Blame it on the rolling news channels

Posted by Nick Laitner at Fri, 26/06/2009 - 10:58am in

One of the upsides of being a saddo news junkie is when you happen across a genuinely big story as it is breaking. So it was last night, as I was flicking mechanically between Sky News and BBC News Channel as the Michael Jackson story was first coming through, initially as "unconfirmed reports that Michael Jackson has been taken to hospital".

I'm going to clumsily set aside the human, personal element of the story - the death of a cultural icon and deeply complicated man, who meant a huge amount to millions around the world. Because as the story was breaking it was difficult not to muse on the ways in which the rolling news stations now operate.

So, there were the fairly standard elements - the breathless talking heads popping up on each channel in turn, the classic music videos as B-roll, Sky News reporting rumours of the star's death, from a single source, half an hour before the BBC mentioned this as 'unconfirmed'. Then, more surprisingly, the BBC reported the news as fact a full half-hour before CNN (where Wolf Blitzer was covering the story in a strange manner, resembling a cross between a presidential inauguration and a VH1 biography show).

And a more significant thought. Last night was an example of a growing trend on BBC News - the reporting of rumours and speculation rather than established fact. There are good reasons for this. Firstly, people like the frenzied speculation of unconfirmed breaking news (witness the hysteria of a Government reshuffle day in our office). Also, to even try to compete with "never wrong for long" Sky News, they do have to trade a little more in 'unconfirmed' stories to stay relevant. And, to be fair to the beleaguered Corporation, they did accomplish this pretty well last night.

But it was difficult to watch the story break last night without thinking of the blurry lines that are sometimes crossed in deciding what constitutes 'reportable' news, and the different ways in which each of the rolling news channels approach this question. All the while, of course, tapping one's feet along with some of the greatest pop hits ever recorded.

Tagged with: rolling news, Michael Jackson, Media