Review: News at Seven betrays BBC Scotland's downscaled ambitions with 'muddled, atrophied offering'

For all the shortcomings of The Nine, the now defunct flagship news programme on the BBC Scotland channel, it could never be accused of a lack of ambition.

Its early broadcasts were testament to the significant resources the corporation afforded the production team at a time when the fallout from the independence referendum had heaped political pressure on Pacific Quay to better reflect and engage Scottish audiences.

The result was imperfect, particularly towards the end, when a revolving roster of presenters robbed the strand of any tonal consistency, and its roster of dedicated correspondents had long since departed to work elsewhere across the BBC’s output. But when things clicked, its team of talented specialist reporters more than lived up to their objective of providing national, UK and international news via a Scottish prism.

In autumn 2019, for example, The Nine showcased insightful live reporting as protesters raged on the streets of Barcelona against the jailing of Catalan leaders. Even its inaugural broadcast in February that year provided a thoughtful interview with the-then Icelandic prime minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir, on the crunch issues of Brexit and Scottish independence. They showed that stories of global significance and Scottish relevance need never be mutually exclusive.

Such insightful editorial decisions displayed a newfound verve and confidence. The problem, unfortunately, is that too few people tuned in to witness them. BBC management, committed to the new channel, seemed unsure how to broaden its appeal. Five-figure audiences soon became four-figure audiences, and as the months and years trickled by, the programme lost impetus.

Amy Irons and Laura Maciver present the new BBC Scotland 'Reporting Scotland: News at Seven' programme. Picture: Jamie Simpson / BBC Scotland | Jamie Simpson

In public, executives at Pacific Quay threw out buzzwords in defence of The Nine, talking up its vital role in a multi-platform environment, and emphasising the importance of average weekly reaches and social media trends. But at a time when the pulling power of linear television was in decline - a trend that has only intensified - the fate of a programme buried in the hinterlands of the electronic programme guide was all but sealed.

It has been close to a year since BBC Scotland announced the hour-long programme would be replaced with a new half hour strand airing at 7pm on the same channel, and on Monday night, it made its long-awaited debut. For anyone tuning in hoping for an exclusive at the top of the hour, or at the very least an imaginative Scottish treatment of one of the day’s major diary stories, expectations had to be swiftly recalibrated.

The opening package featured vox pops with children in Aberdeenshire who had been making snowmen, sledging and playing with dogs in the snow as a result of their schools being closed. All of which is lovely and life-affirming stuff, especially for the friends and family of the kids interviewed, but it hardly demonstrated a desire to set the news agenda or provide a creative twist on it. And in any case, if you had tuned into Reporting Scotland on BBC One Scotland just half an hour previously, you’d have witnessed the same footage.

Indeed, the very name of the new programme, ‘Reporting Scotland: News at Seven’, speaks to its problematic identity and what looks like significantly pared back resources. Amy Irons, who together with Laura Maciver, will take turns presenting the weeknight programme, appeared on the Reporting Scotland slot to explain how the new 7pm offering would “complement” the main programme, pointing out how “you can’t possibly tell everything from Scotland” in the space of half an hour.

Quite so, especially when in the space of an hour, BBC Scotland found time to recycle multiple packages across its two sister news programmes. It is a decision that demonstrates the public broadcaster’s commitment to sustainability, yet also invites fundamental questions about who exactly the new show is designed to serve. Is it Reporting Scotland viewers in search of more detail and insight? The younger audiences targeted by The Nine? Based on its maiden offering, it is hard to tell, and it appears the producers of the programme have little in the way of real commissioning power.

The BBC Scotland headquarters at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. Picture: BBC | BBC

What passed as distinctive packages on The Seven ticked all the boxes in terms of meeting BBC Scotland’s promise of “focusing on the people at the heart of communities”. There was a short film about a boxing club in Dundee, and a dispatch from a community hub in Eskdalemuir designed to help keep people warm during the wintry weather.

The BBC has said the News at Seven strand will adopt a more “conversational and informal tone”, and Ms Irons undoubtedly brought the energy needed to keep things moving. But again, the Reporting Scotland branding sends mixed messages. Having dispensed with the distinctive third floor atrium set at Pacific Quay, The Seven instead utilises the same studio as the main Reporting Scotland programme.

The questions around who The Seven is for and what it should be only intensified after the customary sport and weather round-ups, when the programme morphed into a magazine-style chat segment featuring Greg Hemphill and Julie Wilson Nimmo. The pair were promoting their new wild swimming series on - where else - the BBC Scotland channel.

Those old enough to remember the fabled promise of the Scottish Six will find little of nourishment in this new programme, which looks destined to concentrate on bread-and-butter local and regional stories. It is early days, of course, and given the need for quality, public interest journalism has never been more urgent, it will hopefully find its feet.

The first impressions, however, do not offer much in the way of confidence, and suggest that BBC Scotland, bruised from its experience with The Nine, has opted to play it safe. The result is a programme that serves no one particularly well.

There are countless talented journalists working across BBC Scotland, and they deserve a better platform to showcase their work than this muddled, atrophied offering.