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- About News 24 - Wallpaper - Sounds - Out-takes
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About BBC News 24
A review of the channel's output was conducted after its launch on
digital TV, resulting in the set being modified. The familiar brightly-coloured desk was replaced by one in a birch finish, and the
BBC World moved from their previous home into News 24s recently vacated studio, newsroom and gallery and tweaked the set a bit. They have remained there.
The studio underwent a change on 29th April 2002 to freshen up the channel. Until the most recent relaunch, every element barring the title sequence was tinkered with including astons and the hourly countdown which kept its music but changed to live action shots, mainly of metropolitan London.
In June 2003 Richard Sambrook, the BBC's director of news and current affairs, announced a new look for News 24 with better use of regional correspondents and international news to be at the forefront. They were publicly responding to the Lambert report.
In September 2003 Mark Popescu was handed the task of reinvigorating BBC News 24 with a fresh look and a sharper channel identity. It was an unenviable task; he needed to 'inject more energy' while retaining integrity and 'sex up' without 'dumbing down' the channel. We wouldn't 'wake up one morning and find the set has turned green', said Popescu but a dramatic change was on its way.
They moved to TC10, the former 1993-99 BBC News 'virtual' studio. The background was a CSO (colour separation overlay) projected background of the usual news studio. Apart from the rather dubious keying effects early on, viewers were hard pressed to notice a difference. BBC World tested the set the previous night. The change required equipment to be moved and graphics didn't appear early on. Completion of the new set was expected to take around six weeks and by the end of the November everything was set for a 1st December launch, even the press release was sent out trumpeting the relaunch. But disaster struck as it was postponed for a week due to a power failure at Television Centre on 28th November. No piloting could be undertaken over the weekend and so a new date was set for the following Monday. The final weekend saw BBC News 24 back in the World studio while all the equipment was being shipped to its usual home.
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The first News 24 studio set used bright colours and motifs shown on the
flags. At the beginning of each bulletin, the theme tune played,
accompanied by flying flags. Critics and focus groups described the
style of presentation as being less authoritative and not in keeping
with that of other BBC News programmes.
sets were replaced with purple, frosted glass and silver-coloured
elements. News 24 moved into a newly built studio, gallery and newsroom at this time and this is where the channel has remained to this
day. The look of the presenters
also changed, with male newsreaders moving from shirtsleeves to wearing
jackets.
In autumn 1998, the BBC published the results of its consultation on its
news output, in BBC News - The Future. As a
result of this, Lambie-Nairn was again commissioned, this time to create
a new identity all of the BBC's TV news output. This began with the
relaunch of BBC News (on BBC One and Two) being overhauled, and then on
4th October 1999, Wales Today, Reporting Scotland, Newsline (Northern
Ireland) and Newsroom Southeast were relaunched. The titles and theme
music for the regional programmes was a variation on that of the titles
of BBC News, composed by David Lowe, who had a chart hit under the name
of 'Touch and Go' in 
1998. The nations (Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland), all had their own variations of the theme and title
music. The theme of Newsroom Southeast was different again, and was the
model for all of the BBC's regional news programmes in England, with its
elements of blue, china red, beech, yellow and cream providing a strong
link with that of BBC News. News 24 didn't escape and a brand new look
was brought in on 25th October 1999 with a beige and vintage red set and new
titles.
Earlier, in March 2002 it was announced that the former Financial Times editor, Richard Lambert,
was to head a government review into whether BBC News 24 was fulfilling its
remit. By August it was complete and while praising improvements made to News
24, it said the channel must become "distinct" from its rivals with a "clearer sense of direction".
Mr. Lambert was deeply disapproving of the original News 24 style of
presentation. He quoted one insider who said the original set "looked like a car crash in a shower room", and that the
short sleeved presenters did not have a sense of authority. One argument seemed
to be contradictory. "An absolute determination to be the first to break accurate
news must be at the heart of everything the channel does', said the report. But
in an era where Sky News were deemed to be the best for breaking news, how can
the BBC aim to mimic the success whilst still being distinctive? One solution was
brought in for the third rebrand.
The
logistics of revamping a 24-hour news channel were enormous. On 11th October
2003, BBC News 24 moved away from its usual studio into the BBC World studio (N9) and certain bulletins
were simulcast with BBC World. For the rest of the time, world viewers got updates from the
BBC One National news set (N6) with an adapted backdrop. World moved back to
their usual home the following Monday but at 9am BBC News 24 were in a virtual
world.
At
9am on Monday 8th December 2003 Anna Jones and Philip Hayton sat (and stood) on
the new three-in-one set. It had bolder graphics, a full screen animation with
music sting for breaking news, more analysis with Nick Higham, a less metropolitan
countdown sequence and new dynamic ident. This relaunch was to dispel the myth
that News 24 was slower than Sky News to react to breaking stories. 'The BBC's enhanced graphics will emphasise this area of its output',
said Roger Mosey, head of BBC Television News. The set was designed by Simon
Jago with the title sequence an in-house production. BBC World kept their set
but changed presentation, introducing a new title sequence (a third version was
created for overnights) and aston designed in the same style of News 24.
For the first
three days of the 2003 relaunch, the world globe on the Tower was spinning the
wrong way.