It's only natural, Paigy
Posted December 23rd, 2009 by debritz
If, like me, you heard reporter Neil Doorley refer to Channel 9 Brisbane newsreader Bruce Paige as "BP" during a live cross on Monday night, you may have wondered whether Nine News was becoming less formal. I asked a Channel 9 publicist if this was on purpose and here's the response: "No deliberate effort to make the news more informal, just a very natural and familiar exchange between Paigy and Neil."
On purpose Brett? Don't give Seven fuel!
But seriously, Paige has not even said his traditional closer, "That's the way it is" since he came back, only a bland "time to cross to Leila for ACA".
Only if they knew, that the Extra axing is single-handedly responsible, for the Brisbane 5:30 woes. Deal ratings are down 65% from June 2009, from respectable 200k figures, down to 70k on Monday, Hot Seat's only got Rob Readings to thank for keeping them in front.
Seven has the brains who gave life to Brisbane Extra, and to 9's Gold Coast News, and turned them into powerhouses. It is Seven who has to create the next local powerhouse, by learning from the mistakes of Local Edition, and fulfilling Seven's promise of an second try at a 5:30 local product, from a decade ago.