As per a recent media report, Seven News boss Anthony De Ceglie looks set to introduce horoscopes to bulletins, but it isn’t clear if it will be in all states.
Showbiz reporter Peter Ford told 6PR today, “It literally goes for 20 seconds. There’s three slides, I think there’s four star signs on each slide. You’ve got to be pretty quick to read it, actually.”
Nobody will introduce the slides which will screen after the weather.
“It is a radical thing to do within the context of a news service, as indeed they’re introducing in some states the satirical bit which Mark Humphries is going to do now,” he continued.
“Bearing in mind of course, the EPs of the news services in Melbourne and Sydney are under a lot more pressure than in Perth, because the competition is is much, much tighter. So this is a response to that.
“It’s also very much a response to changing times in Free to Air TV. I don’t know if you saw Media Watch the other night… but they outlined just what dire straits all commercial TV networks are under at the moment, and the future doesn’t look any better.”
Ford added the woman who is leading the astrology element takes it all very seriously.
“She’s deadset serious about it all.”
Radical indeed. Any readers willing to tip how long this might last or whether it will lift ratings?
Updated:
“We are incredibly proud of the groundbreaking and quality journalism that 7NEWS produces every single bulletin,” De Ceglie told news.com.au.
“We’re exploring new ideas and concepts to bring in new audiences so that we can showcase them this journalism.
“We’re not going to be afraid to innovate and we’re only just getting started.
“One thing that will never change is our absolute commitment to telling the stories that matter to our viewers.”