EVERY Sunday since the start of the year, viewers of the BBC’s Politics Scotland have been watching something of a broadcast beauty parade.
In place of former anchor Gordon Brewer we have seen a changing line-up that includes Gary Robertson, presenter of BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland (GMS), political correspondents Andrew Kerr and Linsey Bews, and Martin Geissler of The Nine.
Though the programmes were never called “auditions” you could be forgiven for thinking that is exactly what they were. The BBC has form in this area, after all. Two years ago, when it came to finding a replacement for David Dimbleby as the host of Question Time, at least six presenters were reportedly tried out, including Kirsty Wark, Nick Robinson and Mishal Husain.
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Those auditions, however, took place behind closed doors in a London school, albeit with real MPs on the panel and a real audience.
BBC Scotland has arguably been tougher in trying out presenters live on air. Then again, if you are going to host a live show interviewing senior politicians there is no better test than doing it for real.
Fortunately for all concerned, no one did an “Aaron Altman”, so called after a character in the 1987 movie comedy Broadcast News.
Altman, played by Albert Brooks, was an award-winning old school reporter who wanted a shot at being an anchor. Great writer, good guy, but no oil painting.
When tried out for the job he melted into one big puddle of perspiration. “This is more than Nixon ever sweated,” said one wag in the gallery.
The glam job went instead to pretty boy Tom Grunick (William Hurt), who knew really important things, like how not to look like a bag of washing when seated at a desk (pull your jacket down and sit on the hem).
All became clear recently when BBC Scotland announced new changes to its Sunday morning current affairs coverage. From February 7, instead of GMS on radio and Politics Scotland on television, there will be a new, two-hour programme called, wait for it, The Sunday Show.
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Starting at 10am, after The Andrew Marr Show and Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday, the first half hour will be presented by Geissler and broadcast on television and radio.
After 10.30am the show switches to radio only, with Fiona Stalker at the helm and Geissler joining her in the radio studio to provide analysis of interviews and the top political stories of the day.
The current occupier of the 10am to noon radio slot, Sunday Morning, which loosely mixes chat, music, and faith, will swap with the old Sunday GMS and start at 8am.
With Covid, the Scottish Parliament elections in May, followed by a possible independence referendum, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference coming to Glasgow in November, it would seem the perfect moment to relaunch the corporation’s politics coverage.
But will this new show improve BBC Scotland’s consistently low approval ratings among Scottish viewers and listeners?
Or will the merger of two flagship shows be seen as just a way to save money when the BBC is yet again under pressure on the licence fee, not least from over-75s now forced to pay?
With less money coming in from the licence fee and other sources, there is no question that BBC Scotland, like the rest of the corporation, has to cut costs. Some £125m in savings must be found, including £6.2m from Scotland, by March.
BBC Scotland announced a voluntary redundancy scheme before Christmas to cut 60 staff. Among the long-serving journalists who took a deal were Isabel Fraser, Bill Whiteford, and Gordon Brewer, hosts of the Sunday GMS and Politics Scotland. Those three now become two in Geissler and Stalker.
Fewer staff does not have to mean lower quality. We will see what the new show is made of when it launches in two weeks’ time. Between them, the new anchors have a lot of experience. Geissler alone has more than 30 years in the business, including a long stint at ITV News covering home and abroad.
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That said, the changes will be closely watched by Scottish audiences and they will not be shy in coming forward with their views. Or voting with their remote controls. The Nine started with 752,000 viewers when the new channel launched in February 2019. By October-November this had slumped to 4000 on two evenings.
BBC Scotland’s new programme enters an increasingly crowded market for Sunday politics shows. Though there is no comparable competition from STV, which opts for the magazine-style Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, there is Marr, Ridge, plus BBC Radio 5 Live, and a host of other stations, from veteran broadcasters LBC to newbie Times Radio. Add to this the constantly updated websites of newspapers, (including The Herald’s at www.heraldscotland.com), plus podcasts, and your average politics watcher is well served on a Sunday.
How then will The Sunday Show fare? Politics Scotland has always been at a disadvantage in following Marr and Ridge. Yesterday was a prime example, with Marr talking to FM Nicola Sturgeon and Politics Scotland interviewing Deputy FM John Swinney for the umpteenth time.
Big shoes to fill, not a lot of time to prepare, and one of the toughest, most media savvy audiences in the country to satisfy. Good luck all.
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