Five News editor David Kermode tells the Sky blog why he’s abandoning what he describes as ‘contrived’ editing techniques. I’m all for honesty and integrity, but I’m not convinced that the Great British Public felt betrayed by the use of the ‘noddy’. As an editorial method of moving from shot to shot, when you only had one decent camera at your disposal, and a limited amount of time with your interviewee, it worked – and it didn’t/doesn’t exactly try to be something it isn’t.
True, ordinary viewers are becoming more familiar with editing techniques: but this includes the notion, for example, of ‘transitions’ in PowerPoint – a visual trick that gets you from slide to slide. If anything, I’d have expected the viewers to start trying advanced methods like ‘the noddy’ on their home movies. And they’d probably have felt dead proud of themselves.
We’re in danger of getting this all out of proportion. If we want to develop public confidence in news broadcasting, how about banning the ridiculous ‘it’s 10pm / the weekend / both, and I’m live outside an empty office block‘ two-ways instead?
Quick update: Newsnight editor Peter Barron is on a similar wavelength. ‘If the outcome of this debate is that viewers end up being distracted because they can see all the joins, then we will surely have shot ourselves in the foot.’ Hear hear.