A new analysis reveals that the vast majority of BBC and ITV News at Ten coverage centres on crisis and negativity, making it hard for most journalists to switch off from work
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An analysis of BBC and ITV News at Ten bulletins finds that most broadcast stories (80 per cent) focus on at least two crises or scandals, while a fraction (3 per cent) cover resolution or progress.
The research from Be Broadcast’s Mission Control, a PR consultancy, looked at every flagship story on the two programmes over a seven-month period (September 2025 to March 2026).
Two thirds (65 per cent) of coverage contained negative emotions, with "concern" ranking as the dominant mood (26 per cent). Report authors argue that news is now experienced less as a series of events and more as a constant condition of pressure, affecting both audiences and journalists.
Most journalists surveyed described the news environment as predominantly negative, with many struggling to switch off from work (70 per cent), deliberately turning away from news or engaging with lighter content to cope (80 per cent).
Nearly half (45 per cent) of journalists report working on four or more negative stories a day, with two thirds (65 per cent) saying this repetitiveness leads to emotional fatigue or overwhelm.
This article was drafted by an AI assistant before it was edited by a human.