New start for Gabby
- 7 Feb 07, 10:58 AM
Maybe I shouldn't say this - and we definitely shouldn't tell their agents - but we do ask an awful lot of our presenters.
This has struck home on Five Live Breakfast because Shelagh Fogarty is taking four weeks holiday (already dubbed her "gap month"). In her absence Gabby Logan has joined Nicky Campbell on the programme.
Now Gabby is a very experienced and able broadcaster. She's coped with all that live television can throw at her. So chatting on the radio is going to be a breeze, isn't it?
But it's not as simple as that, of course. And what struck me as we tried to talk her through the programme was the complexity of the technology we expect presenters to master. First of all there's the news production system (called ENPS) in which we create our running orders. Simple - just keep a different running order open for each of the three hours of the programme; navigate between the different items seamlessly while still talking on the radio, interviewing guests, quizzing reporters. The programme's all live of course, so there's no break in the action - no long taped items to take a breather or get your bearings.
Oh, and please also keep an eye on another window on your computer as text messages come into the programme. Easy. There are hundreds of them of course. They are on a whole range of subjects. And include views, opinions and words which often make your eyes water. The production team mark up the ones for broadcast - but it's still a lot to look at.
And don't forget the e-mails (yep, another window to keep open). They can be quite long and take some reading.
That's for starters. If you really want to be the complete Breakfast presenter, you might want to find the time to keep an eye on the Breakfast blog - and help brief yourself for interviews or react to things people say to you by doing some rapid online research. It's also helpful to glance at the TV screens in the studio - particularly when there's some live sport going on. As England's cricketers toil Down Under, a dramatic moment is never far away.
And we ask a presenter to get grips with all of this as well as ask perceptive, probing questions; brief themselves on a wide range of stories and issues; and bring out the best of contributors who may well be anxious about appearing on air.
All this of course before the sun has even come up. Gabby, being a pro, is playing a blinder of course. But I now know why Shelagh was so keen to have an extended lie down.
Richard Jackson is editor of Five Live Breakfast
