The Northern Ireland News Thread

[Ballyboy]

It needed a title update for a while. Can’t wait to see it

[MFTJA]

Is it likely that UTV Live would be renamed something like “ITV News Northern Ireland“ in the future? They’re obsessed with killing off the UTV brand and this would seem like the next step in getting rid of it completely

[Stanley Matravers]

Is it likely that UTV Live would be renamed something like “ITV News Northern Ireland“ in the future?

Just a heads up - as I can see that you're a new member...

Discussion about this has arisen, and gone around in circles, many times since ITV plc first acquired UTV Ltd in 2016.

It seems reasonable to presume this would likely be the eventual aim. But whether this is so, and quite what the timescale and exact new name would be, is anyone's guess.

I once suggested that a potential "UTV"-less new name for UTV Life, should things ever come to that, could be "Night Life" - with a logo that somehow emphasises the first two letters ("N.I.", geddit?!) - and I remain insufferably proud and smug about that idea!

The current inconsistency whereby it is predominantly "ITV" branding seen on Channel 3 in Northern Ireland and yet a few things are still "UTV" (e.g. regional news, trailer endboards for local opt-out programmes, the channel name on EPGs) upsets my OCD.

It becoming fully just one name or the other (or consistently "dual-branded", like most other regions were circa 1999-2002) can't come soon enough for me.

[London Lite]

What is UTV Live's editorial policy towards news stories from the Irish Republic? They covered the murder of a jogger in Tullamore, which isn't anywhere near Northern Ireland.

[Ballyboy]

What is UTV Live's editorial policy towards news stories from the Irish Republic? They covered the murder of a jogger in Tullamore, which isn't anywhere near Northern Ireland.

There have a weather forecast for the entire island. BBC Newsline have a Dublin correspondent

[maviesk]

What is UTV Live's editorial policy towards news stories from the Irish Republic? They covered the murder of a jogger in Tullamore, which isn't anywhere near Northern Ireland.

The murder of Ashling Murphy has had a profound effect on many across the island - vigils were held at a number of points across Northern Ireland. Not sure what the threshold is for a story to be considered of relevance to NI viewers, but obviously an awful lot of what happens one side of the border affects the other side.. That's also reflected in the amount of attention NI stories get on RTÉ news, which is not insignificant these days.

[lxflyer]

What is UTV Live's editorial policy towards news stories from the Irish Republic? They covered the murder of a jogger in Tullamore, which isn't anywhere near Northern Ireland.

When a story like this breaks either in Ireland or Northern Ireland (this was a young woman, Ashling Murphy, being attacked in broad daylight while out jogging on a public path), it will tend to make the television news in both jurisdictions, if not both nations. It was a story that struck a chord with many people across the island of Ireland and indeed in Great Britain as being something that is a symbol of a far wider problem within general society. If I am honest, it was the sort of news story that transcends borders - it was a truly horrific news story that also featured on BBC National news.

On a broader scale, both BBC NI and UTV will cover major stories that break within Ireland, such as a major murder like this, which has a societal relevance and impact, where it is a story that has a cross-border nature, or where it is a news story from a county directly across the border, particularly the three Ulster counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan that are part of Ireland.

That reflects the realities that for many people living and working around the border area, that the border is somewhat blurred - they may live on one side and work or attend school/college/hospital on the other. You also have to remember that a significant portion of the NI population regards themselves as Irish, and as such a major story in Ireland is considered "local" for them.

Within Ireland, television news is only broadcast on a national basis, and there are no regional variations, and within Northern Ireland it is one regional bulletin on both channels. As maviesk says, RTÉ also cover Northern Ireland news quite prominently with both an editor and correspondent based in Belfast.

Ireland is a relatively small island and many stories of a human interest or which impact on society in general will get traction on either side of the border. This story was one of those.

The BBC Red Lines podcast recently covered how Irisn news stories were covered in Northern Ireland and why:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0b8tm5f

All of that being said, there's an awful lot of ignorance on both sides of the border of life on the other side, particularly from a political and traditions perspective.

It's complicated! :-)

[Dylan2001]

Former UTV Live Sports Correspondent John Flack Has died. Ruth Gorman mentioned his death.

[MFTJA]

UTV Life has got a new look tonight. Looks quite fresh and the set is a lot better than it was before

[bkman1990]

BBC NI's Aileen Moynagh has been sharing her experiences from a recent court case after becoming a victim of a teenage stalker at a car park near the BBC NI offices in Ormeau Road.

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/no...74341.html

She said that she no longer walks alone while she is in the car park at this workplace after she got her perpetrator sentenced in court last February.

It has also been mentioned in the article above that a meeting had taken place with all news reporters at BBC NI over this distressing issue for their colleague. I hope that some good will come out of that outcome for all of the staff who work there.

The case being highlighted is an unusual one in that when you normally hear of a stalking incident being reported in the news; it is usually someone who is within an older age group. It is a very rare occurrence that someone's stalker would be someone who is under the age of 18 years old.

I hope that any of the BBC NI staff get to work in a much more safer working environment in the long term.

[Carly]

Aideen Kennedy, the ex UTV reporter, has been very sadly diagnosed with a terminal illness

https://twitter.com/aideen_reporter/stat...6av7UKSxaw

[Dylan2001]

Instead of coming back from a break utv life just rewinded back to the start.

[This is UTV]

https://twitter.com/briggsycar22/status/...1986849795

Viewers outraged on twitter about it.
Really poor this by ITV.

If Julian was doing live continuity he could have told us what's going on and kept us all entertained with a menu of tonight's programming.

[Dylan2001]

https://twitter.com/briggsycar22/status/...1986849795

Viewers outraged on twitter about it.
Really poor this by ITV.

If Julian was doing live continuity he could have told us what's going on and kept us all entertained with a menu of tonight's programming.

I knew something was up, I thought it was Deja Vu

[This is UTV]

I was looking forward to the Jersey Boys on tonight's UTV Life. Judging by the comments on twitter, many viewers were also.

ITV need to reschedule the programme again, maybe Sunday morning, Wales have regional opt outs on Sunday morning, so we can't we! It's not even on the UTV Programming website yet.

Itv.com/utvprogrammes