Spotlight (BBC News)

:"For the BBC Northern Ireland's weekly current affairs programme, see Spotlight (BBC Northern Ireland TV programme)"Infobox Television
show_name = Spotlight


caption =
show_name_2 = BBC Channel Islands
(Channel Islands opt-out)
format = Regional News
runtime = Main bulletin:
30 minutes
presenter = Victoria Graham
Justin Leigh
(Main anchors, Spotlight)
Gwyn Garfield Bennett
(Main anchor, BBC Channel Islands)
David Braine
(Weather presenter)
channel = BBC One South West
first_aired = 1961 (as "South West at Six")
last_aired = present
producer = BBC South West

"Spotlight" is the BBC's regional news programme for the southwest of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, West Dorset, and Somerset. There is also a special version of the programme for viewers in the Channel Islands. The main version of the programme broadcasts between 18:30 and 18:58 on weekdays, with shorter bulletins at other times. The programme can be viewed anywhere in the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite channel 987/988 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite service. Its main competitors are ITV Westcountry's main evening programme "Westcountry Live" in Devon, Cornwall and West Dorset and ITV Channel Television's main evening programme Channel Report in the Channel Islands.

Spotlight is broadcast from BBC Broadcasting House in Seymour Road, Plymouth - this is the main headquarters for all BBC South West programming, on TV, radio and online. There are also smaller studios in Truro, Exeter, Paignton, Barnstaple and Taunton.

The programme originally began as "South West at Six" in 1961. [ [http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/bbcsouthwest/bbcsouthwestnews.html BBC South West presentation] TVARK]

A lighthouse motif has been in use within the programme's title sequences for many years until in May 2000, when Spotlight adopted the generic BBC regional news design. The motif returned in May 2006, and the use of a lighthouse in the titles remained with the latest BBC News relaunch in 2008.

BBC Channel Islands

"BBC Channel Islands" is the dedicated opt-out service for the Channel Islands. Until April 2008 it had been known as "Spotlight Channel Islands". The news service for the islands is a relatively new innovation and is based at the studios of BBC Radio Jersey in St Helier. Although the programme's ITV rival, "Channel Report", is arguably more well known to islanders and more established, a recent BBC survey (available on the BBC Jersey website) claimed that "BBC Channel Islands News" wins a 50% audience share for the 6:30pm opt-out, compared to the 40% who watch "Channel Report" at 6pm.

The opt-outs are presented by Gwyn Garfield-Bennett and produced by a team of multi-skilling journalists who write, film & edit their own stories and produce & direct the three bulletins for the Islands on weekdays. The main opt takes up the first twelve minutes of the nightly 6:30pm programme with a full opt at 10:25pm after the BBC News at Ten and a short 30-second update at 8:00pm. No opt-outs are broadcast during the day and at weekends, except for special programmes such as the local election coverage or major sporting events such as the Island Games.

The team

Currently, the Spotlight/BBC Channel Islands on-air team consists of:

Main presenters

Spotlight
*Victoria Graham
*Justin Leigh
*Sophie Long (stand-in)BBC Channel Islands
*Gwyn Garfield Bennett

ports presenters

*Natalie Cornah
*Andy Breare

Weather presenter

*David Braine

Other presenters

*Rebecca Wills
*Clare Casson
*Carol Madge
*Lucie Fisher (married to output editor Simon Read)
*Carys Edwards
*Aysha Iqbal
*Amy Cole
*Hamish Marshall (also East Devon videojournalist)
*Julia Peet (married to weatherman David Braine)
*Jenny Walrond

potlight reporters

District Correspondents
*David George (Cornwall)
*Philip Loat (North Devon)
*Mark Patterson (Somerset)
*Clinton Rogers (Somerset)Specialist Correspondents
*Scott Bingham (Defence)
*Adrian Campbell (Environment)
*Neil Gallacher (Business and Industry)
*Simon Hall (Home Affairs)
*Sally Mountjoy (Health)General Reporters
*Marcus Wraight
*Louise Walter
*Eleanor Parkinson
*Jonathan Hudston
*Leigh Rundle
*Johnny Rutherford
*John Henderson

BBC Channel Islands team

Journalists
*Roisin Gauson (Senior Correspondent, Guernsey/occasional presenter)
*Christie Tucker (Video Journalist, Jersey)
*David Earl (Alderney Correspondent)
*Suzy Steer-Fowler (Bi-media Journalist)
*Edward Sault (Video Journalist, Jersey)
*Fiona Macpherson (Multi-media Journalist)
*Emma Conroy (Multi-media Journalist)Production Staff
*Studio Director: Emma Chambers
*Producer/Assistant News Editor: Ian Kelly

Past presenters

*Teresa Driscoll
*Juliet Morris
*Jill Dando
*Angela Rippon
*Craig Rich (weather forecaster)
*Sue Lawley
*Hugh Scully
*Fern Britton
*Sue King
*Chris Denham
*Christopher Slade
*Gillian Miles
*Sheila Tracey
*Kate Adie

References

External links

*bbc.co.uk|id=spotlight|title=BBC "Spotlight"