It makes my blood boil – the fact that Brighton & Hove is in the South East but the local TV news bulletins do not report news about Brighton & Hove. We see traffic in Southampton, news from Dorchester, Weymouth and even Oxford, but no traffic news about the A23, only the A4; we never see what happens in Patcham, let alone what is going on in nearby places. Announcements are made: “Listen for traffic reports on Radio Solent/Oxford”, neither of which is in our area. Lewes (8 miles away) and Steyning (West Sussex) get the correct local news, also, all the other transmissions in the South East miles away.

Television is surely obliged to cover the news here and around us. If not, then the licence fee money is being paid under false pretences. TV companies often have a story about Post Offices that are about to close, but none in our area is ever mentioned. I have campaigned for years, ever since the Coronation, without success.

We need news for the whole of the South East. I have been in touch with the TV transmitting companies concerned. Their reply is that I should use Blue Bell Hill or Hannington which are, of course, way out of the cachement’s signal area. I can send evidence on DVD of all this.
The lack of local news is not only confined to ITV and BBC but is also the same for teletext and Ceefax. Whatever we watch, we get no local news. Now, the Government intends to top slice the licence fee to give a substantial amount to commercial stations to pay for local news broadcasts – hopefully the future will include B&H news.

Reg Moores