BBC News: Nostalgia

[Roger Darthwell]

15 years ago this very day Tony Blair formally resigned as Prime Minister, succeeded by Gordon Brown. Here is how BBC News covered the transfer of power https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBQPVQktpR8

[excel99]

That was an exceptionally busy news week. Massive flooding starting on the Monday, PM change on Wednesday, bomb (found unexploded?) in London on Friday, then the Glasgow Airport attack on Saturday

[Roger Darthwell]

Here is how the BBC reported the Handover of Hong Kong to China 25 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amjPt8X1JbA

[Steve Williams]

Here is how the BBC reported the Handover of Hong Kong to China 25 years ago

Like that week in 2007, that was also a huge week for news - Labour's first Budget was on Wednesday (which Peter Snow didn't do because he was coming back from Hong Kong, so Jeremy Vine did the graphics a decade before he took over full time), the Pathfinder landing on Mars on Friday - https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/se...4#at-12.30 - and on the weekend before the Holyfield/Tyson fight where Tyson bit off Holyfield's ear and also the first Glasto on the Beeb where it rained so much the Other Stage sank.

The Monday of the Hong Kong Handover was also the first time I could ever remember there being no CBBC in the afternoon at all, what with that and Wimbledon - https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/se...1997-06-30 - as before that they'd always tried to get on at least one programme, but by this point CBBC was on every morning as well so presumably it was considered less essential. And the second time that happened was two days later, because of the Budget and Wimbledon. And I missed all this fun because I was on holiday in France this week, much to my dismay, though in a cliched Brits abroad fashion we sat in the car every evening to listen to the news on Radio 4 LW.

As I've mentioned before, the Hong Kong Handover was the last hurrah for the Beeb's events department under the auspices of Philip S Gilbert, who had in the previous few years produced the coverage for the anniversaries of D-Day, VE Day and the like. I remember reading in Private Eye at the time that Gilbert refused to use anyone from news as he didn't rate them and guarded the autonomy of his department fiercely, and chose his own presenter in John Tusa, which was a bit odd as it was just after Tusa had resigned from BBC News really slagging off John Birt. But of course all the news people had to go there as well to cover it for the news, so there was endless duplication, and soon after it all got merged into one and news would be responsible for events like this and people like Huw Edwards would work across the coverage.

[Rob]

I still have the VHS of the highlights programme of the handover. I'll see if I can dig it out at some point.

[Roger Darthwell]

If anyone wants a little bit of a distraction from today's news, here is the Nine O'Clock News from......25 years ago today, the day the Mars Pathfinder probe sent pictures from Mars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSQzgVPxT_Q

[VMPhil]

BBC News with Gavin Esler from 14th September 2002:

https://youtu.be/Entx8AOXq0Q

[johnnyboy]

If anyone wants a little bit of a distraction from today's news, here is the Nine O'Clock News from......25 years ago today, the day the Mars Pathfinder probe sent pictures from Mars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSQzgVPxT_Q

I used to and still do love the "BBC LIVE" bug with the old old logo and the italicised writing.

Just looks great.

[Roger Darthwell]

If anyone wants a little bit of a distraction from today's news, here is the Nine O'Clock News from......25 years ago today, the day the Mars Pathfinder probe sent pictures from Mars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSQzgVPxT_Q

I used to and still do love the "BBC LIVE" bug with the old old logo and the italicised writing.

Just looks great.

I agree, I like more the ''BBC LIVE'' used after the 97 rebrand

[DTV]

One of the big 'date' questions on this forum for a while has been when did the studio moves occur in 1998. I think I've finally narrowed it down to within a week for both nationals and News 24.

There are a few things that distinquish the 'virtual' set in N2 and the one in N6 - the most notable is the chair colours (black in N2, white in N6), though other differences include different (taller) desk mics, the desk appearing darker, closer DtL shot, white paper instead of yellow, and a few others.

Here's the BBC Nine O'Clock News on Thursday 29th October 1998 (black chair visible 9:14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_IZfehWF4M
And here's the news with stories dating to Friday 6th November (white chair visible 4:25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMbib8kmoxE
Ergo, N6 likely debuted during the first week of November 1998.

News 24's move from N9 to N8 is more obvious due to the wholly different set.

BBC News 24 overnight from N9 on the 2nd September
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AbyIvr3XGU
BBC News 24 from N8 on the night of 5th/6th September
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6udFf4g1Ht0
It might be the case that overnights moved ahead of all output, but clearly N8 debuted that week.

Interestingly, N8 looked liked this only two months earlier...


When BBC World moved into N9 is harder to pin down as there are even fewer clips, though the N9 second set appears in this clip (with the corresponding BBC online story dated to 30th October).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4wZSOz6A0
A move during October would seem likely and match up with accounts of them taking a month to remodel the set in N9.

[JamesWorldNews]

I think you’ve pretty much got it! Thanks for all that nostalgia.

Hardly recognized Wyre Davies!

[Newsroom]

It was a decade ago that BBC News moved to Lund Point for the London Olympics.

I've stumbled across a rather cool video shot by one of the crew. 

https://youtu.be/YqEsuNhpf7Q

Also, this little nugget of someone filming Lunt Point from a helicopter. I'm not entirely sure I'd be too keen on using that elevator at the back.

https://youtu.be/smZn2Nf9vxM

[harshy]

One of the big 'date' questions on this forum for a while has been when did the studio moves occur in 1998. I think I've finally narrowed it down to within a week for both nationals and News 24.

There are a few things that distinquish the 'virtual' set in N2 and the one in N6 - the most notable is the chair colours (black in N2, white in N6), though other differences include different (taller) desk mics, the desk appearing darker, closer DtL shot, white paper instead of yellow, and a few others.

Here's the BBC Nine O'Clock News on Thursday 29th October 1998 (black chair visible 9:14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_IZfehWF4M
And here's the news with stories dating to Friday 6th November (white chair visible 4:25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMbib8kmoxE
Ergo, N6 likely debuted during the first week of November 1998.

News 24's move from N9 to N8 is more obvious due to the wholly different set.

BBC News 24 overnight from N9 on the 2nd September
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AbyIvr3XGU
BBC News 24 from N8 on the night of 5th/6th September
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6udFf4g1Ht0
It might be the case that overnights moved ahead of all output, but clearly N8 debuted that week.

Interestingly, N8 looked liked this only two months earlier...


When BBC World moved into N9 is harder to pin down as there are even fewer clips, though the N9 second set appears in this clip (with the corresponding BBC online story dated to 30th October).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4wZSOz6A0
A move during October would seem likely and match up with accounts of them taking a month to remodel the set in N9.

Still looking forward to the day when bbc world first broadcast from the red and cream era, surely someone must have it.

[Stuart]

Interestingly, N8 looked liked this only two months earlier...

Presume that N8 would be in the office space on the left at the top of the staircase?

However, I'm rather confused as to how N9 existed before N8, or was there just some renumbering?

[DTV]

Presume that N8 would be in the office space on the left at the top of the staircase?


However, I'm rather confused as to how N9 existed before N8, or was there just some renumbering?

Yep, N8 would be the office space in the top left - I'm not sure whether it's got desks in or has been left clear, but it is certainly absent of the lighting grid or any other studio gear.

Confusingly, N6, N8 and N9 opened in reverse order to their numbering. I believe, however, that N9 wasn't known as N9 until after the News Centre was opened - initially it was just the known as the News 24 studio. Presumably it was given the name once World moved in (which would be after N8 was opened). I suspect N6 was opened last for the same reason that Studio E was at NBH - they wanted to make sure all the kinks of the new place were ironed out before they moved in the higher profile network bulletins.