WIN and Ten share vision, but Ten still send their own reporters when news breaks in WIN viewing regions (they usually send ex-WIN reporters into those regions).
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I also reckon it undermines the confidence Nine has in their regionally based news reporters, particularly when these and most of the other “Sydney-fied” Regional NSW news items I’ve mentioned on this forum in recent months aren’t likely to be picked up for use outside this state.
Really…if Nine are serious about developing & nurturing upcoming talent (no doubt many would be with Nine’s regional bulletins with an aim of making it higher at the network in the future), they need to be used for the big stories including on the metropolitan/national news bulletins. This would also allow for the Sydney reporters to spend more time focusing on stories happening here, possibly improving the quality of news coverage all round!
Queensland regional reporters definitely do get a chance to report on a statewide bulletin. Watch the 4pm bulletins on Nine and Seven.
In the case of metro reporters going regionally for a major story, it’s all about angle and use of resources. The local reporter generally focuses on doing a local angle for their bulletin, while the metro reporter does a report from a neutral/outsiders point of view. Yes, the regional journo is capable of doing both, but you’re adding extra workload on them.
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On the Brisbane news, Nine often don’t even use a reporter from the Gold Coast bulletin for a report that airs on the Brisbane edition; so it is very common to see at 5.30 a Gold Coast reporter with the story then at 6pm a Brisbane-based reporter with a similar report.
Having said that, however, I did notice tonight that Brisbane sent Mia Glover to the Gold Coast for the Dreamworld inquest story and Mia was also reporting on the Gold Coast news plus Gold Coast reporter Jordan Fabris reported on the local news on a whale rescue as well as voicing the report for Brisbane. However, for the biggest regional story, Nine flew a reporter to Rockhampton.
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It’s all about the level of skill of the journalists. It’s a simple, yet brutal fact, that most journos cut their teeth in the regions. They learn how to hunt for stories, how to do a piece to camera, how to coordinate talent and camera operators to get the most out of the story.
They rarely got to do live crosses too, but that seems to have changed.
Then, after 3 or 4 years… sometimes quicker depending on the individual… they could be given a shot at a metro station.
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Particularly in Sydney, I’ve been noticing (and hopefully Nine has too) a trend recently where the ratings of Seven News have not irregularly been higher during the 2nd half of the bulletin while Nine News’ numbers have been lower.
The last I checked, Seven News’ weather coverage with their meteorologists as lead forecasters in all three major East Coast capitals while Nine News only has weather presenters - very dubious quality presenters in the case of both the primary & secondary forecasters here in Sydney. Granted that weather coverage likely wasn’t the major/only reason for this happening, but Nine have already lost Brisbane to Seven this year. The five city metro ratings are also heading below 900k some nights, which surely has to be a major concern for network bosses.
They’ll eventually be in danger of losing Sydney if they aren’t thinking “Hey, maybe Seven are onto something good by having a meteorologist as our lead weather presenter. Perhaps we should do the same!” because TCN is no longer receiving the 100k+ ratings gaps as regularly as they did a few years ago - Nine News Sydney has to work a lot harder to get those eyeballs now.
Again, I can’t stress enough that weather coverage is only one issue with Nine’s 6pm bulletins on the East Coast - there are also things ranging from Sponsorship segments to metropolitan coverage of regional news (as mentioned in previous posts) and promotion that need to be looked into. I’m definitely also of the view that increased ratings competition in news is good for both viewers and the industry, but only responding to the increased competition and closing the gaps will help improve the ratings of Nine News. Remaining complacent will only see Nine News’ previously strong ratings in Sydney & Melbourne slip further.
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I think you have some sort of weird thing against Amber.
I really think the ratings have nothing to with the weather segment. A 3 min segment within an hour bulletin. I just don’t think so.
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exactly.
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I lost all credibility for her as a presenter/journalist when Jacketgate happened, but generally don’t hold any personal vendettas against Amber Sherlock or other presenters.
But I definitely think Nine News Now & Sydney weather should be separately defined presenter roles, rather than (most of the time, at least) being one and the same as the case seems to be right now.
What other logical explanation do you (or others) think there is for Seven News Sydney often having ratings increases and Nine News Sydney often having ratings decreases during the 2nd half of the bulletin? Is it because people prefer the banter between Fergo & McLaughlin over Pete & Cam?
In any case, I suspect the quarter hour or minute-by-minute breakdown of the ratings (something we obviously won’t see publicly due to OzTam ratings restrictions) would make for incredibly fascinating reading.
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You want 9 to spend a hefty salary for 1 person to present weather for 3 minutes a night? Yeah, right! And how do you lose credibility for another person…?
Maybe prior to about a decade ago (when you saw them in the final block of the bulletin and that was it) you could say that Nine’s Sydney weather presenters only get three minutes of airtime a night, but it’s considerably more than that now even without the addition of a national 3pm bulletin presenting role.
Both Nine & Seven quite understandably use the same forecasters for both the 4pm and 6pm news on weekdays. Add to that Weather Previews leading up to the full segment at the end of the bulletin (a relatively recent addition to the bulletins on both Seven and Nine) and the presenters get an amount of airtime each day that I’m sure Alan Wilkie would’ve loved to have! 
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Or maybe they are starting to realise that too much sensationalism doesn’t rate, with Seven News Brisbane winning the 2018 ratings year…
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They just need to stop with the CGI money altogether!
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View from Nine Gold Coast office of lightning strike this afternoon.
There was a live cross to Your Money’s Brooke Corte during Sydney’s Afternoon News today regarding the sharemarket.
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Here’s what Nine’s Afternoon News Queensland opened today for some comparison with Seven, the desk with ‘Breaking News’ and a cross to Garry Youngberry for the tornado warnings
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@TV.Cynic Did Nine win any of the year’s ratings for their local Afternoon News? I know they lost Brisbane.
I wonder if Nine revert back to national Afternoon News as a PoD? It will save resources.
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Without seeing the figures I’d be willing to bet that Nine’s 4pm news is winning or at the very least, ratings competitive in Sydney.
I hope not. Seven most likely would not have launched a Sydney edition of the 4pm news if Nine didn’t localise theirs 2-3 months earlier so if Nine were to go back to a national (or semi-national) edition of the Afternoon News, Seven would probably very quickly follow suit!
Also, would reverting back to a national (or semi-national) bulletin really save that much on resources? From what I’ve seen, the packages shown during the local 4pm news are often just a “teaser” for the full version at 6pm.