Where we are

 

Presentation, incorporating Media Planning, is based on the Fourth Floor in Broadcasting House. The Transmission Suites which are central to BBC Northern Ireland’s television output are also on the fourth floor and within a stone's throw (or in our case, running distance) of MCR: Master Control Room.

What we do

We are the last point of contact with the programme makers and the first point of contact with the viewers. In essence, we keeping the channels, BBC ONE Northern Ireland and BBC TWO Northern Ireland, flowing - sticking programmes together with a mortar of trails, channel idents (what we call symbols) and announcements.

All the while being prepared for the unexpected!

Junctions
Those precious minutes between programmes can at times be a rollercoaster. They are populated by Media Planning who, once MC&A has agreed the campaigns, strategically place material to target local audiences. Media Planning also ensures we avoid 'unsafe' material for programmes we might be time shifting or dropping, in essence they police the schedule to maximise our allocated junction air time The schedules are then handed to the suites and it is up to Continuity to maintain the momentum of the channels. During a junction we can at one moment be liaising with the director of a local programme over talkback, then literally seconds later our microphone is open and we’re pointing the next programme coming up.

And of course while as this is happening, in our headphones we can hear talkback from the Network Director in London guiding us through what they are doing... while also listening to the network output in our left ear with the local output in the right. Not a job for the easily confused!

And what about when the programmes are actually being transmitted? We're not only monitoring our output, we're usually...

• beavering away writing witty, informative, hold-you-to-your seats scripts. Well, that’s the aim!
• ensuring our junctions will fit between two network programmes (the programmes from London start whether we're there or not!)
• previewing local programmes, creating presentation slides, recording network programmes for later transmission (time shifting), acquiring trails, etc.