Peter Viney's Blog

The building behind me …

TV news production styles were highlighted this week, when pro-Remain MP Anna Soubry was harangued by Brexiteer thugs while trying to give a Sky News interview on College Green outside the Houses of Parliament. The thugs also seemed to me to be hindering her entry back into the House of Parliament, and the police failed to stop them, and their behaviour was certainly intimidating. MPs from all parties have protested at police laxity.

Anna Soubry in centre in white coat and black hat

For me it threw up something that has annoyed me about the news in recent years. College Green has bases for BBC, ITV and Sky News and has a practical point in that MPs can give interviews literally a couple of minutes from the chamber (and not all news crews are accredited to enter the building). So that’s why we have outside broadcasts from there.

But … That’s fine, but there has grown a desperation in TV News to show a relevant building behind the newsreader. So the News teams return to College Green at night to give a news report with the Houses of Parliament in the background of the shot. The building while iconic isn’t doing anything. They don’t interview anyone there either. We see it nightly.

The building behind me is the Houses of Parliament …

I’m actually inside the Houses of Parliament …

It’s a cold January night, but two talking heads are better than one. By the way, the building behind us is …

The worst is 10 Downing Street, where in all weathers, rain, snow, fog, wind and baking sun, a newsreader in an overcoat has to stand in front of the resolutely shut hallowed door clutching a microphone. Why? There’s nothing to see except the door and a projected still photo in the studio would suffice. But it has to be “live” in real time, so given the ten o’clock news is when it’s dark, it will require lights, camera, sound and presumably a director. A film crew.

This is a report on Northern Ireland. The building behind me is Stormont, which is completely closed at the moment and nothing whatsoever is happening there …

Then mention the police, and some poor newsreader has to stand outside the Scotland Yard revolving sign in all weathers. Often it’s a ministry, so here we are “outside the Ministry of (Transport).” All the windows are dark. The building is nondescript. The doors are closed. It’s empty for the night. Let’s stand in front of it with a news team to talk about traffic laws.

Here we are in Washington DC where it’s still daylight, and I’m very cold and I wish they’d let me wear a scarf. The building behind me is …

The evening live report from Washington DC at least benefits from daylight given the five hour time gap, but they have to stand in the street with either the White House or Capitol in view. We can’t be satisfied with a still picture, so we have to see the odd taxi moving in the background.

Yes, often there is reason to stand outside a crime scene, or other location where events just happened. For the political stuff it’s usually nonsense. There is a feeling that we are cretins, so a news team set off to Chelmsford to interview people in a market, while a magician working there produced and displayed playing cards with titles on. (Chelmsford is outside the M25 orbital motorway … only just … so broadcasters can claim it’s part of their obligatory programming from outside London).

Is it an effect of widescreen versus 4:3 old TVs? It was always said 4:3 TV excelled when we had talking heads. Do widescreens make directors want more background information? Is this why TV directors need something behind the head?

Here we are in the studio … USA

So, the American solution is two newscasters (thus filling the screen), dropping each other’s names every ten seconds. ‘Thank you, Gavin. That was very informative, Gavin. So back over to you, Gavin.’ ‘Thanks Jasmine. That was great, Jasmine … yes, that was Jasmine thanking me, Gavin, and me, Gavin, thanking Jasmine …’

In this case the studio has windows to the outside street. The action comes to them.