A week of dramatic change in broadcasting
From an all-female line-up causing a stir, to a surprise on-air resignation, the world of broadcasting is witnessing some interesting changes, writes Raymond Snoddy
It should not have been surprising but it really was. There, sitting in the studio for the first edition of Politics Live, the replacement for the Daily Politics, were the massed ranks of six women. In place of Andrew Neil there was presenter Jo Coburn and five other women, including former Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, and BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg – who divides opinion, particularly among the medical profession.
Six women together on a political show having a civilised discussion. If such a thing has happened before it has passed me by. It has been denounced as a gimmick or political correctness gone mad.
Actually, it was a nice touch for a programme setting out to approach politics in a more modern way, complete with nearly-live tweets displayed on screen. One noted that Diddly Squat was a perfect description of Boris Johnson himself, rather than the Chequers agreement.
The new programme dealt deftly with the issue of how politics became toxic – an idea borrowed from the New Statesman, and showed the producer behind the scenes – a man.
There were reasonable discussions all round on the Labour Party’s anti-Semitic rows and the three-way split in the Conservatives over Brexit – and there was zero toxicity. And they all loved the BBC drama hit, Bodyguard.
The BBC has a lot of ground to make up on gender issues but it’s good to know that men will not be entirely banned from Politics Live. Andrew Neil will get a look-in on Wednesdays in an extended programme that will include Prime Minister’s Questions.
By chance, it was a day of dramatic change in broadcasting. Politics Live was upstaged earlier in the morning when the unpredictable Chris Evans decided to jack in his £1.6 million a year job presenting the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, after eight years in the footsteps of Sir Terry Wogan.
[advert position=”left”]
Evans, who likes startling his bosses by resigning on air, said he would be off by Christmas. It was soon confirmed he would be re-joining Virgin Radio, because in many ways it was his “spiritual home.”
That’s probably the first time Virgin Radio has been called a spiritual home.
Evans said that when he reached the top of one mountain he didn’t just want to sit and admire the view but wanted to find new mountains to climb.
More of a hillock but it certainly will be a challenge.
In a serious case of downsizing, the man who has been called the ginger whinger will exchange an audience of more than 9 million for one of around 400,000.
Was it a selfless spiritual act?
Cynics will inevitably wonder whether in the background some senior cack-handed BBC executive went blundering around suggesting that Evans should take a chunky pay cut to help cope with the general imbalance in pay at the Corporation.
Evans is not short of money but not many people take kindly to being asked to take huge “voluntary” pay cuts, whether they actually need the money or not.
Certainly Eddie Mair at Radio 4’s PM programme wasn’t keen on such a thing and legged it to LBC where he will be delighting a national audience of more than 2 million.
Coincidentally, the Evans announcement occurred alongside Mair’s first two-hour stint on LBC’s drivetime programme.
As you would expect, Mair made an effortless transition and was relaxed, smooth and lively amid gags about faders and supposed advice from LBC veteran Nick Ferrari.
Then there was the dramatic announcement that he is planning to have a daily classic serial – but to protect the length of his career there would only be one sentence a day.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” was all Mair seemed to manage, and as A Tale of Two Cities has more than 340 pages, Eddie should be there a long time.
They are still trying out replacements for Mair but don’t bet against it being a woman.
Sara Cox is already being tipped to be the new Chris Evans, although there is an extensive all-woman shortlist – at least according to the papers.
This week’s changes in broadcast personnel has coincided with a summer of programme change.
Sky News has beefed up its line-up by asking former ITV anchor Mark Austin to front The News Hour and Kay Burley is getting her own show four days a week.
In all of this, particularly with the promise of digital friendly programmes and new personality driven shows, there is a danger that we are heading in the direction of American style shows which put chat and opinions before news and analysis.
In the US, after a while, CNN becomes unwatchable with its endless devotion to Trump and the minutia of Washington to the exclusion of almost all else, amid anchors interviewing correspondents.
Please don’t go too far down the chat show route.
In what is likely to be one of the most dramatic Parliamentary years in the UK in recent times, one of the battle grounds – apart from the news flow and programmes such as Newsnight – will be the Sunday political programmes.
At their best they provide a pause for breath and help to set the political agenda for the week with the big political interview.
In the past two years there was almost a rebirth of the Sunday political genre with Robert Peston bringing Sunday politics back on ITV and Sophy Ridge on Sky, to add to Marr and Sarah Smith carrying on the Neil tradition on the Sunday Politics.
The Sunday Politics is no more, although there will be stand-alone half hour political programmes for each of the nations and English regions. Fine – but not the same thing at all.
And to cut costs the BBC Parliamentary channel will no longer make bespoke programmes.
ITV has given up the unequal battle against the Andrew Marr Show and Peston is moving to Wednesday after the News at Ten. Peston got his main audience with his Sunday evening repeat and the move makes a bit of sense but it still sounds a little bit like the departure lounge.
Sophy Ridge on Sunday is moving to 9am to get the boot in before Marr.
But overall it’s a downgrade for Sunday political programmes when they could scarcely be more needed.
At least there’s still Eddie, Chris and their successors – if you can find them.