ITV, 28th July 1966

Your website was TVRadioBits wasn't it? A real shame it was taken offline or made available on archive.org

Yes, it closed in 2008 due to copyright issues so I didn't really want it hanging around on the internet archive. After the closure I did try to ludicrously shoehorn some elements of the site into my other, non-TV website, and most of the text from the South East history page is actually still online here: http://www.desandmick.co.uk/otherbits/television/bbcsoutheast.htm.

This isn't quite right, the first series of Python in 1969 was networked, but the second series in 1970 was in a slot where some regions could opt out if they wanted, although it was actually shown in most regions. I think the Midlands and the North East were the English regions that opted out (on SOTCAA there's a clipping from the Radio Times letters page with a Python fan from Newcastle complaining they have "some queer programme about Geordies"), plus the national regions did as well I think. There was a networked (but half-complete) repeat run, though.

Film 71 was originally a regional programme, though, as was the modern incarnation of Points of View. The original series ended in 1971 but it returned initially in London in 1979, partly because the "regional" slot featured Bilko which was of course only 25 minutes so they needed a filler. In addition the seventies current affairs show Tonight, the equivalent to Newsnight but on BBC1, ran Monday to Thursday on the network but the Friday episode was only on in London.

You were probably getting TVS from Dover (UHF Ch66). It travels all the way up the east coast during 'lift' conditions.

Thanks - yes, I see your point about how news reporting has changed, but, like you say, it does seem odd that such a vast and highly-populated region missed out on regional bulletins for so long. No local sports news on a Saturday evening, for example, or no information about travel disruption or strikes in the capital. I probably have my 2011 'disgusted from Tower Hamlets' head on, but I'm surprised SE viewers didn't make more of a fuss about this.

I seem to remember a weekday mid-evening regional news bulletin (on BBC2?) in the late 70s/early 80s which SE viewers didn't get, instead seeing Tom and Jerry or something similar.

I suspect, London+SE viewers saw the BBC as a national service, they didn't expect to see regional news on there,
outside of London, Southern TV did a fine job at covering the SE, ATV covered Oxford's patch. Having the 'regional' slot of Nationwide being presented by the same team as the national segment, only served to plant the idea in the minds of L&SE viewers that the show was 100% 'national'.

Remember also LWT carried no regional news at all until 1982, and Thames up until 1982 had 'Today' at 18:00hrs, which wasn't really regional news, more 'feature' based stuff. It was more akin to 'The One Show' really.

In 1982 the IBA forced Thames and LWT to collaborate on a 7 day regional news service for London.

I don't know what happened on ITV London prior to 1968, did Rediffusion and ATV carry anything resembling regional news ?

Thames at Six's launch in 1978, it was more newsy, and also had a nice lunchtime report was all added. Today was axed in 77, it does look like some proper news in it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqzTHWTse9k

After the 81 franchise renewals, LWT were still reluctant to start a weekend news service, despite pressure from the Independent Broadcasting Authority. When the Six o'clock show started it had a 15min bulletin from Thames news while 2-3 CA lead news was done on Sat/Sun, sourced from the Independent Local Radio station LBC.

It was in 1988 that LWT got off there back sides and brought in some proper news....

in 1993 was when a proper 7 day regional news service for London appeared

Oh yes, you're right, I remember now. I think the Sex Pistols incident on Today that year, led to its demise eventually ?

The thing with local news is bit of sticking point, as the tv listings are from middle of summer, most areas never had local news at this point of time did there? During the 60's and 70s it was all taken off until July/August and brought back for September?

STV, Scotland today took a summer break from 72 - 78,
Grampian will there, during the 80s had North tonight summer editions

Well, in the days before electronic news gathering and that, when there was obviously less material they could include, some of the smaller regions didn't do a full length regional news magazine five days a week, in some of the old IBA Yearbooks it says that Channel and Grampian's regional magazine only ran three days a week and the other nights they just did news bulletins. Although of course the news magazines themselves weren't half an hour of straight news, like they aren't these days. I've got a few ATV TV Times from the seventies when the regional news is billed as ATV Today With ATV News, the two things were considered separate.

Some regional news programmes did go off in the summer, or do more lightweight shows, in a similar way to some regions did more light-hearted shows on a Friday. In the early nineties for example Granada did Granada Tonight from behind a desk Monday to Thursday and then an hour-long sofa-based show on a Friday. Most regions kept their shows going throughout the summer but Granada bizarrely kept on with a summer break right up until the mid-nineties. It's quit a big region, too, you'd think there'd be enough to talk about.