It's gone one stage further in most regions now, where four audio tracks are used: 1 and 2 mixed stereo sound for transmission (including the reporter's voiceover) and split sync and effects on tracks 3 and 4. That way the archive has clean effects if you need to re-use it as library pictures and clean in and outs on any clips.
Interesting, I suppose that's so they can put out reports in stereo and don't have to mess around with the mixing desk? Is that all done automatically in the edit software or does it take extra work to do?
It's easy enough to achieve in Quantel, which most English Regions have. In Quantel up to 8 audio tracks can be used and they can individually be stereo or mono and can be patched to any of 8 outputs (though only 4 are supported by most installations). The reporter cuts the package as they've always done, putting mono synch onto one track and mono effects onto another, then adding a mono voiceover on track 3. Any music used in the package is put onto track 4 (in stereo). Before publishing, tracks 1, 2 and 3 (and 4 if there's music) are 'patched' to Stereo outputs 1 and 2 (L/R) and the final sound balance is done, listening to the package in stereo. Finally the Synch and Effects tracks are copied to a further two tracks, which are patched to outputs 3 and 4.
On transmission, the sound op should in theory only have to open the fader to zero level and set it to stereo. If everything's been done properly in the newsroom if it's been cut stereo it'll go out stereo, if it's been cut mono it'll go out dual mono. If you get split track going out, the sound op has to quickly mono the channel!
This is only in BBC English Regions with Quantel though. Everywhere else still works split track. Quite why regions were told to work this way I haven't been able to establish. It was put in place years ago when the first regions got Quantel (when Look East moved to The Forum I think). It may have been something to do with the way things were archived ...