South East Today

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The South East Today titles were designed by Lambie-Nairn.
The South East Today titles were designed by Lambie-Nairn.

South East Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for Kent, East Sussex, and small parts of West Sussex and Surrey.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Most of the viewers in these areas formerly received Newsroom South East, though some had been previously receiving South Today. Launched on September 3, 2001, it goes out ten times a day from Monday to Friday: 6 bulletins in the morning during BBC Breakfast, a bulletin at 15:25, a 15-minute programme at 13:30, the half-hour main programme at 18:30, and a 5-minute update at 22:25. There are short evening updates at weekends.

The programme can be watched in any part of the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite channel 983 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite service.

Launched with the single presenter Laurie Mayer, the show was briefly the centre of a minor BBC scandal, after Mayer resigned amid accusations of management bullying.[1] Mayer lost his case, but the managers concerned have since moved on.

The current main presenters are Geoff Clark and Beverley Thompson, with weather from Kaddy Lee-Preston, Natalie Booker and Nick Miller. The former national weather forecaster Michael Fish often fills in for holiday absences. Geoff Clark was the anchorman for the ITV Meridian (south east) regional news programme 'Meridian Tonight' for a number of years before being headhunted by the BBC. Geoff was unhappy with Meridian's plan to broadcast the Meridian Tonight south east edition from new studios in Hampshire and was reluctant to relocate.

The editor is Quentin Smith and the Newsgathering Editor is Mark Hayman, who is also Newsgathering Editor for the two radio stations in the region, BBC Radio Kent (based in Tunbridge Wells) and BBC Southern Counties Radio (based in Brighton). The programme is broadcast live from the Tunbridge Wells newsroom (in the same building as BBC Radio Kent), and there are also studios in Brighton, with permanent contribution circuits from Chatham, Hastings and Dover. South East Today also has the use of a dedicated outside broadcast truck.

[edit] Presenters and Reporters

  • Geoff Clark - main anchor
  • Beverley Thompson - main anchor
  • Ceri Perkins - Breakfast/lunchtime anchor, also stand-in at 6:30pm
  • John Young - Anchor/producer for late bulletin
  • Natalie Graham - Sussex correspondent
  • Ian Palmer - Reporter/newsreader
  • Paul Siegert - Political and transport correspondent
  • Polly Evans - Reporter/newsreader
  • Rob Smith - Reporter/videojournalist/newsreader
  • Caroline Feraday - Reporter/newsreader

[edit] See also

[edit] External link

[edit] Video clips