''ATV Midlands News'' was a regional television

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

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 ...

. First broadcast on Monday 7 May 1956, ''ATV Midlands News'' was one of the first daily regional news services on British television, originally consisting of a short early evening summary of local headlines read by Patricia Cox (one of the first female newsreaders on British television) with stories often sourced directly from the Birmingham Evening Dispatch, a local newspaper.ATV Today – A Midland Montage
, transdiffusion.org Film footage of news and events was later introduced to the bulletins and shot by Birmingham Commercial Films, an independent company which specialised in providing newsreel and stock footage. From 1958, the nightly ''Midlands News'' bulletins were supplemented by ''Midland Montage'', a weekly topical magazine programme presented by Leslie Dunn and ATV continuity announcer Pat Astley. A year later, ATV set up its own news film unit for both programmes. In October 1964, following pressure from the Independent Television Authority to improve regional coverage, ATV introduced a nightly news magazine programme, ''

ATV Today ''ATV Today'' was a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ATV, serving the English Midlands. The programme aired from 5 October 1964 until 31 December 1981 – the final day of broadcasting from ATV before the co ...

'', which supplemented and eventually superseded the ''Midlands News'' bulletins in 1969. ATV Midlands continued providing regional news coverage within both ATV Today and shorter ''ATV News'' bulletins until 31 December 1981.

References

1950s British television series 1960s British television series 1956 British television series debuts 1969 British television series endings English-language television shows ITV regional news shows Television news in England Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV) {{UK-tv-prog-stub