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A new BBC World newsroom

Will there ever be one and what will it be like? (July 2004)

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DJ
David Jonathan
boring_user_name posted:
Quote:

Good - and thats what they should go back to now. The news bulletins were done properly then, with decent presenters not just chosen to make it seem equal (ie. Madame Raworth). All of the newsreaders had strong commading voices, and you could trust them.

The Nine o Clock News theme tune played - superbly orchestral powerful theme, and you knew you were going to get a half hour of in-depth, global, political, highbrow, important, commanding news. Now its Edwards plodding through the script, in an awful set, with relatively cheesy, tacky in house titles.

I agree also that any changes should be made all in one go, across the board. Not just tinkering with little bits one at time, then by the time you've finished, the tinkering starts back around again in another cycle. Total relaunches appear to be the best.


I agree. News should have authorative, uncluttered titles to grab attention, and only use graphics during the programme to improve clarity.

In terms of presentation, I think ard (the German BBC) has one of the best formulas: it uses a simple countdown and short authorative titles, and then plunges straight into the news. It is refreshingly informative because it is uncluttered and undistracting.
The programme also has continuity with the past, using the same theme since it's inception in the 1950's!
Also, presenters just wear smart business clothes and sit behing a desk - comfortable for the presenter, and easy for the viewer to watch - allowing the news to take precedence.
http://www.tagesschau.de/sendungen/0,1196,SPM7,00.html

Incidentally, I find it interesting that even the television presentation enthusiasts here find the style of BBC News overkill - god knows how the general population percieve it!


Well I am German and I do watch the "Tagesschau" very often. But I think its set and its titles are very old fashioned. The current look was introduced in 1997 and slightly tweaked in 2000. In my opinion a change to the set is more than necessary.

Also the concept of the "Tagesschau" is different to the one of BBC News. The programme doesn't have presenters but newsreaders. The newsreaders don't use autocue they read straight from the paper. They don't write their scripts themselves. The programme has special scriptwriters.

The concept of the programme is very strict. At the beginning the newsreader says "Good evening" (he isn't allowed to say anything different) and he doesn't say Goodbye at the end. He just says "Our next bulletin will be at ..." and then they cut directly into the closing titles.
The aim of the programme is to deliver the news as it is and not the opinion of the presenter or the editor or whoever.

So I think you really couldn't compare the Tagesschau to BBC News
BO
boring_user_name
Quote:

Well I am German and I do watch the "Tagesschau" very often. But I think its set and its titles are very old fashioned. The current look was introduced in 1997 and slightly tweaked in 2000. In my opinion a change to the set is more than necessary.

Also the concept of the "Tagesschau" is different to the one of BBC News. The programme doesn't have presenters but newsreaders. The newsreaders don't use autocue they read straight from the paper. They don't write their scripts themselves. The programme has special scriptwriters.

The concept of the programme is very strict. At the beginning the newsreader says "Good evening" (he isn't allowed to say anything different) and he doesn't say Goodbye at the end. He just says "Our next bulletin will be at ..." and then they cut directly into the closing titles.
The aim of the programme is to deliver the news as it is and not the opinion of the presenter or the editor or whoever.

So I think you really couldn't compare the Tagesschau to BBC News


Although Tagesschau differs to the BBC News programmes in some ways, I believe the BBC could benefit by absorbing some ideas from it, such as less cluttered titles and a simplified studio design.
Personally, I find the design of the BBC National set overly complicated and very distracting. This diverts attention from the news itself to meaningless presentation.

Also, how the hell was the current style used by News 24 allowed to air? Am I the only person to find it the most physically nauseating thing ever broadcast?
HA
harshy Founding member
I like News 24, although it looked darker to me today, perhaps it was the camera setting as the Tower was still bright!
KI
Kikrokos
A reaction from an outsider (more or less)...

It's only one or two years since I'm watching BBC News, but over here in The Netherlands, BBC News still has that authoritive and high quality image. And that's the way I think about BBC News too, especially when I compare it to Dutch news broadcasters.

When I think BBC News, a think of a service on which a lot of people all over the world rely on, the service named in the diary of Anne Frank., the service people in WW II trusted as the only way to receive neutral information. And which people in closed country's turn on even now. I can't say any descent word on the image of BBC News over there in the UK these days, but BBC News surely has a long and great reputation when it comes to world affairs.

For that, I often watch the 1/6/10 o'clock news on BBC One and since a couple of weeks to BBC World. I never really experienced BBC News in blue in the mid '90's, but the pips for example, used all over the [BBC News] place, are definitely something I'd say is typical BBC and surely authoritive. Talking about authoritive...

* For the couple of years I'm watching BBC News, I indeed noticed the increase of human interest stories, especially on the 6 o'clock news, as Peter Scissons a while ago remarked. It makes BBC News loose the authority they (still) have. Leave those health/showbizz/offbeat reports to ITV.
* You might say it's rubbish, but I think it's highly authoritive too to relaunch all your news services at once instead of little by little. As I'm not a real 'insider', I leave the way BBC News has bound to look, over to you, the connoisseurs.
* But turning back to blue makes BBC News might loose its distinguisness and unique look. And that, compared to NOS (in The Netherlands), ARD, ZDF, ITN (for Five News and ITV News in this case), SKY news and all the others who carry a lot of blue, makes BBC News too highly authoritive. It makes a difference, it makes it important, something to switch over to when it's 10 seconds before the hour.

Still, I'd like to say something on how BBC News looks today, because I'm just talking about 'BBC News' generally instead of BBC News/News 24/World... And that also a point. In a way, they've got the same feeling and look and I don't think it's a good idea to give them all totally different sets an all. But I also think they mustn't look like they're a spin-off from each other like the way BBC World does from News 24. It has the same title sequence for example which it didn't have until december last year.

But it's for the graphic designers (professionals, not BBC-people!) to find a solution between corporate and distinguishness on one side and yet keep the authority on the other. Because I surely think the current BBC News-style is just that. Regularly changes are necessary and what BBC News got in 1999 was definitely innovative. And that's important these days because whether we want it or not: TV news definitely lost its dependence and importance over the years with the arrival of the new media and the peoples lack of interest on what's happening around the world.

Obviously, I haven't lost my appetite for news and I'll keep watching BBC News, in any form as long as it's authoritive, impartial and accurate. f necessary with a touch of red.

(Do excuse my (lack of) English. It might be wavering occasionally. Again, I'm not English.)
:-(
A former member
David Jonathan posted:
[Also the concept of the "Tagesschau" is different to the one of BBC News. The programme doesn't have presenters but newsreaders. The newsreaders don't use autocue they read straight from the paper. They don't write their scripts themselves. The programme has special scriptwriters.

The concept of the programme is very strict. At the beginning the newsreader says "Good evening" (he isn't allowed to say anything different) and he doesn't say Goodbye at the end. He just says "Our next bulletin will be at ..." and then they cut directly into the closing titles.
The aim of the programme is to deliver the news as it is and not the opinion of the presenter or the editor or whoever.

So I think you really couldn't compare the Tagesschau to BBC News


I think the idea was to say that the BBC programmes should be more like the ARD ones. Taking the "Cult of Personality" away from newsreaders and making the news formalised isn't a bad thing. "The Economist" magazine is world-renowned and has mass appeal, even though none of its contributors sign their names to the articles they write. Furthermore, CNN's "The News is the Star" idea is important because newsreaders that become household personalities are more entertainers than informers.

Walter Cronkite is the one exception to this, but primarily because CBS in the 1970s realised it could capture ratings by being as blunt and direct as possible while keeping to the facts. But the BBC isn't like this at all...sooner or later Sophie Raworth's baby will make a brief appearance and that'll be entirely unprofessional but hugely "human interest". Such things are not hard news and soft news has no place in a hard news bulletin.
ND
ndp
Phileas Fogg posted:

Set: a simple black desk (table top only, no clutter, maybe a laptop for each presenter) with a transparent glass backdrop with a large world map etched into it; the real BBC newsroom behind it.


I actually think this is overcomplicated - I would suggest having a space an inset graphic, then a backdrop of either

a) a simple view of the newsroom that isn't too "noisy" (the 1999 BBC News balcony shot[1] is a good example)

or

b)A simple design that fits the look of the titles, but isn't too complicated (like todays "The WORLD"), yet is not too simple (i.e. the turqoise-blue fade that all bulletins on all channels seemed to use in the mid 80s). Good examples would be the virtual studio 9 o'clock News [2] or the early eighties BBC News "stripes" [3])

Quote:


Music: instrumental fanfare...this is, after all, the BBC NEWS, not Top of The Pops nor Newsround. It's important to remember that the audience will come back crawling as long as the news is informative, accurate and timely...the image itself is secondary to these qualities.



I don't think you have to have an orchestral fanfare - you just need to have something short, memorable, distinctive and authoratative. The 1999 National News music did manage this IMHO (although all the other versions since haven't. The 1999 Newsline and Reporting Scotland versions were OK, the rest where range from poor (the English Regions version) through to dire (News 24))

The theme to the "Chinese Lantern" era[4] is another example of a good news theme, not really that grand a fanfare though.

Quote:



Titles: up-to-date computer graphics,



The problem with trying to look up to date today is that you will look outdated tomorrow - see the Chinese lantern titles for an example[4] - no doubt cutting edge in 1981, very dated by 1988.

Quote:


something class and timeless...maybe someone could think of something resembling the traditional BBC mirror globe...that's a symbol that's both part of the BBC's heritage and could be used in successive titles in a more updated way.



Whats needed is an authoritative symbol that has a short, simple animation - something that would be just as effective on a static slide as the full animated versions

Good examples would be the Chinese lantern[4], the Mast-and-Thunder titles[5], ITNs Big Ben look [6]

Quote:


Now imagine the titles running down the entire contents of the programme over about two minutes. A sort of "miniature news programme" for people who'd rather get a quick summary and then switch over to another network (hopefully a BBC one), and also a good way to give viewers the full menu of what to expect over the following half hour. It might even be possible to broadcast these "titular summaries" Wink on more than one BBC network between programs instead of promos.



Short bulletins instead of promos (ala Newsline) is a good idea IMV - but having the same run down at the start of main bulletins isn't. The headlines of todays 6 o'clock news, for example, just drag on and on - this is dull, a loses alot of the authority of the titles.

Headlines before the main programme should be limited to three (exceptional circumstances like 9/11 excepted of course). I have to say I prefer the channel 4 approach of Main headline -> titles -> Headline Rundown -> First story. It's seems much smoother and authoratitive way to do it than the BBC and ITV way of doing it.

Quote:


The Program Itself: I would not begin in the studio. If at all possible, I'd like the program to begin on-location with the reporter who is at the scene of the top story. Then they could hand back to the studio where a follow-up report could be made (say, for example, the program opens with a reporter in Jerusalem, talking about a major event there, then he/she hands back to London, where a feature providing background information and context for the top story is presented).


Rather expensive, and unnecessary for most news. Good for major events, but silly the rest of the time.

Quote:
Then, without transiting via a newsreader at a desk, it would be on to the next reporter on-location, or the next prepared report.

The only time that a newsreader seated at a desk would be required would be for stories for which no filed report was made. On normal days this would encompass stories that were deemed worthy of the bulletin, but for which no report was assembled, nor was any reporter sent on-location for a live feed.

The other time that a presenter would be required is, obviously, breaking news/special events.

To address any concerns about a lack of continuity, we could take advantage of one of the marvellous properties of widescreen television: room for a sidebar, on which a select contents could be presented. For example, the story just before, the current feature, and two or three of the upcoming features (preferably with the times they will be presented, e.g., :06 minutes past the hour).

In any case, using this sort of format the news itself would be "the star", rather than the newsreader.


I have to disagree with this - you need a human face to join things together. Crashing from one news story into a report of a completely unrelated event would just look messy IMV - and it would look like the BBC didn't care about the reports it's decided

Outside broadcasts should be limited to where they can actually add something (like they were in the 90s). Caroline Hawley giving latest news and in depth detail from Baghdad good - Kevin Boquet standing in Knutsford services to introduce a report into M6 Widening, then to basically just hand back to the studio bad.

As for the newsreader being the star - this wouldn't be the case if they only used newsreaders based on their ability to read the news.

Links from www.thetvroom.com, may need to paste into address bar to work.

[1]]2000 BBC 10 O'Clock News set
[2]1993 BBC Nine O'Clock News set
[3]1981 BBC News set
[4]1985 BBC News titles
[5]1988 BBC News Titles

And from www.tvhome.co.uk...
[6][URL=http://www.tvhome.co.uk/dl.php?http://www.asaonline.i12.com/upload/focus/ITN Early Evening News Mid-90s.htm]1995 ITN Early Evening News Titles[/URL]
MA
Marcus Founding member
Here is a new World Set for you. Made the front page of Ariel

Ariel
NE
Neil__
Marcus posted:
Here is a new World Set for you. Made the front page of Ariel
Ariel

And very classy it is too Confused
TE
TELEVISION
Neil Green posted:
Marcus posted:
Here is a new World Set for you. Made the front page of Ariel
Ariel

And very classy it is too Confused


I've got a picture of that set with the two newsreaders in my book on Broadcast Journalism.
TV
TV Boy
the new bbc world set is definitely going in 'later in the year'
HA
harshy Founding member
Thanks for that TV Boy, I hope they get the nice BBC News 24 see through desk as well!
TV
TV Boy
apparently the new set will have two areas - the main news desk and also a second soft set within the main newsroom... could be interesting

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