On the Oscars...
- 28 Feb 07, 10:18 AM
It's what we call a 'hardy annual'.
Every year, we cover the results of the Academy Awards, live from LA. Every year, it draws strong audience figures, yet appears to divide our audience.
This year was no different.
On the plus side, we had good figures on Monday. Kate Silverton's interview with Dame Helen Mirren (watch it here), live from the red carpet at the Vanity Fair party, was rebroadcast across the day and was also one of the most downloaded bits of video on the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ News website. We had a big email and text response from viewers who really appreciated the live interviews, which also included James McAvoy, Michael Sheen, Kate Winslett, Sam Mendes and Beyonce.
Others felt we had gone over the top, complaining that there was "too much Oscar coverage" and fearing that "licence fee money is being wasted".
I've responded to a few of those who emailed to complain, but thought I ought to blog about it as well.
Firstly, is it 'news'? I say yes.
Dame Helen Mirren is a household name here in Britain, but to win in the coveted 'Best Actress' category in America has to rank as a very significant achievement. The film industry is important to the economy of course, but above all I think it's about covering popular culture. If you were to strip popular culture out of news, you'd end up with something that bears little relation to peoples' lives. And, of course, we still covered the rest of the news, as on any day.
Did we do too much? Probably. But it's an event that is happening as we are on air and we know from all our research that viewers like to see live coverage, even if it's a bit rough and ready, of live events. Interviews with stars of the calibre seen on that red carpet are very rare, so it presents a great opportunity for us.
Why did we send Kate? Another question that was asked more than once. We always send a Breakfast reporter to the Oscars. This year, we sent Kate instead. She was effectively there as our reporter, with the added advantage that she could 'co-present' the programme. She worked tirelessly - with live inserts last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as on Monday morning. The 'sit down' interviews she conducted included Clint Eastwood and Dame Helen, along with Cate Blanchet, Ralf Little and even the throaty voiceover man who does most of those Hollywood film trailers. She also presented a special for ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ News 24.
Her dress? It was borrowed, as we made a point of saying on a number of occasions. Most of those who got in touch absolutely loved it, although some people missed seeing her wearing her trademark specs.
Will we do it again next year? Certainly. And will some people complain?...
It's a hardy annual.
David Kermode is editor of
