Further plans for local BBC TV news pilot announced

The BBC has announced further details of the pilot for its new local television news service, which is to run in the West Midlands from December 2005.
The nine month scheme will use the latest broadcasting technology to create different kinds of local television news in five different areas of the West Midlands via digital satellite and on broadband.
David Holdsworth, Head of Regional and Local Programmes and Project Manager for the pilot, said: "It's been our strategic aim for a number of years to make our services as local as possible - all the research suggests that audiences are most interested in news and events from their own areas.
"Until now, technology has made it impossible for us to provide any sort of local TV news service on top of the one dictated by regional transmitters.
"This pilot gives us the chance to provide news on demand (on broadband) or once an hour (on digital satellite)."
The pilot will allow the BBC to reach new audiences with relevant locally based programming, providing a service in line with that already delivered by BBC Local Radio stations.
It will also improve and expand the links between the BBC's local 'Where I Live' websites, local radio and local television.
It is set to run in the following areas: Birmingham and the Black Country; Coventry and Warwickshire; Herefordshire and Worcestershire; Stoke and Staffordshire; and Shropshire.
On digital satellite, viewers will be able to see news from their area for ten minutes every hour - for example, Shropshire might always appear at 20 minutes past the hour.
Viewers will have access to the service via the red button on their remote control.
Broadband users can watch their local bulletin on-demand linked through their local Where I Live website. The material will be available on demand in separate 'chunks' on the site, as well as a combined ten-minute bulletin.
Nearly 40 staff will be appointed, including six journalists on each site - one in each area being a specialist community user/user-generated content producer.
News lies at the heart of the content, along with public service information, sport and weather. In addition, there will be an information service appropriate to the time of day and items which celebrate local heroes, the arts, entertainment and heritage.
The aim will be to refresh non-breaking news once every 24 hours.
Local television reinforces the BBC's commitment to improving media literacy and provides new opportunities for partnership with local communities.
The pilot will test a variety of ways of commissioning new user-generated content from individuals and organisations in each locality, building on the success of projects like 'Digital Stories' and 'Video Nation'.
All community material broadcast will be subject to the usual BBC editorial and health and safety guidelines.
Once the pilot scheme is completed, a rigorous independent public value test will be conducted, including an assessment of its market impact in the West Midlands and detailed scrutiny by the BBC's Board of Governors.
Subject to this appraisal, the BBC then hopes to introduce around 60 similar services across the UK as a key part of its Out of London strategy.
This strategy was first outlined in Building Public Value, the BBC's manifesto for the next Charter period, published in June 2004.
(GB)