About the �� Feed

All your birthdays and Christmases: the latest from �� North

Peter Salmon — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 10:33:42 +0000

Happy second birthday to us.�� And Happy Christmas to South Yorkshire.

Loads of work to do yet – but as the editor of magazine just reported – the place is 'buzzing'.

�� North is now two years old.�� And we have just announced our big CBeebies Panto destined for Sheffield.�� Oh yes it is...

It doesn’t seem like two years ago since Radio 5 live's was our first live �� scheduled show from Media City, or since the first was broadcast via a dramatic helicopter landing in the piazza.

New C�� Children's fantasy drama Wolfblood

We’ve had many strong broadcasting moments since then and long may they continue with your support; whether it’s C��'s from Tyneside; Radio 4's from Liverpool or from Scarborough for �� Children's – never mind the upcoming from Leeds.

There's a strong array of new, collaborative relationships, crossing all sorts of traditional lines.�� It's the MediaCity effect – what we all hoped this place would become – trying to catalyse new content and creativity right across the region.

Independent producers are a big part of this new set of networks and we’ve got some fine neighbours doing good things.

, based in Leeds, also have premises in MediaCity now, supporting their big C�� factual commissions here too.

have brought ��back to the Pie Factory following North East location filming.

And Nicola Shindler’s award-winning moved in to MCUK this week.

Alex Connock’s expanding makes up one of the bigger��100+ SMEs (small and medium enterprises) that are part of the wider community here too��– you can see why we’re now buzzing.��

There is also a buzz about the new series of which has started production for �� One in the studios next door to us.�� We have welcomed pop royalty Kylie Minogue and Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson from Leeds as they debut in the spinning chairs.

It's crucial the �� North mission isn't just about Salford.�� So far in 2013 there have been 58 productions across Greater Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Lancashire, the North East, Derbyshire and Yorkshire.

Drama is at the heart of it all. The second series of Sally Wainwright’s BAFTA winning has just finished filming, while �� One have just started on , a family saga that begins on the morning of the Manchester bomb in June, 1996.��

Starring Phil Glenister and Bernard Hill, and penned by Stockport’s Pete Bowker, the first scenes shot recreate the moment the bomb tore through the City Centre damaging buildings that had been in place for centuries.

The Paradise returns to �� One this October

From the North East, will soon be back on our screens, a big �� One costume drama made near Durham.�� Also looking stunning is Staithes, on the North Yorkshire coast, the location for , starring Bernard Cribbins as a magical CBeebies storyteller.

It's The Digital Age now of course – and this place is so much more than just radio and TV.�� We've got over 400 engineers and technologists building content pipelines for the future – from mobiles to tablets to the interactive red button.�� Two of our areas have launched apps this year for smartphones and the results have been stunning.�� is a huge and the is hot on its heels with hundreds of thousands of new downloads in the month since it launched.��

Available now – both free – and full of Northern innovation.

Finally, talking of big new ideas, �� Radio 3 have come up with a dramatic, musical twist to support this year with the �� Philharmonic and the Halle orchestras fighting it out in��a classically-inspired girls v boys .

Fans can download��the songs from Monday 14 October, remixed like they've never heard them before, and raise money for Children in Need.

Great fun, lovely idea and all going to a great charity that spends money right across the North of England too – from Newcastle to Hull, Cumbria to Cheshire.�� I can't think of a better way to serve our audiences.

is Director, �� North.

Celebrating a diverse workforce

Peter Salmon — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:00:41 +0000

If you want to make a lasting difference, you have to embrace difference. People, faces, accents, backgrounds.

One of the commitments that the �� made when it established a new creative base here in the North of England was to be as accessible and as close to our audiences as possible.

Part of this is ensuring accurate and honest portrayal in everything from news and current affairs to drama, comedy and entertainment. It reflects the reality of life to the audience and adds a vital dimension to story-telling and reporting.

�� Children's has always been at the leading edge of change for the ��. For years it has worked with adults and children who have a disability including presenters Ade Adepitan and actors Cara Readle and Chris Slater and Newsround’s lovely Rosie, who presented that award-winning programme on autism. Each and every one of them brought a fresh perspective and point of view to the stories they were involved in.

But portrayal is only as accurate and honest as the knowledge and experience on which it is based. So just as important are the people behind the camera in supporting roles.

This week we have been celebrating these people – often the unsung heroes - who help make the programmes that our audiences love. When you ��made here at �� North you are immediately struck by the passion the contributors have for what they do and what they make. It was put together by with the help of �� North’s eleven Extendees who are on six month placements as part of a ��-wide scheme for people with disabilities. It is their story in their words.

�� staff with disabilities talk about their experience working for the organisation in Salford.

In Salford recently we also delivered a talent masterclass for those working with deaf contributors, presenters and actors. Hosted by North West Tonight's Roger Johnson and featuring speakers including Four Weddings And A Funeral actor David Bower and producers from our own production teams, it looked at working creatively with people with a hearing impairment including on radio drama and �� Children’s programmes as well as how a classic format such as Mastermind could be adapted to make richer content for all our audiences.

Much of our recent inspiration has been through great disability sport and Dame Tanni Grey Thompson was the bedrock of �� Radio 5 live's Paralympics coverage. To mark that big event, in partnership with Manchester City’s community disability sports coaches, we hosted a Paralympic School Sports Day here on the piazza for schools in Greater Manchester. On the day young people had the chance to try wheelchair rugby and football, athletics and precision ball sport boccia.

Of course diversity is much broader than just disability.

Our North Young Ambassador and Apprentices schemes, launched in our own backyard nearly two years ago, were central to creating opportunities for people who might never have considered that working for the �� was an option. Today some of those ambassadors are employed at the ��, others have gone to college or on to further training or employment elsewhere and we have twenty apprentices getting on the job training and mentoring across the site. We support them - and they enhance our work here too - and we will continue to offer these valuable opportunities.

Next up, at the beginning of May we will host an here in Salford with the �� Academy. This is part of a concerted effort with the rest of the Corporation to develop on-air talent and help boost the representation of women with a particular focus on sport; politics, economics and business; Islam; science; gadgets and consumer tech; crime and security. It promises to be a rich, fun, stimulating event - and very practical.

I have always said that �� North should be a filter not a fortress. This remains even more important a commitment today than two years ago – when the first staff moved in - both in front of and behind the camera.

��

Peter Salmon is Director of �� North.

How �� North builds links with communities across the region

Peter Salmon — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:12:50 +0000

One of the key reasons for establishing a new base in the North of England was to bring the �� closer to audiences across the region. Since we opened for business almost two years ago �� North has made a concerted effort to support events as far afield as Newcastle, Carlisle, Middlesbrough and Sheffield.

At times these have involved thousands of people. Kirkstall Abbey for example played host to Frankenstein’s Wedding… Live in Leeds, there was The Preston Passion last Easter and will we ever forget the thousands of people who supported the Olympic Torch Relay across the UK. In a few months it will be a Bollywood Carmen from Bradford.

While these events are in part about getting out to the audience, just as importantly they are about getting the audience involved. None of the events would have been possible without the involvement of the audience and communities themselves.

New drama The Village was filmed in Hayfield

Community involvement was equally true earlier this week. �� North held what must be its smallest - and maybe highest - premiere in the village of Hayfield in the Peak District - to celebrate the forthcoming �� One drama The Village. Written by Peter Moffat and starring a brilliant cast including Maxine Peake and John Simm, this moving new drama was filmed in Hayfield and the surrounding area and featured many of the local villagers themselves. Their goodwill, cooperation and support during filming played no small part in ensuring that an exceptional and authentic drama will make it to screen for the enjoyment of viewers right across the UK.

A few days��earlier, the Religion and Ethics team based here at MediaCityUK recorded Songs of Praise’s School Choir Of The Year in Liverpool. The standard of performance from the participating schools was astounding and a real testament to the hard work, dedication and raw talent of all the pupils and teachers involved.

And on an even more local and personal level yesterday I was honoured to speak to the Old Salfordians Association. There was a grammar school in Salford from the 1730s to the 1970s and the association itself was founded in 1908. Both have been an important part of the Salford community for decades and among the alumni is the brilliant Salfordian artist Harold Riley, himself so influenced by that other great local artist, the legendary LS Lowry.

Today that sense of community is magnified to national proportions with Red Nose Day - one of the biggest community-focused events in the UK. Across the country people will join forces at work, in schools and in community groups across the country to have a laugh, have some fun and raise much needed funds for the UK and Africa.

And finally while there is no denying that the �� itself has been going through some turbulence, one thing seems to have gone almost unnoticed. Simply, that day in, day out the vast majority of our staff have simply gone about their jobs of making programmes and getting them out to the audience. The greater community of the �� – everyone from our programme makers to the technical teams – have just done the business. It’s something we are incredibly proud of. Over the next few days witness just some of the output from the production community based in this region - the 6 Nations from �� Sport and �� radio 5 live; the powerful �� One drama The Syndicate filmed in Leeds and Bradford, and In The Flesh, new to �� Three and filmed across the North West and Old Jack's Boat for CBeebies shot in Staithes, on the Yorkshire coast.

I have said it before but it is worth repeating. Along the side of the Manchester Ship Canal by the Lowry Theatre is a sign that says��"Communities are built from bricks and mortar but mainly by people."

How true. Community and a sense of camaraderie doesn’t only get us all through the difficult times but it makes celebrating success and the good times all the more enjoyable.

Peter Salmon is Director of �� North.

Follow on twitter.

News and Sport at �� North

Peter Salmon — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:13:17 +0000

News and Sport are two of the key ingredients here at . With over 500 journalists on-site, we are the biggest journalism hub outside London and MediaCityUK is, of course, also the home of .

On Tuesday we announced the appointment of Jonathan Wall as the new Controller of �� Radio 5 live. Jonathan started his career at �� Radio Humberside before joining Radio 5 live. He was deeply involved in successfully moving the station to MediaCityUK and pivotal in �� Radio 5 live and its digital channels sports extra and 5 live Olympics Extra's role in the ��’s record-breaking coverage of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, delivering nearly 8 million listeners over the summer.

R5l’s blend of top quality journalism and outstanding sports coverage has resulted in sixteen consecutive quarters with over six million listeners, so he takes up the reins at an exciting time in the station’s evolution. As well as continuing to deliver outstanding and award-winning journalism from the likes of Breakfast, Drive, Victoria Derbyshire, Shelagh Fogarty and Tony Livesey among others, the station’s sports coverage is second to none.

R5l's role in the ��’s coverage of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Football World Cup in Brazil will be crucial to us and its current Six Nations output - more international rugby this weekend - is part of a sporting calendar of over 20 sports including Premier League football, Test Match Cricket and everything from athletics to American football. This week, for instance, R5l sports extra is also joining forces with �� Two to cover the Track Cycling World Cup from Minsk including a British team featuring six Olympic champions. Definitely worth tuning in for and many of them live in our region too.

This week R5l also announced a new deal to bring horse racing coverage to its listeners through to 2016. Starting with the Cheltenham Festival next month, the existing presenters and pundits are joined by respected racing broadcaster Derek Thompson, Gold Cup-winning jockey Andrew Thornton and Paralympian Kate Grey.

Yet �� Radio 5 live is only part of our journalism story. Every day our news and current affairs teams based in Salford cover stories for our audiences from across the North of England, the UK and the world. �� Breakfast, �� Radio Manchester, �� Sports News and �� Children's Newsround as well as our news and current affairs teams add to the ��’s comprehensive mix of in-depth reporting on television, radio and online.��

File on 4, based in Salford for Radio 4, recently reported on the world’s biggest plutonium stockpile at Sellafield and next week looks at the continuing impact of flooding across the UK.

And as �� Breakfast moves steadily to its first anniversary it has confounded all those who said it wouldn't work here. Not only has it maintained both its audience volume and high audience appreciation score, but it has also attracted a wide range of guests - from Bradley Cooper and Stephen Poliakoff to George Osborne and Adam Ant - onto its sofa in Salford on a regular basis.

I suppose I should see the irony that originally some people were saying that we wouldn't get anyone to Salford and now - a year later - those same people are criticising us for getting so many people to Salford for interviews across all our news outlets, but not wanting to understand that we have to meet the cost of getting them here. That's the story for �� services everywhere - not just Salford.

Yet if there is one programme to watch this week it is the Inside Out made by our Yorkshire and Lincolnshire team. They filmed the emotional meeting between Trevor Hicks, who lost both his daughters – Victoria and Sarah - in the Hillsborough disaster and the South Yorkshire policeman who tried to save Victoria. The two men had never met before and Inside Out was privileged to witness their first meeting twenty-five years after that tragic day.

It is programme making of this calibre that reminds me of the importance and quality of local, regional and network journalism on the ��. We are very proud so much now comes from our new Northern home.

Peter Salmon is Director of �� North.

Follow on twitter.

North impact could be dramatic

Peter Salmon — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:50:43 +0000

In the last couple of weeks I have been reminded that above all the noise that has surrounded the ��’s ambition to establish a new creative hub in the North of England, there is genuine and constructive interest about what is happening at .

At the Institute of Directors in London we discussed our move to the north with companies that are facing similar change and upheaval. And last week I talked to the creative community as part of . At both events I was struck by a keen interest in what we had achieved as well as a common interest in sharing knowledge and experience.

The cornerstone of our own ambition in the North will always be making great content for our audience combined with fuelling the creative industries of the region.

As well as helping to deliver the ��’s greatest summer of sport last year, the North of England has recently been the inspiration for some of the ��’s most successful and acclaimed programmes and ideas - particularly in the fiction genre.

Take the success of locally-made dramas like Kay Mellor's Yorkshire-based The Syndicate about lucky and not-so-lucky lottery winners; the searing intensity of Sheffield-based Prisoners’ Wives; the feel-good romance of Last Tango In Halifax, the Victorian sensibility of The Paradise from the north east or that other Newcastle-produced hit series The Dumping Ground. They drew their inspiration from their Northern roots and will all return later this year. And �� Three’s imminent drama�� fuses the popular zombie genre with the humanity of its realistic everyday Northern setting. Prepare to be spine-tingled.

Beyond television, we also continue to develop our digital credentials. – building on the incredible success of the Olympic Games app - has already been downloaded over eight hundred thousand times since it was launched in January. It has just gone international too.

But as I told the audience in Bristol last week, we are part of a much bigger story of creative renewal and pioneering innovation. As I described it in Bristol, MediaCityUK is a ‘huge intervention in the media space’ -much bigger than just the ��.

will complete the first phase of their move into MediaCity UK by the end of March, whilst the build of Corrie next door is continuing apace.��The commercial studios just hosted The Voice auditions made by major indie and many smaller and medium sized businesses - from production companies, animators and designers to accountancy and legal firms – are arriving at MediaCityUK, attracted by the potential opportunities.

With our partners and colleagues we want to create an alternate centre of creative gravity. Distinctive not competitive.

We are co-creating opportunities for both the national and international creative industry. One of our earliest initiatives, the with Liverpool-based isn’t only working with �� partners to develop digital content for the future. It is now at the centre of a partnership with and and a network of Northern-based digital companies.��Later��this month will return to Liverpool, exhibiting nearly 3,000��hours of��viewable��television content for the global market and bringing with it 700 international buyers - a boost to the regional economy.

The initial upheaval is indeed beginning to reap a financial and creative dividend. Our own increased investment is impacting directly here, according to an . We aim to re-invigorate traditional genres and develop new formats working together. Over time we can also make a difference in terms of employment and training.

So as we approach our second anniversary, alongside our fellow tenants has simply become part of a bustling canal-side creative community.

��

Peter Salmon is Director of �� North

Follow on twitter

Victoria Wood, A Christmas Royle Family and Carols from King's

Peter Salmon — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:08:03 +0000

It's nearly the end of an eventful year for everyone at the �� - certainly those in production and broadcasting here at MediaCityUK. We all finished moving in this summer to support a brilliant London Olympics across television, radio and online as well as continuing to make content for the whole UK.

But the great programmes aren't over yet.

The cast of Mr Stink (credit ��/Gary Moyes)

This weekend sees the ultimate celebration of a dramatic sporting year with . On Sunday 16 December, Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Clare Balding will host the greatest sporting show on earth on �� One, �� One HD and �� Radio 5 live. A panel selected 12 nominees and the public will vote for the overall winner on the night. And let’s not forget that �� Sport will also crown �� Young Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday night as well, with the help of MCUK neighbours �� Children's.

One week later, the �� unwraps its festive offering across television, radio and online with a selection of goodies for everyone.

If you missed the first episode, you can still catch the first of the three-part behind-the-scenes series on as told by those who work in this famous old building.��Naturally Christmas is a busy time for the Religion and Ethics team based here in Salford. As well as Westminster Abbey they have also produced David Suchet: In the Footsteps of Saint Paul and our worship line-up includes the annual Carols From King’s as well as Midnight Mass live from St Anne’s Cathedral in Leeds plus Christmas Morning Eucharist from St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol.

Over the rest of the festive period there's much uplifting content. In terms of comedy the North East's very own Sarah Millican is back with her �� Two chat show and there’s another Christmas Day slice of wonderful Wythenshawe life with��. also returns with a new job and further inevitable misunderstandings and misadventures.

Drama has stories to suit all tastes. roars back in from the cold and Bury's finest, Victoria Wood, has penned a touching portrait of pianist Joyce Hatto and the controversial recordings that made her famous late in life, starring Francesca Annis and Alfred Molina. East London in the 1950s is lovingly recreated again when returns for a Christmas special seeing Miranda Hart reprise her role as Chummy alongside a lovely cast including Jessica Raine, Jenny Agutter, Judy Parfitt and Pam Ferris.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Children’s �� and this year they have outdone themselves. For the younger children there’s the CBeebies’ Christmas panto, plus a heart-warming animated version of Peter Rabbit and a special Christmas edition of Mr Bloom’s Garden entitled . And for those who are that little bit older, �� One has adapted David Walliams’ award-winning book Mr Stink starring Sheridan Smith and Johnny Vegas.

I defy anyone not to enjoy the range of what’s on for all ages this year ��- much of it like and and �� Radio 5 live from Lapland, made by our teams based at �� North, to cap a successful first full year of operation.

Finally, I am pleased to say that Last Tango In Halifax starring Anne Reid and Derek Jacobi will return for a second series, joining a host of other Northern drama recommissions including , ��and on �� One.��

We have laid strong foundations in 2012 - we look forward to building on them with you in 2013.

��

Peter Salmon is Director, �� North

Acting Director-General Tim Davie talks to �� staff

Hannah Khalil — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:58:10 +0000

A short time ago, Acting Director-General Tim Davie spoke to all staff from the ��'s Dock House at MediaCity UK in Salford. He was interviewed by �� Radio Five Live's Rachel Burden.

Tim later responded to questions posed by the audience in Dock House and staff (who could submit questions via email and text) watching across the UK via the ��'s internal TV service, the Ringmain.

Hannah Khalil is Digital Content Producer of the About The �� Blog

Registering risk makes sense

Peter Salmon — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:39:58 +0000

Every project has its naysayers, and is no different. Before the first stone was laid at Salford Quays the national and mainly Southern-based media claimed it was a vanity project; a political deal; that it would never succeed and that no one would go.

Despite the almost constant barrage of negativity everyone involved with the project carried on because they believed in the endgame. That we would build - together with our partners on the campus and across the North of England - a state-of-the-art, digital creative community that would not only be part of the long-term and sustainable future of the local economy, but would forge a new and closer relationship with audiences across the North of England. And just as important, that it would help create a new �� for the digital age.

Even before we opened our doors at MediaCityUK, we began to slowly embed ourselves in the Northern community. We invested in new commissions across , and . For example, next weekend tune into Radio 5 live for the first part of . This is a remarkable piece of journalism from in Manchester and a direct result of our investment in new programmes for the network. I defy anyone not to be humbled by the bravery of everyone featured in the programme. And at the other end of the spectrum click on the and websites to see how our half a million pound investment in digital companies from across the North of England is taking shape with from and C��'s The Joke Theatre from Newcastle's .

Earlier this year we worked with numerous partners (, , , , and ) to bring to thousands of people at Kirkstall Abbey as well as to �� Three's audience. The ambition of the Frankenstein team was duly recognised when they were awarded Best Live Event at the Broadcast Digital Awards. More recently we brought the piazza outside our buildings to life with a series of audience events. In June, the festival launched the orchestra's first ever free music festival for local residents. Over two weeks Salford audiences enjoyed everything from Baroque to Dubstep, and each concert was broadcast on �� radio. And only a few weeks ago some of the ��'s most popular characters took part in the Manchester International Festival. CBeebies' were a major feature of Music Boxes and Doctor Who thrilled and terrified audiences who visited The .

We've also been laying the foundations for partnerships with local universities and schools through Connect & Create. Over two hundred students have completed work placements with the �� and we have run specific placements with Vision+Media North West as well as Salford University. And as vitally, we are making a real commitment to local employment and training. So far we have recruited over 400 new people to �� North and launched dedicated apprenticeship and ambassador programmes in the Greater Manchester area.

And all this before we even began the 36-week process of relocating our staff to Bridge, Dock and Quay Houses - our new offices on Salford Quays.

To date over 700 people have moved in, and by April 2012 there will be 2,300 �� staff working at MediaCityUK. These aren't only staff from London and Manchester but new staff who are joining the �� for the very first time. And from London alone the combined total confirmed as moving is 55 per cent - significantly higher than the national average for a move of this scale, which stands at 35 per cent.

So far, everything is going according to plan and we remain on time and on budget.

But we are not naÃ¯ve enough to think that there won't be the odd bump or graze between now and next April. On a project of this scale and ambition - the biggest that the �� has ever undertaken - we should be prepared for every eventuality and that's why we asked every department to list their worse case scenarios on our Risk Register.

Some of you will be acquainted with the ��'s Risk Register. Every big organisation has one and every department at the �� is required to keep it updated. It lists any and all hypothetical risks to the business, but that doesn't mean that they will happen. By virtue of what departments are asked to consider, the risks can and do range in terms of scale and potential severity but they help ensure that the �� is able to effectively manage and deliver its projects successfully. Indeed, it would be negligent not to have a Risk Register that covered every potential scenario.

So last week when, under a Freedom of Information request, we issued the Risk Register for �� North to www.whatdotheyknow.com, it was only a matter of time before a naysayer discovered it. And it didn't take long. This weekend, The Sunday Times pulled together a story under the misleading headline 'Auntie Fears Making No Friends In The North'. Inevitably they were very quick to list the most attention-grabbing risks listed in the register - everything from the loss of key staff and the potential reduction in programme quality to failing to understand Northern audiences or meeting efficiencies. Needless to say they didn't - for the sake of a more balanced report - make clear to their readers the precise nature of the register or the mitigations listed against these risks in their story.

It would be nice to hope that even our harshest critics could take a step back and look at the bigger picture, to stop their hectoring and begin to embrace a future that isn't London-centric. Of course, London will always remain central to our national Creative Industries, but good things can and are happening beyond the capital too.

The North is amazingly rich with talent, people with promise and companies with amazing ideas like Sumo (Sheffield), Brass (Leeds), Amaze (Manchester), Conker Media (Liverpool), Pearl Works Productions (Yorkshire), Soundscape Productions (York), True North (Leeds) and Red (Manchester) to name but a few. All of them are making a real contribution to the future of television, radio and online and �� North wants to help encourage, support and work with them.

That is our ambition and - touch wood - we remain on track to realise this. But if we do encounter a bump in the road, or have to swerve unexpectedly for whatever reason, we should be confident that the Risk Register will help us find a solution.

Peter Salmon is Director of �� North

You can read the ��'s response to the Freedom of Information request that triggered the Sunday Times article - including the risk register mentioned - .

New digs for �� R&D in the North

Steve Bowbrick — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:48:51 +0000

Over the years has hit many a milestone. Even before the department's official beginnings in 1930 it had been involved with the creation and delivery of some of the most significant and game-changing innovations in broadcasting - and this level of engineering creativity is the department's raison d'Ãªtre.

R&D's tremendous technology track record includes; enabling the first colour transatlantic TV transmission in 1962, the World's first ever demo of digital stereo audio recording in 1971 and believe it or not it helped to create the first ever high definition film broadcast by the �� - The Ginger Tree back in 1989.

The department has created these innovations from a few different homes over the years but it's in the last decade that some of its number have made their biggest move - and the move was North. By October 2009 five R&D trail blazers had left the South Labs and moved to Manchester. These five engineers followed in the footsteps of three even more intrepid explorers who had scoped out the region and had established an advanced R&D presence which kicked off back in 2006 - you can't say R&D aren't thorough in their investigations... The new North team then made do with a snug corner of �� Manchester Oxford Road's buildings while they waited for the completion of their brand new R&D lab at MediaCityUK.

Now, though they are all moved in and have made their presence known with a bang! On 13th June the first R&D North staff had their feet under their new desks and from 2nd - 17th July some of the team were showcasing their Virtual Maestro prototype (designed to explore novel forms of user interaction) to audiences at the Manchester International Festival.

The team are pretty excited about their new home and know that having a base in the North will hugely benefit its partnerships and the collaborative projects it undertakes with companies, indies and universities right across the North, indeed the recent announcement of working with the University of Salford among others is a prime example. So, now they have settled in at MediaCityUK they want to take this opportunity to introduce themselves. Tony Churnside's shot this whistle-stop tour of the new lab on his mobile and, , you'll get a more in-depth video introduction to the department and even more insight into their North HQ.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of About the ��

Brendan Crowther has written - with another video - about the move.
Learn more on the and .

Marketing the �� at MediaCityUK

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 08:06:40 +0000

They might not make great telly moments like the World Record hula-hoop marathon marking the move of Blue Peter to Salford, but over the last few months there been other moments marking the start of a significant cultural shift for the ��.

One of these moments happened a few weeks ago with the start of the move of parts of the ��'s Marketing and Audiences departments to MediaCityUK . This state-of-the-art site will become the home for me and over 70 Marketing & Audience colleagues who will all be based here by the end of the year.

One of the reasons we are here in Salford is to help bring the �� closer and be more relevant to our audiences based across the North of England. Currently around just eight per cent of �� programmes are made in the North despite a quarter of all licence fee payers living in the region, but �� North is part of the ��'s commitment to spend the Licence Fee more fairly across the UK.

While we are only just moving into our buildings at Salford Quays, we have been investing in programmes and content across the North of England over the last few years. This has translated into fantastic content such as the award winning TV event, and critically acclaimed dramas such as , 32 Brinkman Street, and . Projects such as @North have also enabled us to invest Â£500,000 in new digital content for the and audiences from companies across the North of England.

We hope by being here we can serve our audiences across the country better - understanding what they want, what they like and dislike and helping them find, enjoy and interact with the content which they love. We're also giving people more of a platform for getting involved in �� activities - for example being involved in events such as the as we were this year. This all reflects a real aspiration to reflect the audience better and help drive approval ratings in areas which have traditionally been lower.

Being based in Salford Quays also gives us the opportunity to work with local agencies and recruit from creative talent pools to ensure we have the best and most creative workforce and helps us deliver our commitment to the North of England to build and develop a workforce in Salford that is among the best trained and most flexible in the media.

Indeed we are currently engaged in an ambitious recruitment process which will help achieve this and have already attracted some really exciting talent from the region such as Charlotte Thompson, former Director at agencies BJL and McCann Erickson, who's joined �� North as Head of Media and Audience Engagement and Martin Tapley, Research Manager for Audiences in Learning, previously an Account Planner at TBWA\Manchester.

So what will this mean for our audiences? Our role is to partner with the ��'s editorial teams in helping them to make the highest quality programmes that they can and then help them to reach the largest audience possible through creating compelling and engaging campaigns.

We're responsible for a diverse range of areas including Marketing, Media Planning, Audiences and studios and tours. As well as representing the content areas based at �� North including �� Children's, , parts of Future Media & Technology, �� Learning, �� Sport and - we also working hard to make a difference across the whole of the organisation, pioneering flexible and innovative ways of working and ensuring the maximum amount of the licence fee is spent on things our audience love.

Our dedicated teams will continue to shape the future of some classic brands and promote some of the best loved shows in the UK, ensuring a distinctive northern flavour in the tradition of the award winning Frankenstein's Wedding... Live In Leeds. We'll also be making even better use of tools such as audience interaction and social media to drive approval from audiences.

The challenge of engaging audiences across the whole of the UK - reflecting the nation back to itself - is not one which will be delivered overnight. The �� is only at the beginning of this journey but it's truly exciting for Marketing and Audiences to be playing such a key role in helping create a closer connection with audiences in the North.

Simon Lloyd is Director of Media Engagement and Marketing & Audiences, North.

There's always plenty of news and information on . To apply for opportunities at �� North go to the �� jobs web site.
The picture shows Lacey Turner, David Harewood and Andrew Gower in , a �� North production.
Simon has a profile page .

Seventeen days in Salford with the �� Philharmonic

Richard Wigley — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:22:59 +0000

Richard Wigley (far right) with Tamzin Outhwaite and the stars of �� Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night, one of the highlights of the �� Philharmonic Presents Festival.

The �� Philharmonic Presents... festival has been an amazing seventeen days designed to unveil our wonderful new orchestral studio in the heart of Salford Quays. It has been the culmination of many years of teamwork by Peel Media and the ��, geared to creating the ideal vehicle for the �� Philharmonic's unique and impassioned brand of performance.

�� Philharmonic Presents... has a simple concept at its heart; that the orchestra would feature on the ��'s national radio networks and on �� Radio Manchester. I couldn't have asked for more from our friends across radio, �� Project North and my own administrative team; they embraced the idea and built much, much more with it than I dreamt was possible. It has become much bigger than the initial idea and a paradigm for the new creativity we are expecting at MediaCityUK.

On 1 June we opened live on on (our home network) with Conductor Emeritus Yan Pascal Tortelier. Two nights later Tamzin Outhwaite hosted live for , with the leading men of the West End belting out the best tunes from the shows; any nervousness I had about the ability of the studio to take a big sound was misplaced. for was simply beautiful; uplifting music and the local narrative proved very powerful. The next day the orchestra moved onto the phenomenon that is for and ; the sight of their fans hailing our musicians (and raising the roof in the process!) will live long in the memory. The following day 750 schoolchildren came to hear Pictures from an Exhibition animated by our Timpanist Paul Turner.

My colleague Rhian Roberts of has been a lynchpin in the planning for Mediacity, and her idea to stage Kermode & Mayo's Film Review was the foundation stone for �� Philharmonic Presents... It was a wonderful and complete collaboration between 5 live, TV (Red Button), Radio 3 and the Philharmonic, with listeners led from the afternoon on 5 Live to Live in Concert on Radio 3.

For we performed Steve Mackey's prog rock-inspired , before Radio 3 colleagues presented the Academy of Ancient Music. Following a collaboration with the featuring the music of Christopher Rouse, presents on Thursday; a gritty yet optimistic reflection of life in Salford as told by firemen, binmen and dinner ladies. It is entirely appropriate that our new Chief Conductor, Juanjo Mena, should close this dynamic musical journey with a mix of locally born international composers and music influenced by his homeland of Spain.

The twitterati and emailers have been providing rich and vibrant feedback, it's interesting to read the same sentiments about being uplifted expressed by listeners to Radios 1 and 4 (albeit in quite different language...) The �� Philharmonic musicians have been magnificent and I'm delighted that so many millions from across the age range have had the chance to experience their magic on radio.

After �� Philharmonic Presents... finishes, the orchestra's busy Summer continues with a major collaboration with Damon Albarn as part of the Manchester International Festival before heading down to London to take part in the world's biggest and best classical festival, the .

Richard Wigley is General Manager of the �� Philharmonic

The �� Philharmonic's main opens in September with , conducted by new Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena.
Visit for more details.

Arriving at Media City - a sports reporter goes North

Francis Keogh — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:45:41 +0000

Editor's note: Frank Keogh is a senior sports reporter at the ��. He and his family have moved to Salford. He'll be sharing the experience with us here on the blog. He starts with an introduction:

One thing helped my decision to up sticks 200 miles from London to the North West.

My football team West Ham would be playing in Manchester, on Merseyside and at several other big local grounds. Then they were relegated.

I'll be blogging during 2011 as we reshape our lives in the north and settle into a new work HQ at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays.

In another life, I was a crime reporter. For the last decade, I have worked on the �� Sport website, with horse racing, football and the Olympics among my areas of interest.

I'm a former school chess and table tennis finalist, and desperately hoping I can somehow improve my 22 golf handicap. You can follow me .

After 11 years at Television Centre in London, a new place of work has a hard act to follow.

There can be few venues that have welcomed such a range of entertainers, celebrities, sports stars and politicians down the decades. So it was nice to sign off from the ��'s iconic west London building, ahead of the relocation to Salford, with a chance encounter.

Frank with the Bafta won by sport's Formula One TV team.

As we headed down from our Sport department on the fifth floor, the lift stopped at level three and in walked comic Matt Lucas. The last celeb I'd been in a lift with was Bruce Forsyth. "Higher or lower," I'd joked and the gag brought a chuckle, and even a surprise handshake, when retold to Lucas.

His good wishes were a nice touch as we prepared to move from one part of little Britain to another. It's 195 miles from Wood Lane to Manchester, and while the new workplace home of Salford Quays does not have the Television Centre tradition, it does have something different.

There are no bins at your desks, quirky meeting places apparently called 'thought wheels' and a place to make tea and coffee known as a 'refresh area.'

At a social session to welcome new movers, the boss of , Peter Salmon, showed off a Bafta won by sport's Formula One TV team. "This is given for great content and this will be a place to make great content," he said to a heartwarming cheer.

An appearance at our Quay House building by Brucie's Strictly partner Tess Daly, who was filming a promotional video, added a touch of excitement. The waterside location, open plan design, colourful meeting areas, even the view of Old Trafford bring a feeling of change to this place.

Then there are the accents. Suddenly as a Southerner who has never lived further north than Northampton, you are in a minority. Two people I have never met before immediately guessed which football team I support (West Ham) by the way I talked.

And you sense football, and sport in general, will be a common verbal currency in the new location. Both Manchester City (FA Cup) and Manchester United (Premier League) held open-top bus tours through the city within a week although after their Champions League defeat to Barcelona, there was an irony in the sign which said: "Man Utd victory parade - delays expected."

Of course, there are negatives to a big move. The sense of upheaval, almost loss, at the change. Those with children, leaving friends behind, will perhaps feel it most keenly.

And one suspects the people who will find the switch particularly hard are the partners. While I am busily bantering away at work with colleagues old and new, my wife is in a new town where she knows no-one.

In a lower moment, she posted a homesick Facebook status update where she talked about going home. There was plenty of empathy from the excellent group set up by two partners of Sport staff who have already moved and don't work for the ��.

It probably didn't help that we have been without home broadband for a fortnight, and the radio silence meant the post was left hanging in the air. But it was with a small sense of progress that she was able to update - albeit a week later - in a chipper mood.

However difficult it might seem, there is usually someone having a tougher time. On my first working day in Manchester, in a city centre coffee shop, I saw a discarded pregnancy test in the unisex toilets.

Later in the week, a distraught cabbie told me about how a friend had written off his beloved sports boat. He plans to buy a new one and as the year progresses, it will be time to sink or swim for all of us.

Frank Keogh is a Senior Broadcast Journalist at �� Sport

has more information about the �� at Salford Quays.

�� North takes off

Peter Salmon — Mon, 16 May 2011 10:28:43 +0000

Today we embark on the next chapter in the story of as we welcome our first movers into our new buildings at MediaCityUK. They join the who moved into their new performance space at the beginning of May and kickstart over thirty-six weeks in the single most ambitious staff move in the ��'s history.

What they will find, and you will discover when you visit us, are working spaces that have been designed to foster creativity. We are exploiting the latest technology both in our buildings and in the studios to remove the barriers that have traditionally hindered closer working between colleagues and departments.

As we begin to settle into our new homes, find our way around Salford Quays and get to know our neighbours, it's hard to believe that in just four years we have gone from pipe dream to reality. It's been an exciting journey and not without it's challenges and difficult choices for many people. Yet I think that we have arrived at an important crossroads. If we take the wrong turning, allow our enthusiasm and commitment to be lessened, curb our ability and willingness to take creative risks, create a fortress and not an open and honest environment, then it will be our audience who lose out.

I firmly believe that all of us, those moving from Manchester and London, as well as hundreds who are joining the �� for the first time, will choose the right direction. Working together we can create a new �� that will forge a new contract with our audiences across the UK, build stronger relationships with our partners and most importantly, continue to make the very best content for TV, radio and online.

It's something that we have been doing for some time now. We have invested millions of pounds across the North of England, from Newcastle to Sheffield, from Liverpool to Leeds in great programmes, digital content and truly memorable events. From the synchronised dancing of the Kirkstall Abbey audience at and great dramas like South Riding, United and Eric & Ernie to the enchanting online adventures for young kids with Mr Bloom's Nursery, �� North has played a part in showcasing the creativity, talent and diversity of this region to the whole nation.

Visit the �� North web site

Yet this is only the beginning. Last week we announced , a major new festival here at Salford Quays. For the first time in the ��'s history, all of our major radio networks will support and broadcast live from the orchestra's new home. From dubstep to church music, each night will be music night as local residents enjoy these concerts absolutely free. And following a summer of events across the piazza, bringing to life some of our most loved Children's �� brands, at the end of the year sport is coming home with the live broadcast of the the fifty-eighth Sports Personality Of The Year from Salford Quays.

And alongside the new people that we will be employing across all the departments that will be based at Quay, Bridge and Dock house, we plan to make a real and long-term difference through our new .

And to mark the opening of our buildings today we are launching the online tools for people to find out what is going on behind the glass as well as tell us what they think. A and will hopefully become destinations that will engage with people and encourage them to join us on the journey and help us furnish our new home with fresh ideas and suggestions.

So as we throw open our doors, we face an exciting future. Of course we can expect a few unexpected bumps and scrapes, but let's not forget, home is where the state-of-the-art is.

Peter Salmon is Director, �� North

�� North - bringing it home

Peter Salmon — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:35:27 +0000

It's been a bitter-sweet time recently.

I don't think anyone with a heart can not have had it broken by the terrible scenes from Japan. Our news outlets continue to report from the region, with Shelagh Fogarty's Radio 5 live reports poignantly capturing the concern and shock. It really brings it home when our own �� Philharmonic Orchestra was caught up on the fringes of it all in Tokyo. Their tour has now been cancelled and they have returned home, safe and unharmed, to be reunited with their families in the North West.

Closer to home we continue to forge a path towards opening the doors of our new home at Salford Quays. The journey hasn't been without its challenges but if I look back over the last few weeks, there is so much that we have achieved that we should all be proud of.

It's a story of future opportunity, new content, two Archbishops and a hat trick.

Just today we announced the launch of . In the next three to four years, we will offer one hundred apprenticeships across the departments that are moving to Salford Quays. We are fulfilling an important pledge about jobs for the local community. These are deliberately not jobs for graduates, but rather for people in the Greater Manchester area with few or no qualifications or experience, or indeed who might not have thought of the �� or the media generally as a potential employer. From September this year when we welcome the first wave, they will get on-the-job training, receive coaching and mentoring. Not only do I hope that they will realise that the �� is as much a place for them as for anyone else but for the �� it is a significant and important commitment to diversity and difference. This is exactly what I mean when I talk about changing the DNA of the Corporation itself. And that change will start at MediaCityUK.

Just over a fortnight ago, with my colleagues, I was at the in Preston at the organised by �� North's Developing Talent team. The theme was "Talent & Technology" and it gave us a chance to express our thoughts and hopes alongside those of the hundreds of students who attended. Better still we were able to tempt Britain's most Oscar-laden film-maker, Nick Park as well as Victoria Wood, the star with most BAFTA awards, to share a few home truths with us too. Nick told the audience - "I didn't think Preston boys like me went to " and Victoria thanked Rochdale Council for her break into teenage drama. Almost 400 hundred delegates attended workshops on Radio 1 with Andy Parfitt, the booming games sector and CBeebies production hits and I think they dreamed - like the younger Nick and Victoria did - of big careers and some glittering awards. All in all, it was a great day, particularly to hear from the students themselves about what they wanted from the future as well as from the �� and I got a real sense that they will play an important part in the future of the region.

And lest we forget, has never just been about the North West. It's about the whole region thriving in the digital media age with some help from the ��.

So it is terrific to celebrate a series of new programmes across the region. From �� Daytime comes yet another new drama that is being filmed in Liverpool and Manchester. The Case tackles the thorny issue of assisted suicide. It's been written by David Allison and will continue to build on the terrific fiction - like The Indian Doctor, Moving On, Missing and Land Girls - that has become a signature theme of �� Daytime. Incidentally The Case is made by Merseyside's who, through their digital media company, , is our partner in the .

Last weekend at the North East , held in the remarkable , I announced that C�� will make a fresh batch of Tracy Beaker Returns locally this summer.
Also, just down the road in Durham, 1960's smoothy Inspector George Gently returns home later this year for four more specials for �� One.

And this weekend, the big television event of the Spring - . Coming on top of �� One's recent and beautifully-made South Riding, it helps mark a bit of a creative Renaissance for our Yorkshire-based output. And Frank - as we affectionately call him - is a 'monster' partnership too: , Welcome to Yorkshire, Leeds City Council plus our very own �� Wales, �� Learning, �� Yorkshire and �� Three have come together with 9,000 wedding guests for a wonderful gothic celebration brokered by us.

And the two Archbishops? Those gentle men of Canterbury and York toured Greater Manchester at the beginning of March and visited MediaCityUK to ask the simple but probing question - Can there be faith in a MediaCity? The resounding answer was 'yes' but there was an acknowledgement that there would be challenges, but challenges that could be met and overcome if we all work together.

And that challenge includes moving forward creatively in the uncertain times that we all face.

Though we have made our big public commitment to Out of London production and our state-of-the-art Salford base - in the shape of a 20 year lease - we are not immune from the speculation and indeed the potential impact of Delivering Quality First to budgets and output from 2013. There's been a lot of speculation in the newspapers about Radio 5 live, local radio, daytime programmes and sports rights - and whatever you may have read.

However, a great deal of planning and thought went into deciding which departments would move to Salford Quays and we have made a long-term commitment to the North of England to build and develop a workforce in Salford that is among the best trained and most flexible in the media. That is our best safeguard in these tough financial times.

Looking back on all this and looking forward to Leeds this weekend, I have to admit to feeling just a little weary. Or perhaps that is the result of the fund-raising football match I played at the weekend. Against the odds, this 50-plus striker scored his first-ever hat trick of goals in a 5-4 win. But that final ball in the net landed me with a slipped disc.

Perhaps I should have stuck to some advice I once received - Stick to making content, Salmon.
Quit playing - while you are even vaguely ahead...

Peter Salmon is the Director of �� North

The pull of the North

John Millner — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:12:15 +0000

I'm a Londoner. I was born and schooled here, my whole family live here, I know it like my hand. As the song says, I love London town. Its diversity, its cultural richness, its size, speed and buzz, all make it a wonderful place to live.

So why will I be going North when my job relocates to Salford Quays next year?

One answer is precisely that I've lived here most of my life, and I'm not sure I want to stay here for the rest of it. I think change is bracing; it makes you stronger and more creative. And as I get older I increasingly find the thing I look forward to most about London is leaving it - for the salt air of the coast or the rough air of the hills.

There's my job, of course, which I'm not ready to give up just yet. I love working in public service media, I'm fanatical about learning, and am fascinated by the potential for using the ��'s reach and resources to help millions of people to acquire new knowledge and skills. There's almost nowhere else I could do this kind of work, so North I shall go.

For me, however, there's something more important than either of the above: the magnetic pull of the North.

Manchester truly has the best of both worlds. It's a big, stylish city with beautiful buildings, more culture than you could shake a stick at, an efficient modern transport system, and the largest student population in Europe. But it's also got better access to wild, high landscapes than probably any other city in England, so that for anyone who loves hills and mountains Manchester is a location to die for. Head out northwards and you're in the mountains of the English Lakes; north-eastward takes you to the roll and sweep of the Yorkshire Dales; south-eastward are the Derbyshire Peaks, and south-westward, Snowdonia. As the bloke from The Stone Roses remarked, Manchester's got everything except a beach.

Another part of the pull comes from Manchester's long history as a font of invention and unconventional thinking. The city was not only the birthplace of industrial manufacturing, canal building and steam railways, but also the cradle of English radicalism. Chartism and the Cooperative movement both began there. Political reformers like John Bright and early socialists Robert Owen and Friedrich Engels lived there. Women's suffrage campaigners Emmeline and Christabel Pankurst were both Mancunians; women's reproductive rights campaigner Marie Stopes was Manchester Uni's first woman lecturer. The Shaker messiah Ann Lee was born in Manchester, one of a long line of nonconformist religious leaders. Great Mancunian scientists and inventors include Richard Arkwright, John Dalton, James Joules, JJ Thomson, pioneer photographer Roger Fenton and early aviators Alcock, Brown and AV Roe.

In the arts, Manchester numbers Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Burgess, Alan Garner, Mike Leigh, Norman Foster, LS Lowry, Peter Maxwell Davies, Albert Finney, and Woods Michael and Victoria among its sons and daughters. Massive Manchester bands include The Fall, The Smiths, The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, Take That and Oasis. The place fizzes and crackles with creativity.

Getting there, of course, is easier talked about than done. Change can be costly, and in this case the cost includes disruption to the lives of those �� people who've decided not to move North with their jobs. A big part of my job over the next year is helping to move a sizeable production department over 200 miles North and settling into new buildings with a new technical infrastructure and new ways of working, while simultaneously finding places to live and recruiting a hundred or so new staff. Frankly the task feels daunting.

But it also feels like a huge adventure, which is not something everyone is lucky enough to have in their working life. We'll be restarting the operation almost from scratch, with an influx of new people and new energy, and the challenge of developing new, more effective ways of working while putting down new local and regional roots. It's scary, yes. But pretty exciting too.

Then again, maybe it's just that my father was a Manchester lad…

John Millner is the ��'s Learning Executive for 5-19 Learning

Read Director of the North, for more about the ��'s move to Salford Quays.

Find out more about the on the Press Office website.

About the �������� Feed

All your birthdays and Christmases: the latest from �������� North

Celebrating a diverse workforce

How �������� North builds links with communities across the region

News and Sport at �������� North

North impact could be dramatic

Victoria Wood, A Christmas Royle Family and Carols from King's

Acting Director-General Tim Davie talks to �������� staff

Registering risk makes sense

New digs for �������� R&D in the North

Marketing the �������� at MediaCityUK

Seventeen days in Salford with the �������� Philharmonic

Arriving at Media City - a sports reporter goes North

�������� North takes off

�������� North - bringing it home

The pull of the North

About the �� Feed

All your birthdays and Christmases: the latest from �� North

How �� North builds links with communities across the region

News and Sport at �� North

Acting Director-General Tim Davie talks to �� staff

New digs for �� R&D in the North

Marketing the �� at MediaCityUK

Seventeen days in Salford with the �� Philharmonic

�� North takes off

�� North - bringing it home