Media coverage: a round-up
Through the night the office has had three major news sources on constantly. Editorial favoured the BBC1 television coverage; almost everyone was using the BBC election website with its handy arrays of scorecards and maps; and in the online corner, we chose the calmer option of Radio 4.
Radio 4 was a breath of fresh air, all told: calm, professional, and non-sensational, it combined strong live interviews with carefully planned programme-segments (the half-hour womens’ special presented by Jenni Murray was one particular stand-out). It never felt like there was desperate padding whilst waiting for results.
BBC1, by contrast, seemed a lot more excitable and bit shallow. In the studio, a whole host of experts were standing by, but in the early hours seemed to have little to do. That didn’t stop Peter Snow from dancing around in front of his newly-upgraded swingometer and rattling off reams of statistics, though. David Dimbleby did the usual Dimbleby-brother-routine, but was perhaps just a little too suave in his role as anchor. But easily the weakest element of their programming was their outside broadcasts, where hordes of journalists quizzed members of the public, asked them to paint their own election maps, and generally to fill time as best possible. As a result, the coverage veered from the serious to the almost-trite, and the seriousness of the subject matter seemed in danger of being lost in a sea of vox-pops, infographics, and hysteria.
Perhaps my overall preference also came down to the fact that, for someone who has been awake for a very long while, Radio 4’s coverage was a relaxing and informative experience. BBC1 was just a little too exhausting to watch for very long. The special coverage is now over, and the reins have been handed over to the breakfast slot staff. Not too long before everything’s back to normal, then.