[chrisherald]

I also wouldn't say news is the only core function (right, "the wider inform, educate, entertain mantra"). But it is a vital capacity not to destroy, given it's ultimately low cost as well.

Unfortunately, the problem is that news is the one public service function that isn't particularly cheap - certainly not if you want to do it properly. I recall somebody saying that, if BBC News was counted as one big department, it'd have a bigger budget than BBC Two.

Hmmm, I didn't really think it was that much (wrt the news channel or domestic opt/stream team), considering you maintain many of the same infrastructure resources to produce the network bulletins and packages do get shared across outlets. They're not selling off NBH, studios still sitting there. It just seems like most of the actual large cost driver items will continue to exist, and just be under-utilized. Talking of the domestic/international split, there's hardly a reason the UK feed couldn't just be mostly playlisted from Red Bee with meaningful UK packages most of the time, and alternating front/back half from World or domestic teams during daytime. There no shortage of ways to do this. It's just.. the costs of putting a linear channel out aren't terrible anymore, playout is cheap and they're keeping a "news channel" running anyway in the UK (whatever is on it), staff and studio hours is the only cost item getting reduced, but if they're supposedly sitting around on-standby anyway... Oh dear, none of this is sensible. I can see why people are just eagerly chopping away at things, never mind the politics lol.

I mean, does news cost a million plus per episode? That's probably a stupid question, it probably does. I should just shut up