Channel 4 News have now shifted to trying to blame the World Cup for their poor recent viewing figures, editor Ben De Pear had a sense of humour failure over an obviously light-hearted joke by Iain Dale last night. Funny how Channel 4’s annual report forgot to mention the football at all when discussing the News programme’s poor performance…
Dear @IainDale the good news is after the brutal competition of the #worldcup in 2018 – where live matches against at 7 halved our figures for 5 weeks, we surged from then on, and we believe we are up 15% + since September 2018. Which was when you started your @LBC show. Thanks https://t.co/mWvUIE5S4x
— Ben de Pear (@bendepear) June 11, 2019
One industry insider Guido spoke to dismisses Channel 4’s deflection attempts as a “real joke”, Guido hears that Channel 4’s latest upfronts left TV industry figures deeply underwhelmed. Rumours going around are that Director of Programmes Ian Katz could be the one getting the boot…
Newsnight editor Ian Katz is leaving the BBC to become Director of Programmes at Channel 4, The Times is reporting. The move had been rumored for the past few days; he’ll get more viewers in the new job. Another big Beeb role going. Send us your runners and riders…
BBC sources tell Guido that senior management has overruled editor Ian Katz in his first choice for the Newsnight pol-ed job. The Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn has been vetoed as too expensive in a time of BBC austerity and job cuts, as well as being too tainted by proximity to Murdoch for the Beeb’s tastes. Stephen Bush is still pencilled in to deputise in a wonkish, political analyst / reporter role…
The telegenic Nic Watt must surely be the front-runner with Newsnight now in danger – due to notice periods – of not having a political editor to cover the referendum. Guido understands that Watt is none too pleased to have been messed around by Newsnight hitherto. Other names in Katz’s hat can be culled from all over the Lobby. Bookies are no longer taking bets….
Speculation is mounting about the future of Newsnight. There are concerns that plans from Beeb bosses to let the News at Ten run on until 10:45pm would further eat into Newsnight’s ratings, dire news given the first ten minutes of the programme are already killed by the local news on BBC1. The BBC recently trimmed Newsnight by five minutes, giving it a scaled back 40 minute running time which has forced editor Ian Katz to limit how much can be put into each programme. Even more worryingly, there is talk that the extended News at Ten will spend longer and longer on each story. The top story now often runs as long as nine minutes, with rumours circulating that they also plan to start doing their own in-depth, Newsnight-style interviews. The idea is this will head off any threat from ITV’s revamped 10 o’clock coverage under Tom Bradby. If the BBC News at Ten runs longer, with Laura Kuenssberg doing political interviews with big-hitters, what does that mean for the relegated, scaled-back Newsnight and its 25 year history?
Hot goss: final two in race for Guardian editorship are now @iankatz1000 and @KathViner, insider tells me.
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) March 13, 2015
A white Oxford educated, grammar school girl V a white Oxford educated, public school boy…
High above the Metropolis, they did look like Showroom Dummies…
