Basic TV Reporting, 2nd Edition

Presenters in Partnership

The preference for news-related programmes to be fronted by one, two or more presenters is influenced as much by fashion as by journalistic needs. Changes are quite often made as part of the acceptable, periodic revision of format or style made by all long-running factual programmes, and a decision to switch from, say, solo to dual presentation–or vice versa–is treated as one element of a revamp or re-launch likely to include the introduction of new sets, titles, music and graphics.

Sometimes it goes beyond the cosmetic: a multi-presentation format may be driven by the need to base anchors in different centres, to inject pace and variety, or to relieve the pressures on a single journalist fronting longer, technically ...