[Stockland Hillman]

...

'Sofa News' may be OK for Breakfast, Sport or local magazine programmes, but in my mind if you're doing one of your three daily national bulletins from a sofa on your primary channel, then you've lost gravitas and visual credibility.

You may as well do it from a plug-in point in the Piazza outside while sat on a beanbag, and just hope it doesn't rain (which is unlikely in Salford most days).

Absurd to think of a BBC News curved bench as a "sofa" like a gogglebox family sit atop between George at Asda cushions, B&M home is where the heart is signs and an LED mood light under the shelves. It looks like every modern corporate office break out space.

Salford has big stand up screen positions, multiple video points. Most shots are MCU for a solo news programme when standpoints aren't used

You telling me having a solid red bar behind the presenters seat that's foam and red fabric rather than red perspex is such a deal breaker, that gravitas has evaporated through this switch? Did ITV lunchtime news gain this vital superiority when it moved to full height desk from the coffee table London side of the setup?

BBC News at 1 will be just fine on the Breakfast set