Hey, I was the only one trying to keep this thread thread alive as I posted 3 times and no-one replied so I gave up! My HTV News/itv wales news thread was more successful than this!
It seems nothing of interest is really happening on ITV Wales News & Wales Tonight anymore. Apart from Lucy of course, its all very boring.
Correction - no offence but it is my lanugage - y draig and I guess it's true that nothing really happens on ITV Wales News. It's just your average news program from ITV and in that awful generic style.
ITV Wales announced today that it will be spending £2.6 million in new digital technology, additional satellite facilities, staff training and refurbishing its site at Culverhouse Cross.
This follows on from the news that ITV Wales purchased its studios and office complex at Culverhouse Cross along with the surrounding land, some 50 acres in total, in April 2006.
Roger Lewis, Managing Director of ITV Wales said:
“Today we can announce that we are to build a state of the art digital newsroom at ITV Wales to go live on air in November. We are training our teams in the latest digital technology and are equipping our studios with a range of new digital facilities. In addition we will base a new satellite truck in North Wales. Furthermore we are to refurbish the site at Culverhouse Cross and offer our staff a range of new facilities. We are investing in our people and technology to ensure we provide Wales with a first class television and media service.”
Roger Lewis continues, “Our vision is to link people and ideas together around a range of facilities, spaces, and offices at Culverhouse Cross. We are building an all Wales centre for the creative industries, to be branded and presented as such. We are also pleased to announce today that Greenfield Media, who provide management services and consultancy to growth companies in the broadcast sector, will be joining us and the six existing media companies already based at Culverhouse Cross this July.”
The benefits from the studios at ITV Wales being equipped with a state of the art digital newsroom will mean significant improvements in the workflow for the news environment. This will allow journalists to edit their own news stories as well as create an array of new graphical images. The new digital system will allow ITV Wales to be connected to other ITV regions to exchange footage and programme content. These changes will enhance the quality of service for viewers in Wales.
John Williams, Head of ITV Wales News said:
“By working from one of the most modern news centres in Europe we will be able to make bold editorial decisions which will strengthen our ability to create strong and creative news programmes for viewers in Wales. We are very excited by the opportunities this major investment offers us."
The ITV Wales studios will also be equipped with 7 new Avid Adrenalin edit suites. These will bring a new dimension to the production of both news and local programmes, allowing producers to achieve greater creativity and flexibility. The editing process will be much faster, with higher quality results, and accelerated effects processing with real-time audio.
Elis Owen, Controller of Programmes, ITV Wales said:
“This significant investment in people and technology will mean ITV Wales can continue to produce high quality and imaginative programming for the people of Wales. We look forward to a fantastic new schedule of programmes, with over 20 new series broadcasted between July and December, as well as the continuation of some of the popular programmes on ITV Wales and some of the longest running programmes on S4C.’’
All ITV Wales production and editorial staff are being trained on new computer packages and the hi-tech system called ‘inews’ installed on their personal computers. This will enable desk top editing and immediate access to the central digital news system.
Considerable investment has also been made in the delivery of a new satellite truck which will operate in North Wales. This will complement the existing satellite truck, which will predominantly now cover South Wales. ITV Wales News will then have the ability to respond to breaking news stories even more promptly and efficiently as they happen, bringing a first class news gathering service to Wales.
The office space at the site will have a complete refurbishment, and all ITV Wales staff based at Culverhouse Cross will be located together.
The arrival of Greenfield heralds the start of the media sector working closer together at Culverhouse Cross joining the six other existing companies already based there.
Greenfield Media will be occupying 18 work stations at the Culverhouse Site and will move into the building this summer. Greenfield provides business and financial consultancy to growth businesses in the Broadcast sector, including Platform operators, Broadcasters and Independent producers. With a strong track record of producing quality advertisements for both the radio and TV sectors, Greenfield also provides integrated marketing solutions for businesses aiming to develop their marketing and communication strategy.
Greenfield’s Managing Director Wyn Innes said:
“We are delighted to be one of the first companies to commit to the vision of a media hub, by relocating to the Culverhouse Cross complex. Greenfield is an ideas based business, which looks to partner with likeminded media companies and provide solutions across a range of business issues. We wholeheartedly support this idea of a media cluster, which we believe could have significant benefits for the creative industry in South Wales”
Today’s announcements are a significant step forward on the journey to build a centre of creative excellence for the sector in Wales at Culverhouse Cross. Discussions with a number of other media companies to relocate to Culverhouse Cross are in advanced stages, and further news is expected in the coming weeks.
Todays Wales Tonight which went out a 4pm only had 1 presenter (Lucy Owen). I also noticed they didnt have any opening titles - if short bulletins at the weekend have opening titles then why didnt Wales Tonight ( I know it was only 15 mins but still it wasnt part of the national itv news like the lunch and late bulletins are)
I also noticed that Chris Perry was doing GMTV Wales this morning - im glad they have noticed what a great presenter he is!
My HTV News/itv wales news thread was more successful than this! 
