Francesca Rudkin: The verdict on the new Three News bulletin

So, what did you think of the new Three News bulletin at 6pm last night?

I worked in TV for over a decade and the one thing I know is you never judge a live show on its first outing. Sometimes not even on its second. I felt a bit sick with nerves for the Stuff team at 5:58 last night.

We were forewarned by Warner Bros Discovery this week that the bulletin is not yet everything they want it to be – that it will take time to grow. By saying that out loud they managed expectations for themselves, the audience and the critics.

But after watching the first bulletin, I wonder whether the challenge will be more to maintain the standard that was set last night.

Visually, Three News looks different to its predecessor, but not jarringly so. The graphics are simple, the virtual reality set bold and busy, and weekend host Laura Tupou’s relaxed and competent performance made it easy to adjust. It was a pretty seamless and smooth beginning – technically things went well.

Clearly they were also keen to set the standard with their story quality - that’s what the news is all about, after all. Both 1News and Three News had gutsy exclusives up their sleeves for launch night. Three News brought out the big talent with Senior Investigative Journalist Paula Penfold presenting an investigation into a Chinese probation officer’s link to an alleged spy. Weekday newsreader Samantha Hayes made it clear she isn’t just going to sit behind an autocue, and presented a story about a reformed gang member. Both were substantial stories that felt like they were filling a gap left by the demise of shows like Sunday and Paddy Gower has Issues.

There weren’t a lot of stories – it’s only a half hour slot in the weekends – but they also covered off the news of the day, sport was lively and the weather efficient. It was a good start. If you were worried about not having another ‘real’ news option at 6, then the indications are you can rest easy. The challenge will be keeping it up.

So, good on them - a new era begins. Stuff have not had much time to pull this together, and considering the challenges it’s impressive they’re off the starting line. Now it depends on how well they impress loyal fans and keep curious ones. Best of luck to them.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So what did you think of the new three News
bulletin at six pm last night? I worked in TV
for well over a decade, and the one thing I
know is that you never judge a live show on
its first outing, sometimes not even on its second. And
I felt a bit sick with nerves for the Stuff
team at about five point fifty eight last night, where
we're forewarned by Warner Brothers Discovery this week that the

(00:35):
bulletin is not yet everything they want it to be,
that it will take time to grow. By saying that
out loud, they managed expectations for themselves, the audience, and
the critics. But after watching the first bulletin bulletin, I
wonder whether the challenge will be more about maintaining the
standard that was set last night. Visually, three News looks

(00:57):
different to its predecessor, but not jarringly so. The graphics
are simple, the virtual reality set bold and busy, and
the weekend host Laura two pos relaxed and competent performance
made it easy to adjust. It was a pretty seamless
and smooth beginning. Technically, things went well better than I'd expected. Clearly,
they were also keen to set the standard with their

(01:19):
story quality, and that is what the news is all about,
after all. Both one News and three News had gutsy
exclusives up their sleeves for launch night. Three News put
out the big talent, with senior investigative journalist Paula Penfold
presenting an investigation into a Chinese probation officer's link to
an alleged spy, and weekday newsreader Samantha Hayes made it

(01:41):
clear she isn't just going to sit behind an auto
Q and presented a story about a reformed gang member.
Both with substantial stories that felt like they were filling
a gap left by the demise of shows like Sunday
and Paddigower has issues. There weren't a lot of stories
it is only a half hour slot in the weekends,
but they also covered off the news of the day,

(02:01):
sport was lively, and the weather efficient. It was a
good start. If you were worried about not having another
real news option at six than the indications are you
can rest easy the challenge. I think we'll be keeping
it up, so good on them. A new era begins.
Stuff hadn't have not had much time to pull us together,

(02:22):
and considering the challenges, it's impressive they're off the starting line. Now.
It depends on how well they impress loyal fans and
keep curious ones. Best of luck to them.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.