Newsjack Series 24 - Feb/Mar 2021 Page 9

Quote: EllieS @ 16th March 2021, 5:15 PM

Not a fan of the monologue. I went to the virtual recording last week and it felt like it went on forever. They do edit it down to 5 minutes, but that's 5 minutes that could be used for contributors' content. I just think sketch shows are best when they 'hit the ground running', and as you say, we don't really need a news roundup when we have the actual news. At least on HIGNFY, the introduction is basically the same as 'breaking news' because every line has a punchline (a funny clip or image). I really am sorry, but I confess I always skip it if I'm on Sounds because I'm just far more interested in what the public have submitted.

View original

I know I've banged on about this before, but back in the early series of Newsjack, the opening monologue by Miles Jupp/Justin Edwards was just made up of contributor one-liners, so the full 28 minute episode was made up of contributor content. And it was performed by a regular cast, which meant, for example, you could definitely write things that required good impressions of celebrities because you knew that Lewis Macleod/Pippa Evans would nail them. It also meant that the shonkier material that made it through had a better chance of getting laughs because there was an experienced cast who could really sell it.

In series 10 they decided that Newsjack should be a vehicle for promoting emerging performing talent as well as open door writing talent, so they moved to a changing cast for every episode and gave the host a 3-5 minutes opening slot for their own material. As well as taking away 3-5 minutes of chances for submitting writers to get their stuff on, it also meant that the performing quality was a bit lower (because the less experienced cast weren't doing the show every week), so even strong material maybe wasn't performed so well, and so the show became less funny, in my opinion.

What's quite galling to me is that, at around that time, they also piloted another (short-lived) non-topical open submissions sketch show - The Show What You Wrote. And with a bit of tweaking, there was the opportunity there to have one show which had experienced performers working with open submission writing, and one with emerging performers working with material from more established writers. And so, writers that did well at the open submission show, could then be invited to write for the other show - i.e. there would have been a clearer progression.

Could-a, would-a, should-a....

I didn't know that. It is interesting.
I see why they have different performers each week and gave the host their own written monologue but I think they should cut the monologue by more than half. It is too long and difficult to listen to, for me.

Quote: Feeoree @ 16th March 2021, 6:29 PM

On weird news, just seen a news item saying they're sending sperm to the moon which is so wonderfully bizarre a news piece and great newsjack fodder especially if you can find a non-gross joke to write but the story came too late (arf arf).

View original

Had something for this, but then it went, which I understand is quite normal and happens to every writer...

Quote: Dantrobus @ 17th March 2021, 7:56 AM

... In series 10 they decided that Newsjack should be a vehicle for promoting emerging performing talent as well as open door writing talent, so they moved to a changing cast for every episode and gave the host a 3-5 minutes opening slot for their own material. As well as taking away 3-5 minutes of chances for submitting writers to get their stuff on, it also meant that the performing quality was a bit lower (because the less experienced cast weren't doing the show every week), so even strong material maybe wasn't performed so well, and so the show became less funny, in my opinion.

What's quite galling to me is that, at around that time, they also piloted another (short-lived) non-topical open submissions sketch show - The Show What You Wrote. And with a bit of tweaking, there was the opportunity there to have one show which had experienced performers working with open submission writing, and one with emerging performers working with material from more established writers. And so, writers that did well at the open submission show, could then be invited to write for the other show - i.e. there would have been a clearer progression.

Could-a, would-a, should-a....

View original

Didn't know all of that! I suppose one up side is everyone is in the same boat trying to make an impression? Performers trying to move up instead of helping out the plebs? Do wish it was a set cast though, and a non-topical open-door would be good to try (although way, way, way back I had no luck with a couple of those that they ran in the noughts...)

Quote: Dantrobus @ 17th March 2021, 7:56 AM

I know I've banged on about this before, but back in the early series of Newsjack, the opening monologue by Miles Jupp/Justin Edwards was just made up of contributor one-liners, so the full 28 minute episode was made up of contributor content. And it was performed by a regular cast, which meant, for example, you could definitely write things that required good impressions of celebrities because you knew that Lewis Macleod/Pippa Evans would nail them. It also meant that the shonkier material that made it through had a better chance of getting laughs because there was an experienced cast who could really sell it.

In series 10 they decided that Newsjack should be a vehicle for promoting emerging performing talent as well as open door writing talent, so they moved to a changing cast for every episode and gave the host a 3-5 minutes opening slot for their own material. As well as taking away 3-5 minutes of chances for submitting writers to get their stuff on, it also meant that the performing quality was a bit lower (because the less experienced cast weren't doing the show every week), so even strong material maybe wasn't performed so well, and so the show became less funny, in my opinion.

Could-a, would-a, should-a....

View original

I think this is a double edged sword... In my opinion, the quality of the show has improved since they let the up and coming stand up comedy presenter do their own 5 minutes or so at the top. If the show is better, and more popular, the people that do get their jokes on air will in theory have a wider audience on a better quality show. It makes it harder to get material on, but that's good - nothing worth doing should be easy!

Quote: AidanMcComedy @ 17th March 2021, 11:05 AM

I think this is a double edged sword... In my opinion, the quality of the show has improved since they let the up and coming stand up comedy presenter do their own 5 minutes or so at the top. If the show is better, and more popular, the people that do get their jokes on air will in theory have a wider audience on a better quality show. It makes it harder to get material on, but that's good - nothing worth doing should be easy!

View original

Do you think the host doing their own monologue has improved the whole show or just that opening bit?

I ask really because I find it makes the show disjointed to tack a mini stand-up set from Romesh/Nish/Angela/Kiri onto the front of a sketch and one-liner gag show.

The thing in favour of the monologue written by a professional comedian in my opinion is that it's a safe pair of hands for dealing with the more sensitive and difficult stories, which could go wrong when being tackled by inexperienced writers and performers.

But then, having said that, Newsjack isn't really a satirical show. To be honest, it isn't even a completely topical show - if you think about the sketches, the content of them is frequently nothing to do with anything from the news, you just have to write a topical link for Kiri's intro that you use as the jumping-off point for your sketch.

Quote: Dantrobus @ 17th March 2021, 11:51 AM

Do you think the host doing their own monologue has improved the whole show or just that opening bit?

I ask really because I find it makes the show disjointed to tack a mini stand-up set from Romesh/Nish/Angela/Kiri onto the front of a sketch and one-liner gag show.

View original

Good question! I think it improves the opening bit and by proxy the whole show... But I should add that I think Newsjack (and The Mash Report) has waaaaaay too many headlines. It's a really unnatural format to every 7 minutes have 10 headlines - even though I get that that in itself is a good way of getting new writers material on air. I basically wonder if there's a way for Newsjack to better split the difference between being a vehicle for new writing talent and also be an excellent comedy show in it's own right. In my view, the monologue intro has gone someway to solving that conundrum,

Quote: AidanMcComedy @ 17th March 2021, 12:11 PM

I basically wonder if there's a way for Newsjack to better split the difference between being a vehicle for new writing talent and also an excellent comedy show in it's own right. In my view, the monologue intro has gone someway to solving that conundrum,

View original

Yes, I think that's the challenge too. I might be a bit too rose-tinted about this, but I felt that the early series were doing a decent job at this by having a regular experienced cast who could really use their performance skills to get laughs out of any not-so-good material that made it through. I feel like now it's a lot more noticeable when you get iffy material performed unconfidently.

My lament is that, for a while the BBC seemed like they were up for adding more opportunities for both new writing talent and new performers when they tried The Show What You Wrote. We could have had two excellent comedy shows that were also vehicles for new talent, but instead it's all been crammed into just Newsjack, and in my opinion the overall quality has suffered for it.

I don't think the monologue has made it a better show. Just personal opinion but I think they should cut it by half. It will still be part of the show and showcase the host's writing but take less airtime....my suggestion.

Half the sketches are done by in-house writers so they should nail the writing for those, in theory.

They get thousands of oneliners weekly and have paid script writers to rewrite the small number they choose so should be able to put on good comedy.

I know it is tricky as they have a very quick turnaround but they get masses of gags, quite a few by pro writers. Takes lots of time to read them but there is plenty of choice. Part of the issue might be the gags they sometimes choose. They need to choose well. Comedy is personal taste, however.

But they are interesting points AidanMcComedy and Dantrobus.

Whilst I think the monologue could be cut, I find it interesting from a writer's perspective to listen to the jokes knowing they've been written for that week's show. I'm in awe that I've struggled to write a sketch and a few one liners, whereas Kiri whips out 5 minutes of (overall) good stuff on the week's goings on. I've found it inspirational and helps me push myself forward.

I agree with the ideas about new cast/experienced writers and vice versa. It could be argued that Newsjack is trying to do both, while not doing either of them well.

Quote: foggydon @ 18th March 2021, 10:23 AM

Whilst I think the monologue could be cut, I find it interesting from a writer's perspective to listen to the jokes knowing they've been written for that week's show. I'm in awe that I've struggled to write a sketch and a few one liners, whereas Kiri whips out 5 minutes of (overall) good stuff on the week's goings on. I've found it inspirational and helps me push myself forward.

View original

I don't think it's an entirely solo effort - that's the impression I got from the Newsjack workshop and recording I went to, anyway. While she will have a lot of input into it, she has help from the writing team and script editors and I think she's basically told what to include but puts her own spin on it. Comedians that are successful enough to be on radio/TV generally do have a writing team behind them (on Live at the Apollo, etc) - they're sort of a spokesperson for several people's material. I don't mean to discredit comedians' work in any way - they've worked incredibly hard to be where they are - but it is usually the case. People like Gemma Arrowsmith often write jokes for comedians, if memory serves. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that they have the advantage of a writers' room whereas freelance writers don't, so don't be so harsh on yourself

Do we still have spies in the audience recording? Was it recorded last night and if so were any of us there?

E-mails out earlier than usual. Was very lucky to receive The Good One, first time in years. A Breaking News because that's all I've submitted this series. Hope other BCG posters are chosen too.

Congrats Blinkered!

Nothing doing here.

So here are my oneliner rejects:

BREAKING NEWS:

Researchers found that people who don't understand how magic tricks work are more susceptible to false political claims. For example, many Nigel Farage supporters still believe that the European Union has got their nose.

An investigation has found that the makers of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here brought unlicensed crayfish species into north Wales. A spokesperson has since apologised for this shellfish act.

A mother in Pennsylvania allegedly used explicit deepfake photos to get her teenage daughter's cheerleading rivals kicked off the team. Prosecutors said (cheerleader chant style) Gimme a custodial sentence.

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK:
A bad week for police in Sussex who had to disperse a large crowd who had gathered to do a group Hokey Cokey. A worse week for the organisers of the event who said they'd put their whole selves in to it.

A good week for Elon Musk's Chief Financial Officer who is now known as the 'Master of Coin' due to Tesla's Bitcoin investments. But a bad week for small Bitcoin investors who will continue to be known as 'gullible twats'.

A good week for British film stars who received multiple Oscar nominations and have a good chance of bringing home several gold statuettes. A bad week for the police who will have to recruit a load of tiny officers to protect them.

Well done Blinkered, great going. Nothing for me.........all series. Oh well, better start practising for September I guess.

Big congrats Blinkered!

Nothing for me again, so I got the very first BN of the series and then nothing more doh. Here are my latest rejects, oh the hokey cokey:

BREAKING NEWS:
1. About 40 people broke lockdown rules in Hastings as they held hands to sing and dance the Hokey Cokey. Police said even more people had arrived to join in but they turned them around and that's what it's all about.

2. About 40 people broke lockdown rules in Hastings as they held hands to sing and dance the Hokey Cokey. Police said no arrests were made as every time they tried to step in the crowd stepped out.

3. Thorntons has announced it will be closing all of its chocolate shops just 6 years after being bought by Ferrero Rocher. A brand ambassador admitted they have indeed been spoilt.

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK:
1. It's been a good week for British Airways who have announced plans for a COVID19 vaccination app; it's been a bad week for their passengers who have been advised that in case of emergency they need to log into the app to check for the nearest emergency exits.

2. It's been a bad week for AstraZeneca after safety concerns regarding its COVID19 vaccination; it's been a good week for Baroness Dido Harding after AstraZeneca said there was no direct link to clots, even those in government.