BBC Midlands Today

That is a particularly awful lightbox background - which region is it?

This looks much better
http://www.tv-live.org.uk/wp/media/bbcnews2008/regions/lookeast/lookeast200904.jpg

That Lightbox does, indeed, look awful. The people in it make it look like a thermal imaging camera!

In terms of someone saying that Regional News could be single-headed everywhere later this year - I wouldn't say this would make the most sense in some regions (the East, in particular).

Here in the East, Stuart and Suzie have been the face of Look East for many, many years, with Stuart the longer serving of the two - I therefore wouldn't say it makes sense to break the Look East 'family' up, so to speak.

It would make financial sense though.

Look North NE and Cumbria. On the night bulletin they leave the lightboxes turned off to make it appear like a 'night scene' when in reality it looks naff.

It's all nice enough for what it is and IMO is better than what it replaced but seems a bit short sighted to be revamping BBC regional studios to match the national look when the national news will soon be moving to Broadcasting House.

The BBC regions have sure been through their studios since it all went generic too, though I guess in reality don't change them much more frequently than they did before hand.

The renders of the BH studios do look like an update of the current look though (as opposed to something completely new and different), so with a relight / new backgrounds, the current regional sets could probably be updated to tie them more with the new look national sets. I woud be very surprised if there wasn't some thought as to how the new Look North / Midlands Today sets could be updated when the nationals move.

I'm surprised they haven't rotated those plasmas 90 degrees, and perhaps added a couple more in, or some pillars.

This is the BBC though - such forward planning can be somewhat alien to them.

I was at a friend's house tonight watching Midlands Today and they pointed out what I thought - Nick Owen looks like a little child at that desk. I can't put my finger on why. I'm not sure if it's the desk that's odd or whether because the plasmas are quite high up, it looks as if he's actually low down.

Well they can't win then, because he apparently looked like a little child at the last desk. Maybe it's just Nick?

Maybe! Poor bloke...

Or it's just your eyes, looks fine on my TV...