Sky News (Sky News)

Member Name: polydeuces

Product:	Sky News
Date:	16/06/08 (1 review reads)
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The problem for a rolling news service exists in that on a quiet news day there is little to report. However equally difficult on a day where a significant news event does occur having that major item covered every half hour or so in a new and fresh way.

Sky News broadcasts 24 hours a day and I have viewed it at different times of the day to see whether it can maintain a high standard of broadcasting throughout the day. My view is it certainly can and does.
It must be difficult for a newsreader who may need to broadcast ostensibly the same major news item at least twice an hour over a 4-hour period and keep the presentation fresh. Viewers probably do not engage with the news programme for the same extended period as the newsreader but would expect the news to be broadcast as if being read for the first time by the newsreader. Sky News presenters are extremely professional, the direction and use of external reporters a model for any news service provider. It has been said previously that Sky News or ITN do not have the authority or gravitas that perhaps BBC News has. This might have been so in the past but Sky News makes the BBC look dull and boring without being gimmicky. Indeed such has been the dumbing down or simplification of BBC News that Sky probably now offers a more informed programme.

I was very impressed with Sky. TheIr news is presented in a well produced fast-paced way when the news content dictates it. They have the ability in sports coverage to provide picture coverage of incidents which have occurred on the day of transmission and their total coverage of sport is much better that the terrestrial channels.
Sky is also innovative and its use of headline data and additional text within the picture is used well. Weather is also covered within the body of the news programme which is better that having a separate broadcast for it.

I think it is now Sky News which is setting the standard is UK news broadcasting.

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