In the run up to Midlands Today's 50th birthday, editor Robert Thompson explores the archives and tells the story of the BBC's regional news programme.
On the 28th September 1964 Barry Lankester welcomed viewers to BBC Midlands Today for the first time. A leaf through the archives shows a cursory mention in that week’s edition of the Radio Times. I understand, albeit grudgingly, that it was more excited about the launch of BBC Two than the beginnings of regional TV news programme that has now been on-air for 50 years.
The running order for the first edition of BBC Midlands Today shows a curious mix of features with a mute film from Sweden about orienteering and a talk about ‘Bodies Beautiful’. A rather genteel start perhaps, but there was drama behind the scenes.
BBC Look East, broadcasting from Norwich, was due to launch on the same day but a breakdown forced it off air leaving BBC Midlands Today to broadcast across the East Midlands and West Midlands as well as East Anglia – some might say this first edition of BBC Midlands Today was practically an edition of the national news.
In 1971 the programme moved from a tiny studio on Broad Street to the glamorous, custom-built Pebble Mill studios.
This concrete block was the Television Centre of the Midlands. It was an exciting and vibrant place to be producing drama, radio, light entertainment, factual programmes and of course BBC Midlands Today. It was here that Kay Alexander, Tom Coyne, Alan Towers, Sue Beardsmore and David Davies became the faces of our programme. They became legends in the West Midlands and Kay has only recently retired, leaving us in October 2012.
In 1991 the Midlands was split and the East Midlands got its own news service from Nottingham leaving BBC Midlands Today to focus on Birmingham & The Black Country, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and north Gloucestershire. A region we continue to serve today.
Pebble Mill was closed in 2004 and we moved to our current home in The Mailbox back in the heart of the city once again. Another anniversary to celebrate this year – we’ve been here for ten years.
The death of regional television news has long been predicted – but there’s no sign of a long ride into the sunset here. Despite this digital world we all live in BBC Midlands Today (along with the rest of regional television news) continues to deliver big audiences every night. Few realise that we are quite often the most watched TV news programmes and often (whisper it) the most watched thing on BBC One.
The advent of social media has changed the world in which we in news operate though - increasing the appetite for local news. Our Facebook page is one of the most popular across all BBC regional news programmes and our @bbcmtd Twitter feed keeps people up to date when we’re off air.
The audience has moved and we’re pretty determined to move with it. If we don’t keep up with the audience or be where they are, then we wither and die. We’re constantly trying to innovate. We know our audience trust us to hold people to account and we’ve recently put out a special programme to do just that following the Trojan Horse scandal.
Looking back through the archives, the tapes and the film, you soon realise we have a million memories here. When you enter the archives, you hear those memories, the rich accents of the West Midlands and you hear the producers, the reporters and all the technical operators who have helped put the programme on air for the past 50 years.
From the opening of Spaghetti Junction to the infamous skateboarding duck, and the closure of the Longbridge Plant to the Birmingham bombings; we’ve shone a light on the local area, reflecting the celebratory, tragic or even downright ridiculous.
First presenter of Midlands Today, Barry Lankester
We have always been at the heart of our major moments in the region. From the opening of the NEC, to the Pope’s Visit and the journey of the Olympic Torch, we’ve been there live, providing content not just for our audience but for our local radio stations, our websites and the rest of the BBC.
When the red studio ‘on air’ light goes on and the headlines start to play I hope that Barry Lankester and his then editor (whose name has been sadly lost in time) is looking down on our studio. I can’t even begin to imagine what they think about what we’ve done with their programme, but I do hope that as our current line-up of Nick Owen, Mary Rhodes and Shefali Oza go on air to mark our 50th birthday he’ll be smiling down on us.
Robert Thompson is Editor, BBC Midlands Today
- BBC Midlands Today is broadcast at 1.30pm, 6.30pm and 10.25pm daily. Some times may vary.
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