The news service is produced and broadcast from ITV Meridian's studios in Whiteley, near Fareham with reporters also based at bureaux in Didcot, Brighton and Maidstone.

Robin Britton recruited programme producer Paul Erlam and transport correspondent Mike Pearse (Thames News), along with Alison Black (Channel 4 Daily) and Peter Brookes (TV-am).

Andy Cooper hired Nick Myers from TV-am, and moved Steve McDonnell from current affairs at TVS back into the newsroom as a programme producer.

The then remaining sub-regional elements were: Sangeeta Bhabra and Fred Dinenage were lead presenters of the scaled back service.

Both sub-regional editions use the same presenter(s) and studio/set, therefore one of the two opt-outs – depending on the day's news – is pre-recorded 'as live' shortly before broadcast.

[3] In February 2010, the programme won the Royal Television Society's Award for Best Nations & Regions News Coverage.

A Thames Valley service was also reintroduced, consisting of a ten-minute opt out within the 6pm programme for the South and a late bulletin after News at Ten.

From launch until 5 May 1996, the programme titles featured a large translucent Meridian logo flipping over to reveal and yellow and blue map of the region.

Each respective region would then zoom into their area, before the flipping logo reveals the programme name, separated by a horizontal line, at the end of the sequence.

The end board of the sequence saw to two-halves move closer against a stripe of red and yellow colour against the Meridian Tonight name.

This latest style featured a yellow and translucent black colour scheme and again focusing on footage of locations within the region.