There’s not just a lack of investment in broadcasting in the North East but other regions. That need became even more noticeable when the regional ITV stations in England were taken over to form one giant ITV channel. Not only did many jobs in those centres disappear but also local programming and identity.

BBC regions have never really done the job on quite the same scale. Now ITV has left the field there’s one great hole to be filled. What a pity the BBC, which attaches so much importance to both local radio at one end of the scale and moving “national” productions out of London at the other, has neglected truly regional output.

My argument would be that instead of expanding its corporate and international image it should look more to its tv regions, perhaps even do what ITV did (and how the German regional public ARD stations work today), creating real regional flavour and identity.