on words, between an OS and the idea of the 'source' of a story. 

But unless they're familiar with the technicalities of what an OS is in broadcasting, most people won't get the reference. They'll likely understand what a 'source' is in the context of newsgathering -- i.e. the person or organisation to which a story, or some element of it, can be attributed. But that leaves 'outside' as slightly baffling in that context to the regular viewer, especially if they then try to reconcile the name with the notion that an 'inside source' surely seems much more desirable and reliable for a major news story. 

If you consider that notion, the idea that having someone 'on the inside' of a news story certainly sounds better than getting information from 'outside sources' who are probably less familiar with the details -- a thought that might well cross viewers' minds if they try to work out what the name actually means -- then surely you can see the problem with calling the programme 'Outside Source'. For those who aren't in on the joke, it's confusing, at best;  at worst, nonsensical.

And just like a joke, if the name has to be explained to be fully understood and appreciated, it can hardly be hailed as an example of good branding. 

That said, it couldn't possibly matter less. I understand the marketing and $$$ reasons for separately branded programmes, on World News especially. But the reality is that, with vanishingly few exceptions, viewers of BBC News and BBC World News -- wherever they may be -- will have switched channels, or turned on the TV, or opened the app, simply because they want to watch the news right now, and they frankly couldn't care less what the programme is called.