Topic: Has the advent of 24-hour rolling broadcast news further threatened to “dumb down” the quality of journalism?
Length: 1436 Words


November 2004

Addressing the issue of dumbing down in 24-hour rolling broadcast news can be a very subjective one. For example; what exactly constitutes dumbing down and how can we measure it? To explore this claim certain other aspects must be considered, such as how the service was introduced and how it differed from standard broadcast news that came before it. To do this, I will use the BBC as a case study and focus not only on their ongoing relationship with Sky, who have been longer established in the market, but also on what it is about the medium itself that affects the debate. The benefit of considering the BBC’s role in this is that their relatively recent move into the 24-hour market can be used as a blue print for examining changes that occur between terrestrial news and digital broadcasting, and whether these can be considered ‘dumbing down’.

Initially, the introduction of 24-hour rolling broadcast news meant that newsrooms became increasingly dependant on digital media, since the turnaround needed for producing the news became a much reduced period of time. This increased speed of delivery may also be a contestable point in that it denotes a reduction in quality – the supposition that if it takes less time to produce, it must be of lesser journalistic value. The BBC News Online index page includes in its banner the claim “updated every minute of every day” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/), which is a sign of the times; the development of the Internet as a news-source and swell in demand for total coverage from all corners of the world. A Journalism Studies paper (Karen Sanders et al, 2004) suggested that there was little resistance by journalists to this introduction of digital technology. This was due in part to the greater freedom it granted individuals to design, construct and edit their own work, allowing development of a range of new skills and renewal of unused ones. The issue at hand here, however, is not necessarily the capability of Journalists to adapt to this new system but whether the system itself is culpable for claims addressing ‘dumbing down’ in today’s media.

The aforementioned substance of ‘rolling’ news suggests by its very definition that the news must be constant. This brings up the issue of filling time, especially during days when the news itself may not be in enough volume to fill the required time-slots. To cope with this, we must assume, that there is more stress put on reporters to be able to talk at length on the story they’re covering, whether they know the facts or not. The operations of large digital network channels like Sky News and BBC News 24 are reliant more than ever before on having live correspondents at the scene of news, and being able to quickly pass new stories to the presenter at the time. The problem that arises from this is news that is essentially unfiltered or unrefined, much as a live reporter may be more rushed to ad-lib his bulletin when he doesn’t have the time to write a script. This theory is echoed in an article titled ‘Online journalists compromised by commercial pressures’ - “You see this now on cable TV with a big story, with 24-hour talk ad naseum, where they have no idea what they are talking about.” (Colin Meek, 2000), and leads to a difficult appraisal of whether this is considered a lower-quality of journalism.

The speed at which news reaches the public may be similar on both the internet and digital television, but it is broadcast news that must be relayed live whereas nobody is watching the online journalist typing his report so there is less pressure to get it perfect first time. It is from this premise that it is important to consider the subjects dealt with in the news. Assuming that the primary providers of 24-hour rolling news do not dumb-down their services in any way, they will still be dealing with the same diverse range of issues the news has always been dealing with. This will include the familiar topics of war, crime, business, and politics and so on, except that they will be presented more often in a live or unrehearsed way. One question that arises from this is whether reporters will have to reduce the depth or complexity of their reports in order to deal with the new pressure on them to give accurate and professional news. Bearing in mind that the same legal constraints will be present, such as contempt of court in legal cases, libellous restraints and also the overhead consideration of simply achieving correctness in all the news produced.

Another very similar concern involved with this debate is engaging the viewers in this new 24-hour news, ie achieving a substantial audience without succumbing to the dumbing-down phenomenon. Initial figures showed a slow uptake in interest, due in part (for the BBC at least) to the medium onto which it was born. BBC News 24 was, to begin with only available on cable television, whereas Sky News was already established on the more popular satellite service. They were entering a market relative new to UK audiences, in comparison to the larger choice available in the USA with channels like MSNBC, CNN, Fox and Sky themselves battling for ratings.

With regards to addressing the specific issue of ‘dumbing down’ its service, the BBC in particular have been quick to insist it is not necessary in order to maintain the appeal of 24-hour rolling news. The following question, put to a panel of BBC executives, addressed this issue of 24-hour news popularity with the public:

“News 24 is not pulling in the audience it could do, without dumbing down (there is no need to dumb down, and no need to become a tabloid as opposed to a broadsheet as the Director-General said), are you really fulfilling the objective of the licence payer?” (BBC Report and Accounts evidence session, 2003)

From this one may be drawn to the conclusion that there was initial scepticism amongst the broadcasters themselves that 24-hour serious news would be enough. It would be a reasonable assumption therefore that in some sectors a ‘dumbing down’ of the news to raise mass-appeal would not be out of the question. However, in the case of the BBC, the suggestion in the quote above that it was not a required step has proved to be correct. Since its launch, the popularity of the BBC’s digital service has increased continually, closing the gap on rivals Sky News. Already in 2002 before, it had amassed a weekly audience of 3.3 million; easily comparable to Sky’s 3.5 million (Barb, 2002).

It can be said that there is always an unconvinced group whenever a new form of media is introduced. Much like the internet, to which it is closely linked, rolling broadcast news is essentially a developing sector. Therefore it is not surprising that a certain amount of cynicism is presented alluding to the quality of journalism that it produces, due to the way in which both of these mediums are able to accurately and rapidly cover the news at all hours of the day., and often with very restrictive deadlines.

The threat of dumbing-down occurring in the news has been dismissed by those producing it, and based on the aims and objectives mentioned by these companies, their dedication to being at the forefront of journalism is only supported better by the characteristics of the medium itself. Not only does the advent and continual development of 24-hour broadcast news suggest quite the opposite of a reduction in quality, but also presents many more opportunities for improvement in the industry. It allows faster news on not only an international, but a global scale, and presents it to more people than ever before, as well as giving individual journalists more freedom in their field. Whereas before a journalist may only write a script for someone else to edit, produce and then pass to the presenter, digital newsrooms allow more people to try more varied tasks and expand their knowledge, created more well-rounded journalists rather than specialists relying on each other.

The long-term development and success of 24-hour rolling news may still not be secure, and although its format diversifies a long way from the traditional forms of investigate newspaper journalism, it is hard to come to the conclusion that it threatens to dumb down Journalism as a whole. Rather, it represents the next step of reaching mass-audiences on a mass-scale and its success as a distinguished part of the media may rely heavily on its ability to establish a long-term audience.


Written by J. King


BROADCASTERS AUDIENCE RESEARCH BOARD (2002). http://www.barb.co.uk/

MEEK, C (2000) Online journalists compromised by commercial pressures [online] dot journalism, Journalism.co.uk. Available from: http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story133.shtml [Accessed 20 Oct 04]

SANDERS, K. et al (2004) Journalists at digital television newsrooms in Britain and Spain: workflow and multi-skilling in a competitive environment Journalism Studies vol. 5 (Issue 1). [WWW] Accessible from: Ingenta Publications at http://www.ingenta.com/ [Accessed 20 Oct 04]

KAUFMAN, G. et al (2003) BBC Report and Accounts Evidence Session. Culture, Media and Sport Committee of The United Kingdom Parliament. Available from: http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmcumeds/uc984-i/uc98402.htm [Accessed: 24 Oct 04]