BBC Midlands Today is one of the most watched regional TV news programmes in the UK.
Some two million people tune in every day to watch regular presenters Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee deliver the 25-minute bulletin from the BBC's studios in the Mailbox - the BBC's Birmingham home since October 2004.
With an audience like that, the programme wields considerable influence, making the job of editor a powerful one. Current BBC Midlands Today output editor Chas Watkin believes the programme shouldn't just cover the major regional news stories of the day, but get much closer to local people.
So a sizeable chunk of the programme is given over to local human interest stories, championing communities and people in the station's catchment area.
This local - some may say parish pump - approach isn't just BBC policy. It reflects Chas Watkin's background as a local newspaper reporter. Before moving into television he was a reporter on the Express and Star, working as chief reporter in the paper's Lichfield office before moving to head office in Wolverhampton.
He knows it's local stories which sell local newspapers. And so it is with television. Under his editorship, many people regard BBC Midlands Today as a good friend - a programme that represents them and is on their side.
He was also involved in the launch of the BBC's ultra local television project, with stories of very local interest available via the web. The BBC's local coverage policy has involved the corporation crossing swords with the Newspaper Society who see its licence-funded activities threatening regional newspaper's traditional territory.
