I don’t mind it, it’s useful to see especially for up and coming reporters to be given a go behind the desk or presenting weather. The ABC News and News Breakfast threads seem to generate much discussiin and mirth with the revolving door at Southbank. But as you say, Someone like Hugh filling in for Sandra or Quarters for Jen doesn’t generate much.
Separate thread. There’s nothing more disappointing than going to a thread that has new posts, but is just a “Hugh is presenting tonight” post.
Personally, I think that kind of discussion shouldn’t exist at all and if anything should be limited to major developments, like a presenter leaving a show, or jumping ship to another network.
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I voted to keep it but I’m impartial to whatever decision is made.
We are a media discussion forum. That is one aspect of the media. If it was people saying “Peter Overton reading Sydney news tonight” When that’s his regular gig, then sure thars a bit much. But if its someone filling in for a shift that they wouldn’t normally do, then it could be mentioned. It ain’t broke, so it doesn’t need fixing IMO.
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I’d say Hugh filling in for Quarters arguably would warrant discussion…
I think you’ve misread that lol.
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Hugh filling in for Sandra tonight
Is different to
Hugh filling in for Sandra tonight. I wonder if that’s because x and y and I think z.
–
I think there’s a fine line between this place being a discussion forum and a records database.
But I’m not convinced we need to eradicate such discussion. I’m of the mind that this level of let’s say awareness of presenter movements echoes issues with presenter obsessions of the past. But I don’t think just knowing when and where someone is on screen is as big of a deal.
Some member the other day commented that Gavin Morris is on holiday skiing with his family. I don’t care if they tweeted it or said it on air during their signoff, it just doesn’t seem healthy to me to know this and to share this with the forum.
I don’t know. It’s a broad topic that has many facets.
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I agree. It makes me uncomfortable to read that Nat has gone to the UK for her daughters cheerleading etc. It’s a little intense.
Maybe we should put a line through any presenter movements in general?
Unless it’s an announcement of a new role etc?
We can leave it as it is, but with some minor tweaks. For example, if a main newsreader is away, the comments should be simple like this:
Anna is replacing Bobby tonight at Channel 8 News
If the stand-in newsreader says “they’re on holidays for x amount of time”, then mention that. But if they say nothing, then we do not need to speculate.
There’s a lot of threads which exist purely because some people like to line up their shoes in a certain way on this forum. This is no different. I just ignore them.
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There’s certainly a valid place for discussion on who is presenting bulletins when it is something significant, unusual or new in some way. I’ve never had a problem with that. Especially if it is something that has potential to lead to a discussion; there are so many good examples of this every week I don’t think I need to share any.
However, the way that a number of threads in the forum have more recently developed is worrying . Several seem to be now be treated as was described above as a database, even seen in the formatting of the posts. These almost never seem to result in discussion; because they look more like a news feed.
I would support their exclusion from the forum all together. However, is they must be included, perhaps in a separate special thread. Possibly also one that doesn’t allow likes to be made on the posts.
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It would be interesting to hear from the members who do this on a regular basis and get an understanding of what purpose they think it provides. It could help those like me understand what purpose it serves and see it from the other side of the fence.
Yes, this is exactly what I was referring to before.
I mean, this forum does serve as a record. Look at ratings, watermarks, long distance reception, etc. A lot of that gets documented with little discussion attached.
The difference here is these are people who, despite being on TV regularly, aren’t celebrities and aren’t in it for just the fame and attention. They are professionals. Quite often they are talked about as if their whereabouts outside the sphere of television presenting are noteworthy. Yes, they are public figures and mentors to an extent. I just feel it’s unhealthy to know that much about a newscaster.
I’d feel dirty saying “Noel is on holidays with his wife. They just had their 3rd baby in April.” Like, I kind of respect that we wouldn’t need to discuss that, let alone have that on the record. But that’s just me.
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No problem with a post about somebody new or different who is hosting but not particularly interested in seeing a daily update on whonis hosting or a mention of the same usual fill-in hosts.
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A suggestion - not fully formed at this stage.
We currently have forum topics that show the current regular presenters for each network. Any member can edit this list to help keep it current.
Example:
Could we have a similar one post entry for each news program at the network. If possible listed under the entry I showed above. And have that entry editable by all members. Then anyone who wishes can make a contribution with the date and whatever variation they think is notable.
So for example using actual posts in the current ABC News Presenter thread used from the past couple of weeks.
ABC News Variations
ABC News NSW
…
ABC News Victoria
Thursday 14 July - Iskhandar Razak is presenting in Victoria tonight.
Saturday 16 July - Ben Knight presenting in Victoria tonight.
Sunday 17 July- Tamara Oudyn is back presenting in Victoria tonight.
Monday 18 July - Annie Kearney presenting weather in Victoria tonight.
Thursday 21 July- Mary Gearin is presenting in Victoria tonight.
Sunday 24 July & Monday 25 July- Iskhandar Razak is presenting in Victoria.
Tuesday 26 July and Wednesday 27 July - Mary Gearin presenting in Victoria tonight.
Thursday 28 July Tamara Oudyn is presenting in Victoria tonight.
Friday 29 July Bridget Rollason is presenting in Victoria tonight.
Monday 8 August - Danny Tran presenting weather in Victoria tonight.
Leave it as is.
And if a presenter - say Gavin Morris - posts publically on Insta etc what they’re doing, that’s in the public domain and is fair game for it to be reported on here and elsewhere.
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I’d be happy to see it go - but I’m not going to go out of my way to make that happen.
I’ve never been comfortable with this argument
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That is part of the problem, if people want privacy, they really need to stop publicly posting that kind of thing. Leave their private lives private.
I agree, once you put something in the public domain, you’ve lost it. If you don’t want it out there, don’t post it.
I think part of the problem is the respective PR departments probably like (push?) this sort of thing to generate connections with viewers, but it really is a slippery slope, particularly when you don’t know everyone that is on the other side.
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I think there can be some discretion about what’s relevant and interesting.
For example:
“Person B filling in for Person A” where Person B always fills in. Not interesting.
“Person C filling in for Person A” where Person C is not a usual fill in and it could be a career progression for them. That could be interesting.
“Person A on leave to go on holiday with the family.” Not interesting or relevant.
“Person A not on air tonight because they’re travelling to Somewhere to Host something” where this is a professional commitment. Possibly interesting and relevant depending on size of the gig. If it’s to host a trivia night and the local fundraiser, then not so much, but if it’s to participate in the latest reality show, then maybe.
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Nice phrase.