:00:50. > :00:56.In the Midlands, you are now watching regional television, but
:00:56. > :01:00.would you watch local TV? We will see how it is already working in
:01:00. > :01:10.Birmingham, Alabama, as ministers prepare their plans for local
:01:10. > :01:10.
:01:10. > :40:43.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2372 seconds
:40:43. > :40:48.All politics is local. Well, so said the late Tip O'Neill, but all
:40:48. > :40:52.television is definitely not local. This programme is about as closer
:40:52. > :40:55.and personal as regional television gets, and we cover a giant region
:40:55. > :41:01.from the Cotswolds are to the Staffordshire moorlands with a
:41:01. > :41:05.population of 6 million. So, how can it be right, asks the Culture
:41:05. > :41:11.Secretary that the city the size of Birmingham has no truly local TV
:41:11. > :41:20.stations, while Birmingham Alabama has for? It is not just about the
:41:20. > :41:28.big cities. We are joined by the chief executive of six TV, the UK's
:41:29. > :41:35.largest TV licence holder. They have designs on serving South
:41:35. > :41:40.Warwickshire. Fare is two key points of. It is partly access to
:41:40. > :41:46.local news and information, and holding local politicians to
:41:46. > :41:52.account. The other. Makes creating an advertising opportunity for
:41:52. > :42:02.local businesses who come at the moment don't have access to a
:42:02. > :42:02.
:42:02. > :42:09.freaky and terrestrial television. We are joined by Gavin Williamson,
:42:09. > :42:19.the Conservative MP, and by David Wright, the Labour MP. Our
:42:19. > :42:30.
:42:30. > :42:36.correspondent has been to that Visiting America, you notice they
:42:36. > :42:45.do have a lot more local TV than we do, like this channel in Birmingham
:42:45. > :42:50.Alabama. So, we're spending the day here and we're not the only new
:42:50. > :42:55.boys' comic it is Scott Packard's new day, too. The day starts at the
:42:55. > :43:00.meeting. Looking at this potential running order, this could be an
:43:00. > :43:05.edition of our programme. Were we have Bacher's with TB affecting
:43:05. > :43:09.farmers, they have armadillos with rabies. What about the differences?
:43:09. > :43:15.There are four stations providing local news in this part of America,
:43:15. > :43:20.all funded by advertising. So he wants advertise on local TV here?
:43:20. > :43:28.If you drive through town, you will see 17 fast food restaurants and
:43:28. > :43:34.they're all interested in advertising. So, everyone. We take
:43:34. > :43:39.it. This is one argument for local TV in the UK, but there is an
:43:39. > :43:45.untapped, under served pool of potential advertisers. One Midlands
:43:45. > :43:51.ad agency has crunched the numbers and doubts that. Because I can see
:43:51. > :43:55.that there would be any real demand from punt - - from the consumer, I
:43:55. > :43:59.can see he would be watching it. If the TV station has a got an
:43:59. > :44:05.audience, then they haven't got anything to sell. Others, who have
:44:05. > :44:12.already expressed an interest in local TV, disagree. I am the
:44:12. > :44:16.chairman of the theatre company that owns 40 theatres. We can't
:44:16. > :44:20.afford to advertise on regional television. We would love to
:44:20. > :44:25.advertise on local television. I think there is a market there.
:44:25. > :44:30.Someone has to go out and find it and sell it. There is no doubt that
:44:30. > :44:34.the local market leader can make news day, but can they produce news
:44:34. > :44:40.more cheaply than we do? But, everyone keeps a tight rein on
:44:40. > :44:48.costs and for the new boy in the studio, this is luxury to where he
:44:48. > :44:53.started. This was my first taste of the daily meeting. The television
:44:53. > :45:03.station I came from was very small. It was just a few reporters he had
:45:03. > :45:05.
:45:05. > :45:10.to do everything. I have hired three people in the last four years
:45:10. > :45:16.you're as old as my children, so why am hiring someone who is 25
:45:16. > :45:19.were 26 years old. They had been in an even smaller market for a couple
:45:19. > :45:26.of years and hopefully got on the floor polish, they may bring them
:45:26. > :45:30.here. So, if you reduce costs and find a new source of advertising
:45:31. > :45:34.revenue, could this work in the UK? We are not trying to bring the
:45:34. > :45:40.whole American system of work, the government wants to graft a little
:45:40. > :45:45.bit of it on to our existing set-up. Will that work?
:45:45. > :45:49.We will not have to wait long to find out. They are due to start
:45:49. > :45:59.going on air in the year. Incidentally, there is more on the
:45:59. > :46:03.
:46:04. > :46:08.political background to all of this on my block - - blog. A lot of
:46:08. > :46:16.people tell me that there is a reshuffle in the air and that she
:46:16. > :46:20.are highly regarded, and an effective minister, and that you're
:46:21. > :46:30.facing the possible promotion to a bigger department. If that happens,
:46:31. > :46:31.
:46:31. > :46:39.what would you like your legacy to be remembered for? I would like us
:46:39. > :46:44.to have a thriving local TV sector, so that your constituents hold
:46:44. > :46:52.their local politician to account in a way that power national media
:46:52. > :46:56.is so successful in all the non- national politicians to account.
:46:56. > :47:06.Gavin Williamson, which should be up for this? Very much so. I think
:47:06. > :47:07.
:47:07. > :47:12.there will be a fantastic platform for local politics. Would you want
:47:12. > :47:16.to be held to account in this way? I think it would be great. I don't
:47:16. > :47:21.think there is a lot of political disagreement on this. I think it
:47:21. > :47:31.would be a real opportunity for people to engage with a member of
:47:31. > :47:31.
:47:31. > :47:35.parliament. A clear lesson from that piece from Alabama is that the
:47:35. > :47:42.mystics - - most successful local television stations in America are
:47:42. > :47:48.backed by the big networks, whereas here the government wants to go for
:47:48. > :47:53.something that is much more bottom- up. I think it will lead to real
:47:53. > :47:59.proper local television. I do think there will be a high degree of co-
:47:59. > :48:03.ordination between local channels and back felling. People will not
:48:03. > :48:09.want local news 24 hours a day. They will want good quality
:48:09. > :48:13.television, so there will be an off lot of co-ordination. Do you think
:48:13. > :48:17.it would need the big commercial broadcasters to get involved, or
:48:17. > :48:23.cannot all be left to local, small people. I think there will be a
:48:23. > :48:27.mixed approach over the coming years. I think there is an
:48:27. > :48:34.opportunity for other media to enter the market. If you live cats
:48:34. > :48:43.the local paper in the local area, it already has as a major part of
:48:43. > :48:47.its website video clip news. But do you think, bottom up or top-down?
:48:47. > :48:52.In America they do have both and stations are not forced to
:48:52. > :48:58.affiliate with the network, they do so voluntarily. I think this
:48:59. > :49:02.bottom-up approach, I believe that is the right approach. All the
:49:02. > :49:07.indications are that will be down to us to decide to be one to work
:49:07. > :49:12.with other parties, and I believe we will. Let me to win what
:49:12. > :49:18.somebody said on this, if the ITV regions could not survive without
:49:18. > :49:25.merging together a most commercial radio stations are very similar,
:49:25. > :49:29.how do they expect local television to survive? 10 or 15 years ago I
:49:29. > :49:34.would have said that, but I believe everything has changed. Looking at
:49:34. > :49:42.how television can be made with graduates to know how to use light
:49:42. > :49:47.week - - lightweight cameras and laptops, I think it is possible.
:49:47. > :49:51.One of the things that Greg Dyke said was that local television,
:49:51. > :49:56.rather than in big cities like Birmingham, is the way to go, but
:49:56. > :50:00.the Government is talking about television in the 20 or so bigger
:50:00. > :50:05.cities. I think it has got to start off there. I think it has got to
:50:05. > :50:10.show that the format can survive. Talking to many businesses, there
:50:10. > :50:13.is a real appetite to target their advertising spend and directed to
:50:13. > :50:19.the consumers that are trying to get through the door. We all know
:50:19. > :50:24.that the regional press, well, some people say it is in terminal
:50:24. > :50:27.decline with revenues drying up. think we can create those
:50:27. > :50:31.partnerships at regional print media and I think that is a
:50:31. > :50:34.potential way forward. One of the biggest media organisations this
:50:34. > :50:39.week has come under tremendous pressure and I think there will be
:50:39. > :50:44.a kickback against that. I think it will be looking for more local news
:50:44. > :50:54.and diversity. Since he raised the question, trust in journalism is
:50:54. > :50:55.
:50:55. > :50:59.one of the issues. How can local television, how can we be sure that
:50:59. > :51:07.the standards will be maintained? When you talk about local
:51:07. > :51:12.television, it is not necessarily a low-quality TV. You have got a lot
:51:12. > :51:17.of regional media groups, a lot of local papers, excellent journalism
:51:17. > :51:22.already thriving. They can be tapped into. Do you think you can
:51:22. > :51:26.reassure people about standards? One of the things I think is
:51:26. > :51:32.interesting, the BBC did some experiments and local TV a few
:51:32. > :51:37.years ago and they managed to put BBC brand values on the sort of
:51:37. > :51:45.model we are talking about with a handful of video journalists. If
:51:45. > :51:55.the BBC can do it, anyone can do it. You can follow us at any time on
:51:55. > :52:00.
:52:00. > :52:10.The government clearly hoped that local TV will be a resounding
:52:10. > :52:20.
:52:20. > :52:25.success, but what do you want? big talking point today, can local
:52:25. > :52:29.television services succeed where many have failed? When a wave of
:52:29. > :52:33.local television stations come along in the 1990s, these
:52:33. > :52:41.journalism students were toddlers, now they are the next generation of
:52:41. > :52:47.television talent. You might remember stations like Coventry
:52:47. > :52:57.Cable, all short lived, often because of shoestring budgets.
:52:57. > :52:58.
:52:58. > :53:07.Local TV television in Britain has failed repeatedly, so why should it
:53:07. > :53:12.work now that people have a choice of 500 television channels?
:53:12. > :53:17.Birmingham is a very dynamic city and deserves a dynamic TV station.
:53:17. > :53:25.City TV broadcasting says it wants a terrestrial licence. This could
:53:25. > :53:31.be their penthouse studio. They will take on 50 people. They would
:53:31. > :53:37.choose civic journalists. City TV will have the very best people.
:53:37. > :53:43.This is not amateur night. Birmingham needs it. What impact
:53:43. > :53:48.can you Service have on the market place? I would be worried if I was
:53:48. > :53:55.a local newspaper, but we can work with them. ITV and BBC, they
:53:55. > :54:01.deliver local news, and not in the style but we will. So, what would
:54:01. > :54:06.you like to see on your local TV service? We came to Stoke on Trent
:54:06. > :54:10.so people here could put us in the picture. I'd go out a lot and it
:54:10. > :54:16.would be a lot easier than having to look upon social networks when
:54:17. > :54:20.there would be gigs. I would like to see more children's football.
:54:20. > :54:26.Articles regarding the area itself. The government will give more
:54:26. > :54:32.detail this month, but we know that the BBC will contribute �40 million
:54:33. > :54:37.towards its development. The voice of the Listener is very concerned
:54:37. > :54:42.about licence fee payer's money going to this project. This project
:54:42. > :54:49.is far from guaranteed to succeed. Whilst there could be very valuable,
:54:49. > :54:53.we don't think it is economic viable.
:54:53. > :54:57.In 2005 the BBC piloted a local television service and I was a
:54:57. > :55:02.video journalist there looking for unusual stories in Coventry. But
:55:02. > :55:12.the service was not taken on. The BBC Trust said it could not invest
:55:12. > :55:14.
:55:14. > :55:22.- - justify the investment. So, a political weather forecast. There
:55:22. > :55:28.are local TV services working their way up getting licences by 2012.
:55:28. > :55:33.They may come to rely on product placement and strong advertising.
:55:33. > :55:38.They will also have fewer staff. That is because the next generation
:55:38. > :55:43.of journalists are told the job of three people. We can edit, film, do
:55:43. > :55:47.interviews. Having more channels has always a good thing in terms of
:55:47. > :55:53.media students because it is very difficult at the moment to get into
:55:53. > :55:57.the big companies. It is the appetite of viewers that will be
:55:57. > :56:03.critical and will decide whether advertisers will follow and if
:56:03. > :56:06.local television will ultimately succeed.
:56:06. > :56:16.Since he completed their report, the BBC have issued a statement
:56:16. > :56:25.
:56:25. > :56:34.confirming their support for Iraq - The BBC have said that they will
:56:34. > :56:38.support this. Some people have is the very against BBC money going to
:56:38. > :56:43.support this project. I do to some extent agreed. We don't know how
:56:43. > :56:48.the money will be spent. We, as a company, have never asked for
:56:48. > :56:53.public subsidy. We don't think we need support. If the money has been
:56:53. > :56:57.used to support community training and enable licensee - - licence-fee
:56:57. > :57:05.payers to make local programmes, I would support that. Are you
:57:05. > :57:09.comfortable at this? We want local TV to be about local interest and
:57:09. > :57:14.reader wanted a car than copy of the other channels already on TV.
:57:14. > :57:21.If that money can go towards securing good local content, it
:57:21. > :57:27.would be money well spent. support what Gavin is saying. We
:57:27. > :57:32.want to see diversity. So, a local station in Shropshire made you can
:57:32. > :57:37.feel very different to a station elsewhere. People watch TV
:57:37. > :57:42.different Lea now. People don't sit down necessarily and watch a whole
:57:42. > :57:49.range of programmes. They perhaps draw them up on video devices and
:57:49. > :57:56.watch them in a different way. People watch to be differently.
:57:56. > :58:01.last time we had some local cable channels like Coventry Cable, when
:58:01. > :58:09.people had five TV channels to choose from, it didn't work. Now
:58:09. > :58:15.with the choice of 500 for many people, how can it work? This will
:58:15. > :58:22.not be 24 hour rolling local news. It will be hide local interest
:58:22. > :58:26.content, but with high quality programmes backing that up.
:58:26. > :58:31.thought the BBC pilot a few years ago was really good. You could tune
:58:31. > :58:37.in at the set time in an hour and watch a segment in local news that
:58:37. > :58:42.is very relevant to your area. would you tailor it to the local
:58:42. > :58:50.demands of the viewing public? think it failed in the past because
:58:50. > :58:55.it was not on the number one TV platform, technically it was very
:58:55. > :59:00.bad. We do think that local news as a very high demand and that there
:59:00. > :59:05.would be blocks of local news in the morning and evening wear we
:59:05. > :59:11.will have local news and information. We have got plans for
:59:11. > :59:21.local politics discussions, arts programmes, and we are working with
:59:21. > :59:23.
:59:23. > :59:27.other local programmes in other regions so we can work with them.
:59:27. > :59:32.If you don't have big ambitions she never achieve anything. I think
:59:32. > :59:40.this could be a really positive contribution to local democracy. It
:59:40. > :59:44.does give the public an opportunity to pierced - - put us on the spot.
:59:44. > :59:47.You have a lot to do if you went to have the sudden running in the year.
:59:47. > :59:52.The government appointed have a slightly longer than that, but, I
:59:52. > :59:57.agree, there are companies like us and others who are now raring to go.
:59:57. > :00:05.Well, to be continued. We will watch with a great deal of interest.