RJ
As far as I know Jonathan Gould will not be moving to ITN. I spoke to hime a few weeks ago when he was covering the c5 NHL show.
LU
In other words, it will be a cheap copy, but the same colour.
Much like the BBC Regional news sets when BBC News relaunched back in 99 then.
Dan posted:
James Hatts posted:
From ITV London's programme statement:
Quote:
The new set will seek to reflect the relaunched ITV national news set, though with a distinct regional feel.
In other words, it will be a cheap copy, but the same colour.
Much like the BBC Regional news sets when BBC News relaunched back in 99 then.
SR
The latest on the relaunch from Press Gazette...
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/Assets/Images/FEB%2004/S%20THOMAS.JPG
The new look of ITV News, unveiled to coincide with the merger of Carlton and Granada into a giant plc, was intended to signal that the national and regional bulletins were at last all part of one big family.
With a set designed by Simon Jago, the new appearance of the lunchtime, 6.30pm and 10.30pm ITV network programmes was mirrored in the regional bulletins, which now sport the ITV logo, the same colours of blue and yellow and similar opening sequences.
Time will tell whether the newly merged broadcaster will be a good custodian of regional journalism, but what the relaunch of London Tonight a month later on 1 March demonstrates is that, as members of the ITV family, journalists won’t be spared from change as the broadcaster gets itself into shape for the future — and a possible takeover.
From next week around 60 of the 100 staff who produced the London bulletin for the Carlton Granada venture, the London News Network at South Bank, will produce a revamped bulletin for ITN at its headquarters in Gray’s Inn Road.
The contract for the production of the bulletin was given in anticipation of the merger. Staff were understandably nervous about being brought under the auspices of ITN and at heart was the issue of how much independence they would have from ITV.
But the dismal mood that descended when 40 redundancies were announced has lifted, according to Stuart Thomas, who replaced Malcolm Balen as editor.
Balen left the programme shortly after the plans were announced.
The number of compulsory redundancies totalled just “three or four” in the end, points out Thomas, who says the overall mood has become one of “enthusiasm and excitement” in the three months since his appointment.
“When I first went to talk to them there were 60 faces looking at me and, obviously, they were really nervous because many of them had been there for 10 or 11 years and had only known working on the South Bank. They probably felt ITN was coming in to take them over.
“But they’ve come here and discovered that we’ve built this fantastic space; they haven’t been chucked into a corner or put on the lower ground floor. They’re within the ITV operation but without being swallowed up by it. They’re not being run by it, they’re not being merged into it, they’re not sharing correspondents or cameras, but you have the energy of it and the sensible thing of having two ITV newsrooms in the same place instead of in different parts of the capital.”
For ITN, which produces ITV’s national bulletins as well as its rolling news channel, the relaunch of London Tonight is its first venture into regional TV news.
Katie Derham, a well-known presenter on the national news, will also make her debut alongside veteran newsreader Alastair Stewart. The programme will have a new set, including coffee table and mugs in place of the current high news desk.
Also designed by Jago, the studio’s new look reflects that of the national bulletins, but instead of the news wall it retains the view of the Thames as a backdrop.
“ITV is really keen on this show having a big feel. It’s the London show and it’s a really important slot,” explains Thomas, who insists staff fears about cost cutting have been unfounded.
“We don’t send two cameras and two trucks to the same place, because we can send a camera and a truck somewhere else and use the ITV cameras and trucks.
This adds to our resources rather than reducing them.”
Staff have been trained in the use of the new server technology at ITN, since at LNN they used “old school technology” of tape machines and a text editing system.
Training them has been no mean feat, says Thomas, because it has had to be undertaken while still producing a quality programme at South Bank.
“It’s a massive operation. But they seem very excited about it. I think they realise that, even if they want to go somewhere else in the future, they need these skills.”
Thomas believes the opportunities available to journalists on the ITV News Channel — which has introduced a daily slot looking at the regions — will also make the job more attractive.
Greater opportunities within ITN’s news organisation will go some way towards putting the London news programme on an equal footing with the BBC when it comes to recruitment.
WHILE THE REGIONAL bulletin might be better placed to attract staff, it will nonetheless face “tough competition” from the BBC, he admits.
Double-headed presentation will, however, give the ITV programme an advantage, as well as a more lively and humorous style with greater emphasis on reporters, whom viewers can get to know, says Thomas, who has spent all his working life in commercial radio or television.
At 27, he was the youngest editor of LBC and News Direct, moving six months before the stations were sold to Chrysalis to be news editor on the ill-fated Channel 4 breakfast programme RI:SE.
What Thomas learnt before it was scrapped last December was how to work on a targeted news service and the necessity of making a news programme relevant to viewers. Now aged 31, he certainly seems keen to inject an edge and pace to London Tonight — he’s appointed Tamzin Sylvester from Liquid News as entertainment correspondent.
But Thomas rejects the idea that there will be an emphasis on targeting younger audiences by taking on younger staff: “It will have a mixture. You want a bright and lively entertainment correspondent who’s going to be out and about, but we’ve also got the experienced correspondents who were seen on our screens, not just on London Tonight, but on Thames News before it.”
The programme will seek to avoid some of the pitfalls a lot of regional news bulletins fall into by being drawn into a staple diet of crime.
“The bigger issues over crime can sometimes be lost.
We don’t want to water down the news coverage, but perhaps by reducing the time given to those types of stories we can dedicate more time to putting gloss on other pieces reflecting the actual issues.
“A features unit of two researchers, a senior features producer and a cameraman has been set up to work on stories two weeks in advance and produce a polished package or to go out and find stories and produce them. I think that will make us stand out in the crowd.
“This launch is very important for ITN and it’s imperative that we get it right.”
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/Assets/Images/FEB%2004/S%20THOMAS.JPG
The new look of ITV News, unveiled to coincide with the merger of Carlton and Granada into a giant plc, was intended to signal that the national and regional bulletins were at last all part of one big family.
With a set designed by Simon Jago, the new appearance of the lunchtime, 6.30pm and 10.30pm ITV network programmes was mirrored in the regional bulletins, which now sport the ITV logo, the same colours of blue and yellow and similar opening sequences.
Time will tell whether the newly merged broadcaster will be a good custodian of regional journalism, but what the relaunch of London Tonight a month later on 1 March demonstrates is that, as members of the ITV family, journalists won’t be spared from change as the broadcaster gets itself into shape for the future — and a possible takeover.
From next week around 60 of the 100 staff who produced the London bulletin for the Carlton Granada venture, the London News Network at South Bank, will produce a revamped bulletin for ITN at its headquarters in Gray’s Inn Road.
The contract for the production of the bulletin was given in anticipation of the merger. Staff were understandably nervous about being brought under the auspices of ITN and at heart was the issue of how much independence they would have from ITV.
But the dismal mood that descended when 40 redundancies were announced has lifted, according to Stuart Thomas, who replaced Malcolm Balen as editor.
Balen left the programme shortly after the plans were announced.
The number of compulsory redundancies totalled just “three or four” in the end, points out Thomas, who says the overall mood has become one of “enthusiasm and excitement” in the three months since his appointment.
“When I first went to talk to them there were 60 faces looking at me and, obviously, they were really nervous because many of them had been there for 10 or 11 years and had only known working on the South Bank. They probably felt ITN was coming in to take them over.
“But they’ve come here and discovered that we’ve built this fantastic space; they haven’t been chucked into a corner or put on the lower ground floor. They’re within the ITV operation but without being swallowed up by it. They’re not being run by it, they’re not being merged into it, they’re not sharing correspondents or cameras, but you have the energy of it and the sensible thing of having two ITV newsrooms in the same place instead of in different parts of the capital.”
For ITN, which produces ITV’s national bulletins as well as its rolling news channel, the relaunch of London Tonight is its first venture into regional TV news.
Katie Derham, a well-known presenter on the national news, will also make her debut alongside veteran newsreader Alastair Stewart. The programme will have a new set, including coffee table and mugs in place of the current high news desk.
Also designed by Jago, the studio’s new look reflects that of the national bulletins, but instead of the news wall it retains the view of the Thames as a backdrop.
“ITV is really keen on this show having a big feel. It’s the London show and it’s a really important slot,” explains Thomas, who insists staff fears about cost cutting have been unfounded.
“We don’t send two cameras and two trucks to the same place, because we can send a camera and a truck somewhere else and use the ITV cameras and trucks.
This adds to our resources rather than reducing them.”
Staff have been trained in the use of the new server technology at ITN, since at LNN they used “old school technology” of tape machines and a text editing system.
Training them has been no mean feat, says Thomas, because it has had to be undertaken while still producing a quality programme at South Bank.
“It’s a massive operation. But they seem very excited about it. I think they realise that, even if they want to go somewhere else in the future, they need these skills.”
Thomas believes the opportunities available to journalists on the ITV News Channel — which has introduced a daily slot looking at the regions — will also make the job more attractive.
Greater opportunities within ITN’s news organisation will go some way towards putting the London news programme on an equal footing with the BBC when it comes to recruitment.
WHILE THE REGIONAL bulletin might be better placed to attract staff, it will nonetheless face “tough competition” from the BBC, he admits.
Double-headed presentation will, however, give the ITV programme an advantage, as well as a more lively and humorous style with greater emphasis on reporters, whom viewers can get to know, says Thomas, who has spent all his working life in commercial radio or television.
At 27, he was the youngest editor of LBC and News Direct, moving six months before the stations were sold to Chrysalis to be news editor on the ill-fated Channel 4 breakfast programme RI:SE.
What Thomas learnt before it was scrapped last December was how to work on a targeted news service and the necessity of making a news programme relevant to viewers. Now aged 31, he certainly seems keen to inject an edge and pace to London Tonight — he’s appointed Tamzin Sylvester from Liquid News as entertainment correspondent.
But Thomas rejects the idea that there will be an emphasis on targeting younger audiences by taking on younger staff: “It will have a mixture. You want a bright and lively entertainment correspondent who’s going to be out and about, but we’ve also got the experienced correspondents who were seen on our screens, not just on London Tonight, but on Thames News before it.”
The programme will seek to avoid some of the pitfalls a lot of regional news bulletins fall into by being drawn into a staple diet of crime.
“The bigger issues over crime can sometimes be lost.
We don’t want to water down the news coverage, but perhaps by reducing the time given to those types of stories we can dedicate more time to putting gloss on other pieces reflecting the actual issues.
“A features unit of two researchers, a senior features producer and a cameraman has been set up to work on stories two weeks in advance and produce a polished package or to go out and find stories and produce them. I think that will make us stand out in the crowd.
“This launch is very important for ITN and it’s imperative that we get it right.”
SR
Press Gazette also has a news piece:
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/Assets/Images/FEB%2004/London%20tonight.JPG
TN has unveiled the line-up for its London Tonight, which will relaunch on Monday.
Anchor Alastair Stewart will be joined on the ITV regional news programme by former ITV News presenter Katie Derham, on a new set based at ITN’s Gray’s Inn Road headquarters.
Joyce Ohajah, a former London Tonight reporter and ITV News transport and travel correspondent, will present the regional news slot within the ITV News at 10.30, giving the slot a regular presenter for the first time.
Former Big Breakfast news presenter Phil Gayle will front the Sunday news bulletins.
ITN has also named London Tonight’s team of dedicated specialist correspondents.
Keir Simmons, a former LNN transport correspondent, is now the bulletin’s “London life” correspondent; Simon Harris is political correspondent; Jonathan Wills is sports correspondent and Tamzin Sylvester — poached from BBC Three’s Liquid News, where she was “Beckham correspondent” — will do entertainment.
A reporting team of Ronke Phillips, Phil Bayles, Marcus Powell and Liz Wickham will provide additional coverage. An additional reporter is being recruited.
Stuart Thomas, the reIcently appointed editor of the London news service, said the bulletins would take “a more questioning approach to what it’s like living in the capital”.
“We will examine all the issues that really matter to Londoners, whether it be the housing market, the price of cabs or what’s going on in the worlds of sport and entertainment.”
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/Assets/Images/FEB%2004/London%20tonight.JPG
TN has unveiled the line-up for its London Tonight, which will relaunch on Monday.
Anchor Alastair Stewart will be joined on the ITV regional news programme by former ITV News presenter Katie Derham, on a new set based at ITN’s Gray’s Inn Road headquarters.
Joyce Ohajah, a former London Tonight reporter and ITV News transport and travel correspondent, will present the regional news slot within the ITV News at 10.30, giving the slot a regular presenter for the first time.
Former Big Breakfast news presenter Phil Gayle will front the Sunday news bulletins.
ITN has also named London Tonight’s team of dedicated specialist correspondents.
Keir Simmons, a former LNN transport correspondent, is now the bulletin’s “London life” correspondent; Simon Harris is political correspondent; Jonathan Wills is sports correspondent and Tamzin Sylvester — poached from BBC Three’s Liquid News, where she was “Beckham correspondent” — will do entertainment.
A reporting team of Ronke Phillips, Phil Bayles, Marcus Powell and Liz Wickham will provide additional coverage. An additional reporter is being recruited.
Stuart Thomas, the reIcently appointed editor of the London news service, said the bulletins would take “a more questioning approach to what it’s like living in the capital”.
“We will examine all the issues that really matter to Londoners, whether it be the housing market, the price of cabs or what’s going on in the worlds of sport and entertainment.”
BB
No it looks like a hiddeously tacky cardboard one from the 80's... or GMTV 2004.
DAS posted:
They're keeping the skyline then... but it's not as deep and lovely and sexy as the window, is it?!
No it looks like a hiddeously tacky cardboard one from the 80's... or GMTV 2004.
FA
That skyline's horrible. Well compared to the real thing seen now. I may not live in London, but I've watched the news a few times through sky as I love the music and set! It's a shame they couldn't have done a BBC regional news thing of putting up a screen/set of screens/rear projection system to project an image of the city's skyline onto the wall behind them.
Look at the pic with the first article. They have an itv news style bench which goes all of the way round, and look in the corner of the set. Aren't they nicked off the set of Trisha?
Look at the pic with the first article. They have an itv news style bench which goes all of the way round, and look in the corner of the set. Aren't they nicked off the set of Trisha?
LO
No mention of who the breakfast/lunchtime presenter will be - is Paul Green staying on? He's been a fixture for so many years.
Also, what about Nick Clarke and Anna Maria Ashe?
The reporting team seems to have been slimmed down a bit - no mention of people like Haig Gordon, Sara Smith, Nick Scott-Plummer, Sharon Thomas... And Ken Andrew is no longer doing entertainment.
Also, what about Nick Clarke and Anna Maria Ashe?
The reporting team seems to have been slimmed down a bit - no mention of people like Haig Gordon, Sara Smith, Nick Scott-Plummer, Sharon Thomas... And Ken Andrew is no longer doing entertainment.
TE
I hope that the set is not tto cheesy looking. I do not like the idea of presenters sitting on a sofa, unlees it is Breakfast. The programme should be serious, from behind a proper desk.
Is that backdrop of London a complete fake eg. nothing moving, or is it some sort of loop, live etc.
Is that backdrop of London a complete fake eg. nothing moving, or is it some sort of loop, live etc.
NS
I assume they will want to ditch a number of the old faces. I'd heard a rumour that the overnight ITV News Channel/Morning News person would do the morning bulletins but don't know how true that is.
NickyS
Founding member
James Hatts posted:
No mention of who the breakfast/lunchtime presenter will be - is Paul Green staying on? He's been a fixture for so many years.
Also, what about Nick Clarke and Anna Maria Ashe?
The reporting team seems to have been slimmed down a bit - no mention of people like Haig Gordon, Sara Smith, Nick Scott-Plummer, Sharon Thomas... And Ken Andrew is no longer doing entertainment.
Also, what about Nick Clarke and Anna Maria Ashe?
The reporting team seems to have been slimmed down a bit - no mention of people like Haig Gordon, Sara Smith, Nick Scott-Plummer, Sharon Thomas... And Ken Andrew is no longer doing entertainment.
I assume they will want to ditch a number of the old faces. I'd heard a rumour that the overnight ITV News Channel/Morning News person would do the morning bulletins but don't know how true that is.