Back in late August TV3 announced plans to revamp its nightly news broadcast (subs required), putting Vincent Browne at its helm and turning it into more of a current affairs programme than a news update.
At the time it was reported that it would start in November 5th, and Browne even got some practice in as co-presenter of TV3’s Ireland AM a few weeks ago, but anybody paying attention will have noticed that TV3’s News Tonight has not yet been replaced by the mooted ‘Nightly News with Vincent Browne’.
Is there a reason? Well The Sunday Independent’s Fifth Column, which wouldn’t be much of a Browne fan, has been saying that the programme is now delayed until the new year and that staffing issues are the reason behind it. Apparently the programme is looking for two dedicated correspondents and while there’s a huge appetite amongst staff in TV3 the hiring process has not gone smoothly (whatever that means).
Other rumours are abound that problems at the programme go beyond simple staffing issues, although that may be what the Fifth Column was implying when it said things were not quite going to plan.
Assuming the creases, whatever they may be, are ironed out it will be interesting to see what form the finished product will take. Hiring dedicated correspondents is a good sign as it suggests that the show will be more than just a late-night news update after all. Whether the correspondents will simply be used to put a new spin on the stories of the day or to source and investigate completely new stories will be the critical point in what this programme is all about, however.