The Newsroom

ITV faces fine after Central News East 'emergency'

10.50 bulletin was pre-recorded (April 2005)

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BE
Ben Founding member
Aston posted:
Very good point made there noggin, couldn't agree with you more.

What I don't get is why they didn't move Central South to Brum as Nottingham is a much bigger city and covers a larger area to Abingdon, which has always seemed somewhat of an anomoly to me...


Perhaps thinking ahead to the future when Ofcom allow ITV to loose some of the sub-smaller regions? I could easily see that happening.
LO
Londoner
nwtv2003 posted:
it probably makes sense to move CNE into CNW where there was a spare studio available.

I thought it was more a case of splitting one studio down the middle?!
TV
tvmercia Founding member
equiment in abingdon is fairly upto date, where as the equiment at lenton lane was fairly old.
SN
snarfu
The network BBC1 Bulletin as mentioned on the last page was broadcast live again for Scotland. This happens quite a few times in the event of sports like the Italy v Scotland match. Some of the lives which may be from the earlier broadcast may be recorded and replayed as inserts in the later bulletin.

Nevermind at least it is not as bad a regional news in the LWT region in the early eighties where a continuity announcer would read copy!
IS
Inspector Sands
tvmercia posted:
equiment in abingdon is fairly upto date, where as the equiment at lenton lane was fairly old.


Exactly the reason.

The equipment in Nottingham was ancient and any refit was dependant on waiting for a decision on whether the rest of studios were being kept or sold.

Abingdon was refitted fairly recently
IS
Inspector Sands
noggin posted:

Difficult as it may be to accept - some people are close to being indispensible - and as fewer people are required to make TV shows, the more important full crewing is. This is one of the reasons ITV regional news is co-siting - it is easier to cover sickness if you have a larger pool of people working in the same place, rather than having to have standby people in 3 different regional centres. (The combined pool of people required to cover a co-sited operation is smaller than that required to cover three separaete island sites) Of course - in this case it WAS a co-sited operation that failed - so it sounds like they are cutting things back even further...


In such a circumstance it seems a good decision to record a bulletin. There was obviously a Director for Central West. Why not have him/her direct the east bulletin first, then nip next door and do the west one?

I really don't see the problem in having a short bulletin pre-recorded an hour beforehand. As long as it's done only in extreme circumstances and not as a regular arrangement.... why not? What would Ofcom prfer - a pre-recorded local bulletin or no local bulletin at all?
OH
ohwhatanight Founding member
How did Ofcom find out that the bulletin was recorded?
UB
Uncle Bruce
ohwhatanight posted:
How did Ofcom find out that the bulletin was recorded?


Central's bosses apparently told them - I suppose they thought it was best to admit it, rather than try and cover it up and face the wrath later.
NG
noggin Founding member
Inspector Sands posted:
noggin posted:

Difficult as it may be to accept - some people are close to being indispensible - and as fewer people are required to make TV shows, the more important full crewing is. This is one of the reasons ITV regional news is co-siting - it is easier to cover sickness if you have a larger pool of people working in the same place, rather than having to have standby people in 3 different regional centres. (The combined pool of people required to cover a co-sited operation is smaller than that required to cover three separaete island sites) Of course - in this case it WAS a co-sited operation that failed - so it sounds like they are cutting things back even further...


In such a circumstance it seems a good decision to record a bulletin. There was obviously a Director for Central West. Why not have him/her direct the east bulletin first, then nip next door and do the west one?

I really don't see the problem in having a short bulletin pre-recorded an hour beforehand. As long as it's done only in extreme circumstances and not as a regular arrangement.... why not? What would Ofcom prfer - a pre-recorded local bulletin or no local bulletin at all?


I think it is a case of breaching your licence. If you commit to live TV News, then you should deliver it. If you don't want to guarantee it, then don't agree to it...

Out of interest - would it have been a breach to have done a combined East Midlands / West Midlands bulletin ? I'd have thought that would have been a better solution - though it would have been more obvious to viewers.
HC
Hatton Cross
noggin posted:

Out of interest - would it have been a breach to have done a combined East Midlands / West Midlands bulletin.


Which is of course what happens during GMTV...
RE
Reuben
... and they've done it before, the same with west taking east sometimes. Confused
NG
noggin Founding member
Hatton Cross posted:
noggin posted:

Out of interest - would it have been a breach to have done a combined East Midlands / West Midlands bulletin.


Which is of course what happens during GMTV...


Yep - though GMTV output, even in the Central region, is irrelevant to this as GMTV are not governed by Central's franchise licence, even within the Central region.

GMTV is a separate franchise, with separate local news commitments - which don't include sub-regions these days AIUI.

Many people think GMTV is just a programme "on ITV" - in fact it is a nationwide franchise, in just the same way that Anglia, Central etc. are regional franchises. The rules governing the GMTV franchise are different - it isn't a case of Central putting on ITV local news during GMTV, instead GMTV contract Central to provide the GMTV local news during GMTV's broadcast hours.

Many Forumers will know this has caused some anomalies in the past - ITN provided the local news for GMTV in the UTV region, rather than UTV providing it, for a while - though I think a different operator now provides Northern Ireland local news for GMTV (still not UTV?)

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