For years Bill Smith, founder of Latest TV has been fighting for a TV station within his hometown Brighton. Determined to use the knowledge and experience he had gained working for ITV, Smith was adamant the city of Brighton would not only benefit from having its own station, but also as a local platform to showcase the talent and creativity the community have to offer.
Bill’s concept of democratic television is revolutionary to those wanting to break into the industry, as it provides you the space, equipment and support needed to perfect their craft.
Smith’s philosophy is ‘ You make it, we show it, what’s more, with a “You Make It, We Show It” policy, you, the viewers will also be stars of theTV screen.
Broadcasting from studios just yards away from the city’s iconic Brighton Pier, Latest TV will be on air up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week with news and sport at the heart of our channel.
Latest TV can be watched on Freeview Channel 8 and Virgin 159, as well as on demand online. Latest TV will be accessible to over 400,000 people across the Greater Brighton area and online on any device to everyone in the UK throughTV everywhere.
Bill has taken time out of his hectic schedule to answer a few questions about this rapidly growing TV Station.
What is your vision for Latest TV?
The Vision for Latest TV is to make great programmes and create lots of creative jobs and make Ch8 twice as big as Ch4!! We want to make everyone all over the world recognise Brighton as a TV and Film City.
Why is Local TV important?
It’s largely the only place that every day you see Brighton on TV!! And every day we cover the news, the issues, so it’s democracy. Our MPs, our councilors and our football teams are on our screens every day!
Can you explain the collaboration Latest TV has with the BBC?
We make a weekly programme called Digital Nation with BBC and for BBC. All the best digital films from UK chosen by Angi Mariani and then brilliant scripting
and editing and graphics! We also supply BBC South East with a lot of news stories. We were for instance the only TV Company at Shoreham Airshow and our footage was on BBC, CNN and national newspaper sites.
What advice would you give to someone, who would like to pursue a career in Television, Journalism, Presenting, Editing?
Just get on with it!! That’s what YouTube has proved. Anyone can make TV, there’s no mystique and you can do it on an IPhone. If you need to learn anything- do our on the job training course. E-mail bill@thelatest.co.uk
Since the start of Latest TV commencing back in 2012, how has Latest TV developed as a broadcasting station?
We are fairly secure now on news and sport and music and entertainment but we now want a great reality show, a soap opera and a sitcom plus animation, films and dramas. Make them!!!
What Exclusive information or news can you tell Absolute Magazine about Latest TV in 2016?
I’ve personally got an audiobook coming out in a month!! It’s sexy and funny and surprisingly cheap (in every sense!) It’s called The Philandropist. It’s my cool replacement for 50 Shades (so last year!) I expect it to be filmed soon starring Ryanski Goslingovich and Pippa Middleclass. Buy It!
Mathew Parr
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