A detailed treatment of a subject.
Category: Features
ITV: uniting the network (Part 2)
A few weeks ago I took a look at the ultimate failure of the first attempt to create a unitary image for ITV. So how did a single image for most of ITV come into being barely a decade later? …
ITV: uniting the network (part 1)
It’s 30 years since ITV’s first attempt at a proper corporate identity was launched. The 1989 ITV logo was the first concerted effort to turn ITV into a brand although there had been previous attempts at generic logos – notably …
BBC brand refresh – 1981 style
In September 1981 the BBC One globe was modified – the electronic colour was changed and the logo was modified. They were subtle changes which most viewers would scarcely notice.
2005 BBC strike
Last updated: 2nd February 2020. BBC staff went on strike from midnight on Monday 23rd May 2005 for 24 hours. They were protesting at plans to cut 3,780 jobs and privatise parts of the Corporation.
BBC News: the beginning of the Lambie-Nairn/David Lowe era
On 10th May 1999, the BBC’s television news service was relaunched. But unlike previous revamps, this would be a more substantial upheaval – an attempt to unify the image of the television news operation across not only the domestic national …
BBC News virtual era ends
On Sunday 9th May 1999, the BBC News “virtual set” was aired for the final time. First introduced in April 1993, the set revolutionised the BBC’s television news presentation. Until this point, the majority of the BBC’s news programmes were …
Teletext recoveries
A quick word about some of the latest teletext recovery work by Jason Robertson and Terrence Burridge.
Channel 4 pre-1993 oddities
For its first 10 years, Channel 4 was not a commercial broadcaster in the real sense. It was owned by the IBA and paid for by the ITV companies. They could help recoup the cost by selling advertising locally on …
Havelock House – a final look
UTV ceased broadcasting from Havelock House in June 2018, following a relocation to the top floor of the City Quays 2 office block. The station had clocked up almost 59 years of broadcasting from the Ormeau Road site. Earlier in …
The history of test cards on Irish TV
Until the mid-1980s, the test card was a common sight on RTÉ TV during daytime hours. Prior to that, RTÉ never really embraced the idea of a morning or early afternoon programme schedule (with the exception of weekends).