How did you get involved with Notts TV?
I know Craig [Chettle, Notts TV Chair] so heard about the application. I’d spent most of my career in local radio and I always knew the idea of local TV could work. It just seemed like a no brainer to put my hat in the ring.
What are your responsibilities?
To make sure I’m on top of every single facet of this channel, from programme making, to journalism, to boring legal stuff, technical stuff, contracts, you know, everyone’s inside leg measurements, the lot. It’s quite a challenge, but it’s so important especially now that we’re gearing up for the launch.
Have you worked on TV before?
My master’s training was across broadcast platforms. Disciplines in radio and TV are interchangeable and I worked for the BBC in the North West across TV and radio news. You might look at the BBC and think that certain people just do specific jobs, but they will often have numerous roles.
Who is doing what within the consortium who won the bid?
Confetti have been developing talent here for twenty years. They already have production company Spool and record label Denizen. The University is a huge training provider and it has a news studio and bases around the city. The Nottingham Post is a paper that has been established ages, so to share that is fantastic. Inclusive Digital is run by Nigel Dacre who ran ITN for more than a decade. He represents that more formal, more senior, national news roll. These are the kinds of people you need to set up a TV station.
Who is the ‘big boss’? Do the BBC oversee the project at all?
We are an independent outlet so we are owned by the consortium. Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, wanted Ofcom and the BBC to make local TV happen, so the BBC support it by giving a portion of the licence fee. In exchange, we will provide them with a number of pictures, packages, and stories everyday. It’s quite a small percentage of our budget and we don’t have to do it. They don’t have any sort of control over us editorially.
What are your plans for dramas and comedy?
We’re working on comedy at the moment - we can’t say too much about it, but it’s creative, it’s local, and it’s funny. Drama is incredibly expensive, so we’ve got to be realistic, we don’t want to bankrupt the channel before we go on air. If we can make it happen, though, then we will.
Will Notts TV News be as depressing as it is everywhere else?
From day one you’re going to get ninety minutes of local news a day. News on other channels can be predictable and lazy. We want to do things differently. There seems to be a public apathy with news and politics, but it’s just the way it’s been presented. People still care and still get passionate and still get stirred up. The old conventions in which news bulletins have to start with a murder or a fire or what an MP said, need to be questioned more. We have to make sure we’re connecting with our viewers’ lives, otherwise they’re not going to watch.
Will you source content from other channels?
It’ll be primarily local but sometimes you want to know what’s going on in other places. We need to get that blend right. If we see a fantastic film that’s been made in France, you might still want to watch that on Notts TV because it might still be the only place that you can watch it.
Are you going to be attracting famous Nottingham people to help out?
Jake Bugg has done a load of stuff with us. Vicky McClure was here working on a comedy programme. Shane Meadows has helped promote the station and is interested in getting involved. Richard Bacon has given a thumbs up to the project and Su Pollard was - unofficially - very enthusiastic. It doesn’t have to be celeb heavy, though.
Are the people of Notts getting involved already?
We have been getting ideas from people who have never worked in telly before as well as people that have produced shows like X Factor. We’re trying to manage the process because there are hundreds of them and we’re trying to see what will work. It might not happen from day one, or year one, but as we’ve got a twelve year licence then hopefully we can make a lot of ideas reality.
Have you taken any guidance from looking back at what Carlton did when based at Lenton Lane?
The ambition for Notts TV is to create the same level of industry presence that Carlton enjoyed in its heyday; they were very successful and they made shows that people loved. Things changed for ITV, and there’s a whole bunch of reasons why, but they’ve proven that you can make great shows in Nottingham, shows that still stand the test of time.
What kind of viewing figures are you expecting?
We cover 80% of Nottinghamshire and a significant area to the East - from Lincoln and to the sea. It’s potentially up to half a million people. Radio Nottingham can get a fifth of the population listening every week. Initially it’s not going to be that high, but with that half a million potential, even a conservative estimate means we could reach ten to hundreds of thousands of people.
Where do you see the channel in a year?
With my most ambitious hat on I want to see it broadcasting for as much of the twenty-four hour clock as possible. We want to extend the diversity of our programmes as far as we can. I think that’s the key to getting people to tune into Channel 8 and to keep them coming back.
What about in five or ten years?
As has been proven in Europe and America, local TV is an absolutely sound idea. I want to see an established channel and for people to like it and respect it. Personally, if we’ve got that then I’ll be happy.
It’s all hush hush, but here’s three shows to expect on Notts TV from launch...
The Boot Room
Presented by sports journalist Mark Webster, the show will be a look at the week’s local football, with a variety of special guests, ranging from footballers, managers, and fans. Similar shows on cricket, ice hockey, and other sports will follow.
Now and Then
“I came to live in Nottingham about thirteen years ago and I felt I had been sledge hammered in the face with the legacy and history of this area.” Jamie told us. Now and Then will use local experts to investigate how the city’s past has shaped life in Nottingham today. The series will include Boots, Raleigh, the effect of the World Wars, the Castle, the canals, and, no doubt, our very own (gerrof Yorkshire!) man in tights. The first programme will be exploring the history of the city’s trams and its lace industry.
The Channel 8 Debate
“Politics has become a dirty word and I really want to change that,” Jamie says. “We want to create this platform that gets people to talk about stuff that they care about.” The format of the show is still being played with, but a Question Time-type pilot in January, in which some of you may have participated via Twitter, was successful with subjects such as the benefits of legalising drugs being debated by MPs Lillian Greenwood and Kenneth Clarke, Councillor Jason Zadrozny, and Politics Professor Sue Pryce.
Notts TV launches on channel 8 on Tuesday 27 May
Notts TV website
