29-01-2023, 08:50 PM
(29-01-2023, 06:49 PM)thePineapple Wrote: For a start, the NC took Laura Kuenssberg's show, which meant that they couldn't break the news and get reaction in the same way they normally would - obviously they touched on it but it was hardly rolling news. That show then overran so they could round up as they always do, which meant that slightly irritating cut, and then the next hour was simulcast with WN. This sort of story only happens once every few months, and should be a news channel's bread and butter, but instead the world got a Westminster bubble top story, and the UK didn't get rolling coverage.This is exactly the kind of half-arsing smudge that I have been so worried about. The resignation of a minor UK cabinet minister should absolutely not be leading bulletins on World, while it was clearly the dominant story in the UK this morning. Total conflict of running order priorities and they pick the middle of the road solution that doesn't work for either audience - too dominant for international viewers, too little coverage for domestic viewers.
I really do hope this is not the sign of things to come, but it very clearly is and it's so utterly destructive - weakening the service for both audiences is obviously the worst route possible and weakening it for international audiences is only going to imperil the channel's profitability (which would inevitably mean more cuts).
I've always been accepting of the fact that cuts and changes do have to be made, but I find it hard to accept a lot of the decision making that has been subsequently made. They've been unnecessarily 'radical' in certain respects - ignoring several viable and cost-effective ways of maintaing some degree of separate services during core hours - but have been utterly unsophisticated in terms of editorial decisions in shared bulletins.