BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia (/showthread.php?tid=24)

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - JMT1985 - 04-05-2023

(04-05-2023, 08:36 PM)chris Wrote:  I’m sure this has been asked before, but was there ever a N4 or N5?

I know there was never an N7 to avoid confusion with TC7.

Yes, there was a N4 and N5 

N4 was converted into part of the BBC Club bar, and was not used much from what I was told 

N5 was used by the BBC Arabic service until they closed that studio in 1996. Sad that it was never used properly, in fact is was used for storage for many years, until the early 2000s, when BBC interactive took over part of that area to use for themselves

Yes, no N7 so not to confuse people with TC7 

BBC Television Centre was like a maze of studios, you could get lost in that building, especially the spur block, with the copious amount of offices in it, it was huge.

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - TVHead - 04-05-2023

(04-05-2023, 08:36 PM)chris Wrote:  I’m sure this has been asked before, but was there ever a N4 or N5?

I know there was never an N7 to avoid confusion with TC7.

I believe N5 was home of the original BBC Arabic service circa 1994-1996 with an smaller, identical set to the national BBC News bulletins in N2 but I am not sure about what happened to it after that...

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - DTV - 04-05-2023

(04-05-2023, 08:36 PM)chris Wrote:  I’m sure this has been asked before, but was there ever a N4 or N5?

I know there was never an N7 to avoid confusion with TC7.

N5 was the studio for the original short-lived 90s BBC Arabic service, it later ended up as part of the BBCi service. N4 I don't believe was ever a studio and rather a nickname among news staff for the BBC Club.

Returning to the earlier discussion about placing of the newsroom sets, I've come across a layout of the sixth-floor of the Spur news centre when it originally opened. I've highlighted the two full studios, plus 'N3', the dual-purpose conference room/extra studio.

Looking back at the videos posted earlier in the thread, the original daytime set appears to be placed where it says 'teleprinters' - excluding the columns included in the set, the newsroom backdrop is two columns deep. But the backdrop in the later Nine/Weekend/Daytime set is three columns deep (again excluding the two incorporated into the set) - which suggests it is placed where N3 was - subject to some interior remodelling.

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Newsroom - 05-05-2023

(04-05-2023, 04:54 PM)DTV Wrote:  

(04-05-2023, 03:58 PM)Newsroom Wrote:  Would you happen to know if there's an image of N2 from the time the 6 and 9 shared the same space. They utilised two similar though distinctly different desks. Indeed both were designed without the need for 'Basys' units yet updated out to include them shortly after.

Do you mean the One and the Nine? As far as I'm aware, other than for the first six months (during N1's refurb), the Six remained in N1 until 1993 with the One and Nine occupying N2 during the mid-1980s. If so, there's definitely a shot of both N2 sets in one of the behind the scenes documentaries above.

Yes, apologies. I don't think I've seen a photo of that studio when both bulletins shared the studio.

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - DTV - 05-05-2023

(05-05-2023, 08:09 AM)Newsroom Wrote:  

(04-05-2023, 04:54 PM)DTV Wrote:  Do you mean the One and the Nine? As far as I'm aware, other than for the first six months (during N1's refurb), the Six remained in N1 until 1993 with the One and Nine occupying N2 during the mid-1980s. If so, there's definitely a shot of both N2 sets in one of the behind the scenes documentaries above.

Yes, apologies. I don't think I've seen a photo of that studio when both bulletins shared the studio.

No worries, here's a montage of the studios around March 1988 (from Newsday Revolution).

Clockwise from top left - Daytime summary newsroom set; One O'Clock set in N2; One O'Clock/Nine O'Clock set in N2; Nine O'Clock set in N2; Six O'Clock set in N1; Six O;Clock set in N1.

When they shared N2, it appears the One's set was located in the low-ceiling extension part of the studio, with the Nine taking up the original part of N2 (it's odd how similar the Nine set is to the Six's). I believe that once the Nine left for the newsroom, the One set was reconfigured to the middle of the studio (and possibly enlarged a bit).

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Newsroom - 05-05-2023

DTV Wrote:

Newsroom Wrote:Yes, apologies. I don't think I've seen a photo of that studio when both bulletins shared the studio.

No worries, here's a montage of the studios around March 1988 (from Newsday Revolution).

Clockwise from top left - Daytime summary newsroom set; One O'Clock set in N2; One O'Clock/Nine O'Clock set in N2; Nine O'Clock set in N2; Six O'Clock set in N1; Six O;Clock set in N1.

When they shared N2, it appears the One's set was located in the low-ceiling extension part of the studio, with the Nine taking up the original part of N2 (it's odd how similar the Nine set is to the Six's). I believe that once the Nine left for the newsroom, the One set was reconfigured to the middle of the studio (and possibly enlarged a bit).

Great shots! 

There really wasn't very much to the 9 desk was there. 

You have to wonder whether they shared the monitor (for live crosses) that was pull up mirror.

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - JMT1985 - 05-05-2023

In 1969 when BBC Television News moved from their original studios and newsroom in Alexandra Palace to their new home in the spur block of BBC Television Centre, lets just say the newsreaders and production team were less than impressed with their new home.

At Alexandra Palace they had a very large newsroom, and their news studios was large. The Television Centre newsroom along with N1 and N2 were tiny compared to what they left behind at Alexandra Palace, many felt this was a terrible decision and layout, considering Television Centre was massive in size and scale.

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - AaronLancs - 05-05-2023

Talking of all these studios in TVC I have a question. Fast forward to around 2000-ish. How many minutes did it take to get between the main news studios of the time: N2, N8, N9 & TC7?

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Newsroom - 05-05-2023

(05-05-2023, 08:30 AM)DTV Wrote:  

(05-05-2023, 08:09 AM)Newsroom Wrote:  Yes, apologies. I don't think I've seen a photo of that studio when both bulletins shared the studio.

No worries, here's a montage of the studios around March 1988 (from Newsday Revolution).

Clockwise from top left - Daytime summary newsroom set; One O'Clock set in N2; One O'Clock/Nine O'Clock set in N2; Nine O'Clock set in N2; Six O'Clock set in N1; Six O;Clock set in N1.

When they shared N2, it appears the One's set was located in the low-ceiling extension part of the studio, with the Nine taking up the original part of N2 (it's odd how similar the Nine set is to the Six's). I believe that once the Nine left for the newsroom, the One set was reconfigured to the middle of the studio (and possibly enlarged a bit).

@DTV - would you know where the Gulf War coverage originated from? The same set also featured in the release of Terry Waite. 

https://youtu.be/lMvhhbz1BYU?t=694 

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(05-05-2023, 03:41 PM)AaronLancs Wrote:  Talking of all these studios in TVC I have a question. Fast forward to around 2000-ish. How many minutes did it take to get between the main news studios of the time: N2, N8, N9 & TC7?

N9 and N8 were on the same floor (kind of), different buildings joined by a long corridor. It would take no more than 2 mins to get from one to the other. 

N6 was on the same floor as the newsroom in the news centre (new building back then). 

TC7 was a decent walk from the news centre as it was in the original building. 5/6 mins walk I'd say.

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RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - JMT1985 - 05-05-2023

I was always surprised that BBC News & Current Affairs as it was known back then decided to pick one of the main 8 television studios to use for their programming when Current Affairs moved from Lime Grove to TV Centre and merge with BBC News.

Initially they used Studio TC2, which today is home to Lorraine, Loose Women and Peston for ITV1 - Studio TC2 used to have On the Record, Newsnight, Breakfast Time, later Breakfast News and I believe Newsround used it to.

Come the late 1990s they moved out of TC2 and into TC7, but still I never understood why they chose one of the main studios, and not comply create their own current affairs studio in the spur block, which would ensure it was right next to the newsroom.

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