Newcastle
chosen for major new TV development
The
BBC in Newcastle has been chosen as the site for a pioneering training
centre that will transform television news operations of the future.
Around
600 journalists and production staff from all parts of the UK will
be trained to report, shoot and edit their own news materials over
the next three years at the BBC Broadcasting Centre in Barrack Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
The
new facility in the North East, opening next year, is at the heart
of a £1 million investment by the BBC to roll out the use
of Personal Digital Production (PDP) technology across its national
and regional news operations.
"This
puts Newcastle at the cutting edge of new technology for the whole
country," said Pat Loughrey, the BBC's Director of Nations
and Regions.
"You
could say this is TV catching up with radio, where multi-skilling
is the norm.
"When
journalists shoot and edit their own stories, it significantly increases
our picture - and story - gathering capacity, gives us better access
to people and makes us more creative."
The
training centre, to be based on the currently unused first floor
of the Newcastle Broadcasting Centre, will create an exciting new
editorial presence in the city.
To
date, around 100 journalists from the BBC's Nations and Regions
have been trained in the new digital techniques in a series of ad
hoc courses at different regional centres. All this training will
now transfer to Newcastle.
A groundbreaking
multi-skilling agreement between the BBC and the NUJ and BECTU trades
unions in July 2002 - unique in UK broadcasting - paved the way
for this major new development.
Video
journalist posts will progressively be created in Scotland, Wales,
Northern Ireland and in the BBC's 14 regional news centres across
England.
These
will be open to staff who have completed the three-week long personal
digital production training course in Newcastle and subsequently
developed their skills in this new way of working.
Wendy
Pilmer, the BBC's Head of Regional and Local Programmes in the North
East & Cumbria, says: "It's a vote of confidence in all
of us that we'll be pioneering a new way of gathering news which
will change the face of TV journalism.
"It's
another huge investment in the BBC outside London and will give
us a real creative and financial boost."
Notes
to Editors
Ground
breaking union agreement set to transform TV news journalism
(23.07.02)
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