BBC Points West's Revamp

Does anyone know when Reporting Scotland is getting a new look - it deparately needs one, it's remained the same since 1999, and if Wales Today is getting a new look?

I take it you have NO intention whatsoever of going off topic, so you're talking of Scotland, the village near Trowbridge in Wiltshire; and Wales, the village down in Somerset?

I've been told it's commonplace in certain Wiltshire villages.

(Now's the time to run)

I really don't like the new direction sets are taking! I don't mind the ones employed by the BBC national news, News 24, ITV News, but I hate the ones where they try to go for the <insert TV designer name here> minimalistic style. I like the traditional format of desk, (preferably real) backdrop, inset graphics (albeit big screens in the modern era) et al. These coffee tables, comfy chairs, lecterns, and even nothing, just don't appeal to me at all!

In many ways, I wish BBC Manchester would invest some more dosh into North West Today to replace dilapidated equipment, however, I'm glad they've so far stuck with the traditional news studio!

So Mr Prout tells me, DAS, but HE'S the expert!


ONE HUNDRED percent with you, Robert.

The, how can I put it politely, slightly less youthful presenters, like Sally on South Today, look completely wrong without a desk, in my opinion.

I agree with you... as far as I'm concerned, the style works well with national. But when it comes to regional, the overall priority should be Cosy Localness™. The way the sets are going, the regional teams are becoming very industrial and impersonal. Take South East Today as an example: their former set was a bit rubbish, and they replaced it with the current national looking one. Now while the new one is very posh and pretty, it does not suit a regional news magazine for Kent and Sussex. And that's bang wrong in my opinion. Spotlight seem to have done a similar thing, as have Look East. That's why I like Points West as it is now.

In fact, from my sporadic Sky surfing, I'll tell you who I think should when the DAS Prize for BBC Regional Set of the Year: Look North (NE & Cumbria). It's great: exactly the right balance between cosy localness and polished, national style presentation.

Well I saw no need to start yet another pointless thread for one question !

The point I was making, which I think you might have missed, was that you're unlikely to get an answer to your question in THIS thread because it's about the West Country.

If you want a reply, might I suggest the existing Scottish and Welsh threads, to save you pointlessly starting a fresh one?

Yeah but NWT needs at least abit of a refersh now as they have had that set really since 2000 and just added a bit of red paint.

It certainately does need one, the show is getting boring now and this has shown as apparently Granada Reports' audience has grown 4% since the revamp in February. I wouldn't like it to be a show with the whole couch effect, Granada did this for many years and made Granada Tonight look poor and a what was a sh*t version of This Morning, but Granada have learnt their lesson. A set like South East Today would probably suit North West Tonight more, and they need to get the technicial side sorted out.

Shame they can't move into Granada Studios/3SixtyMedia as they are fully equipped with 16:9 and there's loads of studios being unused apparently. The current set suited the old look with the whole mustard yellow thing, but now it needs to be white, not like the National, plus it would be better if they have a big screen on the wall, as the current one they use (usually on the Sport on Mon and Fri) doesn't look effective.

Well Bank Holiday weekend approaches - and any region wanting to relaunch often takes advantage of a three-day weekend

I could say more - but I'd have to shoot you all...

Probably not, but it'd make for an interesting night!!