william post_id=14051 time=1621695772 user_id=1264 Wrote:Not specifically related to GB News, but what's the longest* rehearsal period before a channel launch anyone can think of?
For radio, I don't remember any presenters saying they did trial shows for more than a week (if that).
I think BBC regions like South East Today maybe did about a fortnight of 6:30pm shows? (What about The Nine?)
My assumption is as soon as programme teams start rehearsing - unless it's a complete disaster - they quickly get fed up of making stuff that will never see the light of day, and there's quite a bit of pressure to bring launch dates forward. Additionally all the time you're burning money on salaries, distribution charges etc.
* or indeed the shortest…
I worked on an outside broadcast set-up years ago from a festival which was designed to 'include the audience'. Weeks of prep went into setting angles, dry runs, script points etc only problem was we rather forgot that audiences at a festival are a little more 'lively' than the usual crowd. Upshot: weeks of walking through the route with body cams had to be scrapped for fixed shots. Point being, I think - like anything - there's two types of prep. There's prep for a set situation but also a need to prep what happens when it goes wrong and that's one of those things you end up doing even after the light has gone red.
DavidWhitfield post_id=14039 time=1621693336 user_id=1016 Wrote:mdta post_id=14038 time=1621692637 user_id=1187 Wrote:I can understand wanting to keep the topic away from the divisive politics - but it is the reason this channel is even launching Rob.
This is the whole problem - there's a small pocket of users who have already written this channel off as being the work of the devil before it's even launched and seem intent on coming here to tell us all how terrible it is on a regular basis based on nothing other than their own personal politics which nobody cares about. As Rob has said many, many times previously, this isn't what the site is for.
If you've nothing to contribute of any relevance, don't post in the thread at all, and that goes not just for you, but for everyone, in any thread.
You'd think that would be common sense, but unfortunately it seems that this needs to be reaffirmed.
There's so much going on at the moment - material finally starting to be seen on TV, presenting line-ups announced, studio updates coming out, graphics being released - these updates are what this thread is for. Anything else, take it elsewhere.
DavidWhitfield post_id=14039 time=1621693336 user_id=1016 Wrote:mdta post_id=14038 time=1621692637 user_id=1187 Wrote:I can understand wanting to keep the topic away from the divisive politics - but it is the reason this channel is even launching Rob.
This is the whole problem - there's a small pocket of users who have already written this channel off as being the work of the devil before it's even launched and seem intent on coming here to tell us all how terrible it is on a regular basis based on nothing other than their own personal politics which nobody cares about. As Rob has said many, many times previously, this isn't what the site is for.
I don't think anybody has "written off" a channel that hasn't even launched yet! What has happened is that people here have posted their opinions, based not only on the people that have been hired, but also based on the past of other channels that have used similar promotional tactics to what GB News has been using.
I think we'd all love for our fears to not be founded, and for this to turn out to be a worthy competitor to BBC News and Sky News, but there's an old saying from the comic books. "Bruce Wayne hopes for the best... but The Batman knows better."
cityprod post_id=14214 time=1621725773 user_id=1257 Wrote:I don't think anybody has "written off" a channel that hasn't even launched yet! What has happened is that people here have posted their opinions, based not only on the people that have been hired, but also based on the past of other channels that have used similar promotional tactics to what GB News has been using.
I think we'd all love for our fears to not be founded, and for this to turn out to be a worthy competitor to BBC News and Sky News, but there's an old saying from the comic books. "Bruce Wayne hopes for the best... but The Batman knows better."
I for one, had a lot of respect for Andrew Neil's mostly balanced approach to political interviews. I am hoping some of that is retained with his show on this new channel.
But unlike LBC which has space for the likes of Nick Ferrari and James O'Brien, there doesn't seem to be an obvious balance of the GB News hosts.
I hoped there would be some left leaning voices to balance out the more right wing hires.
But the narrative put out by everyone about GB News, which has not been refuted, is the idea "BBC is left wing biased" and "Conservative normal people across the UK don't have a voice".
mdta post_id=14251 time=1621731532 user_id=1187 Wrote:cityprod post_id=14214 time=1621725773 user_id=1257 Wrote:I don't think anybody has "written off" a channel that hasn't even launched yet! What has happened is that people here have posted their opinions, based not only on the people that have been hired, but also based on the past of other channels that have used similar promotional tactics to what GB News has been using.
I think we'd all love for our fears to not be founded, and for this to turn out to be a worthy competitor to BBC News and Sky News, but there's an old saying from the comic books. "Bruce Wayne hopes for the best... but The Batman knows better."
I for one, had a lot of respect for Andrew Neil's mostly balanced approach to political interviews. I am hoping some of that is retained with his show on this new channel.
But unlike LBC which has space for the likes of Nick Ferrari and James O'Brien, there doesn't seem to be an obvious balance of the GB News hosts.
I hoped there would be some left leaning voices to balance out the more right wing hires.
But the narrative put out by everyone about GB News, which has not been refuted, is the idea "BBC is left wing biased" and "Conservative normal people across the UK don't have a voice".
I think there's a really important point here which the BBC is - at times - rather shy about shouting. Of any organisation I have worked for, it is the one most concerned with the question of impartiality. Let me posset this (in response to the likes of GB News etc), who has a network of reporters and correspondents based in their communities reporting on local issues. Top tip: it won't be the one general area correspondent GB News have. When they've developed local radio and online hubs in every region i'll take lessons from them...
Matrix post_id=14253 time=1621732716 user_id=797 Wrote:I think there's a really important point here which the BBC is - at times - rather shy about shouting. Of any organisation I have worked for, it is the one most concerned with the question of impartiality. Let me posset this (in response to the likes of GB News etc), who has a network of reporters and correspondents based in their communities reporting on local issues. Top tip: it won't be the one general area correspondent GB News have. When they've developed local radio and online hubs in every region i'll take lessons from them...
I could see them using voices from regional newspapers/news sites, as well as the correspondents across the UK that will Zoom/Skype in for Live interviews, or send in local reports.
The news gathering and package production will be more limited, but the difference is supposedly in the editorial side. They will prioritise stories, views, and opinions from outside London and possibly outside other metropolitan cities.
mdta post_id=14255 time=1621733631 user_id=1187 Wrote:Matrix post_id=14253 time=1621732716 user_id=797 Wrote:I think there's a really important point here which the BBC is - at times - rather shy about shouting. Of any organisation I have worked for, it is the one most concerned with the question of impartiality. Let me posset this (in response to the likes of GB News etc), who has a network of reporters and correspondents based in their communities reporting on local issues. Top tip: it won't be the one general area correspondent GB News have. When they've developed local radio and online hubs in every region i'll take lessons from them...
I could see them using voices from regional newspapers/news sites, as well as the correspondents across the UK that will Zoom/Skype in for Live interviews, or send in local reports.
The news gathering and package production will be more limited, but the difference is supposedly in the editorial side. They will prioritise stories, views, and opinions from outside London and possibly outside other metropolitan cities.
Ok, I take that but I still look at, for example, the West Midlands and see entire teams (literally Coventry and Warwickshire, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester, Black Country and Birmingham) and wonder how you begin to match that kind of work. Admittedly, the BBC does have a broadcast 'focus' on those metropolitan centres but equally the quality and quantity of our local stations shouldn't be overlooked.
Matrix post_id=14257 time=1621734403 user_id=797 Wrote:Ok, I take that but I still look at, for example, the West Midlands and see entire teams (literally Coventry and Warwickshire, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester, Black Country and Birmingham) and wonder how you begin to match that kind of work. Admittedly, the BBC does have a broadcast 'focus' on those metropolitan centres but equally the quality and quantity of our local stations shouldn't be overlooked.
It will be interesting as someone who is an introverted, "Left Wing", Londoner, to see how different the output is. They claim there is a great mass of content being ignored. If it broadens the agenda, that will be welcome. If it excludes voices from other political persuasions, or ignores the views of minority race groups, and the LGBT community for instance - I will then dismiss it as a Tory mouthpiece.
cityprod post_id=14214 time=1621725773 user_id=1257 Wrote:I don't think anybody has "written off" a channel that hasn't even launched yet! What has happened is that people here have posted their opinions, based not only on the people that have been hired, but also based on the past of other channels that have used similar promotional tactics to what GB News has been using.
Yes, if some of us are sceptical about what GB News is going to be like then it's purely based on the people running, presenting and investing in the channel and what they're saying about it. It's as simple as that, there's nothing else to base it on yet.
Yes, some of the promotional stuff is similar to a lot of other media and new media outlets of a certain persuasion particularly in the US. Many tactics being involved but the main one is that of being the victim, both as a channel and individually as people of a particular viewpoint.
Problem is that by being sceptical or critical of the channel it just feeds into that.
cityprod post_id=14214 time=1621725773 user_id=1257 Wrote:I don't think anybody has "written off" a channel that hasn't even launched yet! What has happened is that people here have posted their opinions, based not only on the people that have been hired, but also based on the past of other channels that have used similar promotional tactics to what GB News has been using.
I think we'd all love for our fears to not be founded, and for this to turn out to be a worthy competitor to BBC News and Sky News, but there's an old saying from the comic books. "Bruce Wayne hopes for the best... but The Batman knows better."
Yes exactly this, its quite clear from the hirings, branding, narrative coming out of GB News and their clearly stated target audience, what the channel will be like. I can't see why people are saying otherwise or disagreeing with this but I'd be happy to be proven wrong on Friday (or whenever it launches) that this is a worthy to BBC and Sky. It will be interesting to see what OFCOM make of the likely impartiality breaches anyway.
Moving on from that.....
What is the situation with this channel in terms of pool coverage / interviews from BBC/Sky/ITN? Will they have access to that or have GB News joined up with the other 3 in this?
Same with Parliament, can GB News use live Parliament coverage?
Ste post_id=14316 time=1621763952 user_id=972 Wrote:Moving on from that.....
What is the situation with this channel in terms of pool coverage / interviews from BBC/Sky/ITN? Will they have access to that or have GB News joined up with the other 3 in this?
Same with Parliament, can GB News use live Parliament coverage?
I would guess GBN will get similar level access as CNN?
mdta post_id=14255 time=1621733631 user_id=1187 Wrote:Matrix post_id=14253 time=1621732716 user_id=797 Wrote:I think there's a really important point here which the BBC is - at times - rather shy about shouting. Of any organisation I have worked for, it is the one most concerned with the question of impartiality. Let me posset this (in response to the likes of GB News etc), who has a network of reporters and correspondents based in their communities reporting on local issues. Top tip: it won't be the one general area correspondent GB News have. When they've developed local radio and online hubs in every region i'll take lessons from them...
I could see them using voices from regional newspapers/news sites, as well as the correspondents across the UK that will Zoom/Skype in for Live interviews, or send in local reports.
The news gathering and package production will be more limited, but the difference is supposedly in the editorial side. They will prioritise stories, views, and opinions from outside London and possibly outside other metropolitan cities.
If their stories from communities commitment is true had they been on air the last few days you wouldn't expect them to have been leading on a story about a London based media company and the Royal Family. It is going to be a tricky balance though if they go down the route of ignoring national and international stories which are leading the other networks in favour of stories out in the regions - but also what they are somewhat marketing themselves on.
I think one thing forgotten by many new companies launching nowadays is they're not competing for a 100% commitment from consumers but for them to incorporate their product or offering within their routine. Just a casual observation on how news channels are now discussed on the forums compared to 15 odd years ago suggest viewers are much more likely to switch between BBC News and Sky News rather than loyally watch one or the other, so perhaps that does provide the way in GB News are looking for.
Do we know if they are signed up to BARB?
Amazing to think GB News has not broadcast a second of output, and yet its provoking debate.
Also I think we can probably suggest the Telegraph got it wrong last week when it reported GBN would start on May 31? Also a bit weird maybe to start on a Bank Holiday, when the news is often a bit lacklustre. I assume parliament is in recess that week too
Brekkie post_id=14366 time=1621771729 user_id=976 Wrote:If their stories from communities commitment is true had they been on air the last few days you wouldn't expect them to have been leading on a story about a London based media company and the Royal Family. It is going to be a tricky balance though if they go down the route of ignoring national and international stories which are leading the other networks in favour of stories out in the regions - but also what they are somewhat marketing themselves on.
They specifically call out the BBC as a target, so no doubt they would be hitting that story hard. I don't expect them to ignore big stories, but they may not have the same priorities and rolling coverage of "westminster bubble" stories. I am curious how they may cover protests in the future. Will the slant be "Ordinary people making their voices heard against out of touch politicians" or will it be "Lefty liberals causing disruption to taxi drivers and small business drivers"
Brekkie post_id=14366 time=1621771729 user_id=976 Wrote:I think one thing forgotten by many new companies launching nowadays is they're not competing for a 100% commitment from consumers but for them to incorporate their product or offering within their routine. Just a casual observation on how news channels are now discussed on the forums compared to 15 odd years ago suggest viewers are much more likely to switch between BBC News and Sky News rather than loyally watch one or the other, so perhaps that does provide the way in GB News are looking for.
Do we know if they are signed up to BARB?
GB News has said they will be packaging their content for social media. So I am sure they will follow LBC and try to promote viral clips, and Andrew Neil's monologues and interviews. Simon McCoy's personality on his show, will no doubt be exploited for views.
soupie post_id=14377 time=1621774416 user_id=1542 Wrote:Amazing to think GB News has not broadcast a second of output, and yet its provoking debate.
Also I think we can probably suggest the Telegraph got it wrong last week when it reported GBN would start on May 31? Also a bit weird maybe to start on a Bank Holiday, when the news is often a bit lacklustre. I assume parliament is in recess that week too
As said up thread, it's very likely to be a soft launch of pre recorded stuff and barkers played out on a loop
mdta post_id=14398 time=1621781827 user_id=1187 Wrote:GB News has said they will be packaging their content for social media. So I am sure they will follow LBC and try to promote viral clips, and Andrew Neil's monologues and interviews. Simon McCoy's personality on his show, will no doubt be exploited for views.
So far GB News are yet to comment on claims 10% of the launch budget have been spent on packs of A4 paper.