Monday, October 1, 2012

Control

Belated congratulations to Sam Taylor, new Controller of the BBC News Channel. Sam was destined for greatness after a brief but clearly formative spell as a News Trainee on 5Live. Helen Boaden describes him as "savvy" - certainly savvy enough to drop the Twitter handle @yogurtplan for something more in keeping with a granite-jawed man of authority.

What will he make of the role ?  Some say his predecessor, now commuting weekly to RTE, largely tweeted audience figures and faced regular grillings from Ray Snoddy on Newswatch. Sam will need more than a new set to revitalise the news channel, against the background of his "Game of Thrones" newsroom, laid out in medieval form under the daft Suspended Hoop of Illumination.  Despite storming ahead of Sky News in the figures, the output still needs a firm jolt of energy and direction to win some real journalistic creds. Sam might just do it.

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