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.”
Tag Archives: lancashire
If their Twitter Tweets are anything to go by ITV Granada Reports Does Not Cover Cumbria- at all!
14th October 2020 Dear Readers Looking through the last 200 tweets on ITV Granada reports’ Twitter feed is illuminating: Not a single mention of Cumbria, just one concerning Lancaster and just four concerning Blackpool. Yet one Twitter post about Coronavirus concerned the Mayor of Sheffield, another discussed Wales (tourists from Coronavirus hot-spots in England notContinue reading “If their Twitter Tweets are anything to go by ITV Granada Reports Does Not Cover Cumbria- at all!”
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.”
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 3rd May 2018: The Maps displayed by BBC NorthWest Tonight and ITV Granada Reports show a Statement of Intent of the areas they cover!
This is an article I posted on a previous site on 3rd May 2018 Dear Readers, Just yesterday BBC North West Tonight showed a map to illustrate where in the North West local council elections were taking place (see here: https://twitter.com/kevfitz21/status/991668859575955456). The map only extended up to include South Lakeland, one of the few placesContinue reading “From 3rd May 2018: The Maps displayed by BBC NorthWest Tonight and ITV Granada Reports show a Statement of Intent of the areas they cover!”
ITV Granada Reports is shocking for any Cumbrians and North Lancastrians who have no alternative Regional News- Not a mention of Cumbria in over a week!
Granada Reports is ITV’s flagship Regional News programme covering North West England and the Isle of Man. For sure the news-reports are undoubtedly popular in Manchester, Liverpool and other conurbations along the River Mersey (where over 60% of the news reported is within a 30-mile radius of such locations) and viewers there warm to LucyContinue reading “ITV Granada Reports is shocking for any Cumbrians and North Lancastrians who have no alternative Regional News- Not a mention of Cumbria in over a week!”
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!”
BBC North West Tonight. Roger Johnson is excelling himself.
The last few days have seen an improvement in the amount of Regional News- coverage given to the northern half of North West England by BBC North West Tonight. Even the Keswick outlook forecast has come back into Owain Evans weather- forecast! This evening, Roger Johnson had a piece on schools re-opening in Blackpool andContinue reading “BBC North West Tonight. Roger Johnson is excelling himself.”
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!”
Eleanor Morris presented BBC North West Tonight this evening- and finally Cumbria gets covered properly.
Credit where credit is due. Finally, after days without coverage of the county there were three reports about Cumbria in BBC North West Tonight, presented by Eleanor Morris. The swimmer who swam all 13 lakes in the English Lake District was covered, there was a report on the rescue of a little boy who slippedContinue reading “Eleanor Morris presented BBC North West Tonight this evening- and finally Cumbria gets covered properly.”
Please Annabel Tiffin, Can you cover something from Cumbria?
Updated 19th October 2021 Annabel Tiffin presented BBC North West Tonight this evening (3rd August 2020)- and there was nothing about Cumbria or indeed North Lancashire. It is now ten days since BBC North West Tonight (and ITV Granada) produced any news about Cumbria at all. How much longer do the good people of SouthContinue reading “Please Annabel Tiffin, Can you cover something from Cumbria?”
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.”
The need for Region- Specific open General Public Discussion Forums for North West and North East England.
Prior to starting this Website I looked on the Internet for Discussion Forums open to the General Public that were Region- specific rather than subject- specific. I would find things like Cumbria Share – a website for businesses to get together and share their ideas (see here: https://cumbriashare.co.uk/forums), or Cumbria Forum, part of the CumbriaContinue reading “The need for Region- Specific open General Public Discussion Forums for North West and North East England.”
21st July 2020: Much better coverage of Cumbria and Lancashire on BBC North West Tonight. Two news- items about Carlisle on ITV Granada’s Twitter feed!
This week sees a big improvement in Regional news- coverage for the northern two- thirds of North West England. Now, I don’t know whether some of the programme- producers are now aware of this Website, but today in particular there were two items of coverage concerning Cumbria and five news- items concerning Lancashire on BBCContinue reading “21st July 2020: Much better coverage of Cumbria and Lancashire on BBC North West Tonight. Two news- items about Carlisle on ITV Granada’s Twitter feed!”
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.”
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.”
13th July 2020. Better coverage of Lancashire and Cumbria on BBC North West Tonight. But fatal Cumbrian road smash very near the transmission boundary should be covered.
There are tentative signs that BBC North West Tonight might be improving coverage of the northern two- thirds of North West England- although one seasoned watcher of BBC North West Tonight will point out that there were similar “false dawns” in the past. Anyway, one should not be churlish! This evening’s main BBC North WestContinue reading “13th July 2020. Better coverage of Lancashire and Cumbria on BBC North West Tonight. But fatal Cumbrian road smash very near the transmission boundary should be covered.”
BBC North West Tonight. Coverage of the rise in Coronavirus cases in Blackburn- but not Cumbria! BBC Look North covers death of Jack Charlton (brother of Sir Bobby Charlton) – no mention of Coronavirus!
The weekend is upon us- and BBC North West does not cover Cumbria- perhaps no surprises there! But whilst they are mentioning that there has been a rise in Coronavirus cases in the Blackburn-with-Darwen Borough Council area (not knocking the coverage of Lancashire, by the way, more is needed), they might have added that CumbriaContinue reading “BBC North West Tonight. Coverage of the rise in Coronavirus cases in Blackburn- but not Cumbria! BBC Look North covers death of Jack Charlton (brother of Sir Bobby Charlton) – no mention of Coronavirus!”
9th July 2020: Better coverage across much more of North West England on BBC North West Tonight.
When BBC North West Tonight shows signs (and intent) towards improving news- coverage across the northern two- thirds of North West England it is good to point this out. Tonight’s Regional Bulletin (with the wonderful Annabel Tiffin) is a case in-point: Out of ten big news stories there were two about Cumbria (and part ofContinue reading “9th July 2020: Better coverage across much more of North West England on BBC North West Tonight.”
If you live in Lancashire, Cumbria, the Isle of Man- or Northumberland and watch Regional Television- Your Views and Feedback are Welcome
I would like to take this opportunity to remind anyone who visits this Website who lives either in the northern two- thirds of North West England, the Isle of Man or indeed Northumberland to share their views on the BBC and ITV Regional Television where they live: Is the Local News where you live reallyContinue reading “If you live in Lancashire, Cumbria, the Isle of Man- or Northumberland and watch Regional Television- Your Views and Feedback are Welcome”
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”
Writing to BBC North West and ITV Granada about Regional News coverage of Lancashire and Cumbria
Updated 24th August 2023 Dear Readers, As you may now know, this Site is a Critique of Regional Television in North West England, with particular regard to the northern three-quarters of the Region: In other words it is that part of the North West of England and the Isle of Man that is north ofContinue reading “Writing to BBC North West and ITV Granada about Regional News coverage of Lancashire and Cumbria”
The BBC should INCREASE resources for Regional Television in the North West of England, NOT Cut it!
An article in the Liverpool Echo (dated 5th May 2020) reports that the BBC, citing the tough Economic climate, plans to mothball two of its bases in Lancashire from where reporters and editors edit news- items to report on the north of the BBC North West Region. This article can be found here: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/bbc-close-offices-north-west-18202450. TheContinue reading “The BBC should INCREASE resources for Regional Television in the North West of England, NOT Cut it!”
A new BBC North West Region for Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man
On 27th September 2004 a new BBC Region, BBC Look North (East Yorkshire/ Lincolnshire) with their broadcasting centre based in Hull was born. This new BBC Region was transmitted to East Yorkshire, parts of North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and it catered for a potential 1.5 million viewers. This new BBC Region, whose viewers previously receivedContinue reading “A new BBC North West Region for Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man”
The Ideal for Regional Television in the North West- and North East of England
A small illustration of how out- of- kilter the BBC Regions for the North East and North West of England will introduce my discussion about how it can be improved. A report on BBC Look North (BBC North East and Cumbria) covered how a victim of burgulary in Kendal (South Cumbria) sleep-walks and goes aroundContinue reading “The Ideal for Regional Television in the North West- and North East of England”
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.”
The BBC could spend much more money on Regional Television in the North West if it was more Efficient.
Dated 17th April 2018 Dear Readers, I stumbled across this article written for The Daily Mail on 14th June 2015: It is entitled “BBC Spends less than half its Cash on Programmes”. It details expenditure for the Accounting Year ending April 2014- this after the BBC was made to cut 20% off expenditure in realContinue reading “The BBC could spend much more money on Regional Television in the North West if it was more Efficient.”
The North West of England Proper: Perspectives on Regional Television output.
19th May 2018 Dear Readers, I aim to look at how the perception of Regional Programming changes within the North West of England that those making the programmes need to bear in mind. What people in the North West of England consider to be “North West” will vary as one travels north from Cheshire, throughContinue reading “The North West of England Proper: Perspectives on Regional Television output.”
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 on 11th June 2020: Nothing for Cumbria and Lancashire
I have just watched North West Tonight on I-player. What an indictment to viewers in the North West of England who live north of the River Mersey. There was nothing about their area at all. The exception was coverage of the Isle of Man being Coronavirus free after three months. However, for someone living inContinue reading “BBC North West Tonight on 11th June 2020: Nothing for Cumbria and Lancashire”