The broadcasters' art of filling time

The birth of the royal baby resulted in intense media coverage, but for nine hours after Kensington Palace had announced that the Princess of Cambridge had gone into labour, the media had little to report.

The BBC News Channel's Simon McCoy was left to confess that his reports would include no news.

Jennie Bond, television presenter and former BBC royal correspondent, explained a reporter's perspective of filling time to Today programme presenter John Humphrys: "Royal stories in particular, you do have to fill a lot of air time, particularly with the death of Diana, the death of the Queen Mother... you only have the one fact to go on, quite frankly.

"Being a specialist you know an awful lot about a little. Being a general reporter you know a little about a lot," she added.

Writer and broadcaster Giles Brandreth, reflecting on his time as an MP, explained how politicians are often required to fill time: "You can find yourself talking... for minutes, indeed hours on end."

First broadcast on the Today programme on Saturday 27 July 2013.