Thatcher Resigns -BBC News/Question time

[onetrickypony]

I know that there are now generations who have only known and expect constant 24 hour TV news, but has it improved life at all?

Being from a generation that has lived through the era without 24/7 news, and then the one with, I can't think how my life has been particularly enhanced by the latter (or diminished for that matter)

Indeed. Its important to note the consumption on news channels in the UK is minimal. Its handy for big breaking news to have something to switch to, but if they weren't there I don't think the majority would note or care. If we look at the ratings, the main news consumed in the UK is on BBC One and ITV and those programmes nearly always feature in the top ten.

I take the point on 'raw' consumption but I also think it's useful here to think about the impacts rolling news has had. Take, for example, PR. Gone are the days when a crafted statement would be aimed at one or two slots in a day, designed for a timed news bulletin or next day papers. I'm not saying this is an entirely bad thing per se, but it does raise important questions in terms of how others react to the idea of rolling news.

I vividly remember, during the last election, receiving 'updates' on when an update to a speech would be made (much to the effect of 'it's coming, honest...')

That is held within a bubble though. The news cycle feeds itself in terms of news channels and even social media such as Twitter, which is still small consumption compared to traditional news programmes.

[James Martin]

I know that there are now generations who have only known and expect constant 24 hour TV news, but has it improved life at all?

Being from a generation that has lived through the era without 24/7 news, and then the one with, I can't think how my life has been particularly enhanced by the latter (or diminished for that matter)

Indeed. Its important to note the consumption on news channels in the UK is minimal. Its handy for big breaking news to have something to switch to, but if they weren't there I don't think the majority would note or care. If we look at the ratings, the main news consumed in the UK is on BBC One and ITV and those programmes nearly always feature in the top ten.

I take the point on 'raw' consumption but I also think it's useful here to think about the impacts rolling news has had. Take, for example, PR. Gone are the days when a crafted statement would be aimed at one or two slots in a day, designed for a timed news bulletin or next day papers. I'm not saying this is an entirely bad thing per se, but it does raise important questions in terms of how others react to the idea of rolling news.

I vividly remember, during the last election, receiving 'updates' on when an update to a speech would be made (much to the effect of 'it's coming, honest...')

A similar thing happened during the May era, particularly around the last 6-7 months of her tenure, where she'd make a copiously promoted.speech, only to come out and say nothing that, frankly, we didn't already know.

Same could be said for some of the 5pms in the early days - once we had locked down a lot of them really weren't that useful.

[Steve in Pudsey]

Without wanting to get too political, it has been suggested that it's a deliberate strategy to brief journalists or unofficially leak the likely contents of a speech and refine the final version based on public reaction.

[Markymark]

Without wanting to get too political, it has been suggested that it's a deliberate strategy to brief journalists or unofficially leak the likely contents of a speech and refine the final version based on public reaction.

Where is the public reaction harvested from though?

[DTV]

Without wanting to get too political, it has been suggested that it's a deliberate strategy to brief journalists or unofficially leak the likely contents of a speech and refine the final version based on public reaction.

Where is the public reaction harvested from though?

I think it's more newspaper journalist reaction, although you can get polling reaction if you leak a few days in advance. I think an example of this is the 2017 Labour manifesto which is widely regarded as having been deliberately leaked in order to test reaction to their more-moderate-than-expected policies.

Most policies and announcements get focus grouped or polled to death by parties these days anyway, so releasing in advance is often more a courtesy for journalists (so they can write-up in advance) than to test the waters.