- Midlands Today
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Midlands Today 
Midlands Today titlesFormat Regional News Presented by Main Anchors:
Nick Owen
Suzanne Virdee
Sports Presenter:
Ian Winter
Weather Presenters:
Shefali Oza
Ben RichProduction Location(s) Broad Street (1964–71)
Pebble Mill Studios (1971–2004)
The Mailbox (since 2004)Running time 30 mins Production company(s) BBC Midlands Distributor BBC Birmingham Broadcast Original channel BBC One (West Midlands) Picture format 1024x576 16:9 Original run 28 September 1964 –
Present
(47 years, 50 days)Chronology Related shows East Midlands Today
Central NewsMidlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county. Midlands Today began on 28 September 1964, from a small studio in Broad Street, Birmingham.
Contents
Overview
Midlands Today is produced by BBC Midlands and broadcasts on BBC One during the regional news slots during and following the main national news. The programme is produced and broadcast from the BBC studios in The Mailbox, Birmingham which has been its base since 25 October 2004. Journalists are also based at newsrooms in Wolverhampton, Coventry, Hereford, Worcester, Stoke-on-Trent, and Shrewsbury.
In 1988 the programme became the first regional news magazine to adopt the formal news format already commonplace on network news.
The programme began broadcasting from a small room in the Birmingham Register Office and moved to the custom-built Pebble Mill broadcasting centre in Edgbaston on 10 November 1971. It remained there until the studios closed on 22 October 2004.
Midlands Today is broadcast from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter on analogue & digital terrestrial and can be watched in any part of the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite channel 979 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite service, via Astra 2D at 28.2 degrees East. The latest edition is also available to view again on the Midlands Today website.
Coverage area
Until 1991, "Midlands Today" covered the entire Midlands region - the East Midlands counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire are now covered by BBC East Midlands Today based in Nottingham.
Today the programme covers Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, West Midlands, Herefordshire, North Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire.
On Air
On weekdays, Midlands Today broadcasts six three-minute opt-outs during BBC Breakfast at around 25 and 55 minutes past each hour. A fifteen-minute lunchtime programme follows at 1:30pm and a short mid-afternoon update at 3pm (with sign language), before the main half-hour edition at 6:30pm. A short 30-second headlines update is broadcast during the 8pm BBC News Summary and a seven-minute late update is shown at 10:25pm, following the BBC News at Ten.
At weekends, there are two short bulletins on Saturdays (lunchtime & early evenings) and Sundays (early evenings & late night). Broadcast times for these bulletins usually vary.
Presenters
The main 6.30pm presenters are Nick Owen (formerly a presenter of Good Morning with Anne and Nick) and Suzanne Virdee. Other presenters include Kay Alexander, Michael Collie (formerly a presenter on Countryfile and Top Gear), Sarah Falkland and Satnam Rana. Shefali Oza and Ben Rich present weather and Dan Pallett is the main sports presenter.
Former presenters have included Tom Coyne, the late Alan Towers (until July 1997), David Stevens, Guy Thomas, Grant Mansfield, David Davies, Kathy Rochford (who transferred to the East Midlands), Sue Beardsmore, Matt Smith, Julian Worricker, Ashley Blake (who was sacked in August 2009 after being found guilty of wounding and perverting the course of justice), Bernardette Kearney and Michael Buerk.
Senior presenter Alan Towers's on-air departure in July 1997 (after twenty five years) brought about one of the most controversial moments in the programme's history when he shared indignant views on the state of BBC management, describing them as pygmies in grey suits wearing blindfolds.[1]
The team
Main anchors
Bulletin/stand-in presenters
- Mary Rhodes (main relief)
- Kay Alexander (Breakfast & lunchtime bulletins)
- Michael Collie (Weekend bulletins, relief)
- Sarah Falkland (Late night & weekend bulletins, relief)
- Giles Latcham (Breakfast bulletins, relief, also reporter)
- Ben Rich (Relief, also weather presenter)
- Satnam Rana (Relief, also reporter)
- Katie Rowlett (Breakfast bulletins, relief)
- Shefali Oza (Sunday evenings)
Sports presenters
- Nick Clitheroe
- Daniel Pallett (also relief news presenter)
- Ian Winter
Weather presenters
- Ben Rich
- Sarah Cruickshank
Reporters
District Correspondents
- Liz Copper (Staffordshire)
- Bob Hockenhull (Wolverhampton & the Black Country)
- Cath Mackie (Worcestershire Videojournalist)
- Andy Newman (Herefordshire & Worcestershire)
- Kevin Reide (Warwickshire Videojournalist)
- Joanne Writtle (Shropshire & South Staffordshire)
Specialist Correspondents
- Patrick Burns (Political Editor)
- Lindsay Doyle (Arts)
- David Gregory (Science & Environment)
- Michele Paduano (Health)
- Peter Plisner (Transport)
- Peter Wilson (Home Affairs)
General Reporters
- Joan Cummins
- Jackie Kabler (freelance)
- Giles Latcham
- Ben Godfrey
- Clare Marshall (also network correspondent)
References
External links
BBC Nations & Regions Television News English regions Midlands TodayNations Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Categories:- BBC Birmingham productions
- BBC Regional News programmes
- 1964 British television programme debuts
- 1960s British television series
- 1970s British television series
- 1980s British television series
- 1990s British television series
- 2000s British television series
- 2010s British television series
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