What’s good about it?
• Sky Report with Julie Etchingham at 7.00pm works well, featuring in-depth reports, Best items of the week included Kilroy berating Europeans and a moving report on a woman whose daughter killed herself after visiting suicide-promoting websites
• James Rubin’s international news show. His interviewing is subtle; sadly his pronunciation isn’t.
• The use of graphics is generally done well – but the rolling presses during the newspaper review is maddening and the rolling dice effect during Live At Five is gimmicky
What’s bad about it?
• The rolling news service has been sacrificed for a nauseatingly informal, chatty approach. We don’t like wasting time listening to jolly banter and email views from viewers (especially the video messages) – or having to wade through all the other razzmatazz – when all we want is to find out what’s going on in the world.
• The cosy chemistry of Sunrise presenters Eamonn Holmes and Lorna Dunkley (we hate her harsh voice) means it is indistinguishable from BBC1’s and ITV1’s lightweight breakfast offerings
• The triple-handed daytime shows don’t work. The morning mob – Anna Jones, Anna Botting and Martin Stanford – and the afternoon team – Mark Longhurst, Steve Dixon and Ginny Buckley – take turns to deliver a story, allocated a phrase each, which is unnatural and unwieldy. It’s quite a relief when Jeremy Thompson gets to go solo on Live At Five.
• Breaking News alerts scrolling along the wall. It’s so distracting, especially as Sky News finds something to break every five minutes, even if it’s only information that Kate Moss is out of rehab.
• The constant affliction by comingupitis
• The use of idiot pundits such as Neil Sean and Jon Gaunt
• The tabloidy captions such as Button It!, Camilla Chic and Receeding Rocker (yes, it was misspelt onscreen)
• Lunchtime Live because it is presented by Kay Burley. Have have liked her. Never will. Seems like a proper little madam.
• The Out There entertainment news slot has no place on a proper news channel.
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