BBC South Today - I've had it with them

[bobby1413]

I've watched this shocking excuse for local news now for years, it's yokelism at it's finest

There could be a murder in Reading, and a major incident however they continually focus on Hamshire and on the stories such as:

"George has grown the South's largest turnip"
"Residents in this village are unhappy with the cancellation of the number 53 bus"

It's one of the worst excuses for news I've ever come across

Boycott this sh*t and give us something decent

[C.A.Versham]

Have you dared to watch That's Thames Valley? It appeared recently on channel 7 on my Freeview TV set. Mixture of local news and for some reason really awful B movies.

http://www.thats.tv/thamesvalley/

[Stewart]

I watch the ITV version. Much better. Just turn over... I recently gave up on GetReading and now read The Chronicle online. Neither great. I listen to Radio Berkshire, (don't know why because I don't like that smug Peachy chap, but hey) and checking in regularly with these boards, I am of the opinion there is just not enough very local news to fill newspaper websites, or half hour programmes or even a radio station, which is why they give news of the outlying districts....

[wirewiper]

The problem is surely BBC South Today's HQ being in Southampton, which inevitably makes it biased towards Hampshire-based news. Many of its audience probably think that Reading is in London & The South East and probably don't even realise that BBC South Today is meant to cover it!

My Mum lives in Weymouth which is also - apparently - BBC South Today territory, although you wouldn't know it. In ITV Land she is right on the edge of ITV West Country which is based in Plymouth - funny, they never seem to mention Weymouth either.

[ReadingBiker]

When we were analogue half of Reading got Southern and half London (and a few central ITV as well) so we have always been a bit of a border region

[cavershamguy]

Meridian News is a bit better in my opinion.
I too have given up on Get Reading and switched to Chronicle Online but really find local news to be lacking esp Reading FC and Tony Pages Reading.

As an aside - re being Borderline. If I set my sat nav whilst in my driveway it gives a route through Caversham to M4 A34 as I move the car out of the driveway to the front of the house SatNav recalculates route through Sonning Common to Watlington! My radio clocks can only pick up a signal at the back of the house. I assume we are on the border of two satelite regions!

[bobby1413]

The area that BBC South today cover is huge, Dorset, Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight - a massive chunk.

I disagree that there's not enough local news to fill the 30 minute slot. The biggest issue is that they are covering a massive region so they don't have as good an opportunity to build local links, get to know people, etc...

[Yola]

Point your aerial towards London and get proper news.

[lizwing]

We get BBC Points West here which I like because the two regular presenters are so likeable, but it does seem to be very focused on Bristol there’s not much on Cheltenham or Gloucester.

[piwacket]

We get excellent reception for BBC South from the TV in the sitting room, but on the kitchen TV it’s poor, but much better tuned to London, which is a pain if moving from room to the other!

[Connaught]

The area that BBC South today cover is huge, Dorset, Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight - a massive chunk.

I disagree that there's not enough local news to fill the 30 minute slot. The biggest issue is that they are covering a massive region so they don't have as good an opportunity to build local links, get to know people, etc...

You've hit the nail on the head. There is a huge amount of local news but the likes of South Today and Get Reading no longer have the staff/inclination to cover it. Papers like the Henley Standard prove that there is a healthy appetite for local news to be served if you are prepared to invest in covering it. Sadly, too many news organisations are no longer prepared to.

[Melchett]

Are you surprised? The BBC pay the likes of Gary Lineker extortionate amounts to state the obvious on Match of the day, so they have to cut costs by making the regions they cover on local news bigger.

[chris_j_wood]

Are you surprised? The BBC pay the likes of Gary Lineker extortionate amounts to state the obvious on Match of the day, so they have to cut costs by making the regions they cover on local news bigger.

And there was me thinking it was the royalities they must have to pay to Nigel Farage for his incessant appearances on Question Time that was breaking their budgets. Perhaps they get a cut-price rate for him from that nice Mr Putin.

More seriously, I don't think the coverage areas have changed that much in my lifetime. In fact I seem to remember Look South covering the whole south-east as well, so we got news from Brighton and Chatham as well as Southampton and Portsmouth.

[Melchett]

Are you surprised? The BBC pay the likes of Gary Lineker extortionate amounts to state the obvious on Match of the day, so they have to cut costs by making the regions they cover on local news bigger.

And there was me thinking it was the royalities they must have to pay to Nigel Farage for his incessant appearances on Question Time that was breaking their budgets. Perhaps they get a cut-price rate for him from that nice Mr Putin.

More seriously, I don't think the coverage areas have changed that much in my lifetime. In fact I seem to remember Look South covering the whole south-east as well, so we got news from Brighton and Chatham as well as Southampton and Portsmouth.

Not enough Farage on BBCQT IMO.

[Pooneil]

Are you surprised? The BBC pay the likes of Gary Lineker extortionate amounts to state the obvious on Match of the day, so they have to cut costs by making the regions they cover on local news bigger.

And there was me thinking it was the royalities they must have to pay to Nigel Farage for his incessant appearances on Question Time that was breaking their budgets. Perhaps they get a cut-price rate for him from that nice Mr Putin.

More seriously, I don't think the coverage areas have changed that much in my lifetime. In fact I seem to remember Look South covering the whole south-east as well, so we got news from Brighton and Chatham as well as Southampton and Portsmouth.

Not enough Farage on BBCQT IMO.

After Farage's endorsement of the disgusting Roy Moore, I'd rather not see him ever again.

[mikejee]

Do you mean they pay that obnoxious parasite FARAGE to spew out his rubbish ? Apart from that revolting fact (if true), almost all on the program have an agenda they want to push, and should not get paid for doing so

[Mayfield]

I noticed South Today by passed Reading today and went to Bisham ( which was always pronounced as Bis- ham when I was at school and some pupils had to catch the Bisham bus, not Bish -am )

[Voiceoftreason?]

I say it the same way Mayfield - Biss-um.

[Melchett]

Do you mean they pay that obnoxious parasite FARAGE to spew out his rubbish ? Apart from that revolting fact (if true), almost all on the program have an agenda they want to push, and should not get paid for doing so

Diane Abbot gets paid by BBCQT too. Swings and roundabouts.

[Mayfield]

I say it the same way Mayfield - Biss-um.

Glad it's not just me....

[OLDMAN]

I used to complain that they didn't even have Reading on the weather map but included lots of small barely unknown villages which didn't help anyone if they didn't know them!

Never once got a reply back............

I makes me smile as we usually watch ITV Meridian, which isn't as good as the old version, but at least has some 'local' Reading stuff

We then turn over for BBC South and find half the stories are the same, but the Reading stuff gets missed out
Instead as mentioned by others it tends to be real trivial c**p from other areas
Its got to the point we don't bother watching it so much now

As for radio I listen to Breeze Thames Valley - good traffic and news reports

[OLDMAN]

I say it the same way Mayfield - Biss-um.

Glad it's not just me....

And me

[Melchett]

Could it be there isn't much to report in Reading? It's not really a cultural hotbed is it?

[OLDMAN]

If only that where true as an excuse

But when you here a news report that says, ‘A town in Berkshire’ or ‘Near Newbury’ or similar remarks rather than actually use the name Reading then you really begin to wonder

It does sometimes feel as if we don’t exist in the BBC’s eyes

Unless it’s to slag the place off…………

[Melchett]

I've never notice that before in all honesty. I'm sure there are other places in the region hardly mentioned either.

[OLDMAN]

I've never notice that before in all honesty. I'm sure there are other places in the region hardly mentioned either.

There are but mostly the smaller places, however some of those get more than Reading

It’s something a lot of people have noticed going on for years but has got worse in the last 6 or 7

The main noticeable one was not being on the weather map which was about 10yrs back - I know many others who complained / commented about it with no response
Only 'half-reply' was on the programme itself when they quietly mentioned they had been asked about the weather map, and stated the place names changed each week
That would have been okay if Reading appeared at times, but it never did - Nearest was Newbury that seemed to be on all the time and other places like Arborfield, Sonning and a few other non-descript villages etc appeared 2 or 3 times a month!
Plus, a lot further South where always regular, including the big towns etc

And I remember looking up some places I’d never heard off

Even Sally Taylor rarely mentions Reading, even though being born here and living in Reading for quite a while – she even attended The Abbey School!

[Melchett]

I'm no huge fan of the BBC but surely these are such minor things it really is inconsequential. Perhaps the power that be in Reading, Reading Borough Council need to work harder to put Reading on the map, instead of just worrying about buses and the Oxford Road.

[Pooneil]

The main noticeable one was not being on the weather map which was about 10yrs back - I know many others who complained / commented about it with no response
Only 'half-reply' was on the programme itself when they quietly mentioned they had been asked about the weather map, and stated the place names changed each week
That would have been okay if Reading appeared at times, but it never did

I have seen Reading on BBC South weather maps - infrequently, and perhaps not as often as might be expected, but it's untrue to say it "never" appears. I suspect that in part, the size of the map makes it unfeasible (or at least cluttered) to have both Oxford and Reading present, so Oxford, as the more "prestigious" (or at least famous/historical) name usually wins.
(Personally I'd have thought those who are happy with Reading maintaining the relative anonymity of a town status rather than a city would be happy to see it left off the map )

Even Sally Taylor rarely mentions Reading, even though being born here and living in Reading for quite a while – she even attended The Abbey School!

Well (a) she's a TV news magazine presenter, so I wouldn't expect her to start rambling on about Reading if it's not pertinent to the story she's presenting or randomly inserting comments about Reading between stories, and (b) perhaps she feels like the historian Lucy Worsley, who was also born in Reading and went to The Abbey Junior School, and has variously described Reading as "not a terribly interesting place" and "born in Reading (not great, but it could have been Slough)".

[chris_j_wood]

... perhaps she feels like the historian Lucy Worsley, who was also born in Reading and went to The Abbey Junior School, and has variously described Reading as "not a terribly interesting place" and "born in Reading (not great, but it could have been Slough)".

Although in Lucy Worsley's defence, the fact she suffers from Rhotacism, a speech impediment that prevents her from pronouncing "r" properly, probably didn't help endear the town to her.

On a more serious note, thanks for reminding me that the BBC still has some first rate presenters, their "r"s not withstanding. I have to say that at the moment I'm tending towards Lord Adonis's view of the BBC, which is rather depressing.

[OLDMAN]

The main noticeable one was not being on the weather map which was about 10yrs back - I know many others who complained / commented about it with no response
Only 'half-reply' was on the programme itself when they quietly mentioned they had been asked about the weather map, and stated the place names changed each week
That would have been okay if Reading appeared at times, but it never did

I have seen Reading on BBC South weather maps - infrequently, and perhaps not as often as might be expected, but it's untrue to say it "never" appears. I suspect that in part, the size of the map makes it unfeasible (or at least cluttered) to have both Oxford and Reading present, so Oxford, as the more "prestigious" (or at least famous/historical) name usually wins.
(Personally I'd have thought those who are happy with Reading maintaining the relative anonymity of a town status rather than a city would be happy to see it left off the map )

Even Sally Taylor rarely mentions Reading, even though being born here and living in Reading for quite a while – she even attended The Abbey School!

Well (a) she's a TV news magazine presenter, so I wouldn't expect her to start rambling on about Reading if it's not pertinent to the story she's presenting or randomly inserting comments about Reading between stories, and (b) perhaps she feels like the historian Lucy Worsley, who was also born in Reading and went to The Abbey Junior School, and has variously described Reading as "not a terribly interesting place" and "born in Reading (not great, but it could have been Slough)".

Oops – re-reading that and had could have been better with my wording

When I said ‘’ That would have been okay if Reading appeared at times, but it never did’’ I meant it never did, ‘regularly’ as they sated – it did appear but not as regular as a lot of the ‘non-descript’ places

I agree about not cluttering the map, but it’s still the contradiction of them saying they alternate all the place names – and then not doing so that often with certain ones
But as I’ve mentioned they do seem to be putting us back on there more often these days -

As for Sally – when she first started, and when ‘we’ got mentioned a bit more, she used to often say ‘her home town’ when light hearted Reading stories came up - now she never (or rarely) does

But other presenters do often mention theirs


I know at the end of the day it’s a small point in the big scheme of things but, it can get mildly annoying

And the bigger question is – why Reading?

[GaryyHill]

Indeed BBC South Today is a poor representation of regional news.
Perhaps BBC should create a new news programme for the Thames Valley region. I too am fed up of hearing of the biggest turnip grown in Southampton or a lost cat in Portsmouth. Tell me about the issues affecting real lives in Maidenhead and Reading etc...there's a lot happening here people need to know of.

[Voiceoftreason?]

ITs a poor and amateur programme anyway IMHO. Comes over like some second rate chit chat between neighbours. Drives me nuts when, having seen a fairly local item n the BBC news, they jump on it again as their headline feature, repeat what’s already been said not ten minutes ago, run pretty much the same footage and add no further value.

[Melchett]

Yep. Reading FC's relegation battle. The potholed roads, traffic issues and the town in 4th place in the country for Heroin abuse.

[Voiceoftreason?]

Yep. Reading FC's relegation battle. The potholed roads, traffic issues and the town in 4th place in the country for Heroin abuse.

Only 4th? Clearly not trying hard enough.

[OLDMAN]

Yep. Reading FC's relegation battle. The potholed roads, traffic issues and the town in 4th place in the country for Heroin abuse.

Have you got a link to the data - would love to see it as its something we have been discussing in a local group?

Only data I've found before was from 2016, and Reading wasn't in the top ten back then