How local is local?

With Jeremy Hunt saying about local television this week, that spaces on the Freeview multiplex will be give to microcosmic local television channels, similar to the old RSL licences. There is a case in point to look back at another experience I had...

In my time I had auditioned for the now defunct TV12 on the Isle of Wight, to not much success to be said. Now I had been working for the local hospital radio for a couple of years when an opportunity came about to appear in a local training video as one of many disabled people who had found opportunities through volunteering. To me this seemed a bit almost wet, but it was appearing in front of the camera so I took it.

This lead me into Portsmouth Television, the seemingly hotbed of local television... To tell you the truth, it was a news room and another room with a chromakey screen. But I had to look around ], so at the end of my recording I said is it OK to take peep at where the action is? They said yes, apart from the average presenters who have gone to other media organisations or just out of the industry...

But there was one person who looked set for the top even then, in the corner there was a women with long eyelashes concentrating hard who didn't even acknowledge when I said hello to all the people in the newsroom.

"Moody so and so..." I thought... But after getting some autographs of the presenters including Sarah Dinenage, Fred's daughter. It was time to go home, I kept watching the service to see if it would improve but this young lady kept appearing nightly reading the news...

I never thought much would come of her...

Then one day I switched ITV on and there she was...

Eyelashes not included...

Oh, I thought as I put my head in my hands... It was ITV News' Andrea Benfield...

Star spotting, not a great talent of mine... But it has come about that 65 licences are to be given out and it seems like the local news on this 'Channel Six' will be sponsored... But eventually as has been proven by other RSL's, that they will need to break even pretty soon after launch otherwise advertising revenue will not be big enough to maintain the service even with huge financial backing. In Manchester even with the full backing of Guardian Group, that Channel 'M' closed down eventually, but now is putting a bid in for the same region...

Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks, but getting them to remember it can be a pain...