Granada Reports

Thanks for explaining. I wonder if the changes came in 2009 when they stopped mentioning North Wales.

Haven't seen this for years... At 5:54, the Sunday evening Granada News update where the newsreader didn't quite make it to the studio in time...

I remember this. The producer at the time stood in for a moment and then Alison Tarpey appeared.

Wow, I remember seeing that bulletin. In fact, I've mentioned it on here in the past. Never thought I'd see it again. It's a shame it's an edited version and not the full bulletin.

I was in my bedroom with the portable TV on. That guy with the ear piece struggled from the get go, looked confused and got progressively worse throughout the bulletin. It got to the point where he was shouting out individual words quite slowly; at which point the woman took over. This changeover didn't happen whilst a VT was running, as you may expect.; the studio camera was on and after struggling to get out the last few not quite intelligible words, the man got out of the chair, leaving it empty for a good half a minute or so. The woman (Alison Tarpey according to Ben Shatliff) was much better once she got mic'd up; only messing up with that awkward silence towards the end as shown.

I remember going downstairs shortly after and laughing about it with my mum who also had it on in the living room. I have a feeling this was late 1997. It's one of my last memories of that studio look.

Yes it was late 1997. The main programme then Granada Tonight was relaunched as a 65 minute news programme with a brand new look and bigger studio from January 1998.

It then changed again in October 1998 when all bulletins were presented in Manchester and a complete overhaul again.

A shame the January look only lasted a few months as it was a colourful studio and a catchy opening and closing theme.

Wasn't a fan of that look really. The titles had that naff Yorkshire-Tyne Tees feel to them; probably not a coincidence. Didn't think much of the music at the time either, although I've grown to appreciate it over the years. Part of it was that I was so used to the old look. It'd been around for 4 years and it felt a very long time at my age. I was in primary school when that look first aired and I was a teenager when they changed it once more. The look before that also didn't look too different, studio-wise. I liked the Liverpool backdrop too and this change was the beginning of the end for the Liverpool bulletins. As I think you confirmed previously, they stopped doing the throw to the Liverpool newsroom during Granada Tonight. The revived Granada Goals Extra also came from Manchester, rather than Liverpool, as well.

In fact, Granada changed massively in just that 12 months or so. As well as the Liverpool newsroom being wound down, the channels playout, presentation and continuity was moved out of Manchester to Leeds. I wasn't aware this was happening at the time but I noticed the difference. 1997 was the last year of proper old school Granada.

I wonder why they didn't just read the bulletin over a still of the titles.

I remember watching GMTV one morning when Eamonn and Fiona didn't get to the studio in time. Trish Bertram's announcement played as usual over a wide shot of the empty sofa, before they faded away to Penny at the news desk, who was about to explain, but then Eamonn rushed past the shot followed by Fiona hurriedly sorting her mic and earpiece out.

Of course what would happen now (and does, mainly on GMB bulletins) is another nearby region would be substituted, but in 1997 Granada wouldn't have had the option as they only did their own playout.

(I believe it was established in another thread that the Granada/Border relationship amounted to a commercial library/break playout, and programming, but ultimately overall playout and continuty for Border stayed in Carlisle until a couple of years after this)

Is the second person in that clip, the actual newsreader who should have been on from the start?

Interesting clip that from ITN's perspective too ahead of a year of fairly major change for television news with the rebranding of C4 News, introduction of ITV News in the wake of News at Ten's demise and elsewhere the revamp of BBC News, all within a few months of each other.

No. A quick internet search suggests she was an on-screen journalist but I didn't recognise her when she appeared. Certainly, she wasn't a newsreader. So Rahman often did the Sunday bulletins in this era. Patrick Snell and Andrew Brittain are other candidates.

Alison Tarpey was at the time an onscreen reporter who later became Regionsl Affairs Correspondent for Granada and Like other onscreen reporters if that era she did used to present the news bulletins. Not as often as So Rahman, Patrick Snell etc but she did occasionally present.