CI
Newstime is an old name , goes back to the 1950s on the BBC, where the show a clock before the news, and the words NEWS TIME would appear over the top of the clock. It was also used for the original combined Radio 1 and 2 bulletins on the half hour, and can be heard on The John Baker Tapes album on track one, the Newstime intro that Baker created. "This is Radio 1 and 2. The time is half past 7, Newstime."
I have always assumed that when the BBC wanted to rename Inside Ulster with a non-geographic brand, they arrived at the non-word that is "Newsline" simply by (almost) ripping-off UTV's former* "Newstime" brand (*I think/assume that UTV had already ditched the "Newstime" name before BBC Newsline ever came along?).
NewsLINE also sounds like it should be the name of their newsroom phone number (for viewers to call if they have a story), rather than the name of the actual TV news bulletins.
But how did UTV themselves ever arrive at such a mind-bogglingly twee sounding (and non-word) name to begin with?! Despite having the word "news" within it, "Newstime" somehow sounds decidedly un-newsy (or at least not serious and/or grown-up news, more like dumbed-down news aimed at either idiots or children. Or both).
NewsLINE also sounds like it should be the name of their newsroom phone number (for viewers to call if they have a story), rather than the name of the actual TV news bulletins.
But how did UTV themselves ever arrive at such a mind-bogglingly twee sounding (and non-word) name to begin with?! Despite having the word "news" within it, "Newstime" somehow sounds decidedly un-newsy (or at least not serious and/or grown-up news, more like dumbed-down news aimed at either idiots or children. Or both).
Newstime is an old name , goes back to the 1950s on the BBC, where the show a clock before the news, and the words NEWS TIME would appear over the top of the clock. It was also used for the original combined Radio 1 and 2 bulletins on the half hour, and can be heard on The John Baker Tapes album on track one, the Newstime intro that Baker created. "This is Radio 1 and 2. The time is half past 7, Newstime."