BBC/ITV South East News - Printable Version

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - LDN - 27-09-2023

(27-09-2023, 12:38 AM)London Lite Wrote:  Indeed, BBC London launched from what I think was a balcony overlooking the newsroom at the former Radio Times building in Marylebone High Street which was already the home of BBC local radio in the capital.  Presentation became a lot more mainstream when BBC London News and Radio London moved to BH.

I think 'balcony' makes it sound rather grander than it was! 😂

In the earliest days, LDN was literally nothing more than an area of the open newsroom/office, with a couple of plasma screens dangling from the ceiling, and the presenter standing between them, in front of a frosted glass balustrade not-quite-overlooking the staircase to the floor below. 



As news sets go, it couldn't have been much more basic. But LDN was encouraged to experiment and do things differently -- after all, it was the centrepiece of the BBC's 'tri-media experiment' for the future of local and regional news in the 2000s. (That didn't quite work out as they'd hoped, but that's another story.)

I believe LDN got a 'breakfast bar'-style high-desk a year or two after launch, which was occasionally used for interviews; and I think it was around the time that the programme was rebranded to 'BBC London' that they introduced a dedicated soft-pres area with more comfortable seating, on the lower floor. (I vaguely recall a special sting being used briefly too, with the camera going down the spiral staircase.)


❗ Bonus fact (that you might already know) ❗  Before the BBC created the LDN brand, along with the tri-media tagline "on TV, on radio, online", it had already completed a great deal of production development and design work on an entirely different planned relaunch for its London TV news bulletins. 

Indeed, the original plan was to launch a new regional news programme for the capital called London Live. This would have matched the name of the city's 'local' radio station, which had been rebranded -- at huge, and much-criticised, expense -- from GLR (Greater London Radio) to BBC London Live 94.9 in early 2000. 

Instead, 18 months after the costly switch from GLR to London Live, the radio station was again rebranded; this time as BBC LDN, matching the new branding for the relaunched TV news bulletins and website. Notably, the decision to ditch the London Live brand for both radio and TV came at such a late stage that titles for the new BBC London Live TV bulletins had already been produced... 
https://ibb.co/dL9t9s9 

I can't help but wonder what the London Live bulletins might have looked like if the BBC had followed its original plan... Was it intended to have a version of the 'regular' BBC regional news set of the early 2000s -- cream walls with portrait plasma screen 'windows' showing views of London, an ovoid desk on a blue rug, and mustard-coloured chairs? 

Strange to think how things might have turned out...! 🤔

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - Steve in Pudsey - 27-09-2023

After SET launched at TW, do I remember correctly that before LDN started there were a few more weeks of Newsroom South East just for London, but it came from Marylebone High Street with the standard set?

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - Jamesypoo - 27-09-2023

(27-09-2023, 03:20 AM)LDN Wrote:  I believe LDN got a 'breakfast bar'-style high-desk a year or two after launch, which was occasionally used for interviews; and I think it was around the time that the programme was rebranded to 'BBC London' that they introduced a dedicated soft-pres area with more comfortable seating, on the lower floor. (I vaguely recall a special sting being used briefly too, with the camera going down the spiral staircase.)

There was a soft set on the lower floor from the outset, you can see it in the trailer at the very start of this video:

https://youtu.be/uH4-o4ADxCs 

As you say, there was a sting going down the staircase which would mark the transition to this set.

There would later be a different ”interview set” created, with branding elements on the walls.


Picture from TV Live

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - Robert Williams - 27-09-2023

(27-09-2023, 05:58 AM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote:  After SET launched at TW, do I remember correctly that before LDN started there were a few more weeks of Newsroom South East just for London, but it came from Marylebone High Street with the standard set?

They did - Newsroom South East moved to Marylebone High Street at the start of August 2001, a month before South East Today split away, leaving NSE broadcasting to the new London region only for another month before BBC London News began in October.

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - Steve in Pudsey - 27-09-2023

How in earth did they pilot the new show while working around the old set from Elstree?

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - ALV - 27-09-2023

Apart from new studio, nothing much has changed...




Gallery output is still SD, the graphics engine is still as old as a fossil, with lower-thirds that can't be animated and messed up fonts on the live bug...
The studio camera quality seems to have improved a little bit though - not sure if they're HD cameras?



Welcome to the transitionary era, where fossil-grade legacy software are operating the state of the art new hardware!

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - m_in_m - 27-09-2023

Does Simon Jones routinely report for SET?

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - IanJRedman - 27-09-2023

I wouldn't be at all surprised if they have at least furnished the studio with new HD cameras - not that it'll do much good until the rest of the chain goes HD...

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - Superman1986 - 27-09-2023

Was the locations in the opening titles updated tonight on SET?

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RE: BBC/ITV South East News - Spencer - 27-09-2023

(27-09-2023, 06:39 PM)ALV Wrote:  

They need some serious work on the lighting. The presenter looks almost in shadow there.

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