Sky News: Presenters & Rotas

Little variety today:
Kimberley Leonard with Colin Brazier
Amanda Walker 3.00 - 7.00
Sophy Ridge 7.00 - 9.00
Gamal 9.00 - Midnight

Amanda really has been good this week, although it seems that she is going back to the US very soon, clearly is an able presenter and has took to it like a duck to water. I'm not surprised though as I thought that she would be good at that role.

Sophy appeared a little lost on breaking news again and I'm still not sold on Kimberley as anything other than an overnight presenter, Gamal and Tom for me are probably the best of the newer presenters and seem to be pretty versatile, re-signing the former and converting the later from Sport was a good move whilst Claudia also has improved a lot over the last few months!

I feel the presenter line-up is not that bad these days, they lost a lot of senior presenters and maybe they are still one or two presenters short, but looking back through this thread, they're nowhere near as bad off as a lot of the very negative people thought they would be, so Kudos for Sky to giving the younger presenters a chance.

Amanda has been a breath of fresh air on the Sky News Tonight slot this week. I really hope management have taken this on-board and offer her another slot covering for Dermot in the future.

She's going back to America sometime soon and she said on her Twitter she is heavily pregnant (and isn't the only Sky Presenter due to go on maternity leave soon) so I can't see it happening in the short to medium term.

Sophy is in Camden now, which I'm quite surprised to see,

They should send poor Sophy home, she looks shattered!

I was very surprised they sent her there truth be told, I don't think it's really added anything and is unnecessary but she's doing well considering.

Should have just had reporters there with Gamal anchoring from Sky Studios with on location from the morning if needed.

I'm assuming Rebecca Williams replaced Stephen Dixon at noon from Swiss Cottage? This might be the first time I'm aware of when a non-senior presenter has been put on rolling news coverage from an OB?

Kimberley Leonard is doing other news at x35 each hour.

Amanda on news at ten tonight.

She's been good but not sure if she fits press preview. Then again it is her first time so unfair to judge just yet.

Tough first one with JHB and the Fleet Street Fox, who can happily out talk each other for hours.

But she was so relaxed and natural, leaning forward and rolling her chair back and forth, but staying mainly silent!!

I'd stay silent if I was in a room with JHB and Susie Boniface!

Those two are always going to balance each other, and are both experienced enough journos not to need reigning in or steering away from libel/contempt issues. Leaving them to it seems a perfectly valid way to host it.

That's true of the two people to whom you refer, but remember, it's principally the producer's job (most nights, me) to brief the guests on any sensitive legal areas (and sometimes to spare the feelings of guests whose papers might have printed stuff that Sky News as an Ofcom-regulated broadcaster doesn't feel comfortable running.)


That way, the presenter doesn't have to intervene, unless it's either needed for the sake of context - to explain to the viewer why we're not talking about something - or in very, very rare cases indeed, if a guest knowingly or otherwise sails close to the legal wind. That hardly ever happens, though, and is a testament of the professionalism of a group of people who aren't necessarily broadcasters for a living.

Sky News being simulcast on Sky 1 for a minutes silence for the Finsbury Park Attack.

EDIT: Didn't realise this was Presenters thread.