[chrisherald]

Regarding, "ridiculously hysterical hyperbole in this thread" and "still providing a suitable news service for the average viewer":

It's difficult to know if Radio on the TV (for example) is a suitable news service for the average viewer (I mean, they've got a radio if they want to listen to radio!). Really these things can't be fully known until the full operation goes live in April. It is reasonably safe to say, already at this point, any reduction in staff numbers would lead to a more resource strained work environment, with some detrimental impact on either output, newsgathering, or quite simply, morale. There will be new opportunities, but in a very different environment. The people that have left/been lost, you (would) feel that, in the air, in the buildings. A lot can be automated/workflowed, pool feeds, etc, but when does live TV lose it's "buzz" (the empty newsroom) and commercial pressures (not even "influence" or "bias" per say) hamper the efforts of even the good-hearted to tell stories that matter. Frankly, I've seen local US TV news outlets go to sh*t over the past decade from the corporate evolution in broadcasting and staff numbers (on-air talent is just tired and lifeless, the station got dull). TV's not (as) fun anymore. When the BBC becomes hollow, what does it mean "to work for the BBC!" Workplace culture matters to what we get on our screens, it matters when people show up outside the building in the morning. Some of the BBC folks, they post on Twitter, photos outside the various buildings when walking in. Look at those photos and ask, "what are they showing up for, how does it feel to be them", to walk into a BBC that's somehow (worth) less everyday despite everyone working harder, trying more. Less certainty of their own future there, fewer people working alongside you, fewer meaningful relationships that can form. Fewer stories to tell looking back over a lifetime. Who will be there to celebrate them when they "retire" or will they fade silently from the screens during that "eternal simulcast" (h/t ginnyfan!) we've talked about?

Will viewers notice? They will when it's (all) gone one day. If there's anyone left to remember what we had, or could have had. It's not just about the News Channel, even if that is our core presentation concern.