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.”

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”

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?”

A Letter to the Secretary of State for Digital Culture Media and Sport.

1st August 2020 Updated 19th October 2021 I have penned a letter to the the Secretary of State for Digital Culture Media and Sport- for the time has come to act and say something on behalf of 200,000 viewers in Cumbria who often don’t get coverage of their county for a week or more onContinue reading “A Letter to the Secretary of State for Digital Culture Media and Sport.”

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.”

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.”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

It takes a huge tragedy to get Cumbrian coverage on BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada

There were two separate tragedies in North West England over the weekend of 20th/ 21st June 2020. The first incident was a shooting at an illegal rave in the Moss Side area of Manchester in the early hours of Sunday morning. Two men sadly lost their lives as a result of the shooting. The secondContinue reading “It takes a huge tragedy to get Cumbrian coverage on BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada”

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.”

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”

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”

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”