My Favourite Blanket! (BBC News 24)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	BBC News 24
Date:	08/11/07 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Informative, interesting, reliable, entertaining, up-to-date.

Disadvantages: Few

I am at home most of the day and usually have the TV on, while I am on the computer. I am actually a fan of quite a few daytime television programmes, but when there’s nothing on, I usually turn to BBC News 24 for background noise – like a nice comforting blanket on a cold day! If there is an interesting news event, I do specifically put the channel on to follow it as well.

We are with Virgin Media and it is channel 601 on this. BBC News 24 was introduced ten years ago and to me, it is a must-have channel. I like having a 24-hour news channel and if I get up in the middle of the night, I will often turn it on to see what’s happening. I am extremely interested in the news, current affairs and politics, so like to keep on top of what is going on.

As you would expect, the main headlines are regularly updated with on-screen breaking news captions. On the hour, you get the main news with headlines every fifteen minutes. There are also regular updates on the weather, sport and business. I am not very interested in the business news at all and only vaguely interested in the sport, but these sections are normally quite short, so I just concentrate on something else for a few minutes, until it returns to the news items.

The channel also has other programmes such as Sportsday, The World Today and Question Time Extra. My favourite of these ‘extras’ – and the only one I really watch – is Hardtalk. This is a half-hour one-to-one interview with a celebrity or politician. The questions are respectful, yet interesting, so you do find out more about the person being interviewed, yet you don’t feel embarrassed as they are not ‘interrogated’ in a Paxman-esque style! My favourite programme was the one where 1976 Olympic Champion gymnast Nadia Comaneci was interviewed.

I have watched pretty much every kind of news at one point or another. I found Sky News a bit too sensationalist at times and ITN news is the absolute worst for that. I always return to the BBC news, as I like the style, the presenters and reporters and the way they cover sensitive topics. ITN news is rather like The Sun at times – I have been known to email Hubby with their headlines, as they are so awful! – whereas the BBC is rather more like The Guardian in my opinion.

I also like the way the screen looks. Some news channels (especially the American ones) are too busy with ticker tape running underneath, headlines coming on the front and text on the side too. Although BBC News 24 does have ticker tape running underneath, I don’t find it too intrusive and can ignore it easily enough. I also find it useful that the clock is on the screen all the time. I don’t wear a watch, so it is helpful to be able to look up and see the time on the screen, especially in a digital format.

They have an excellent team of presenters, all of whom come across as professional, but still approachable. They can relax a bit and have a laugh sometimes – which I like to see – but can control themselves when they need to. The regulars include Matthew Amroliwala, Maxine Mawhinney, Joanna Gosling, Jon Sopel and – probably my favourite – Louise Minchin.

One problem with any rolling news channel is that some days are just slow news days and all those hours must be hard to fill at times. If I find I am watching the same reports over and over, I will change channels, but BBC News 24 often have interesting features they slot in around the heavier news stories. These have included discussions on healthy eating or how the modern family is made up and these usually include live interviews with ‘experts’ in the studio.

I watched BBC News 24 the day the 7/7 bombings occurred in London. I was able to follow the news as it was breaking and found the coverage very informative and up-to-date. The same with the recent floods in the country. I remember one reporter was actually stranded during an Outside Broadcast and had to stay in the village overnight, because the flooding was so bad. This channel helps keep me informed on news events like this which can change so quickly.

I had my own moment of fame on BBC News 24 earlier this year. We had a couple of days of snow for once and I had taken a few photos of my Jack Russell puppy Pixie in the garden, discovering snow for the first time. I turned on the channel to hear they were asking for snowy photos to share with the viewers, so I emailed them one of Pixie – and it got shown on the TV! The presenters also said what a cute dog it was.

So overall, I would definitely recommend BBC News 24 and truly feel it is the best of its kind. It has a good balance of formal style and friendly presenters, it covers the news quickly and sensitively and it is very watchable.

Summary: An excellent 24-hour news channel