Category: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Oxford 95.2FM; South TV
Date: 25.11.2005
Printable version
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Director-General Mark Thompson today (Friday) gave his seal of approval to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Oxford's new broadcasting centre.
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Officially opening the site - which now includes a state-of-the-art television studio, as well as the most modern radio facilities - Mark Thompson said the opening was "a real milestone" for local broadcasting in the area.
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As a resident himself, and an occasional "Mr Angry from North Oxford", he was delighted to be able to officially open the site, providing a high quality service to around 1.2 million people, something which had long been a dream of his.
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Mark Thompson was given a tour of the new set and production gallery, representing an investment of more than Β£1.5m, along with local VIPs including former athlete Roger Bannister and Morse author Colin Dexter.
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And he said Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Oxford - which has been leading the way in video journalism and has a tradition of TV, radio and online journalists working together - was a pioneer for local services.
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"In many ways we can see Oxford as a test bed for the future of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ," he said.
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Mark Thompson caught up with the frontline news operation - the smallest mainland TV operation the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ has but with the most up-to-date technology.
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And he made an appearance on Bill Heine's show on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Oxford 95.2FM to answer questions from the public.
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The new television facilities mean complete television news production within the region for the first time.
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Until the studio was built, the news was presented from a temporary area in reception and, further back, presenter Geraldine Peers had to commute from her home in Abingdon to Southampton every evening to present the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ South Today Oxford programme links.
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As well as using the new studio to present Oxford's part of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ South Today programme every weekday evening, since October, viewers have seen Geraldine present a full half-hour programme just for them every Friday - a major breakthrough in delivering local news to around 1.2 million people in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, South Northants, most of the Cotswolds and Swindon.
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Steve Taschini, Executive Editor, said: "We are serving an audience of more than a million people with news that gets closer to the heart of our area.
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"Having everything in Oxford now means we can provide a richer, more local service of television news than ever, and the latest technology means we can offer our audience an enhanced, more reactive bulletin service in ways which just were not possible before."
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JW
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