Local TV news is all over in a flash!
LONDON is the most important city in the UK without doubt. There! I’ve said it. And in so doing, annoyed some ‘Dai-hards’ with a grudge against ‘The English’ – although every night they’ll happily watch TV soaps, dramas and game shows mostly produced in . . . guess where?
London is home to Number 10 Downing Street – an address everyone in the English-speaking world knows – palaces, museums and art galleries; the BBC’S HQ; Pinewood/ Shepperton film studios; first-class theatre that attracts visitors from all around the world (and Llanelli) and the financial area known as The City.
Don’t send me letters. I haven’t finished yet!
While where you live is important to you, the ridiculously brief, breathlessly hurried local news opt-outs on Good Morning Britain gives the impression ITV may not give two hoots about anywhere more than 25 miles beyond Piccadilly Circus.
I’ve covered this subject before, but having watched GMB again recently, it’s one worth returning to.
Between 6am and 8.55am (ITV screen adverts between the end of
GMB and the start of Lorraine which is why their final interviews are always so rushed) there are local news optouts at 6.10am. 7.10am and 8.10am.
Invariably these opt-outs are delayed because even though Piers Morgan – who hardly ate because he was so full of himself – has left, the current presenters waffle on and on well past opt-out time.
And when they finally say “Here’s the news, travel and weather where you are”, in under a minute we get three short news stories and a 15-second ad for the company ‘sponsoring’ a 10-second weather report.
It’s so perfunctory, so insulting to the regions. I reckon they could squeeze in an extra news item if, instead of the presenter wasting airtime saying: “I’m Andrew Jones. The GMB headlines now in Wales”, it’s written on a caption at the bottom of the screen. And can anyone tell me what Andrew does between GMB and his lunchtime bulletin?
Does he have a coal round or own a newsagents and tobacconists?
Go on. Ask around . . . where you live!