DE
Operation London Bridge is as far as I'm aware a code word (that doubtless has now changed) used by the civil service and so on. It's not something I've ever heard of in use in broadcasting. I would be very surprised if any newsroom had mistaken what happened this afternoon with the death of a royal.
JV
From the MHP page:
"Meanwhile, all independent radio stations were taking the IRN special programme, which consisted of light instrumental music and ten minute announcements, with extended news bulletins on the hour and half-hour.
London’s Capital Radio (95.8 FM and Gold 1548) dropped out of the IRN coverage fairly quickly, partly due to the poor quality of their feed, which had sounded like a telephone payphone with beeps over the music. They broadcast a combined programme of light classical music with Howard Hughes announcing every ten minutes."
Indeed one of the songs from the clip is a Kenny G number
I seem to remember hearing Kenny G on the radio in Glasgow too - though don't recall it being poor quality, so perhaps Clyde 1 were just running a similar playlist. (It may also have been a rare - for the time - example of SRH networking their stations during the day, as I distinctly remember Craig Wallace reeling off all the stations in the group, though I may be confusing that with the day the Queen Mum died)
Indeed if you listen to the IRN clip - https://telly.site/diana/ - just underneath the GMTV one, you can hear faint beeps underneath the audio, which sounds like what's heard on the IRN feed when nothing is being broadcast.
James Vertigan
Founding member
Radio 1's coverage of Diana's death was discussed earlier in this thread and there was a mention of Capital. I remember that most of the music on Capital's obit playlist came from the Pure Moods collection - Kenny G, Ryuichi Sakamoto, etc.
From the MHP page:
"Meanwhile, all independent radio stations were taking the IRN special programme, which consisted of light instrumental music and ten minute announcements, with extended news bulletins on the hour and half-hour.
London’s Capital Radio (95.8 FM and Gold 1548) dropped out of the IRN coverage fairly quickly, partly due to the poor quality of their feed, which had sounded like a telephone payphone with beeps over the music. They broadcast a combined programme of light classical music with Howard Hughes announcing every ten minutes."
Indeed one of the songs from the clip is a Kenny G number
I seem to remember hearing Kenny G on the radio in Glasgow too - though don't recall it being poor quality, so perhaps Clyde 1 were just running a similar playlist. (It may also have been a rare - for the time - example of SRH networking their stations during the day, as I distinctly remember Craig Wallace reeling off all the stations in the group, though I may be confusing that with the day the Queen Mum died)
Indeed if you listen to the IRN clip - https://telly.site/diana/ - just underneath the GMTV one, you can hear faint beeps underneath the audio, which sounds like what's heard on the IRN feed when nothing is being broadcast.
LL
I can't remember who it was on here who rendered all the dead MHP clips playable, but I just want to say thank you again to whoever it was.
VM
You're welcome! It was a neat side hobby to learn how to design responsive websites whilst updating one of my favourite webpages from the early days of the TV presentation web. I'm really glad other people have gotten use out of it. Most of the audio content from that page is still not available anywhere else.
I can't remember who it was on here who rendered all the dead MHP clips playable, but I just want to say thank you again to whoever it was.
You're welcome! It was a neat side hobby to learn how to design responsive websites whilst updating one of my favourite webpages from the early days of the TV presentation web. I'm really glad other people have gotten use out of it. Most of the audio content from that page is still not available anywhere else.
RE
Sinister and haunting...fits the subject matter very appropriately.
That song doesn't just convey and signify a bad event such as the death of the Queen - the violins leave a sense of the ramifications of what has happened, and its impact on the public, and Britain as a whole.
Given the events that follow, it also represents a very different Britain to the one we know today, and the psychological reckoning that is instilled.
A fitting song, but also very sinister and eerie.
Somebody at Radio 1 has claimed that something bad will have happened if this ends up being played. I find it a little more sinister than ambient, frankly. The violins make it feel like they're saying "The Queen has died... but who's next?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozuFCYJQ4os
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozuFCYJQ4os
Sinister and haunting...fits the subject matter very appropriately.
That song doesn't just convey and signify a bad event such as the death of the Queen - the violins leave a sense of the ramifications of what has happened, and its impact on the public, and Britain as a whole.
Given the events that follow, it also represents a very different Britain to the one we know today, and the psychological reckoning that is instilled.
A fitting song, but also very sinister and eerie.
IS
Yes, especially as the initial story was 'Shots outside parliament', nothing to do with the bridge.
The London Bridge code is/was for the civil service. Broadcasters will have their own.
Operation London Bridge is as far as I'm aware a code word (that doubtless has now changed) used by the civil service and so on. It's not something I've ever heard of in use in broadcasting. I would be very surprised if any newsroom had mistaken what happened this afternoon with the death of a royal.
Yes, especially as the initial story was 'Shots outside parliament', nothing to do with the bridge.
The London Bridge code is/was for the civil service. Broadcasters will have their own.
RK
How are the alert lights signal transmitted? Someone mentioned it was through radio - is it encoded on its own frequency or encoded onto an existing service?
I was reading today about CNN's alert box / speaker for their Newsource affiliates. It appears the box takes their satellite feeds and the audio alerts encoded into a different audio channel.
I was reading today about CNN's alert box / speaker for their Newsource affiliates. It appears the box takes their satellite feeds and the audio alerts encoded into a different audio channel.
MA
It was I think through DTMF tones on the audio feed from IRN, I suspect something different these days ?
How are the alert lights signal transmitted? Someone mentioned it was through radio - is it encoded on its own frequency or encoded onto an existing service?
It was I think through DTMF tones on the audio feed from IRN, I suspect something different these days ?
SP
The BBC RATS system is/was activated but a signal transmitted in the data stream alongside the Radio 4 long wave signal
NG
Yes. The BBC use a different code word entirely. And it isn't in widespread use in BBC News - so no misunderstanding would be likely for both reasons.
noggin
Founding member
Operation London Bridge is as far as I'm aware a code word (that doubtless has now changed) used by the civil service and so on. It's not something I've ever heard of in use in broadcasting. I would be very surprised if any newsroom had mistaken what happened this afternoon with the death of a royal.
Yes. The BBC use a different code word entirely. And it isn't in widespread use in BBC News - so no misunderstanding would be likely for both reasons.