The Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Thread

I would imagine it's the lack of a strong editor - uncle Peeta likes his celeb interviews.

It's The radio entertaining element creeping in again. He isn't a trained journalist just a radio host who's comfort zone is in banal cosy fireside interviews.

This again is the problem with a single header tin pot non regional programme made on the cheap. It's The news agenda which needs the attention and talent, leaving Levy to do the fluff and banter.

Some interesting faces here:

https://sites.google.com/site/radioairearchive/

Christa Ackroyd. Chris Kiddey. Mark Mardell. Together in the same newsroom?

Context and facts? surely not in this thread. So it wasn't an interview at all then. Nice to see Radiolistener misleading as usual.

Why would you hear from her? She works on children's TV.

It seems she is appearing in the second series of Dani's Castle in November (the first series of which aired after the last series of Strictly Come Dancing).


None of the contestants last year were born in, or live in, the Look North Hull region. The nearest you could have got was Kimberley Walsh (Bradford), who was doing Loose Women.

As has been pointed out, the contestants that were talked about are relevant to the region, so if you're going to argue down the tenuous route, then at least talk about the tenuous link between Strictly Come Dancing and news (something that hasn't stopped the national news). At least then you have an argument.

The interview with Dani Harmer carried out, of course... by Amy Cole. Not Peter Levy. As you'd know if you'd watched it.

No, talking about Strictly isn't perhaps the most fascinating piece of news but for the And Finally - which it was, at 6.55, for two minutes - it was a perfectly acceptable bit of fluff. Look North is always billed as a "regional news magazine". You've had the news, here's the magazine. Regional programmes have always relied on some celebrity in town and tried to find a local angle. One of the most famous bits of Calendar in its imperial Twice Nightly phase was Lynne Perrie turning up drunk. Yeah, she's from Rotherham, but she was there to plug a book. Not hard news. Dani Harmer is in Hull doing a theatre show and cos she was in the Strictly final they asked her to talk about the local Strictly contestants. A bit of lateral thinking, as local news programmes nationwide do.

No different to the likes of Granada Reports talking about the Liverpool and Man U players in the World Cup. You try and find local angles from national stories.

But in Hull you dont really get the news, unless its some variation of hospital blah blah blah or man bites dog in Hessle, its 25 minutes of fluff. For the Grannies.

Don't you? I must have imagined all those reports about the renewable energy sector they regularly run and which is actually quite an important topic on a UK scale. And when Hull had the floods a few years back, I must have imagined the extensive coverage they gave to that for several days. And how dare the regional news appeal to old people! It's not like they pay the licence, is it? They shouldn't be considered at all, they're nearly dead. Why is Look North not appealing to that huge teenage demographic that usually can't get enough of regional news?

Given you've also said Look North is "full" of weather banter and celebrity interviews, both of which take up approximately 5% of the programme, that it "doesn't give you the news", and that Levy's radio show is "70% music", you'll forgive me if I fail to agree with your statement at all. Because it's totally incorrect.

Now, now children, play nicely.

He does seem very defensive of dear old Uncle Peeta.

Sadly its the wrong news, With regard to the renewable energy project - same story rehash using the same old stock footage - it has no real meaning for the East Riding (except Hull and the pointless are they or aren't they Siemens story). The programme struggles for 'news' because there isn't anything worth reporting from vast expanses of Potatoes & Tulip fields in Lincolnshire & the programme rarely 'looks north' from ULL into the East Riding. The rear-guard action is usually a story about a water firm and absolute backstop is the moaning farmers, too hot, too cold, to wet, too dry,. poor farmers aren't we hard done to, mind my new range Rover.

Levy is a good radio presenter and appeals to the blue rinse brigade very well (Bumblesides demographic) but it doesn't translate to a news presenter or journalist. Look Levy is just a radio show on the telly. Any good radio schedule gives you the same thing at the same time day in day out - people like the continuity. Local news is supposed to be 'News' stories up dates and something 'new' every day. He struggles with that and the fact he has never trained a s journalist and can be easily wrong footed by anything other than a fluffy interview. Its not a personal attack - he just can't do it. Its why double headers work.

The whole thing is an underfunded non regional mess and needs to be retired. Its the perfect time to bin it using cutbacks and appropriate spin to build something better. There is a very good HLRP in Leeds now running both Hull & Leeds otherwise known as the old proper region, so spend the money on a news programme for the whole region. It will save money, axe non jobs, expensive leases and create news gathering and journalistic employment.

Not defensive, just offering another viewpoint and avoiding making personal criticism of presenters I don't know. As I've said before, having grown up with Stuart Hall and Tony Wilson presenting the local news, I don't see much wrong in bringing a bit of personality to the local news, and the interviews make up such a small percentage of the programme. Most of it is reading off the autocue which he does perfectly well.

And again, if there's no news in this region, you can say the same thing about the South West.

I haven't seen the South West news output but if it is similar it needs to be resolved with a similar solution. It's pointless and expensive to have 'Local news' which isn't.