Does Laura get it ?

Whilst voting patterns in local elections may not be reflected at a general election, it's not necessarily a given that Laura Kuenssberg will get The Big Gig after last night.

She's always been better at answering questions than asking them. There was her usual fast-paced presentation, which needs more light and shade over the long hours; she should be less frightened of gaps. Equally, she's no Dimbleby when it comes to unveiling research facts as if they were from deep within her well-stocked brain, or expressing producer's questions as if they were formed in extempore fashion on the spot. 

On the front line

 The operation to take the USA continues.... 

pic.twitter.com/v2amgFfR5J

— BBC Studios Press - U.S. (@BBCStudiosUSPR) May 1, 2024

“Our greatest competitor is news avoidance, and we are combating that. People will come for the facts and stay for the stories,” says @deborahturness (@BBCNews & Current Affairs) in conversation with Rebecca Glashow & @KattyKay_ (@bbcstudios) in the first session of #IABNewFronts pic.twitter.com/a7mZWPq0Z0

— IAB (@iab) May 1, 2024

pic.twitter.com/BNCfew1B0X

— BBC Studios Press - U.S. (@BBCStudiosUSPR) May 1, 2024

Campaign news

Stewart Purvis, formerly of ITN, Channel 4 News and Ofcom, is scathing about Ofcom's latest guidance on " News", "Current Affairs" and "Elections". 

“They are going to allow senior party officials to present election programmes. Not only that, to be absolutely clear, senior party officials can interview each other from the same party on programmes during a general election, which I think will come as a surprise to most people that that could be possible during a general election campaign.”

“If you're connected with a party but not a candidate, yes, you can present programmes, you can interview your friends from the from the party, you can do pretty much anything you want, within Ofcom’s new interpretation of the rules.”

Much more like that in Roger Bolton’s Beeb Watch    

News goes pop

Woken by thunder and lighting at 0209, to find that this was the most important news story according to those 'curating' the BBC News website....

Pheomelanin

 Lawks ! There's more of it.... 

Deborah in New York

The vainglorious attempt to save the BBC at home by selling BBC News in the United States continues apace. News CEO Deborah Turness has been to New York for a panel discussion on "Why News ? Why Now ?", at the end, next to former BBC DG Mark Thompson, now running CNN. 

She said News was working on more “single story livestreams,” which can be seen in the States on the BBC's FAST Channel. She claimed the channel, launched in March, "doubled our reach overnight"; there apparently wasn't a journalist on hand to ask the basic "From what, to what ?". 

Ms Turness also announced she's establishing a US unit of BBC Verify. Again, there's no report of how that's being funded. 

Freely translated

The puff for Freely says "Stream all your favourite live and on demand TV in one place, for free! No dish, no box, no need for an aerial. All you need is Wi-Fi."

I have wi-fi, so I went to the Freely site, and it seems I also need a new tv.  A search for "Freely" on Argos, Curry's, Amazon, and AO produces no results. A visit to the Hisense UK site, the Chinese manufacturing launch partner, produces no results when searched for "Freely". 

From the screenshots of the tv guide, it seems that at launch stage, there's slightly less to see on Freely than on Freeview Play, the service it's supposed to be replacing. And, as there are no obvious shots of the landing page, it's hard to see how the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have dealt with 'prominence' issues that they want the wider market to adopt. 

For older readers of this blog, we note that "Everyone TV", the partnership formerly known as Digital UK, is the driver of Freely, and is chaired by Erik Huggers. 

Making money through real estate

The BBC future, according to Tim Davie is to "Pursue truth with no agenda, Back British storytelling, and Bring people together". 

In South Africa, it is to provide the audience with tales of buying and selling luxury houses. BBC Studios have commissioned Listing Mauritius, which will allow "audiences to step inside the luxury properties on offer on the vibrant volcanic island off the south-eastern coast of Africa, from 12-sleeper boutique hotel villas to beachfront penthouses. "  Viewers of BBC Lifestyle and BBC UKTV can already watch Listing Cape Town, "which explores the lavish properties on sale in the Cape Winelands, Bishopscourt area, as well as giving a much-anticipated glimpse into Cape Town’s exquisite Millionaire’s Mile." and Listing Jozi, following "a group of high-end property brokers as they hustle to list and sell their multi million rand properties in and around Johannesburg, South Africa."

Premium US Drama

Those 'curating' the BBC News website offering in the UK have for two days been promoting "Dopesick".  For a BBC obsessed with "British storytelling", this seems odd. 

It's running on BBC2 late on Sunday nights. The mini-series was first run by US streamer HULU in late 2021, and available at the same time in the UK on Disney+.  It was created by US showrunner Danny Strong about the Sackler family and the America opioid crisis.  

Selection processes

In today's Telegraph, Charles Moore raises some interesting questions about the selection of Question Time audiences, hinting that some may be pulling the wool over the eyes of researchers trying to find  political balance. They are questions worth considering. 

Also worth considering - why has Charles Moore been selected to appear eighteen times in the 45 years of the programme ?