[news junkie]

Just thinking, and apologies if this has been brought up before, but why can't the UK feed of BBC News opt out when the rest of the world disappears for an advert break? Can the hostage cam not bring a 2 minute UK update during that time? I don't know why the awkward pauses annoy me so much. I generally like the new BBC News approach

[Andrew]

Why do all ‘cost of living’ reports have to be so dumbed down

Last night there was the story about the energy price cap coming down a bit, Reeta explained it in the studio well enough with graphics on the screen.

But then we had a report from Coletta Smith finding out what people in a theme park thought, interviewing them with all the usual lines about how they are ‘cutting back a bit, not spending as much on luxuries’ etc. All completely pointless vox pops that we’ve heard a million times before.

I’m sure they only went to a theme park so they could illustrate the line about prices going up and down with a rollercoaster doing the same, but it was completely pointless

[Spencer]

Why do all ‘cost of living’ reports have to be so dumbed down

Last night there was the story about the energy price cap coming down a bit, Reeta explained it in the studio well enough with graphics on the screen.

But then we had a report from Coletta Smith finding out what people in a theme park thought, interviewing them with all the usual lines about how they are ‘cutting back a bit, not spending as much on luxuries’ etc. All completely pointless vox pops that we’ve heard a million times before.

I’m sure they only went to a theme park so they could illustrate the line about prices going up and down with a rollercoaster doing the same, but it was completely pointless

I suppose it makes a change from vox-popping market traders about complex political issues.

[lobster]

What happens if the 'who' dwindles down to zero? It's not the most consistent, or best looking, news channel out there. It's trying to be all things to all men, which doesn't work. Compare the latest headlines from Al Jazeera with the ones from BBC News (10am GMT):

Al Jazeera:

[*]Niger's military coup
[*]Conflict in Sudan
[*]Deadly stampede in Madagascar
[*]Making online gaming safer for girls
[*]FIFA kiss scandal


BBC News:

[*]FIFA kiss scandal
[*]Prigozhin plane crash
[*]Train strikes in England


It's not hard to see which is the more comprehensive, and the more globally-focused. Al Jazeera's bulletins actually explain world events, rather than just the endless interviews and 'analysis' with a junior reporter in the newsroom. I like the idea of a proper globally-focused BBC News channel, but at the moment it falls short. They're copying Al Jaz's old 'follow the sun' strategy, so why not copy everything else? Some of the back half hours can even be 'UK Today' slots. Something for everyone!

While I consider in the BBC News channel there are now too many UK stories that are not relevant to global viewers, I don’t think Al Jazeera and the BBC should have exactly the same news agenda. Al Jazeera is much more Middle East / Africa orientated and I don’t think BBC international viewers expect endless updates on Niger, for example. They covered the story extensively when it happened but I don’t think they should be doing daily follow ups.

[Radio_man]

Why do all ‘cost of living’ reports have to be so dumbed down

Last night there was the story about the energy price cap coming down a bit, Reeta explained it in the studio well enough with graphics on the screen.

But then we had a report from Coletta Smith finding out what people in a theme park thought, interviewing them with all the usual lines about how they are ‘cutting back a bit, not spending as much on luxuries’ etc. All completely pointless vox pops that we’ve heard a million times before.

I’m sure they only went to a theme park so they could illustrate the line about prices going up and down with a rollercoaster doing the same, but it was completely pointless

I can't stand these reports - it assumes that every viewer is an idiot. It's just condescending filler. I fast forward without even watching.
No doubt if a BBC exec was asked why so many BBC news reports now contain pointless vox pops, wed be told that "it's important we reflect what the public think in our reports" (sarcastic rolleyes). It's even worse on the local news where they just thrust a mic into whoever they come across on the street, usually pensioners doing their shopping. 

In fact I've been fast forwarding a lot through BBC News bulletins recently. I've managed to get the hour long evening news down to 15 minutes most nights (including the weather).

[all new phil]

I can't stand these reports - it assumes that every viewer is an idiot. It's just condescending filler. I fast forward without even watching.

Some viewers are idiots though. Arguably it’s those people they should be making the most effort to reach.

[Radio_man]

Some viewers are idiots though. Arguably it’s those people they should be making the most effort to reach.

So what about those of us who do have some intelligence? We have to watch C4 news? 
I've been watching BBC News for around 20 years and I can't remember dumbed down cost of living style reports & pointless vox pops being so prevalent as they've been in recent years. If I wanto know what the public think I'll go and ask them. Just give me some actual news & insightful analysis.

[London Lite]

Some viewers are idiots though. Arguably it’s those people they should be making the most effort to reach.

Exactly this. I read a post recently on here sneering at The Catch Up, it may well be rubbish especially to older audiences, but it's doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing, targeting a younger Gen Z audience who may not watch mainstream news bulletins. It's digestable news content with presenters who can relate to the target demo and that includes the language used. There have been occasions I've heard Zofia Louise use slang terms I've had to look up in the Urban Dictionary, but it's not targeted at me, so no issue there.

Newsround has been doing the same for children since 1972.

As for the main bulletins, while I miss the RP delivery and straight forward bulletins, they absolutely have to make them accessible to those who would otherwise turn off. In any case, the main BBC One news bulletins are nowhere on the scale of 5 News who with their limited budget make it as gimmicky as possible, including having a mobile phone to read viewer feedback or tabloid style specials.

[ALV]

Just thinking, and apologies if this has been brought up before, but why can't the UK feed of BBC News opt out when the rest of the world disappears for an advert break? Can the hostage cam not bring a 2 minute UK update during that time? I don't know why the awkward pauses annoy me so much. I generally like the new BBC News approach

It was suggested on this thread a few months ago that the UK opt out team is of a "part-time" nature - the presenters and the rest of the team have other regular duties at other parts of the newsroom (e.g serving as a reporter/producer/editor for other programmes) when they do not have to produce a UK opt out.  

Staffing individuals for regular UK opt outs for your suggested 2 min fillers for every bulletin essentially means having a full-time domestic production team - that is of no difference than running a minimal 9AM to 6PM core domestic service pre-merger, which apparantly the BBC can no longer afford.

[Imaginativename]

I quite like the global focus of the new News channel. I just watched a documentary about Windrush; I've watched a few of these docs now. They feel a bit Al Jazeera-ish; I don't remember the old channel having good documentaries.

On the UK news in the bulletins: perhaps they could do UK news the way the BBC One bulletins do regional news. I.e. start with the global news, then do a UK segment. It is the BBC after all, so UK news isn't exactly out of place.