Marek Pruszewicz, ex-BBC News and now with IPPF, expresses HIS opinion regarding the 'possible' merger of the two BBC TV News Channels.

Writing, in LinkedIn, he explains why it is 'a bad idea' from his experience of having edited many hours' output on both channels.


"But the real clincher is about the news agenda. Floods in Gloucester are a very big deal for a domestic news channel. Put them up against floods in Pakistan and you're looking silly. Indonesia's general election might be your global lead. It's unlikely to be your domestic one. And don't even get me started on snow."

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).

Mark's LinkedIn item is here:-


Breaking News: there's no such thing as a "merged" news channel
The BBC has two English language news channels - one domestic, one international - but is apparently considering "merging" them.

This would save some money, which presumably is the main reason for doing so. Trouble is, merging them would be a disaster for both.

I claim considerable knowledge here. I edited every minute of every day on the BBC News Channel (News 24 as it then was) in six years as an editor on it. I then did the same thing for five years on its international sister, BBC World News.

So, surely news is news and you can put in a bit from the UK, something from around the world and have a product that works for all markets?

I'm afraid not. Anyone who has paid the slightest attention over the last few years will know that the brands being fast-tracked to oblivion are those with an insufficiently well-defined identity.

The best way to ensure that both BBC news channels go the way of BHS would be to blend them in a uniform shade of news beige. Domestic rivals (Sky) and international rivals (CNN, Al Jazeera and a growing list of others) which offer more clearly defined news channels focusing on the domestic and international news markets will then hoover-up your market share.

Then there's the argument about what you say. BBC World News uses US dollars, the closest we have to a global currency. BBC News Channel uses pounds of course. George Osborne is the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK, internationally he's the UK finance minister (as that means something to a global audience).

But the real clincher is about the news agenda. Floods in Gloucester are a very big deal for a domestic news channel. Put them up against floods in Pakistan and you're looking silly. Indonesia's general election might be your global lead. It's unlikely to be your domestic one. And don't even get me started on snow.

There are plenty of other reasons why this is a bad idea. But the fact that it would make both channels much worse is the clincher.




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Mark’s BBC History:-
Editor BBC News 24 (8 Years)
Editor BBC News at One and Six (2 Years)
Editor BBC World News (3 Years)
Editor BBC Global Video (1½ Years)
Project Director  BBC Arabic Change (10 months)
Deputy Editor BBC Newsnight (4 months)
“Head Of Change” BBC World Service Group (21 months)
Editor Global Partnership BBC World Service Group (9 months)

According to this report in "The Guardian", the BBC has been 'urged' to reject proposal to merge news operations.


""MPs table early day motion calling on corporation to cancel potential merger of BBC News and BBC World News into one 24-hour channel".....

“If the BBC News channel were to disappear, Sky would be left with a domestic monopoly on continuous UK television news,” the motion says. “Any merger between BBC News channel and BBC World News would blur the lines between the licence fee and the pursuit of profit.”

The early day motion is backed by Labour MP Chris Matheson, a member of the culture, media and sport select committee."