''Newsnight Scotland'' is a current affairs television programme, broadcast by BBC Scotland from BBC Pacific Quay in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

as an

opt out The term opt-out refers to several methods by which individuals can avoid receiving unsolicited product or service information. This option is usually associated with direct marketing campaigns such as e-mail marketing or direct mail. A list of thos ...

of the main London-based ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'' programme. It was broadcast at 11pm from Mondays to Thursdays, replacing the last twenty minutes of ''Newsnight'' on

BBC Two Scotland BBC Two Scotland ( gd, BBC Dhà Alba) was the national variation of BBC Two for BBC Scotland. It was broadcast via digital television and was the sister Scottish channel of BBC One Scotland and Gaelic-language BBC Alba. Unlike BBC One Scotland, ...

. The programme was presented by Glenn Campbell on Mondays, and

Gordon Brewer Gordon Brewer is a Scottish news and current affairs broadcaster, who worked for BBC Scotland. He presented the flagship ''Newsnight Scotland'' programme from 1999. Early Life He was educated St Modan's High School in Stirling, followed by th ...

fronted the programme on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Isobel Fraser,

Sally Magnusson Sally Anne Magnusson (born 1955) is a Scottish broadcast journalist, television presenter and writer, who currently presents the Thursday and Friday night edition of BBC Scotland's ''Reporting Scotland''. She also presents ''Tracing Your Roots' ...

and Radio Scotland's ''

Good Morning Scotland ''Good Morning Scotland'' ( gd, Madainn Mhath Alba) is a Scottish breakfast radio news programme. It is broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland weekdays from 06:00 to 09:00. Established in 1973, it is the longest-running radio show broadcast from Scotl ...

'' co-presenter Gary Robertson also appeared on the show as stand-in presenters. In 1999, the programme had a Friday edition with a brief news summary before being dropped. The programme's original presenters were Anne Mackenzie and Gordon Brewer between 1999 and 2007. It was broadcast from Studio C at Pacific Quay Studios in

, using the same set as ''

Reporting Scotland ''BBC Reporting Scotland'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Scotland, broadcast on BBC One Scotland from the BBC Pacific Quay, headquarters of BBC Scotland at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. History Although BBC Television was esta ...

''.

History

'Newsnight Scotland' came about as a result of calls for a Scottish-based version of the ''

BBC Six O'Clock News The ''BBC News at Six'' is the evening news programme bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on the BBC News channel and on British television channel BBC One on weekdays at 6:00pm. For a long period, the ''BBC ...

'' (the so-called ''"Scottish Six"'') following the vote in favour of

Scottish devolution Devolution is the process in which the central British parliament grants administrative powers (excluding principally reserved matters) to the devolved Scottish Parliament. Prior to the advent of devolution, some had argued for a Scottish ...

. As this did not come about a 'compromise' was then reached in 1999, when Newsnight Scotland was devised. Its creation was somewhat controversial, with Jeremy Paxman describing it as a "damn fool idea" and a "dog’s breakfast", there was also internal and external resistance to the idea of a Scottish opt-out from the network programme. A number of newspapers at the time also predicted its demise. First broadcast on Monday 4 October 1999, it was originally presented by a team of three; Gordon Brewer, John Milne and Anne Mackenzie. Newsnight Scotland covered all topical and political issues that affect Scotland. Often the issues derived from the goings-on at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. The programme investigated many topics, including the costs of the construction of the

Holyrood site ; sco, Scots Pairlament Biggin , native_name_lang = , former_names = , alternate_names = Holyrood , image = Scottish Parliament building - geograph.org.uk - 2469654.jpg , image_alt = , caption ...

. It reported in great detail about the decisions leading to this, including the competition for Scotland's new parliament. The biggest story covered was the parliament itself; with extensive coverage of the ''Fraser Inquiry''. The series was criticised again in 2008, when Gordon Brewer asserted that a broader view of the news was needed and that it wasn't sufficient to simply "put a kilt" on UK and international stories.

Cancellation

In February 2014, BBC announced Newsnight Scotland would end during 2014 and be replaced by '' Scotland 2014'' as part of a shake up of BBC Scotland's referendum coverage. The final edition was broadcast on 22 May 2014.

Team

The ''Newsnight Scotland'' on-air team at the end of the programme's tenure consisted of the following;

Main anchors

*Gary Robertson (stand-in) * Glenn Campbell *Isobel Fraser (stand-in)

Reporters

*Ken Macdonald *Julie Peacock * David Henderson *Derek Bateman

Past presenters/reporters

* Abeer MacIntyre * Anne Mackenzie *

John Milne John Milne (30 December 1850 – 31 July 1913) was a British geologist and mining engineer who worked on a horizontal seismograph. Biography Milne was born in Liverpool, England, the only child of John Milne of Milnrow, and at first raised ...

Awards

The ''Newsnight Scotland'' team were rewarded for their work in bringing environmental issues to a wider public audience at the 2003 ''British Environmental Media Awards'' (BEMAs) in London. The award was for a report from Newfoundland, concerning the collapse of the Canadian cod fisheries.

References

External links

* * {{BBC Local TV 1999 Scottish television series debuts BBC Regional News shows BBC Scotland television shows Scottish television news shows 2014 Scottish television series endings 1990s Scottish television series 2000s Scottish television series 2010s Scottish television series