General Election 2005 from the Â鶹Éç
Introduction
Â鶹Éç's 55th anniversary heralds first interactive Election coverage
Just confirmed: Tony Blair, Michael
Howard and Charles Kennedy have all agreed
in principle to appear consecutively in the same programme in a Question
Time Special on Â鶹Éç ONE on Thursday 28 April, 8.30-10.00pm.
Full details are to be agreed, but the leaders will
be questioned by the same audience at the same location on the same
day in a special programme chaired, as usual, by David Dimbleby.
The Â鶹Éç's coverage of the 2005 General Election, 55 years on from its first election coverage in 1950, will be unprecedented in both scale and its use of the latest in broadcast technology to deliver greater choice for audiences.
Advances in technology will result in the first truly interactive election coverage for the Â鶹Éç, affording viewers a range of features, including additional screens and a wealth of extra information via the red button option; an expanded and exciting internet programme, including chat sites and voter video views, sent via mobile phones; and, in what is the first broadband election, broadcast quality video footage via people's computers.
With its unparalleled newsgathering strengths across the Nations and Regions and the latest in technology, the Â鶹Éç will demonstrate a huge news capacity across radio, television and online; combining specialist journalists and technological capability, the Â鶹Éç will offer clarity and understanding of all the issues and a greater opportunity for voters to air their views.
The Â鶹Éç's leading presenters and specialist editors will all play prominent roles throughout the three weeks of electioneering – John Humphrys will co-present the Today programme every weekday morning; Jeremy Paxman, on top of his Newsnight role, will question the main party leaders in a series of special interviews for Â鶹Éç ONE in primetime; and David Dimbleby, together with his usual Question Time responsibilities, will front the Election Night Special coverage.
Political Editor Andrew Marr will follow all of the parties throughout the campaign and, accompanied by Professor Anthony King, will analyse events, in the studio on the night, as the results begin to come in.
Peter Snow will, as ever, preside over state of the art virtual reality studio graphics.
On radio, James Naughtie and Carolyn Quinn will be on air through the night with coverage for Â鶹Éç Radio 4, and Jeremy Vine will present an Election Day Special on Â鶹Éç Radio 2.
Â鶹Éç Radio Five Live will field Nicky Campbell, Shelagh Fogarty and Peter Allen in the studio, while Sonia Deol and Adil Ray will be fronting the Â鶹Éç Asian Network coverage, and Tricia Liverpool takes the reins at 1Xtra.
The Â鶹Éç's 2005 coverage will give audiences more opportunities to express their opinions: key programmes, including Today, Â鶹Éç Breakfast, The World At One, PM, Question Time and the Six O'Clock News will hear from a range of voices from across the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, phone-ins will be a regular feature of Radio Five Live, Â鶹Éç Local Radio, Â鶹Éç national stations and election first-timers, 1Xtra and the Asian Network.
Continuous news channel Â鶹Éç News 24 and Â鶹Éç Parliament will also make use of outside broadcasts from locations across the country.
Programmes and bulletins will be extended throughout the campaign.
There will be more of the Ten O'Clock News and Radio 4's The World at One; Â鶹Éç TWO's Daily Politics, presented by Andrew Neil and Daisy Sampson, will run from Monday to Friday, and Â鶹Éç ONE's This Week, featuring former Conservative Minister Michael Portillo, will have a second edition each week on Monday evenings.
The Â鶹Éç official election bus will be a focal point for public comment, participation and information as it travels across the UK, serving outlets across Â鶹Éç News 24, Radio 4, Five Live, the Six O'Clock News and local Â鶹Éç news programmes.
Others, including Â鶹Éç TWO's Election Roadshow, Radio 1's Newsbeat and CÂ鶹Éç's Newsround will also take to the highways.
Â鶹Éç ONE's The Politics Show will navigate the country by narrowboat and Newsnight's Michael Crick, complete with helicopter, will take to the air to file his distinctive rapid reaction pieces.
The introduction of election newcomers, 1Xtra and the Asian Network, will provide even wider coverage for listeners with both networks teaming up with Five Live for a number of major debates surrounding the prevailing political issues.
Five Live, whose presenter line-up includes Simon Mayo and Chief Political correspondent John Pienaar, will also launch the innovative Five Live Ballot Boxes whereby listeners register their preferred discussion points for each day's programming.
The Â鶹Éç's Nations and Regions will provide comprehensive local coverage of the Election campaign on TV, on radio and online, including opportunities for voters to call, email or meet their local candidates in key seats across the UK.
The Â鶹Éç will also broadcast local results programmes on every local radio station and on Â鶹Éç Scotland, Â鶹Éç Northern Ireland and Â鶹Éç Wales, in both languages, on 5 and 6 May.
On Election Night, the Â鶹Éç will provide greater coverage than any other broadcaster.
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The Â鶹Éç will be out in force at every single count, providing comprehensive results coverage both for the Â鶹Éç networks and for local programmes.
The Â鶹Éç will also be using its investment in lightweight digital technology to bring television pictures from most counts across the UK in a way that's never been possible before.
On the night, principal presenter David Dimbleby will be joined by Jeremy Paxman, Peter Snow and Fiona Bruce, while a team of more than 100 journalists and production staff fact check and provide analysis from Television Centre in London.
Â鶹Éç ONE's Election Night Special will run throughout the night until 6.00am.
Helen Boaden, Director of Â鶹Éç News, said: "Our programmes and services will give everyone a chance to get the latest news from the campaign as well as accurate, in-depth information about the issues that really matter to them.
"Broadband opens up a wealth of creative opportunities and we'll be using the internet and interactivity to give voters new ways to exchange views and get their opinions heard."
Pat Loughrey, Director, Â鶹Éç Nations and Regions, added: "The General Election will highlight our public service role as the Â鶹Éç's Local Radio stations, regional TV programmes and local Where I Live websites across the UK devote their energies, round the clock, to helping people to make an informed democratic choice."
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