Earlier this week, we had perhaps the worst kept secret in broadcasting revealed to be true. Good Morning Britain was indeed to return to ITV, although this time the hosts would be Susannah Reid, joining from BBC Breakfast; Ben Sheppard, former GMTV host; Charlotte Hawkins, joining from Sky News; and Sean Fletcher, joining from Sky Sports News and previously with BBC News Channel.
But this is not the first time ITV has changed the name of their breakfast programme. In fact, Daybreak came about as a result of perceived problems with GMTV.
But is another change of name and personnel what is required, or is it a case of moving the deckchairs on the Titanic?
In my analysis of Daybreak, and it's competition, BBC Breakfast, I noticed that whilst Breakfast looks like it comes from a BBC News studio, the look of Daybreak contrasts quite wildly with ITV News, despite having ITV News branded bulletins as part of Daybreak. If anything, ITV needs to make it more like ITV News. At the very least, the news bulletins every half hour should come from the ITV News virtual studio, albeit the colour scheme of the studio should reflect the Good Morning Britain look, to distinguish it from other ITV News bulletins, in the same way that ITV News at Ten does from the other bulletins.
Editorially, the ITV News agenda has improved massively since the days of the 1999-2004 editorial debacle that was the excessively tabloid ITV News, which had replaced ITN News, even though the new look ITV News was still produced by ITN. But the morning agenda, which has been carried through GMTV and Daybreak, hasn't caught up quite. At times, it does catch up, and at other times, it seems to go backwards to being more tabloid again. GMB needs to be popular, not tabloid. There is a distinct difference, and it needs to be explained.
Tabloid is what you see in the red-tops, over-hyped, editorialised, and generally overdoing everything kind of news. Another form of tabloid agenda is one that has been popularised by some local US TV stations, 'If It Bleeds, It Leads'. That's tabloid. Shock value over News Value.
Popular News, as I call it, is the kind of news that actually isn't overhyped, isn't sensationalised, and isn't necessarily showbiz-based, but it is based on what people actually need to know. It includes news about the economy and consumer related items, essential news about politics, mostly about real issues rather than the endless debates about Europe in the Westminster bubble; and it would also include some news about crime, although not in the hyper-sensentionalised 'if it bleeds, it leads' way that tabloid news does.
If ITV wants Good Morning Britain to be more successful than Daybreak, then it needs to totally embrace the current ITV News agenda, which is more like what I call 'Popular News'.
But more than that, it needs to avoid the trap of going for competitions through the morning. Competitions are not required at that time of the morning, because most people who have the TV on at that time of day, can't stop to think about what the answer is, so don't bother with them. Radio is learning this, and slowly moving away from competitions during their breakfast shows.
More than that though, GMB needs to cover things like Sport, which seems to get very little coverage currently on Daybreak. Having Sean Fletcher as part of the team seems to indicate they are taking that angle more seriously. Another angle that needs more coverage in the mornings is regional news. 6 minutes of regional updates across 3 bulletins, one per hour, isn't enough, when your competition is running 18 minutes of regional updates across 6 bulletins, twice an hour. The contrast is stark, very stark. If anything, even just a doubling of the number of updates, making theirs twice an hour, would be an improvement, but more than that, they do need to make their updates longer, and do something with them that makes them not just a copy of what the BBC does, but distinctive.
Some showbiz news will be a part of the programme, especially around the time of the awards ceremonies, like The Oscars. But overdoing showbiz news is not a good thing, especially in the mornings. ITV News has a lot of resources across the country, and using those resources wisely for the right stories, is going to be part of making GMB a success.
If they make a few changes of substance alongside the returning name and the new presenters, then it could help turn ITV's fortunes around. If not, then it will simply be moving the deckchairs on the sinking ship. Only time will tell us, if that is what happens.
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