BBC News: Nations & Regions

Bilsdale only it would seem, and only on analogue -- I noticed that they were having trouble with the signal before the news started -- the previous programme lost sound several times, and on each occasion there was a hard-switch to another feed to bring the sound back.

Clearly the feed they were taking the Bilsdale analogue signal from was faulty (no sound) and they hard-switched over to the backup (Yorkshire).

At this point I hit record on the Freeview DTR. The analogue feed had the Yorkshire ident and news preview at 1pm, but the FV feed was from Newcastle.

On today's lunchtime edition of South Today, they had a report from Cirencester??? Surely that is not even within the "Oxford" part of the region??!
Also does anyone else think their weather map is a mess? They have twisted & distorted the map to fit in the northern areas of the region. Devon looks squashed & Portland looks bent! It makes it look like Banbury is just up the road from Southampton..

Bits of Cirencester are within the Oxford analogue patch, though it's getting harder to justify coverage of stories from that far away with the digital switchover. Not sure what you mean regarding the weather map; they do rotate the map through nearly 90degrees to show the sea states for the South Coast, but it returns to 'the right way up' after that segment of the forecast.

They seem to have somehow maniplulated the angle of the map? Like when they do the "fly round" on the national news, but they have it as if it's an aerial view looking down on the region, it's hard to explain, but if you look at the map on Spotlight you will see the difference. I guess they had to do it to fit the whole region in as it is ridiculously large...

To be fair, all BBC weathermaps (national and regional) are at a slightly "perspective-y" type angle, rather than fully ariel-view. Admittedly, the angle is less severe than it was for the first few weeks of the current style graphics, due to complaints (especially from Scottish viewers, understandably). So the angle nowadays is a compromise between the original severe angle, and good old-fashioned ariel-view.

I do think, however, that South Today's probably is still at something more like the original severe angle - as you say, to disguise the ludicrously big north-to-south distance of the region.

Surely one of the biggest reasons for disbanding the old Elstree-based BBC South East region, back in 2001, was because of it's terrible uber-size? But bunging "Oxford" onto the existing South Today region meant that they basically replaced one oversized region with another. (South Today's loss of East Sussex to the new Tunbridge Wells programme can hardly be said to balance out the size of the northern extension to the region)

However, in population terms there is a big difference, as South Today's patch doesn't include anywhere as densely populated as London. Also, the "Oxford" area of the patch has had at least some form of sub-opt since the first day that it joined South Today, thus guaranteeing some relevent local news, rather than just Southampton/Portsmouth (etc) bias, or whatever. Which is more than can be said for London-centric Newsroom South East.

Forgive me if im wrong but does Cirencester not fall into Points West remit? Just watch the Points West titles..

Sounds like an analogue transmitter (Bilsdale? Pontop Pike?) has lost its programme feed and fallen onto RBS and is rebroadcasting Emley Moor.

This is an image of the 1999 desk/set used by NE & Cumbria
from the BBC website (link in Media Websites forum).

What other regions still use the basic 1999 set?

Southampton and Cambridge are the only other regions to still use their 1999 sets AFAIK. Southampton have changed the way they use theirs quite a lot over the years, but the essential elements of the 1999 set remain in place: the two curved main set walls and the overhanging set top. The hole where the "window on the world" CSO cloth was hung is still there but is now filled with a backlit newsroom backdrop. The desk and carpets were dispensed with long ago (along with having two presenters). They went through a phase of standing up for the newsy part of the programme with virtually no furniture, but have now reverted to having a desk (of sorts; it's more like a bar!). I think they've retained their sofa area throughout, although the sofas themselves have changed once or twice in design.

Things in Cambridge have stayed very similar to the original set. They are the last region to still use the big oval desk I think. I believe they are also the last to use a "Window on the World".

Yup - we have our own relay of Mendip here, bringing us Points West and ITV West. The only people I know who get pictures from Oxford are those in some parts of the town that can get a signal, and want digital now, and can't wait for our West relay DSO. But Gloucestershire is west tv for regional news.

BBC Midlands still covers the parts of Gloucestershire covered by Ridge Hill doesn't it?

For the time being that's true. But the amount of Gloucestershire coverage on BBC Midlands is minimal compared to BBC West. Furthermore,
if you live in the Ridge Hill serviced area in Gloucestershire, and choose to get your pictures by satellite or cable rather than off your aerial, you'll get BBC West. The Beeb have also said they'll provide BBC West for north Gloucestershire from Ridge Hill on DSO, which will bring it in line with ITV West.