One of my Twitter friends asks why children's news requires a musical background. Here's why: it's because children and adults are assumed by TV producers to be stupid bags of meat with the attention span of a distracted gnat.
Back in the 80s and 90s, news was very serious. You could tell this from the Bongs and Trevor McDonald's moustache (which is why Chris Morris did this). This was very off-putting for young people, it was thought. A lighter touch was needed.
Enter L!ve TV, the short-lived Sun spin-off. Its news (followed by the weather in Norwegian, the zany scamps, and Topless Darts) featured News Bunny. News Bunny's job was to stand behind the poker-faced newsreader and interpret each story. Genocide in Africa? Sad face, slumped forepaws. News International share price up? Happy Bunny.
It's all very different now. No more News Bunny. Just Celebrity News. News with thumping musical beats. News with no news. How naive those 90s people were.
(News Bunny was Ashley Hames. Meet him here. He's a bit of a dick).
No comments:
Post a Comment