Has Chris Morris become old-fashioned?

[object-lesson]

TDT and, to some extent, Brass Eye are 'old-fashioned' in the sense that they are parodying a style of news reporting that doesn't really exist any more - or at least, isn't quite so ubiquitous. Where is the audience interaction? The twitter storms? The laid back women sitting on a brightly coloured sofa joking among themselves in between the hard hitting news headlines. Etc.

I think the jokey interludes are somewhat prefigured in OTH/TDT/Brass Eye by the little attempts at comic asides and in-jokes by the presenters though. Many of of the idiocies of news/current affairs that Morris parodied still persist. 

The obvious question that arises, though perhaps deserves its own thread and I guess people will have discussed it before - did these programmes themselves contribute significantly to changes in news/current affairs broadcasting?

Did Radio 4 producers listen to OTH and look in the mirror and think what the hell are we doing? - and the same for television news/documentary makers seeing TDT and Brass Eye?

[Astronaut Omens]

I remember Armando Iannucci saying, I don't think he was joking, that there was no positive influence at all and that if anything, news programmes seemed to take ideas from TDT/BE

[object-lesson]

I remember Armando Iannucci saying, I don't think he was joking, that there was no positive influence at all and that if anything, news programmes seemed to take ideas from TDT/BE

That's interesting. Trouble is I don't watch or listen enough to really know, but pretty sure the bombast is down a level since the '90s. Other things they mocked, not so sure. Probably things like bad use of statistics, cliché phrases, meaningless graphics etc. haven't got any better. The part broadcast media plays in constructing the very reality it 'reports' on will have changed with 'social media' etc, but it's still there.

I don't know, I think this is the most interesting thing about Morris' radio/TV work, but possibly no one else does.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

TDT and, to some extent, Brass Eye are 'old-fashioned' in the sense that they are parodying a style of news reporting that doesn't really exist any more - or at least, isn't quite so ubiquitous. Where is the audience interaction? The twitter storms? The laid back women sitting on a brightly coloured sofa joking among themselves in between the hard hitting news headlines. Etc.

I don't think the humour is any more or less 'right-on' or offensive than it was at the time (possibly for slightly different reasons).

I disagree. That style of news is still absolutely present if you watch the 24/7 Americans news channels. If anything it's worse.

Not a great example because it's 11 years old now, but one of the classics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg

[object-lesson]

I disagree. That style of news is still absolutely present if you watch the 24/7 Americans news channels. If anything it's worse.

Not a great example because it's 11 years old now, but one of the classics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg

Jesus Christ! I think Morris would have had a field day with MSNBC as well, with this kind of thing:

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/01/has-rachel-maddow-entered-her-infowars-period.html

Don't think it takes much extrapolation to see US liberal media in this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3BO6GP9NMY

Just substitute any of its present enemies.

Also thinking of that weird beginning to the Panorama documentary with the unidentified woman speaking in half-darkness, video edited so sometimes her voice disembodied, the use of melodramatic music etc.  All manipulative techniques of disorientation Morris would immediately recognise and understand but many are inured to.