ITV proves red & blue is good mix
AS we all wonder how a hung Parliament will work, it’s worth remembering it is possible for Labour and Tory to get along.
George Osborne and Ed Balls were a shining example during ITV’s election night coverage.
They were the main reason I found myself regularly drifting from the BBC’s coverage. In TV land, just as in the political world, the unfancied of the two main rivals had the better night.
Every member of ITV’s team was on their game, getting into the ramifications of that exit poll while the BBC lot were busy giving far too much attention to the “Who will declare first?” nonsense in the North East.
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By contrast, David Dimbleby seemed in a tetchy mood even before that pesky fly and those Norman Collier PA systems tipped him over the edge.
ITV kept it clear and simple – strong and stable even – while the BBC was, quite frankly, too busy and hugely overstaffed: Emily Maitlis loitering over by a giant graphics wall, Jeremy Vine goonwalking down his virtual blue-and-red brick road to No 10, Laura Kuenssberg checking her phone(s) for tips like she was doing Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports…
Meanwhile, their finest night owl, Andrew Neil, was left to pick up the crumbs at breakfast.
Hopefully the BBC will have rectified that gross error by the time the next election comes around. They’d best get a move on though. It might not be long.