France 24#'s logo

So the French 24-hour international news channel got off the mark on Wednesday. No technical hitches, and France 24 is now churning out the same frightful mix of punditry, instant imagery and tedious debate as its rivals at CNN, BBC and al-Jazeerah. (Maybe it comes from working in the trade, but I find myself increasingly repelled by the world of "rolling news" - which I have decided obscures more than it elucidates). France 24 is unusual in broadcasting simultaneously in French and English -- with in theory precisely the same output on the two channels. This is an unusual idea, and I think it is probably doomed to failure. At the momemnt they are havng to do an awful lot of voice-over translation on the English channel, which is very awkward to watch. I fear that the biggest problem on the English side is lack of experience and authority. The news reports are voiced by young journalists who never leave the stuidio in Paris, and it shows. The Baker report on Iraq was the first big story. The BBC and CNN had their heavy-hitters going live from the White House. France 24 had someone reading out wirecopy to agency pictures. Why would anyone watch that? I note that there is already a big union dispute. Journalists' unions are threatening to sue if France 24 uses reports filed by foreign correspondents to TF1 or France 2 -- the two "mother stations" --on the grounds that it would be a breach of copyright. Unless this is sorted out, France 24 will have in effect no foreign correspondents at all. A third point: last night I saw a long report on landmines, cluster bombs and the laudable work of Handicap International. A perfectly good theme - but it was obvious that all the film was provided by the NGO. It was in effect an in-house Handicap International puff. Never once was there a sign of a France 24 correspondent on the scene, and I think all the material was given to France 24 gratis. If that is the case, it is a very poor sign of how they are being forced to operate. At the BBC, it would be a major breach of the rules. It also made for very flat television. So sorry, after two days, the English side gets the thumbs down from me. The French side is better, if only because it feels more natural, and there is a wealth of opinionated pundits to draw on in paris. On the English side I fear they will start running out quite soon. I note that Segolene Royal's team are very sniffy bout France 24, seeing it as a Chirac toy. If she is elected, I wonder if she will do something drastic.