Familiarity

BBC News, like many other UK news providers, has been pretty agile in response to the coronavirus - in terms of reporting, changing work practices, and adapting to fewer human resources. Director Fran Unsworth is quite right to be proud. 

I note particularly "We’re cutting down on everyone’s travel by making more use of our network of local reporters around the UK, as well as around the world."

One shibboleth of the construction of the BBC1 main news bulletins is that the main reporters should be familiar faces, and, for the 10pm bulletin, it should be filled with 'editors'.  The remarkable audience figures for news output in March show that, far from tuning away because there are more new names on more reports, the audience is completely cool about it.

So when we come out of this, perhaps the local and less familiar reporters at home and abroad can hold on to their stories when they are deemed big enough for the flagships; end big-footing and leave the editors to stand outside unlit buildings sharing their opinions with Huw, Fiona and Clive, rather than double-spending on them re-packaging others' material.  Save money - protect jobs.