BBC Nine O'Clock News & Daytime Summaries

It was the same over on ITV. The Summaries music was a snippet of the News at 1 theme.

I remember the same experience, feeling exactly the same watching the new titles' debut. At the time, aged 12, I adored any kind of 3D computer graphics involving shiny, chunky, random flying objects, and couldn't believe what they had done to the 9 O' Clock News titles.

Thirty years on, however, I am happy to admit that the 'flying fish fingers' were very much of their time and now look exceptionally cheesy and melodramatic, and that the titles which replaced them have aged a lot better.

The transmitter logo, however, did feel rather scary and authoritarian, and those lightning bolts did make it look like something designed under the Third Reich.

That was the comparison that was made by some. Though as Lambie Nairn says in his book about TV branding, the lightning bolts were inspired by the lion on the top of the BBC coat of arms:

Thank goodness they didn't use the spreadeagle wings as well then.

There's one thing today's bulletins could learn from the 1988 revamp... Radio Times ran a two page feature about the new look, about how it was intended to be a back-to-basics approach, and noted that it was hoped that the new opening sequence would halve the amount of time it took to get to the main story of the day - I know today's endlessly long headlines sequences is something that's been discussed on here recently.

I don't suppose anyone has a copy of that article they wouldn't mind scanning? I know it's probably a long shot after 30 years but thought it was worth asking.

Yes, I do have this, though unfortunately I haven't got my scanner working at the moment so hopefully a photograph will suffice for now, a bit fuzzy but hopefully just about legible. View full size: https://up.metropol247.co.uk/RW2009/picture930.jpg



I can't believe both presenters were so young, only a little older than I am now! And this was the first time I had heard the previous titles described as the 'flying fish fingers'!

Fascinating article, also have to say both Buerk and Lewis were amazing newsreaders. Infact, almost the entire pool of newsreaders in the late 80s and 90s were fantastic. Peter Sissons, Philip Hayton, Nicholas Witchell, Andrew Harvey, Anna Ford, Edward Stourton, and then of course the likes of Moira Stuart, Chris Lowe, Jill Dando and Jennie Bond who never quite made it to lead anchors but were still brilliant. The only real heavyweights these days are Huw Edwards and George Alagiah. Fiona Bruce and Sophie Raworth are good and solid but not what I consider heavyweight. Jane Hill and Reeta Chakrabarti are ok if not slightly annoying. Clive Myrie shows potential but can be a little on the dull side.

A really fascinating read. I forgot Mark Thompson edited the Nine O'Clock News back then.

And, as others have said, I wish BBC News would revert to shorter, snappier openings for its main bulletins.

You're wrong about Jill Dando. Back then when it really was women battling in a man's world, she shone when the Russian coup happened and it was the first time she led Breakfast News with Paul Burden in the 2nd seat. Jill was almost immediately looked upon as senior. She did most bulletins at one point or another, certainly main over the weekends.

I'm certain Jill Dando would have been up there with the current senior presenters on the main bulletins.

Smoking in the newsroom too, a totally different world.