Want people to watch the news again? Bring back live music

My job is to fully understand the news environment, so I analysed every BBC and ITV News at Ten bulletin over seven months, tracking thousands of stories by topic, placement, emotional tone, repetition, and resolution.

The findings were grim.

More than 80% of bulletins contained multiple crisis or scandal-led stories. More than a third contained four or more. Negative emotions accounted for around 65% of coverage.

Just 3% of stories focused mainly on resolution or progress.

Reuters Institute research also shows around 39% of audiences now sometimes or often avoid the news.

You can probably imagine the emotional toll people are carrying around.

None of this means serious stories should be pushed aside. They should not. People need to know what is happening. Journalism has a vital role in scrutiny, accountability and public understanding.

But it does raise a question.

If people are waking up to a diet of war, crime, political rows, economic pressure and angry panels, are they simply heading off into the day carrying all of that with them?

And is that what we want?

One answer might be sitting in the very recent past: live music on breakfast TV.

For years, these performances were a staple of breakfast and midmorning shows.

They were not always perfect. And that was part of the fun.

Someone might be miming. The sound mix might be chaotic. Your dad would say music had gone downhill. You would argue back with the full confidence of a teenager defending the greatest band ever to hold a microphone at 8.43am.

But those moments did something useful.

They created a shared feeling before work, school or the commute.

You either loved it, hated it, mocked it or sang along badly while looking for your shoes. Either way, you were briefly part of the same cultural moment as everyone else watching in your home.

Music has a strange ability to shift mood quickly. It gives people energy, memory, identity and connection. It can make a room feel different within seconds.

In a world increasingly shaped by debate, reaction and hard news, that has value.

But those performances have largely disappeared.

From conversations with outlets, there does not seem to be one reason. Record labels have less budget to support them. TV teams have less money to cover the cost. Schedules have become tighter, heavier and more reactive.

But perhaps they should come back - not to replace serious journalism, not to pretend the world is fine, but as a counterweight.

A bit of light and shade before people head into the world.

Let’s be clear, putting Westlife on at 09:03 is not going to fix everything, rebuild trust in politics or improve turnout in local elections.

But small, repeated moments of shared culture do add up.

Politicians talk constantly about unity and bringing people together. But where are those moments actually happening?

Young people are often criticised for being buried in phones and screens. Adults are not exactly much better. Broadcast still can pull people into the same moment, at the same time, around something they can talk about afterwards.

As a broadcast PR agency, part of our role is to understand the environment our clients are entering. But we also sit in a position to help shape what that environment becomes.

We can guide brands and their budgets towards stories, moments, and partnerships that add real value.

Sometimes that will be serious, sometimes it will be practical. And sometimes, it might be Girls Aloud giving it far too much at 09:02 on a Tuesday morning, giving us something to talk to Carol about in a day of dull-as-dishwater meetings.

Frankly, we need more of that.

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Josh Wheeler is the Founder of Be Broadcast.

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The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

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