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''ATV Today'' was a regional television
news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
and
current affairs programme, produced by
ATV, serving the
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
.
The programme aired from 5 October 1964 until 31 December 1981 – the final day of broadcasting from ATV before the company was restructured and relaunched as Central Independent Television.
History
Regional television came to the Midlands on 17 February 1956 with the launch of
ATV's weekday ITV service. The first news programme, a daily short bulletin called ''
ATV Midlands News
''ATV Midlands News'' was a regional television news programme, produced by ATV, serving the English Midlands.
First broadcast on Monday 7 May 1956, ''ATV Midlands News'' was one of the first daily regional news services on British television, o ...
'', was broadcast on 7 May 1956 – three months after the channel first went on air.
But following pressure from the
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" (ITV (TV network), ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ITA exi ...
for ATV to commit itself to greater regional coverage, ''ATV Today'' began on Monday 5 October 1964 as a 20-minute daily magazine programme, supplementing (and latterly superseding) the ''Midlands News'' bulletin and airing at 6.15 pm each weeknight.
The programme introduced viewers to more light-hearted journalism not seen on television at the time. One of the programme's longest-serving and best known reporters was the late John Swallow, a journalist who brought his own individual style of reporting both serious and lighter stories from the Midlands to television screens.
''ATV Today'' reached its peak during the 1970s when it was watched on a daily basis by an estimated three million viewers.
[Buxton, R, 11 May 2008, "ATV Today – A Midland Montage", GeoHistory, Transdiffusion Broadcasting System ]
By now airing for 30 minutes from 6 pm, ''ATV Today'' was a popular mainstay of television in the Midlands, and alongside hard news coverage, it maintained its light-hearted and knockabout style of presenting. The emphasis was on entertainment rather than what was seen as a more starchy, sober alternative offered by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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's ''
Midlands Today
''Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the West Midlands. It was launched in 1964 and is presented by Mary Rhodes, Nick Owen, Elizabeth Glinka, Rebecca Wood and Shefali Oza.
Overview
''Midlands Today'' is produc ...
''.
Shorter ''ATV Newsdesk'' bulletins were introduced in lunchtime and late night time slots during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Towards the end of its run, the programme was extended to a full hour on Mondays and Fridays, including an extended sports magazine.
The programme was responsible for launching the television careers of many household names in British television. Among those who started as reporters and presenters on ''ATV Today'' are
Chris Tarrant
Christopher John Tarrant, (born 10 October 1946) is an English broadcaster, television personality and former radio DJ. He presented the ITV (TV network), ITV children's television show ''Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and the game show ''Who Wa ...
, who joined in 1972 initially as a reporter and newsreader
but later specialised in light hearted stories, and
Bob Warman
Robert Paul Warman (born 11 October 1946) is an English retired television presenter.
Early life
Warman was born on 11 October 1946 in the Chuckery district of Walsall, Staffordshire.Shropshire Star Weekend supplement article, by Simon Penfol ...
,
who presented ''
ITV News Central
''ITV News Central'' is a British television news service for The Midlands, broadcast and produced by ITV Central.
History
Launched on Friday 1 January 1982, replacing ''ATV Today'', ''Central News'' was initially a pan-regional service base ...
'' until 2022.
As a result of the success of ''ATV Today'', the station launched a number of non-news regional programmes for the Midlands.
''Farming Today'' reported on countryside matters throughout the 1970s,
and the long running London crime series ''Police 5'', hosted by
Shaw Taylor
Eric Stanley Taylor (26 October 1924 – 17 March 2015), known professionally as Shaw Taylor, was a British actor and television presenter, best known for presenting the long-running five-minute crime programme ''Police 5''.
Early life and c ...
, launched a Midlands version as part of the programme during the 1960s. In the 1970s, the format was further developed with a children's version – ''Junior Police 5''.
There was also an afternoon lifestyle programme, ''Women Today'', and a weekly half-hour gardening programme, ''Gardening Today'', recorded in the ATV Television Garden in King's Heath Park, and presented by Bob Price and Cyril Fletcher.
During the early 1980s, ATV's newsroom also experimented with
ENG video cameras – one of the first regional TV news services in the UK to use the new technology.
Criticism
Because the programme was based in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and tended to focus on news events in and around the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, it was often criticised for giving less coverage to other areas of the region, particularly in the
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
.
An attempt was made to address this after MPs and councillors from the East Midlands region lobbied ATV and the
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television (ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Authorit ...
(IBA) for a separate ITV region. ATV believed the cost of a separate region would be too expensive, but did establish a small studio in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
after renting space at the city's Theatre Royal.
Final broadcast
In 1980, all ITV regional franchises were up for renewal and the IBA decided that ATV's lack of regional programming and production was hampering the Midlands. It insisted that the new applicant for the franchise should be more clearly based in the region and have separate facilities for the East and West Midlands.
Although ATV won the new franchise, it was required to change its name and restructure the company.
The final edition of ''ATV Today'' aired at 6.30 pm on Thursday 31 December 1981 and included a compilation of John Swallow's feature stories, surrounding a mock trial sketch featuring Bob Warman and Wendy Nelson.
The following day, the programme was replaced by ''
Central News'', which launched separate news services for the East Midlands in 1983 and the south of the region in 1989. ''
ITV News Central
''ITV News Central'' is a British television news service for The Midlands, broadcast and produced by ITV Central.
History
Launched on Friday 1 January 1982, replacing ''ATV Today'', ''Central News'' was initially a pan-regional service base ...
'' maintains separate news services for the East and West of the region.
Presenters
Among those who presented on ''ATV Today'' were
Bob Warman
Robert Paul Warman (born 11 October 1946) is an English retired television presenter.
Early life
Warman was born on 11 October 1946 in the Chuckery district of Walsall, Staffordshire.Shropshire Star Weekend supplement article, by Simon Penfol ...
,
Anne Diamond
Anne Margaret Diamond (born 8 September 1954) is a British journalist and broadcaster. She presently hosts the weekend breakfast show on GB News with Stephen Dixon as her co-presenter. She hosted '' Good Morning Britain'' for TV-am and ''Good ...
, Brian Maclaurin, Margaret Hounsell, Bill Spencer, Geoff Meade,
Chris Tarrant
Christopher John Tarrant, (born 10 October 1946) is an English broadcaster, television personality and former radio DJ. He presented the ITV (TV network), ITV children's television show ''Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and the game show ''Who Wa ...
, Wendy Nelson,
Derek Hobson,
Valentine Palmer
Valentine Palmer (24 July 1935 – 10 January 2022) was a British voice coach, a singer and a television, film and theatre actor who appeared in the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Day of the Daleks, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Minder, The Professio ...
and
Shaw Taylor
Eric Stanley Taylor (26 October 1924 – 17 March 2015), known professionally as Shaw Taylor, was a British actor and television presenter, best known for presenting the long-running five-minute crime programme ''Police 5''.
Early life and c ...
.
Others working on the programme included Lionel Hampden, Helen Piddock, Bev Smith,
Terry Lloyd
Terence Ellis "Terry" Lloyd (21 November 1952 – 22 March 2003) was an English television journalist who reported extensively from the Middle East. He was killed by the U.S. military while covering the 2003 invasion of Iraq for ITN. An inq ...
, Lance Beswick, Alan Jones, Mike Warman, Ted Trimmer, John Mitchell, Peter Plant, Wendy Jones, Val Lewis, Mart Gottschalk, David Eggleton, Lynda Berry, Terry Johnson, Tony Maycock, Sue Jay, John Swallow, Bob Hall, Rob Golding, John McLeod, Peter Green, David Lloyd,
Jennifer Gay, political editor Reg Harcourt and former
ITV News
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since conti ...
editor-in-chief David Mannion.
The sports team included
Gary Newbon
Gary Newbon MBE (born 15 March 1945 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) is a television sports presenter and executive.
Biography
He attended Culford School near Bury St Edmunds where he captained the rugby first XV and edited the school magazine. Upon ...
, Trevor East,
Jimmy Greaves
James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer ...
, Terry Thomas, Terry Biddlecombe,
Nick Owen
Nicholas Corbishley Owen is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for presenting the breakfast television programme ''TV-am'' and the BBC's local news show ''Midlands Today'' since 1997. He was also the chairman of Luton ...
and ATV head of sport
Billy Wright.
References
External links
ATV Today – A Midland Montagearticle about ATV Today
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atv Today
ITV regional news shows
1964 British television series debuts
1981 British television series endings
1960s British television series
1970s British television series
1980s British television series
Television series by ITV Studios
Television news in England
Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV)
English-language television shows