Notts TV launches new live show Notts Today from expanded city centre newsroom

Notts Today

The local channel begins its birthday celebrations with the first broadcast of 'Notts Today' on Thursday, May 26. The new show will be on at 5.30pm every weekday on Freeview 7, Virgin 159, and BT/YouView 7.

A new home for the channel’s blend of Notts-only news, conversation and live local guests, Notts Today is all about covering the 'need to know and good to know'.

Presenters Al Booth and Owen Shipton will broadcast live every night from Notts TV’s studio and newly-expanded newsroom at Antenna in Nottingham city centre - the only permanently-staffed independent newsroom left in the city.

Since its launch in 2014, the channel has aimed to put itself at the heart of local news reporting in the city and county. From poetry to politics, Notts TV’s programming has been ‘Championing Notts’ – shining a light on the people, organisations, and initiatives that are making an impact, while not being afraid to hold power to account and report on subjects that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Since July 2021 Notts TV has also been home to the Local Democracy Reporting Service for Nottinghamshire. This team of three local politics journalists is funded by the BBC Licence fee but are employed and edited by the channel to write genuinely local online stories.  Their work can then be used for free by Notts TV and other local media outlets – ensuring the news that really matters to Notts doesn’t get missed.

This service has taken the number of full-time professional journalists, presenters and producers working at the channel to ten members of staff – all dedicated to providing a trusted, local and impartial source of news and information on local TV, social and online.

Channel Manager Chris Breese has been on the journey with Notts TV since its launch on May 27 2014.

He said: “The media landscape has changed so much in the eight years since we began broadcasting and we are keen to make our ambitions clear by not only keeping a permanent newsroom in the city centre but by expanding it further.

“The launch of Notts Today is a big part of our plan to develop a trusted, independent, and professional news service across television, social media, and our website while trying to support the wider local media ecosystem with projects like the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“Our ambition from day one was to offer a different and independent take on what’s going on in Notts. We wanted to bring topical conversation, tell stories that may otherwise get missed and provide and a no-nonsense approach to reporting news.

“Our team is passionate about championing Nottinghamshire and its people and we offer our thanks to every guest who has shared the sofa with us in our studio. We look forward to bringing you Notts Today and much more besides.”

Notts TV is part of Nottingham’s Confetti Media Group, and is run in partnership with Nottingham Trent University.

The channel also runs innovative industry training schemes for students studying for creative industry careers at NTU and Confetti, helping to propel hundreds of graduates into jobs with leading broadcasting and media organisations.

Craig Chettle MBE, Chief Executive of Confetti Media Group, said: “I am immensely proud of everything that Notts TV has achieved. A partnership approach has driven its success and I thank our colleagues at NTU and the Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism, all the teams from Confetti that work behind the scenes to support the channel and the residents of Nottinghamshire for continuing to champion Notts.”