TV
Radio
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Television South West Ltd
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Thank you for your interest in the Television South West News Consortium.
Please come back for updates and follow us on Twitter: @davemasontv
NEWS: Our group welcomes South West News Service as the latest media organisation to come
on board this month.
We comprise several media production companies, news gathering organisations in the
south west, highly experienced news media professionals and businessmen.
Currently, we are observing the process for the selection of news providers for the intended
IFNC pilots for Wales, Scotland and the North East. We await both the outcome of these bids
and, crucially, the result of the general election in May.
Updates on some of our ideas for the two former south west ITV regions and the Government's
Digital Economy Bill will appear here, so please come back again soon.
We thank you for your support.
Jan 2010
For information here are the consortia through to round 2 of the selection process:
Wales
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ITN with Newsquest, Northcliffe Media, Tindle, Boomerang and ITV Wales news staff;
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Tinopolis;
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UTV with NWN Media Ltd.
Scotland
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Johnston Press with the Herald and Times Group, Tinopolis, and D C Thomson;
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STV with ITN and Bauer Radio
Tyne Tees/Borders
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ITN with Johnston Press, Newsquest, Metro Radio, University of Sunderland and ITV Tyne Tees and Borders news staff;
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Trinity Mirror with the Press Association and Ten Alps;
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UTV.
* NEWS RELEASE *
TV CONSORTIUM PLANS TO RESCUE ITV NEWS IN THE SOUTH WEST
The spirit of TSW and HTV, the former ITV stations in the west and south west of England, may soon be returning to television screens in the region. Hugely popular in the 1980s and 1990s TSW/Westcountry and HTV were lost to ITV in a long series of franchise changes, mergers and acquisitions.
Now a new consortium plans to take advantage of government proposals that will allow companies to provide local news programmes on ITV. The consortium intends to provide a new television news service on ITV across Devon and Cornwall as well as dedicated news for Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset and Gloucestershire.
The consortium is the first of its kind in the region to publicly register interest in government proposals for new regional television news services.
Backed by regional newspaper group Northcliffe Media and local businessmen, as well as media and television professionals, the consortium will bid to supply two ITV regional news services that were previously based in Bristol and Plymouth, when they become available in the lead up to the 2012 digital switchover. ITV wants to pull out of regional news by that time.
Plans include extra local ‘opt-out’ bulletins in towns and cities across the south west, using the latest technology. The consortium’s hugely experienced team is led by former HTV managing director Jeremy Payne, who says: “We intend to build a truly local television news service for the westcountry. After years of decline in ITV regional news, the government has published proposals that will enable us to reintroduce and even improve on the best days of regional news.”'
Westcountry journalist and television producer Dave Mason formed the consortium and is determined to see an improved local television news service. He says: ”We intend to provide more localised town and city television bulletins across the region. Research tells us west country people want more local news from their area, not pan-regional news from a city with which they don’t identify”, he says.
The new service will link with Northcliffe newspapers' existing resources in the region using websites and internet television to extend and improve coverage for local communities.
Steve Anderson-Dixon, Northcliffe's managing director for the South West & Wales is passionate about expanding his local newspaper and internet news services onto television.
‘Our newspapers and websites have a unique relationship with readers and users and the prospect of being able to extend that onto television is exciting. Our focus has always been to make local matter more and to support local communities to make a difference. I look forward to us further strengthening that relationship by giving people across the West Country truly local news on television’.
David Rodgers, former Westward, and TSW tv presenter and now chairman of Radio Plymouth is another consortium member with a passion for local television news and the need for audience choice. He says: "It is very important that the BBC is not the only local news provider. There used to be a time when there was real choice in the style of regional news and features; the local ITV programmes used to have a genuine connection to their audiences. We want to bring that respected, warm, two-way relationship back”, he says.
The government, which concluded a consultation on the proposals for the new television news services today, plans to award pilot schemes to consortia in Scotland, Wales, and an English region next year.
Television South West News Consortium ~ Tuesday 22nd September 2009
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TSW PRODUCTIONS
This is my media production company which delivers digital content to companies and creates exciting new formats for television and radio, in association with industry partners and regionally based independent production companies. Consultancy and training are also a part of the business.
Below are sections for :
* NEWS
* ONLINE TV
* DIGITAL COMMS
* BROADCAST
* HISTORY OF TSW
* MERCHANDISE
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ONLINE TV
* NEWS *
TSW Productions and Mentor Digital consultancy of Bristol have completed a contract to take newspapers in the South West into digital tv online.
We have provided full staff training and consultancy for the brand new digital set up of the Bath Chronicle's online video news portal. We're very excited about making This is Bath the best online tv service in the region.
http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/video.html
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DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
We've also developed an internal communications platform called ' M-Comm' / 'Internal Company Radio' - a new way of improving and delivering digital internal communications for the corporate sector. This has additional practical applications for video content on websites. Printed company newsletters are costly, wasteful, don't target staff properly and not very 'green'.
We can deliver your company message to staff through internal intranets, mobile phone, ipod, phone line or CD/DVD.
This is a partnership between TSW Productions and Mentor Digital consultancy of Bristol.
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BROADCAST
There are currently several programme ideas in development
BACKGROUND & HISTORY OF TSW
Below is part of a behind-the-scenes promotional leaflet from 1987
TSW ( Television South West ) was the ITV South West regional franchise holder from 1982 - 1992, based at Derry's Cross, Plymouth. It took over from Westward Television in summer 1981 and began transmission in January 1982.
It produced local feature programmes; news, documentaries, and entertainment for the south west, until losing its franchise to broadcast in 1991. Unlike Thames TV, it did not continue to make programmes as a production house after further losing on appeal at a judicial review. TSW closed at the end of 1992, the late Ian Stirling & Ruth Langsford being at the helm as 'in-vision' continuity ended on ITV. ( Quite by coincidence I attended the staff farewell party. )
In January 1993 Westcountry TV took over, after demonstrating a commitment to localised news opt-outs for several towns and cities in the region, which proved popular. I worked briefly as a children's presenter for the station in the April and autumn of that year.
TSW was at the heart of its community, and moving back to the west country I feel it's a name worthy of using again in a production or broadcast capacity. Certainly from the feedback I'm getting on the web, many people appear to feel the same way. Heritage brands like this took years to build and they forged a two-way relationship with their audience. Mention the name or show the logo and it evokes an emotional response. News crews out filming in Devon and Cornwall are still asked today if they're from TSW - it's a brand worth re-visiting.
More information and video clips are available from Mr TSW's page on You Tube. This is run separately by a committed enthusiast called David but offers a dedicated look at some historic material from the station.
The TSW company logo, a symbol familiar in the South West for 27 years, uses representations of a river and green hills as design concepts. You can click on it to see the original ident caption from '82. I now own the rights to this original trademark / logo.
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MERCHANDISE
There is a limited amount of TSW retro merchandise available from this site.
Note pads: £2.50 TSW pens: £3.50 
T - shirt, short sleeve £12.00 ( white and light grey ) NEW 2010 TSW calendar fridge magnets now avail £4.00
Baseball cap: £7.50 TSW mugs: £7.50
All plus £2.50 postage & packing.
Paypal and cheques accepted - payable Television South West Ltd.
Broader range of items on request
Contact: dave@tswproductions.co.uk
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Television South West Limited: Registered office 50 Midsummer Buildings Bath Somerset BA1 6JH, Reg no: 6371595
Director: D Mason.
c. 2008
