NORTH WEST REGIONAL TV BROADCASTERS SHOULD COVER CUMBRIA WITH SPECIAL EVENTS

This is an article that appears on my Website campaigning for better, more geographic-appropriate Regional TV News-coverage for northern North West England and on the Isle of Man. You will find this, and more articles pertaining to Regional Television, as is watched by viewers who live north of Preston at https://northwestisnorthwest.org/

True to form, neither BBC1?North West Tonight, nor ITV1?Granada Reports?have featured any Cumbrian celebrations of Her Majesty’s 70th anniversary of her succession to the throne. This is despite the fact that 200,000 Cumbrians live in the north of BBC1 North West’s transmission area and at least 100,000 Cumbrians live in the ITV1?Granada Reports‘ transmission area. Folk in North Lancashire might also wanted to know about fantastic celebrations in their area- or just north of where they live- for a fantastic, patriotic day out.

Manx viewers who watched either BBC1?North West Tonight?or ITV1?Granada Reports?also saw no coverage of Manx celebrations of the Queen’s long reign! That’s despite the Isle of Man being a British Crown Dependency, so just (maybe) they might have wanted to see more than celebrations in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire or south Lancashire!

However, for the benefit of viewers on the Isle of Man and in northern North West England who did not get a Cumbrian perspective, this Website includes some pictures of celebrations that took place in the small village of Nenthead in north-east Cumbria- a place that reporters on BBC1?North West Tonight?or on ITV1?Granada Reports?would likely never even heard of: Of course, Nenthead is beyond their transmission areas which is why the programmers don’t cover this area- or indeed most of Cumbria- not even for the benefit of 200,000 potential South Cumbrian viewers! Infact ITV1?Granada Reports?scarcely covers Cumbria at all, which is why northern North West viewers might try to get ITV1 Border?Lookaround– since that Regional news-service covers Cumbria extremely well. For viewers who only have coverage of the Platinum Jubilee- or other news-coverage of places from Preston or Blackpool southwards these pictures might redress some of this balance!

And some pictures here:

With reference to the last picture, the village of Nenthead has its own Community snowplough- in addition to a Community Shop (see top picture)- i.e., rural communities clubbing together to provide for common needs when neither the market or Government will! It is conceivable that communities in South Cumbria (in what will soon be Westmorland and Furness), in other parts of Cumbria, or in North Lancashire might consider setting up “Lakes Community Television” or?LancasterTV?in future.

Local and Regional TV News-services are not much good for communities when all the news is mainly about places- in one direction only- some sixty or more miles away from the affected communities. This is something that this site campaigns to rectify.

Ian Pennell

(Proprietor of NorthWest Is NorthWest Website)

This is an article that appears on my Website campaigning for better, more geographic-appropriate Regional TV News-coverage for northern North West England and on the Isle of Man. You will find this, and more articles pertaining to Regional Television, as is watched by viewers who live north of Preston at https://northwestisnorthwest.org/