[Independent]

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!

The BBC could fit two more headlines to make it seem more comprehensive but with a slight UK tilt. It's possible to fit seven headlines in 50 seconds if they wanted too! I don't see why the BBC prefer making their "junior reporters" do hostage cams over them producing packages like they have done before the merger. They would make packages before their more senior correspondents on location have finished theirs for the BBC network bulletins.

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.

It's 1 minute. BBC World News America uses that to cover an additional story or for a "news in brief" segment for PBS. It used to be the case during overnight simulcasts the presenter would use that to cover UK news. Some World viewers would see those when there are no ads on their regional feed or bits of the end of the segment when World opts-in early by a few seconds. Then it was replaced with "This Week in History" somewhere in the mid-2010s. They should move the World weather break there (like AJE) in addition to the ad break or add an extra minute for more ads to make more room for a UK opt-out.

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.

BBC World News would usually have them on weekends along with Panorama, unique strands like "The History of Africa" and documentaries about art. Some of these would run from :05/:10 to :55 with some having an ad break in the middle while others would not. During UK overnights the London presenter would provide additional news to UK viewers while World viewers got the documentary.