BBC North West and ITV Granada’s coverage remains unacceptable for their northern viewers. Suggested template for BBC North West to cover Cumbria and North Lancs. better.

Dear Readers For the first time since the start of September, ITV Granada finally featured a news- item mentioning Cumbria- Barrow-in-Furness is to receive £25 million to help boost regeneration as part of the Conservative Government’s “Levelling Up” programme and Blackpool is to get £40 million. But South Cumbrian viewers of ITV Granada Reports shouldContinue reading “BBC North West and ITV Granada’s coverage remains unacceptable for their northern viewers. Suggested template for BBC North West to cover Cumbria and North Lancs. better.”

Map-shading and Area-Descriptions show an Intent Not to Cover Northern Cumbria on ITV Granada Reports and BBC North West Tonight.

21st October 2020 Dear Readers Viewers of Regional Television in the North West will understand what areas are deemed acceptable for news-coverage in the main evening bulletins by the map showed on the Weather-forecast at the end or how places are described. On both BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada a map of NorthContinue reading “Map-shading and Area-Descriptions show an Intent Not to Cover Northern Cumbria on ITV Granada Reports and BBC North West Tonight.”

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”

Annabel Tiffin on BBC North West Today and Roger Johnson on BBC North West Tonight both covered the North Lakes light plane- crash.

12th October 2020 Dear Readers BBC North West Tonight covered the tragic situation where a pilot died after losing control of his microlight plane crashed in the North Lakes, near Troutbeck and midway between Penrith and Keswick (more can be read on this tragic accident here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-54501995). The fact remains that BBC North West coveredContinue reading “Annabel Tiffin on BBC North West Today and Roger Johnson on BBC North West Tonight both covered the North Lakes light plane- crash.”

ITV Granada Reports doesn’t cover Cumbria. Time for a full-scale move to ITV Border (English version) for the northern North West of England.

11th October 2020 Dear Readers It has been weeks since ITV Granada Reports- which advertises as “Covering the North West” -actually covered anything from Cumbria. Programmers for ITV’s Regional News in North West England seem to forget that 100,000 viewers in the north of their transmission area actually live in Cumbria and (moreover) these areContinue reading “ITV Granada Reports doesn’t cover Cumbria. Time for a full-scale move to ITV Border (English version) for the northern North West of England.”

On BBC North West Tonight Roger Johnson Meets Boris Johnson. And there’s a news-item about West Cumbria!

On Friday (2nd October), I watched BBC North West Tonight. The news-coverage was more like North West Regional news should be like- with news-coverage from Cumbria as well as from Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside. Roger Johnson covered South Cumbria in a report on the proposal for a new super-hospital in Lancashire to (potentially) replace theContinue reading “On BBC North West Tonight Roger Johnson Meets Boris Johnson. And there’s a news-item about West Cumbria!”

Another day, another week with no Cumbrian news whatsoever on BBC North West Tonight.

Roger Johnson was on top form tonight on BBC North West Tonight: There he was in the middle of Preston discussing the new Coronavirus restrictions affecting Lancashire and Merseyside. All of Lancashire, except for Blackpool, are under special enhanced restrictions in addition to the Rule of Six – no more than six people allowed toContinue reading “Another day, another week with no Cumbrian news whatsoever on BBC North West Tonight.”

Cumbria again not getting any coverage on BBC North West Tonight or ITV Granada Reports

Neither of the flagship Regional News programmes for North West England have produced any real coverage of the county of Cumbria during the last week. This is despite features covering Cumbria on BBC Look North including- today- a young child needing to be rescued from the sea off the coast of West Cumbria. This is,Continue reading “Cumbria again not getting any coverage on BBC North West Tonight or ITV Granada Reports”

From 10th April 2018: A method for BBC North West and ITV Granada to improve coverage.

This is an article I originally penned on 10th April 2018. It serves as a timely reminder today that both BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada could cover Cumbria and North Lancashire better with some efficient time-management! Dear Readers Both the BBC and ITV Granada in the North West of England can still improveContinue reading “From 10th April 2018: A method for BBC North West and ITV Granada to improve coverage.”

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!”

ITV could realise that South Cumbria and Northern Lancashire are not getting much local news from Granada- and shift these areas into ITV Border so that they are better-covered.

ITV is privately run, it’s revenue comes from advertising and some sponsoring of programmes. It also gets some income from ITV Hub- its online advert-free subscription service which it has recently expanded. Viewers pay £3.99 a month to view ITV programmes (including ITV Regional News programmes) online. Being dependent (as it is) on viewers (fromContinue reading “ITV could realise that South Cumbria and Northern Lancashire are not getting much local news from Granada- and shift these areas into ITV Border so that they are better-covered.”

The Northern Half of North West England is sidelined by the BBC and by ITV Granada

The BBC plan to make more cuts to Regional News programming in England- quite despite the fact that people rely on good local news relevant to their communities and favourite haunts. This is despite the fact that, for many rural areas in Northern England, mainly those areas north of cities, get scant mention (and canContinue reading “The Northern Half of North West England is sidelined by the BBC and by ITV Granada”

Roger Johnson and the new weather forecaster on BBC North West Tonight- and no Cumbria!

19th August 2020 , Updated 19th October 2021 The last few days (17th- 19th August 2020) have seen, once more, an absence of coverage of the northern half of North West England on both BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada Reports. On BBC North West Tonight there have been indications of intent NOT toContinue reading “Roger Johnson and the new weather forecaster on BBC North West Tonight- and no Cumbria!”

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””

It is not OK for Cumbria to not get covered at all in North West Regional News bulletins

BBC Look North (Newcastle) featured two pieces about the English Lake District- very much in North West England- on it’s bulletins. The first featured a family group of six people who attempted to cycle from Windermere to Wasdale Head in poor weather- they got lost on the high fells in between and had to beContinue reading “It is not OK for Cumbria to not get covered at all in North West Regional News bulletins”

BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada: Coverage is Really Not Good Enough for the Northern Half of North West England.

To get an accurate picture of how well the northern two- thirds of North West England are getting covered by Regional Television one has to watch it over a period of time. You get the odd day when two items of news- coverage about Cumbria might be covered in the main evening bulletins followed byContinue reading “BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada: Coverage is Really Not Good Enough for the Northern Half of North West England.”

Both BBC North West Tonight and BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) seem to Neglect their Northern Ends!

Both BBC North West Tonight and BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) failed viewers in the northern halves of their respective transmission areas this evening (27th July), even though the news- presenters (Annabel Tiffin on BBC North West Tonight, Carol Malia on BBC Look North) have a good rapport with their respective audiences. BBC LookContinue reading “Both BBC North West Tonight and BBC Look North (North East/ Cumbria) seem to Neglect their Northern Ends!”

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!”

Introducing the Localness Onion: Immediate Local and Regionally Local- and its relevance to Regional News.

Up-dated May 2021 This Website provides a constructive critique of BBC and ITV Regional News (as watched) in northern parts of both North West and North East England on the grounds that viewers to not get enough news that is remotely, let alone immediately “Local” to them. The ideal news for a location is oneContinue reading “Introducing the Localness Onion: Immediate Local and Regionally Local- and its relevance to Regional News.”

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.”

Campaign to Keep the BBC North West Tonight family together.

In my last post (here: https://northwestisnorthwest.org/2020/07/05/the-bbc-should-not-be-cutting-north-west-tonights-excellent-news-presenters-and-weather-presenter-to-save-money/ ) I explained that the BBC intends to find £125 million in savings each year. Regional Television looks set to bear some of these cuts. In particular, where more than one News- Presenter presents the Regional News, there is a high likelihood that one of the Presenters will faceContinue reading “Campaign to Keep the BBC North West Tonight family together.”

The BBC Should Not Be Cutting North West Tonight’s excellent News- Presenters and Weather Presenter to save money

The Coronavirus Pandemic (and associated Lockdown) has hit the BBC hard and it has to find £125 million of savings this year. So, what does it do? The BBC plans to focus on Regional Television, which provides a vital Regional and Local service to folk across the country to make savings of £25 million byContinue reading “The BBC Should Not Be Cutting North West Tonight’s excellent News- Presenters and Weather Presenter to save money”

BBC North West Tonight just proved to themselves that Covering Cumbria Can Be Done- whilst keeping everyone else happy

BBC North West Tonight had a first yesterday (30th June 2020). Whilst Roger Johnson devoted the whole of the main programme marking 100 days since the start of the Coronavirus Lockdown- and the impact that this has had across the North West, Steven Saul (a BBC North West programmer) and Andy McLannahan, BBC North West’sContinue reading “BBC North West Tonight just proved to themselves that Covering Cumbria Can Be Done- whilst keeping everyone else happy”

15th June 2020: BBC North West Tonight. Still nothing to report about Cumbria.

South Cumbrian viewers of BBC North West Tonight must be getting heartily sick of being ignored. For a week-and-a-bit now we have had nothing north of Preston on the flagship BBC Regional Programme for North West England, nothing for the northern two- thirds of the geographical North West of England. The Isle of Man hasContinue reading “15th June 2020: BBC North West Tonight. Still nothing to report about Cumbria.”

The BBC spends less on Regional Television in North West England than elsewhere.

Dated 10th February 2018, Dear Readers If you live in the North West of England, particularly if you live anywhere north of Preston and wonder why the regional news on BBC’s North West Tonight has little of relevance to your area; it is because the BBC spends less per head of population and per square kilometreContinue reading “The BBC spends less on Regional Television in North West England than elsewhere.”

Again No Coverage North of Preston on North West Tonight. That’s the Whole Week!

I have watched BBC North West tonight again, protesters of rioters defacing a “Penny Lane” sign in Liverpool, Sikhs in Manchester discussing the opening of their places of worship, the Manager of Bolton Wanderers having to resign after the football club’s relegation to Division 2, TT Races Not Going Ahead on the Isle of ManContinue reading “Again No Coverage North of Preston on North West Tonight. That’s the Whole Week!”

BBC North West Tonight and North West England Politics

On the night of the General Election- the evening of 12th December 2019- a telling little feature of BBC North West’s Election Night coverage for the North West was a Whiteboard display showing all the counties and the Parliamentary Constituencies in each county. What might have incensed Cumbrian viewers of BBC North West’s coverage wasContinue reading “BBC North West Tonight and North West England Politics”