From Headlines to "Tight Lines": The Story of Atv Today

Synopsis

A 2 Disc DVD produced by ATVLAND.productions for the Media Archive for Central England, telling the story of ATV Today, the regional news magazine programme that broadcast to the Midlands from 1964 to 1981.


Regional and National news-magazine programmes are a staple diet for us in the 21st century but back in 1964 the concept was a new one. In October that year, when Associated Television launched ATV Today, we were introduced to a fresh new style that balanced the serious news of the day with a focus on the people, places, culture and history of the East and West Midlands.

ATV Today was for the viewer and about the viewer and everyday life was celebrated, especially many of the wonderful characters of the Midlands.

But the ATV Today offices were full of colourful characters too: Wolverhampton locals John Swallow and Sue Jay who reported with warmth and humour on the people and places of the communities they were passionate about; Chris Tarrant, who, legend says introduced the UK to welly wanging; Gary Newbon who has possibly interviewed every sportsman in the UK of from Sebastian Coe to Muhammad Ali; Terry Thomas, who coined the phrase, "TIGHT-LINES" which we have honoured in the DVD title!; and Bob Warman - who is still the face of the Midlands on ITV.

This two disc DVD chronicles the story of ATV Today from its beginning in 1964 to the last programme on 31st December 1981 and looks back at some of the big news stories that made the headlines throughout the three decades through new, exclusive interviews and over 150 pieces of archive film that haven’t been seen since broadcast.

With contributors Chris Tarrant, Gary Newbon, Nick Owen, Bob Warman, Wendy Nelson, Reg Harcourt, Bob Hall, Wendy Nelson, Barbara Bradbury and Tony Wadsworth the DVD is packed with poignant and humourous memories of a regional programme that often peaked to over 3 million viewers

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

2012

Subjects

History; Media studies

Keywords

television broadcasting; West Midlands

Credits

Director

Peter Raven

Contributor

Chris Tarrant

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

£19.99

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

371 minutes

Year

2012

Distributor

Name

MACE: Media Archive for Central England

Email

macearchive@le.ac.uk

Web

http://www.macearchive.org/ External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 116 252 5066

Fax

+44 (0) 116 252 5931

Address

The University of Leicester
1 Salisbury Road
Leicester
LE1 7QR