Michael Buerk's tour of BBC News

A day in the life of BBC News, as shown on See For Yourself in 1990.

[@afhjkdgf]

Interesting to hear the laughter after the announcement that John Major was the new chancellor at 4:27

[@johnking5174]

4:33 - "John Major has been appointed the new Chancellor" - cue the laughs of disbelief from the BBC news team including Michael Buerk who says "it's hysterical".

[@applemask]

He'd only just got the job of Foreign Secretary.

[@nthglasScotland]

The way we were! So many, proper broadcasters. The introductory tune, which was, Majestic! A lot of us miss Mr Buerk, or MIss Leaming. To think overnight, decent people coveyed that OUR Britsh Princess, Lady Althorpe had died in France, to THIS??

[@CharlesDickson-nv2ol]

The good old days of news gathering memories of BBC Bristol.

[@1218174]

That was a really good video, thanks for uploading, just shows you the pressure broadcast journalists go through lol

[@johnking5174]

BBC Two News in 1989 was News at 8.00am for 15 mins, summaries at 2pm, 3pm and 3.50pm, and then Newsnight at 10.30pm. That was it.

[@johnking5174]

In 1989 BBC One News was Breakfast News 6.30am - 9.00am, One O'Clock News 1.00pm - 1.30pm, Six O'Clock News 6.00pm - 6.30pm and Nine O'Clock News 9.00pm - 9.30pm. Summaries hourly from 10.00am - 12.00pm. That was it. No rolling BBC News Channel, my idea of a perfect balance.

[@BossySwan]

I'd love to work there...

[@johnking5174]

Can someone tell me, were there two newsroom based studios back then? As the set Terry Wogan is sitting in at 0:17 looks different to the one Michael Buerk is sitting in at 9:17 - or was it simply different camera angles, as the newsroom backdrop looks different between the two shots. Any ideas?

[@carlingblacklabel2864]

I think it was a different angle. As far as I can tell there was only ever 1 newsroom studio.

[@johnking5174]

@@carlingblacklabel2864 Hi, someone helped me with this. Apparently when the daytime news summaries started in 1986, the newsroom studio had been built further into the newsroom. However two years later when the 9pm News got a revamp, they created a bigger newsroom based set, based on the design of the 1986 one, but made larger. Once the new 9pm set was launched, within a year they dismantled the older 1986 set, and moved the daytime summaries into the 9pm studio.

[@johnking5174]

@@carlingblacklabel2864 Here, to show you the difference, the first TV Ark clip is from a news summary in the original daytime set in 1988 - www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=108283 and then a year later they had settled into the 9pm set, and you can notice the difference in this clip from 1989, including the new opening camera angle - www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=108287 can you spot the difference?

[@mrhammadmossop1988ul-haq]

Does anybody know where about that television was located at 01:30 01:31

[@johnking5174]

The newsroom of BBC Television Centre in the spur block

[@mrhammadmossop1988ul-haq]

@@johnking5174 Wow was that the block called the doughnut

[@johnking5174]

@@mrhammadmossop1988ul-haq No, that is the circular block of the building, with the statue of Helios in the centre of the courtyard. The spur block is the added on part of the complex to the right of the "doughnut" and it was completed in 1969 in time for BBC Television News to move into it, when they were about to air their news in colour. Before 1969 BBC Television News was based at Alexandra Palace. Today the original spur block is gone, demolished, but replaced with a very similar styled building now named 2 Television Centre.

[@MrKpsuk84]

These days of course its 24/7 with a with two whole channels of news to fill (domestic and international)

[@johnking5174]

I liked 1989. Four main television channels and plenty of news to go around. I remember the hourly news summaries in the morning on BBC1 and in the afternoon on BBC2. ITV seemed to have much more news, both local and national on there compared to 2019.

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

Rolling news is still entirely different to compiling and producing the BBC News at Six and News at Ten. Plenty of videos available to show you what it’s like now

[@mrhammadmossop1988ul-haq]

01:30 01:31

[@mubd1234]

HOOOLY shit, that's a load of news in one night!

[@atmakali9599]

Haha 😂 what a load of prats getting hysterical over nothing. I stopped watching the news years ago but seeing this is farcical. It’s like a comedy satire. 🤣