Since 1961 a weekday nightly news programme, known  for almost 50 years as Lookaround, has been transmitted from Carlisle serving the entire ITV Border Region, which incorporates the bulk of Cumbria, The Isle of Man, South West Scotland, and the Scottish Borders.

That programme has kept generations in our region informed on the issues that affect it.

It’s been first on the scene at all the big stories, Donald Campbell’s Bluebird crash on Lake Coniston, The Summerland Fire in Douglas, The Lockerbie Disaster, Foot and Mouth, Carlisle floods, last year’s Virgin rail crash to name but a few, but maybe even more significantly it’s been there for the small stories too.

It’s reported on our local schools, community groups, charities, villages, towns. 

It’s heightened awareness of issues important to the people of the region, it’s given a voice to the individual against large organisations, it’s promoted the variety and uniqueness of the area, and created an identity for a region which otherwise would be largely ignored.

Via Lookaround, television news is not something distant that happens to someone else, it’s here, on our streets, at our community events, talking to our neighbours, our family and friends, our employers, our political representatives, and keeping the spotlight on where we live.

In a nation that is too urban centric Lookaround has been the voice of the rural communities it serves, the villages, the market towns, the farms, the local industries, the sports teams.

Now, it needs YOUR help.

In September last year the chairman of ITV, Michael Grade, as part of a wider change to regional news, announced his proposal to axe the Lookaround programme and merge its current regional news output with that serving the Tyne Tees region.  Effectively linking our small towns and rural communities with the larger urban conurbations of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Teeside. 

What currently is a half hour programme to our region will be shoehorned into the existing news output of Tyne Tees, with a view to providing the Border region with a couple of ‘opt’ services of limited minutage.

The reason for this is based solely on making financial savings.  There is no pretence about improving the service or providing better coverage because ITV know they are doing nothing of the sort. 

ITV wants to save money, and it unapologetically intends to do that at the expense of your local News.

This is regrettable given that ITV’s regional layout is quite possibly its most unique feature, and especially in the case of Lookaround does not even acknowledge that the programme has some of the highest viewing figures of all the regional news services.

ITV also likes to argue the point that people now get more of their local news from the Internet. 

We would question that view and suggest that such an idea disenfranchises many elderly, those on low incomes, and those, (particularly in our region), who still are not able to get broadband access.

It may be that none of the people in those groups make it into the target audience that ITV would like to encourage, but the fact remains that ITV STILL HAS A PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING RESPONSIBILITY TO THEM!

In order for ITV to succeed in its plans it has to have the approval of the broadcasting regulator Ofcom, and it is here that we seek your support.

The Campaign to save Border Television’s Lookaround is a threefold one.

Firstly to raise public awareness, and prevent this proposal getting through quietly and unopposed, as ITV has been far from enthusiastic in engaging it’s viewers in their opinions on these proposals.

Next we want to give the viewer the opportunity to put their name to an objection to the proposals that will be forwarded to Ofcom. 

Already we have gathered over 10,000 signatures in opposition that we have sent on to Ofcom, and are ever available to provide the facilities for the collection of more.  We can send you petition cards to sign, we can visit your groups or come along to your events to campaign.

Finally we want to encourage viewers to voice why Lookaround is worth saving, for if it is worth fighting for it can only be because the viewers it serves value it and see it as having a vital role.

There is little point complaining to ITV but you can make your opinions known to ...

Ed Richards,

Chief Executive,

OFCOM.

Riverside House.

2a Southwark Bridge Road

LONDON

SE1 9HA

In writing to Ofcom tell them WHY you want Lookaround saved, why it’s important, what it might have done for you or your organisation.

The fight to save Lookaround is more than winnable, but we need YOU to join us in that fight to succeed. We want to send your opposition signatures to Ofcom, we want to engage your views and let you voice your opinions in a way that ITV is not providing you with, and we want you to tell Ofcom why a Border Tyne Tees merger is unacceptable.