TV Home Forum

Priorities on BBC National News

(July 2001)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
CA
cat
It's a similar situation in Wales.
The size of Wales should indicate opt out services on HTV, but the fact that there just is not enough news in Wales - the North West has a greater population - means that HTV doesn't need to spend money on an opt out service.
PE
Pete Founding member
Remember that althought Scotland/Wales/NI only have one news programme they have their own channel for the bbc

BBC ONE Scotland
BBC TWO Wales etc...
Which has a lot more variations that the English regions
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
we do indeed receive a lot of home grown talent on bbc scotland. much of which is exported to the network a year or so later, which we also receive. it can seem like being in a state of rab c nesbitt and chewing the fat temporal flux, and you find yourself mouthing the punchlines as they're said.

some really good programmes included EX:S. an arts programme with a very wide remit. really good. interestingly, named after what appeared in schedule listings used by continuity announcers at the BBC. 'EX:S' appeared on a script and was read after the name of many a programme on BBC1. 'Except for viewers in Scotland' is a well used phrase on the BBC.
WI
william Founding member
I think the London underground story is relevant, because, as various reports on NSE and C4N yesterday pointed out:

- its a huge embarrassment for the government
- it may be seen by many people as the government removing the power of devolved assemblies
- the underground carries 2 million people a day, which is more than the whole national rail network put together
- the public/private partnership idea is similar to what's happening to national air traffic

I think what is getting increasingly ridiculous is the amount of air time devoted to the Queen Mother. It probably does merit a few lines of copy if she is taken ill, but I fail to understand why Jennie Bond has to do live interviews into every bulletin every time it happens.

William
SN
Steve Naylor
william posted:

I think what is getting increasingly ridiculous is the amount of air time devoted to the Queen Mother.  It probably does merit a few lines of copy if she is taken ill, but I fail to understand why Jennie Bond has to do live interviews into every bulletin every time it happens.

William


It's the silly season!!

And as for the BBC's priorities - it wasn't just them running the news near the top of the bulletins. As people have pointed out the underground carries more passengers than the whole national rail network and the London Underground is vital for the country's economy though tourism and business. This is because it carries all those people in London which is the country's capital and thus events there carry more weight than events in Dumfries no matter how much that pains those of us north of Watford.
NS
NickyS Founding member
Quote:
I didn't see anything about the fact that there were firefighters on strike in Merseyside, yet if that was London they'd all be banging on about it for ages!

Just for the record both national BBC news and News 24 did cover the fire strike in Merseyside.
CA
cat
Spoken like a true BBC employee Nicky!

Remind me the last time they had a breaking news aston with it for 30 mins though?
SN
Steve Naylor
But to be fair, the London news did 'break' whereas the Merseyside story didn't - there was no court judgement (well there were but not major ones...!).

Newer posts