Still with Nine News’ content priorities completely out of whack when it comes to their regional news services and prioritising resources for stories in regional areas (like TCN reporters being sent up for relatively minor stuff that would probably be covered just as good, if not better by NBN), where is Media Watch when you need them? As I’ve said before, they could easily make up at least half a show with content fails related to regional news coverage at Nine News!
I actually thought the Sydney traffic story Nine ran with during their Southern NSW/ACT regional bulletins at 6.02pm was this one (and/or a subsequent report about the Sydney train network’s latest fail):
Maybe it’d be of interest to some viewers in the Illawarra, but overall not really worthy of being the 2nd story of the night in Southern NSW/ACT IMO.
This is the major issue with EVERY news service in Australia. They treat Sydney news as being local to everyone, when clearly it is not. Is someone in Bathurst, Young, Ballarat, Scone, Tamworth, Mt Isa, going to give a shit about someone crashing in Sydney? No!
The latest edition of Canberra Weekly magazine has advertisements for Nine News Canberra in the TV Guide section, instead of the usual WIN News Canberra:
They’d probably have better ways of doing that than running ads in a magazine that’s basically a real estate brochure with some “local news” tacked on the front of it.
Nine News is now dishing up stale, day old news to viewers in regional NSW. A Kelly Fedor court report on a former Jesuit brother found guilty of the repeated sexual assault of six students at St. Ignatius College Riverview aired tonight during the regional NSW bulletin. That same report aired last night during Nine’s Sydney news.
I wish they’d stop showing us reports from the Brisbane bulletin that have Brisbane specific information within them.
A story aired just a moment ago on the storms that affected the Wide Bay region and part way through Alex Heineke’s report he started to say something similar to “and here in Brisbane we aren’t going to be spared from the heavy rain with the Bureau warning that we can expect to see up to 100 mm”, with footage of Alex standing at the top of Mt Coot-tha.
While North Queenslanders would certainly be interested in hearing about the devastating storms (plenty of discussion on it at work today), locals are very anti-SEQ and couldn’t care less if it’s going to be raining in Brisbane.
On a similar note, I really hate that the NT bulletin has been rolled into the Regional QLD bulletin.
After the local window, we were treated with two live crosses to the NT about stories that were not relevant locally at all, and generally not something that would even normally be mentioned on an interstate bulletin.
The second cross from a remote community (Pine Creek) was in very low res, obviously due to a lack of reception.
And of course, these stories definitely needed to be shown to the NT viewers, so under the current model they had no choice, as you say.
My gripe is just that, because Nine have decided to put NT in with QLD, we had to see these stories in QLD when they really weren’t needed.
They’ve got the set there, I really wish they’d reverse their decision and just go back to producing NT news from the NT!
NT viewers would benefit enormously, and in QLD we wouldn’t need to see these random NT stories added to our bulletin.
As Nine’s Sydney-based national director of News & Current Affairs + Director of Regional News respectively, you’d have to imagine that Darren Wick and/or Mike Dalton (of course not to be confused with TCN’s beloved fluff/puff piece correspondent with the same name) would’ve been the main people that agreed to the “streamlining” of Darwin’s news product with the Regional QLD service last year…
If the long delayed residential development on the land beside the Nine studios in Darwin is eventually approved, it could mean that the Nine site is then able to be developed if Nine wanted to sell and downsize. Nine did own the adjoining vacant block but sold it some years ago. If Nine does move in a few years you imagine they would be looking for smaller premises than what they have now, and a full size news studio probably wouldn’t be included??
That’s a good point. In an ideal world, if they had more time, it would be good if they could pre-record the 6pm - 6:30pm, then take advantage of the timezone difference and go live into Darwin for the 6:30pm - 7pm segment after the QLD bulletin has finished.
Or even under the current model, they could air a Darwin-specific opening and local window first up at 6pm. Afterwards, show the same feed as QLD for the 6:10pm - 6:30pm segment, then for the last half hour, go live into Darwin only, with the option for live crosses to NT locations, and more localised stories.
In the pre-recorded section at the start, they could mention stories and say “(reporter) will join us live from (location) with more information later in the bulletin”.
To remove the Brisbane and Sydney-centric focus of both the NSW and QLD/NT bulletins, Nine really should use their O&O regional stations to the fullest.
Produce the NSW bulletins out of NBN. Upgrade Darwin to HD (either at the current location or at new downsized spot), and produce QLD/NT bulletins out of there.
The former scenario is probably more workable because there’s a good talent pool in Newcastle, but convincing current on-air talent to move to NT would be rather difficult.
For that to happen, they should be staying at Mosbri Crescent. That won’t happen.
I’m still betting on Northern NSW being integrated into Nine News Regional NSW when their lease is up and its moved to Sydney. Remember, Nine are trying to squeeze blood out of a stone.
Here’s something I’ve been wondering: we have talked about metro stories of limited interest to regional Australians being featured in regional bulletins, but has there been any noticeable change to the number of regional stories being featured in the metro bulletins? For example, do North Qld stories now feature less in Nine News Queensland, or south coast stories now feature less in Nine News Sydney? In all cases there are stories of interest statewide or even nationwide, but what about smaller regional stories really of interest only to locals? Or were these never really featured in metro news anyway, despite the bulletins being relayed on affiliates, and covered by WIN Local News or SCA noodles?
I sometimes wonder how well composite international/national/state/local bulletins work for the average viewer. However, I was raised in the UK where separate National/International and Regional News has always been the norm.
