Charlie Brooker on How to Report the News

Having worked as a TV news reporter I found Charlie's piece very amusing - some of us have long believed reporting like this is a rubbish way to do things!
But even if a journalist wants to tell stories in a more authentic and engaging way, the constraints of the so-called "house style" in many news organisations make it quite difficult to achieve.
What's needed is a massive culture shift and a complete re-think of what we understand quality broadcast news reporting is.
And guess what? That's exactly what's happening, though you'd never believe it from what we're still mostly seeing on TV.
Anyway, the new digital technologies, and shake up of "old school/old mainstream" journalism means new platforms and styles of "news" storytelling can now emerge.
Let's hope fresh and appropriate ways of funding appear too, so we can kill off this dreadful formulaic reporting and delivery, and clear the way for more natural and interesting ways to treat stories and content. Ian Aspin. www.twitter.com/ianaspin

The best is when the news interviews itself. "Now joining us is special correspondent So-and-So. Tell us, So-and-So, what's happening in Haiti?"

Or when they switch to a camera in the "newsroom" where people are bustling around and the anchor has his shirt sleeves rolled up. And he's telling us what's going to be on the news in the coming hour.

I wouldn't say derivative. He's covering similar territory that Morris did with Brass Eye way back when so comparisons are inevitable.

as much as i like charlie, does anyone else get the feeling he's a bit of a chris morris derivitive..?

Brilliant. Very well done. I felt like I was sitting watching the "news."