Low penetration of subscription TV. Branching into opinion rather than just straight news would I imagine gives better bang for buck.
Well itâs all about greed then. So maybe they should have had a separate channel with opinions if that is so pupular. That way they would not have tarnished the Sky News brand for news, which is what they have done in Australia now.
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Yes but thereâs a difference between opinion and outright lies (which have of course appeared in newspapers too, but that doesnât make it right).
A newspaper editor or proprietor may have an opinion about who the public should vote for in the next election, balancing up the positives & negatives of each party and recommending so in a clearly marked opinion piece, but thatâs not the same as lying, personal attacks, villifying innocent people, denying facts for the short-term gain of a few (e.g. companies/industries) at long-term expense for everyone, nor for hypocracy over racism, oppression & freedom of speech.
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News is a largely a for profit industry in Australia - so we get the ridiculousness that is the Cash Cow on Sunrise, We Love Australia on Today, How to shave 5 minutes off you commute on 7 News and Australiaâs best washing powder on ACA. And now we also get bolt and Paul Murry on Sky.
This is what happens when companies that chase ratings decide what to cover on the ânewsâ
As MediaSpy is a community grounded in (somewhat) reality- and we are aware of the commercial reality of ratings and revenue and water cooler discussion and the power of social media etc - I think itâs important to realize that Sky News is having itâs greatest success right now in itâs 20 year history with this type of programming. Sky is night after night a top 5 cable network (to of 100 avail) and Bolt & Paul Murrey are nightly Top 20 shows on cable. Sky never had anything close to this type of viewership with the rolling news format. Not even close.
So they now have a format that people clearly want, react to, watch - and generates them LOADS of press. The mentions of Sky News on ABC, Fairfax etc over the last 12 months ha increased dramatically. All this controversy is just buying them more attention.
Now, if you were CEO or programmer at Sky - and you were seeing these shows rate double what straight news did - are you really gonna axe them? No - you develop more of them. And as MediaSpy is grounded in reality - we should not pretend that Sky isnât going to make commercial decisions. Just like 7 and 9. Itâs easy to sit here on MS and say you would axe these shows - or launch another chancel - or take the word âNewsâ out of the brand. But the reality is - if you were running Sky - youâd do none of these things.
As for it not being a news channel - in a way - itâs not. Nor is Fox News or NSNBC - but for obvious reasons they are ALWAYS going to label themselves as news networks. And again that is commercial reality. Yes they show less and less news - and both lean a certain way - like Sky. But again if you were CEO of Fox or Sky - you would be hard pressed to get support form the board or shareholders to drop the âNewsâ wording and replace with just âskyâ or âSky Talkâ Even CNN is less news these days - it is leaning far left.
These networks need to be seen as ânewsâ channels to drive their perceived value. The reality is they will dish up whatever programming gets the most viewers - just like Seven (MKR) and Nine (Married, ACA)
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Media Diary in The Australian is claiming that Outsiders has not been axed, and it will return with yet to be determined new hosts.
@KICK-IT nobody is denying that the changes to a right wing opinion channel are not working but we donât have to all roll over and like it. Fact is, Sky News had a decent news brand in Australia, as it has in the UK, on par with CNN or BBC News. Turning it into FOX News Lite has damaged that brand.
In my case, I preferred the rolling 24 hour news channel that Sky News had, so I could switch over whenever I wanted to catch news headlines or check on developing stories. Losing that was one of the major reasons why I gave up my Foxtel subscription a few months back.
Chasing ratings is one thing and having a credible, reputable news channel is another. RIP Sky News.
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And herein lies a problem - what we get is news (and it doesnt matter from who) that is tailored to attracting viewers, so utlimately we miss out on a lot of news because it doesnt resonate with the sectors of the ratings panel that the networks are targetting.
The content of the news now appeals to an audience rather then actually covering events - we have news bulletins filled with ânewsâ that simply an attempt to shore up that audience so we get stories that allegedly appeal to the people who the networks want to watch their news service, stupid celebrity coverage and opinion (often wrapped in news as to make it difficult for many to differentiate between the two)
Its no surprise that the highest rating programs on Sky are Bolt and Paul Murray - it fits into this narrative neatly.
But doesnt actually cover the news very well, but thats ok because we dont need news anymoreâŚ
So you end up with what Sky is now, a bunch of talking heads âcoveringâ the news and then follow that up with more talking heads that slip ever further right on the political spectrum.
And ultimately we all lose out as we have coverage that effectively jumps at shadows
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Why the fuck has Paul Murray have that huge microphone on the desk now. Is this necessary all of a sudden?
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We also got to here the tasty sound of Richo blowing his nose.
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This? Itâs below Perrettâs head.
maybe the size of the microphone is overcompensating for something else
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Probably because theyâve run out of mic cables long enough to reach around his belly.
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Looks like heâs trying to do a radio show with that mic.
Can someone please do caps of this âatrocitieâ (not sure of spelling)
Literally looks like Paul Henryâs Breakfast radio show!
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Yes, absolutely. I would love to see ABC and ABC News given more funding. I am all for that.
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I think it would be really nice if Sky could strike a balance between rolling news and opinion programming. Something likeâŚ
6am Revamped Breakfast show with emphasis on hard news
9am Live dayside coverage of breaking news and events with a female skew
4pm Ease into Politics and Canberra coverage
6pm Outsiders w/ Wendy Harmer as addition
7pm Bolt
8pm Paul Murray Live
10pm Flagship nightly News
11pm Discussion
I would make a rule with Sky News that everyone has to be on the same set otherwise they wonât be on the show.
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Latham would freak
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Well you guessed correctly, because truth-speaker and rubber room inspector Mark Latham needs our help to fund his new Outsiders project on Facebook!