6th October 2022 (Updated 10th October 2023) Dear Readers If the News-feed from the ITV Granada Reports Website is anything to go by it is clear how little of ITV.Plc’s flagship North West Regional TV News- service covers areas north of the M62 Corridor. It would appear that Cumbria has not been covered since August.Continue reading “ITV Granada Reports does not serve its viewers who live North of Preston with Geographic- Appropriate Regional News- coverage”
Tag Archives: BBC North East and Cumbria
West Cumbria is very much in North West England and this area should Never get North East England Regional TV News.
24th April 2022 Dear Readers Viewers of Regional Television in places like Keswick, Maryport, Workington and St. Bees Head get their BBC1 Regional news from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and they can watch BBC1 Look North (NE/ Cumbria), at least eighty percent of which is about Tyneside, Teesside, Wearside, County Durham, or North Yorkshire. All of these areasContinue reading “West Cumbria is very much in North West England and this area should Never get North East England Regional TV News.”
The BBC and ITV in North West England will not improve Regional TV North of Preston without Public Pressure
4th February 2022 Dear Readers This evening, Friday 4th February viewers in northern Lancashire and South Cumbria had precious little “local” news from BBC1 North West Tonight. There was a news- report about the Isle of Man soon being open for business, a rare crumb of joy for Manx viewers who get little news aboutContinue reading “The BBC and ITV in North West England will not improve Regional TV North of Preston without Public Pressure”
Happy New Year and Good News for North Cumbrian Viewers of Regional Television
3rd January 2022 Dear Readers Firstly, I would like to wish all my regular readers, and others who read the articles on this Website a very happy, prosperous 2022: I hope that this is the year that we achieve a breakthrough for viewers in northern Lancashire, South Cumbria, and the Isle of Man in termsContinue reading “Happy New Year and Good News for North Cumbrian Viewers of Regional Television”
North Lancastrian Viewers of Regional TV. On 30th July 2021 You Would Have Been Better Watching Look North (NE/ Cumbria) for Local News!
31st July 2021 Updated 13th September 2021 I have just caught up on BBC1 Look North (NE/ Cumbria version) which aired at 6.30.pm on 31st July 2021 across North East England and northern Cumbria. Although they do not usually do this, there were in fact four separate news-items about Cumbria on the programme, two ofContinue reading “North Lancastrian Viewers of Regional TV. On 30th July 2021 You Would Have Been Better Watching Look North (NE/ Cumbria) for Local News!”
Preferences of Regional Television amongst Viewers in North Yorkshire have real relevance for North Lancastrian Viewers of mainstream NW Regional TV- services- and a Warning for Programmers.
13th July 2021 Dear Readers The very fact that the two main North West Regional News- broadcasters are happy to just provide occasional snippets of news- coverage for viewers north of Preston and the Isle of Man- on the grounds that these viewers have no real alternatives and that the two big metropolises of GreaterContinue reading “Preferences of Regional Television amongst Viewers in North Yorkshire have real relevance for North Lancastrian Viewers of mainstream NW Regional TV- services- and a Warning for Programmers.”
Thirty Years Ago People Power changed Regional TV in Northern Cumbria- and it can in Northern Lancashire too.
10th July 2021 Dear Readers In August 1986 the BBC, under the management of Michael Grade decided that it would be appropriate if Carlisle and northern Cumbria received their Regional News- programming from Manchester rather than from Newcastle-upon-Tyne on the grounds that “Cumbria is in the North West, so it should receive North West news”.Continue reading “Thirty Years Ago People Power changed Regional TV in Northern Cumbria- and it can in Northern Lancashire too.”
ITV BORDER CAN CATER FOR ALL THE NORTHERN NORTH WEST OF ENGLAND WITHOUT DILUTING EXISTING COVERAGE
6th July 2021 Dear Readers Viewers of Regional Television who live in most of Cumbria, that is all of northern and West Cumbria- along with that part of south and south-west Cumbria north of Kendal enjoy an excellent Regional News service that provides 50% coverage of Cumbria, sometimes more. This is ITV1 Border’s flagship RegionalContinue reading “ITV BORDER CAN CATER FOR ALL THE NORTHERN NORTH WEST OF ENGLAND WITHOUT DILUTING EXISTING COVERAGE”
BACK TO BASICS: DOES REGIONAL TELEVISION SERVE NORTH CUMBRIA AS IT SHOULD?
March 2021 Updated 3rd June 2021 Dear Readers In a recent post, I posed the question: What Purpose is Regional Television supposed to serve in relation to communities across the English North West? I then explained that Regional Television is supposed to provide news that is much closer to (and relevant to) local communities, toContinue reading “BACK TO BASICS: DOES REGIONAL TELEVISION SERVE NORTH CUMBRIA AS IT SHOULD?”
BBC North West is better than ITV Granada for viewers in South Cumbria and North Lancashire, but there’s still a long way to go.
30th October 2020 Dear Readers, For the second night in a row this week Annabel Tiffin covered a Cumbrian news- feature on BBC North West Tonight. Last night there was a feature on beavers being re-introduced to Cumbria after an absence of 500 years. Tellingly, the reporter covered the scheme to reintroduce beavers at theContinue reading “BBC North West is better than ITV Granada for viewers in South Cumbria and North Lancashire, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Back to No Coverage of Cumbria on both BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada
BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) had two pieces of news about South Cumbria over the last two days. Firstly, there is the concern over rising levels of Coronavirus in Barrow in Furness, and this has led to the borough being put under tighter restrictions (Level 2, of the new 3- Tier System of CoronavirusContinue reading “Back to No Coverage of Cumbria on both BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada”
Another week. Virtually no Cumbrian coverage on BBC North West Tonight and absolutely none on ITV Granada
Rising Coronavirus cases -and attendant lockdowns affecting Manchester, Liverpool, parts of Cheshire and (mostly) South Lancashire have dominated headlines on BBC North West Tonight. Extensive coverage of the Inquest into the May 2017 Manchester Arena bombings also takes up extensive air-time on both BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada. And (Coronavirus restrictions permitting) SportsContinue reading “Another week. Virtually no Cumbrian coverage on BBC North West Tonight and absolutely none on ITV Granada”
4th September 2020: BBC North West Tonight. Any hopes of further Cumbrian news- coverage quickly dashed!
True to form BBC North West Tonight lets down it’s viewers who live north of Preston after dangling in front of them the prospect of more consistent news- coverage of Cumbria (i.e. something about Cumbria each night). The last three evenings of the week have yielded nothing about Cumbria! At the same time BBC LookContinue reading “4th September 2020: BBC North West Tonight. Any hopes of further Cumbrian news- coverage quickly dashed!”
Regional News Programmes in Scotland and the North of England need a little ICE in them to enhance their “Northern-ness”
LOCHNAGER, THE HIGH CAIRNGORMS IN SUMMER- SNOW PATCHES STILL PERSIST ON THE HIGHEST SLOPES. (Image Courtesy of Con Stock Photo inc (csr601d)) I have made the point in recent posts that viewers of Regional Television in northern parts of Britain (i.e. Scotland, North West and North East England) like their news to cover some placesContinue reading “Regional News Programmes in Scotland and the North of England need a little ICE in them to enhance their “Northern-ness””
This week Northumberland has been short-changed on BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) and ITV Tyne Tees.
With the exception of a report about swimmers getting into difficulty on the Northumberland coast and needing to be rescued by Seahouses RNLI (reported on on ITV Tyne Tees) the county has had negligible coverage throughout the week. Both BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) and ITV Tyne Tees covered North Yorkshire fairly extensively thisContinue reading “This week Northumberland has been short-changed on BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) and ITV Tyne Tees.”
BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) does need to cover rural Northumberland better- and overlap into the Scottish Borders.
This Website highlights the shortage of regional news- coverage of northern parts of North East England on BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) as well as the shortage of coverage of Cumbria on BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada. Carol Malia’s bulletin this evening (22nd July) is a case in point, although rural NorthumberlandContinue reading “BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) does need to cover rural Northumberland better- and overlap into the Scottish Borders.”
South Cumbria is Definitely in North West England. There should Never Be a situation where BBC North West covers NOTHING from Cumbria for Six Days- but BBC North East covers two South Cumbrian news items (plus a further two Cumbrian items) over a weekend!
This weekend -of 18th/ 19th July 2020 illustrates something very amiss with BBC Regional Television in the North West and North East of England: It is that Cumbria has not been covered at all all weekend on BBC (and nothing about Cumbria has been covered for six days) whilst BBC Look North (North East andContinue reading “South Cumbria is Definitely in North West England. There should Never Be a situation where BBC North West covers NOTHING from Cumbria for Six Days- but BBC North East covers two South Cumbrian news items (plus a further two Cumbrian items) over a weekend!”
17th July 2020: Nothing about Cumbria on BBC NorthWest tonight for last four days-no coverage of woman who died after Cleator Moor murder.
If you thought BBC North West Tonight was covering Cumbria a bit more regularly- and it certainly began to seem that way- then another week without any Cumbrian news- coverage on the BBC’s flagship main news-bulletin for North West England comes along to squash any hopes that South Cumbrian and North Lancastrian viewers might haveContinue reading “17th July 2020: Nothing about Cumbria on BBC NorthWest tonight for last four days-no coverage of woman who died after Cleator Moor murder.”
BBC North West Tonight, BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria), ITV Granada and ITV Tyne Tees can improve coverage at the margins of their transmission areas at little extra cost.
15th July 2020 Dear Readers BBC North West Tonight was presented by the excellent Roger Johnson with flamboyant Owain Wyn Evans presenting the weather- forecast. Meanwhile on BBC Look North (NE & Cumbria) Carol Malia presented the news with the seasoned- meteorologist Paul Mooney providing a detailed weather- forecast. The news- presenters and weather- forecastersContinue reading “BBC North West Tonight, BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria), ITV Granada and ITV Tyne Tees can improve coverage at the margins of their transmission areas at little extra cost.”
A large Region of northern Britain covering southern Scotland and rural Northumberland effectively sidelined by the BBC
Viewers of Regional and Local Television in mid and North Northumberland and the Scottish Borders (including the easternmost part of East Lothian- which extends well to the east of Edinburgh) are comprehensively short- changed in the amount of localised coverage that they receive. The Scottish border- and with it the boundaries of different BBC andContinue reading “A large Region of northern Britain covering southern Scotland and rural Northumberland effectively sidelined by the BBC”
Distances and Travel Times between Cumbria/ North Lancashire and major centres in the North West, North East of England and also southern Scotland: Relevant to Regional Television.
DEFINING WHAT IS LOCAL TO A PARTICULAR COMMUNITY A few basic facts establish whether a location in Cumbria or North Lancashire should be receiving BBC (and/ or ITV) Regional output from the North West, the North East of England- or whether really it should be part of a new Television Region. The first is theContinue reading “Distances and Travel Times between Cumbria/ North Lancashire and major centres in the North West, North East of England and also southern Scotland: Relevant to Regional Television.”
North East England is North East England- and BBC Look North and ITV Tyne Tees must cover Northumberland more.
Readers of this Website- dedicated to campaigning for better Regional News coverage for the northern two-thirds of North West England- might be interested to know that there will be articles covering the forgotten northern corners of North East England too. This is the first one devoted to pointing out the deficiencies of Regional news coverageContinue reading “North East England is North East England- and BBC Look North and ITV Tyne Tees must cover Northumberland more.”
Carlisle and northern Cumbria do not benefit greatly from BBC Regional output
Dear Readers Viewers of Regional television in northern and West Cumbria get their Regional News- services from BBC (North East/ Cumbria), which comes from Newcastle upon Tyne and from ITV Border (English version). ITV Border, which produces a Scottish flavoured programme (from an opt-out on the Scottish side of the border) and a Cumbrian- flavouredContinue reading “Carlisle and northern Cumbria do not benefit greatly from BBC Regional output”
Television Regions with Hard Transmission Borders and Viewers on the Edge
BBC and ITV Regional Television in the North of England, particularly in the North West and- to a lesser extent- in the North East of England do not seem to like covering any news on their programmes- other than that which occurs within the areas where viewers can see the respective Regional programmes. These HardContinue reading “Television Regions with Hard Transmission Borders and Viewers on the Edge”
The North West Gypsies Not Told about Appleby Fair
In June every year, if you live anywhere in Cumbria, Lancashire or indeed in Northumberland and Durham in the North East of England, and you live in a relatively rural area you will notice an annual phenomenon: Lots of horse- drawn carriages on the roads, sometimes groups of two or three of them together. YouContinue reading “The North West Gypsies Not Told about Appleby Fair”