BBC Midlands Today

Don't worry folks, I have a timetable drawn up showing when I will be watching each programme. Let me explain.

There are five weekdays in a week, spread out over 4 weeks per month, therefore providing me with 20 weekday shows per month. With the advent of multiple-choice regional television on digital, I presume that this means that I can at any time choose which regional programme I want to watch on any one day.

If this is the case, then I have decided to watch 3 weekday Look North evening shows per week, 1 Midlands Today show per week and one South Today programme per week on a day of my choosing. In the third week of every month, I will substitute South Today and Midlands Today with North West Tonight and LDN. Working this out means that over the 20 18:30 weekday shows per month possible, I will end up seeing:

Look North 12 times
Midlands Today 3 times
South Today 3 times
North West Tonight once
LDN once.

Assuming that the lunchtime shows are ALSO broadcast on Sky digital with the 18:30 programmes, I will continue to watch the Levy and Hudson Show 5 weekdays per week.

My viewing schedule for the first week of January reads thus:

Monday lunchtime - Look North (Leeds)
Monday 8:30 - Look North (Leeds)

Tuesday lunchtime - Look North (Leeds)
Tuesday 18:30 - Look North (Leeds)

Wednesday lunchtime - Look North (Leeds)
Wednesday 18:30 - South Today

Thursday lunchtime - Look North (Leeds)
Thursday 18:30 - Midlands Today

Friday lunchtime - Look North (Leeds)
Friday 18:30 - Look North (Leeds).

I have a video in my bedroom, which I will set every day to record the Hull version of Look North, to watch later that night.

I think I've got my future viewing sussed! I can therefore expand my regional repertoire, and still keep viewing Ackroyd, Gration, Dreamboat, Levy et al for the majority of the time in the week. I love being organised!

Still no mention of EMT.

Am I to preseume that with the coming multi-region availibility on SkyDigital, you've now abandoned plans to turn your aerial round to EMT or whatever and are sticking with Look North as your analogue terrestrial region?

Yes, when East Midlands Today becomes available on digital, I am going to re-think viewing of LDN and North West Tonight. Eventually, my five chosen regions will be EMT, Midlands Today, Look North from Leeds, Look East and South Today.

Look North from Hull will be my analogue regional programme.

(Edited by Katherine at 7:24 pm on Oct. 27, 2001)

[quote="Katherine"]
Eventually, my five chosen regions will be EMT, Midlands Today , Look North from Leeds, Look East and South Today.[quote]

Midlands Today sucks!!!!

No it doesn't, Nick Owen presents it!

Either yesterday or today, they changed the piccy on the MT website front page http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/midlandstoday

Rather stupidly, they've changed it for an out-of-date piccy. Before, the piccy had the Victoria Square view in the window, which was generally only used for the 2230 programme, but in the piccy it was Nick and Sue at the desk, and the view was in daylight - so it must have been specially taken.

The new piccy looks like it could be a screen grab from the show. It has the distant B'ham skyline view in the window (view from Pebble Mill rooftop). This is stupid because the programme itself recently abandoned all use of that in favour of of a new B'ham skyline view that is (a) a lot less distant and (b) from a different direction (I think the new camera is on Millennium Point rooftop).

So as they've changed the piccy, why not use an up-to-date one??? Also the new piccy is from before they changed the shape of the weather wall and the desk.

(Edited by StandUpAndBeSeated at 7:58 pm on Oct. 27, 2001)

I'd noticed that too, but I thought it was a more up-to-date one.

i would imagine it's there because then it defines NEWS with SPORT and UPDATE or maybe they'll even have BREAKING NEWS

No, nothing that clever. I think it's just random text to fill the gap! Is there anyone on the forum who is (or knows) a graphics designer on BBC MT? Could anybody explain why they are they not trained in good design?!

Peter.

The tradition comes from the pre corporate Midlands Today, in which when they didn't have an appropriate sidebar image they used to have:

Midlands Today
NEWS NEWS NEWS

So I think the design has survived, but really its absolutely pointless. It would be better but they used the version without NEWS NEWS NEWS when they haven't got a sidebar image either, so its inconsistent and really there is no need for it unless they are going to use it properly.

i particularily hate their sports graphics on the plasma screen.

I think the new picture on the websites an old one - it has the old weather area in it.

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I like the sport graphics! Especially when they animate.

I also never really thought about NEWS NEWS NEWS version of the graphic, I just thought they used it for summarys of small storys.

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Skylines:

I think the old view on top of Pebble Mill is used for the Breakfast and Lunchtime shows (the signed program just has a beige background for the newsreader). The evening and late shows use the fancy view (used to be the square, now a better skyline).

Intrestingly the Breakfast opt doesnt use a sidebar, instead they use an angle with a plasma screen in view. I think I've seen 2 versions of the graphic - Breakfast News and Breakfast. I seem to remember the Breakfast version being used during the Breakfast News era, and the Breakfast news one being used after the start of Breakfast. But they've settles for the Breakfast version.