• Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Sunday, October 26, 2025
No Result
View All Result
UK Herald
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Sports
    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • food
    • Health
    • Travel
    I went to a five-star health spa and realised the secret to long life is free

    I went to a five-star health spa and realised the secret to long life is free

    I visited this lesser-known European gem and spent just £300 in a week

    I visited this lesser-known European gem and spent just £300 in a week

    I stayed in Mauritius’ ‘magic place’ – this is my honest review

    I stayed in Mauritius’ ‘magic place’ – this is my honest review

    The exact dates you need to book off in 2026 to get 56 days of holiday

    The exact dates you need to book off in 2026 to get 56 days of holiday

    Italy’s ‘less glitzy’ gateway destination named one of 2026’s best places to visit

    Italy’s ‘less glitzy’ gateway destination named one of 2026’s best places to visit

    This historic Japanese city is hiking its tourist tax by 900% to stop you coming

    This historic Japanese city is hiking its tourist tax by 900% to stop you coming

    Major airline removes carry-on bag sizers from boarding gates

    Major airline removes carry-on bag sizers from boarding gates

    Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge review: ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this…’

    Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge review: ‘It doesn’t get bigger than this…’

    What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

    What is Bleach or Facial, Best for Skin?

    Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

    Tourists are flocking to a mind-bending Chinese megacity where Google Maps doesn’t work

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Crypto
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Sports
  • More
    • Press Release
UK Herald
No Result
View All Result

ITN election diary: How to inform viewers when campaigns are ‘often pretty boring’

by Justin Marsh
June 16, 2024
0
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterReddit


5 News presenter Dan Walker in the studio talks to political editor Andy Bell beamed live onto a screen on the wall

This is the second entry in a new election diary in collaboration with ITN. Insights will come twice a week from across the ITV News, Channel 4 News and Channel 5 News teams.

Previously we’ve had a report from the frontline of the first Tiktok election, written by ITV News Westminster video producer Lewis Denison.

FOMO.

A relatively new term to describe a sensation which, for journalists, is anything but.

I am pretty sure there was a caveman/cavewoman/caveperson, who, as they were about to put charred stick to cave wall to record the day’s events, really wished they’d seen that mammoth fight.

On the day the election was called, I was that caveperson. It was my day off, and as usual, I was trying to avoid the news as much as Rishi Sunak probably now skips the D:Ream’s Greatest Hits playlist on Spotify.

I got wind of it just in time to catch the programme I work on; 5 News, at 5, on Channel 5 (an eclipse-like alignment of name, time and channel so perfect that eight years in, it still makes me smile); and there was Dan (Walker, presenter), with Andy (Bell, political editor), and Rishi (Sunak, Prime Minister, wet). And there too, surreally, was D:Ream.

That song brings back memories; as those of us of a certain age (old) know, it was the soundtrack to Tony Blair’s election campaign and subsequent landslide win in 1997. It was my first ever general election as a journalist. I was 24 and keen as mustard.

I’m now on my eighth election and it has every chance of being as significant as my first. The parallels are clear; a huge gap in the polls, a Labour leader who’s turned the dial from the left back to the middle, up against a party who many might feel has been in power too long, and just looks like it needs a lie down.

Election question: ‘What do we need to know today, Andy?’

I’ve worked at the BBC, Sky News and ITN/5 News in my 27-year career; all cover elections differently, but I think it’s fair to say 5 News is more different than most.

Yes, we do the same stuff as the others. But when other newsrooms lock on to a general election, at 5 News, we lock off; the question we ask ourselves every morning is not “what’s going on with the election today?”; it is “what’s going on with the election today that our viewers would want to know?”

Most days – and Andy Bell, the UK’s longest serving broadcast political editor, is live somewhere in the programme most days – the question we ask him is “what do we need to know today, Andy?”

For us, the election needs to fight its way into the running order in the same way every other story does; yes, we have a duty to inform our viewers; but we also have a duty not to bore them. And let’s face it, elections are often pretty boring. Until they’re not.

The D-Day anniversary springs to mind, and we all know why. That one decision, over an event marking something that happened 80 years ago, can influence who becomes the next resident of Downing Street. That is quite a thing.

The outcry over that decision was huge and people of all ages, all backgrounds, and all political leanings, understood the reasons behind it.

And understanding is big for us. It is everything.

‘Slightly unorthodox’ techniques for talking to TV viewers

Our viewers are not people who watch rolling news channels or listen to the Today programme. They have busy lives and they know their own curious minds.

We take a great deal of care to talk with – not at – people. That’s why for us, the election needs to fight its way into the running order; we have a duty to inform our viewers but we have to do that in a way that appeals to our dedicated audience in a way that feels like Channel 5 News.

That might involve slightly unorthodox methods – especially about politics; I write this as my colleagues have just taken delivery of our latest team member; an ice cream van. A gimmick? Yep. Makes people smile? Yep. But people who are smiling (and have an ice cream) are much more likely to stop and chat. And that is what it is all about.

Speaking of chatting, election campaigns have a language of their own, and not everyone speaks it. How would anyone know or even care what a swing seat or a manifesto commitment is if no-one had ever told you?

In our scripts, ‘manifesto commitment’ always has a trusty sidekick called ‘election promise’ (which is also a great 80s album title, but that’s for another time).

We generally write for a fictional lady called Mabel, who’s in her sixties and lives in the north-east. And we also write for Lydia, our most loyal viewer, who has bestowed on us Christmas cards and messages of support for as long as I can remember, and who is about to do a sponsored wheelchair push for her local foodbank (Lydia, you rock).

But I think all of us in the team write with their own version of Mabel in their head. And for anyone who thinks this is a little patronising, let me just say this; when I write, my late mum and dad – to whom I owe everything – are in mind. And I think they’d approve.

Still wish I’d seen that mammoth fight though.

The post ITN election diary: How to inform viewers when campaigns are ‘often pretty boring’ appeared first on Press Gazette.



Source link

Related Posts

Are press trip freebies taxable income for freelances and influencers?

Are press trip freebies taxable income for freelances and influencers?

by Justin Marsh
October 24, 2025
0

Are press trips classed as taxable income for freelance journalists and influencers? A recent Linkedin post by a travel blogger and content creator Claire Hall suggested they are and and has been...

Ofcom orders BBC to air on TV finding that Gaza film broke broadcasting rules

Ofcom orders BBC to air on TV finding that Gaza film broke broadcasting rules

by Justin Marsh
October 19, 2025
0

The BBC’s use of the son of a Hamas official as a narrator for a Gaza documentary amounted to a “serious breach” of the Broadcasting Code, Ofcom has ruled. As a sanction...

Intelligent pricing: Lessons in precision from Aller Media Nordic

by Justin Marsh
October 14, 2025
0

For years, pricing was treated as a back-office function in many publishing organisations — necessary, but not strategic. Yet as economic pressures mount and the search for sustainable reader revenue intensifies, getting...

Daily Mail appoints ‘world’s first’ influencer correspondent

Daily Mail appoints ‘world’s first’ influencer correspondent

by Justin Marsh
October 9, 2025
0

The Daily Mail has appointed showbiz journalist Molly Clayton to become the title’s first influencer correspondent. Clayton joined the Mail as a trainee in 2020 and has been showbiz correspondent working across...

News diary 6-12 October: Labour deputy leader ballot opens, Greater Anglia trains nationalised, Nobel Prizes announced

by Justin Marsh
October 4, 2025
0

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Leading the week Monday (October 6): Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride delivers speech on...

Newsletter tips from the New York Times: Visuals, strong host, short, intimate

Newsletter tips from the New York Times: Visuals, strong host, short, intimate

by Justin Marsh
September 29, 2025
0

New York Times editorial director for newsletters Jodi Rudoren told Press Gazette what makes a good email update as the title launched a new daily edition. The World has a five-strong editorial...

Next Post
Watch breathtaking moment black sands around huge Mars crater are revealed by satellite orbiter in vast Martian desert

Watch breathtaking moment black sands around huge Mars crater are revealed by satellite orbiter in vast Martian desert

Popular News

I went to a five-star health spa and realised the secret to long life is free

I went to a five-star health spa and realised the secret to long life is free

October 25, 2025
Starmer is governed by polls, not principles – voters can sense it

Starmer is governed by polls, not principles – voters can sense it

October 24, 2025
Are press trip freebies taxable income for freelances and influencers?

Are press trip freebies taxable income for freelances and influencers?

October 24, 2025
Back electoral reform to embed ‘progressive majority’ and thwart Farage, Starmer urged

Back electoral reform to embed ‘progressive majority’ and thwart Farage, Starmer urged

October 22, 2025
I visited this lesser-known European gem and spent just £300 in a week

I visited this lesser-known European gem and spent just £300 in a week

October 22, 2025
Week-in-Review: Starmer and Badenoch repel their pretenders – for now

Week-in-Review: Starmer and Badenoch repel their pretenders – for now

October 20, 2025
How to pull over safely for emergency vehicles

How to pull over safely for emergency vehicles

October 19, 2025
UK Herald

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK

Important Links

  • Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise

...

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Food

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK