ABSTRACT
Listeners and viewers in parts of England can also be sensitive about their sense of place, particularly if they hear the kind of ‘up north’, ‘in the sticks’, or ‘out in the provinces’ expressions occasionally used by self-styled London sophisticates or home counties types. Journalists working in London and writing news for national channels should always remember that most of the audience does not live in London. To write ‘The Prime Minister will be on his way up to Leeds tomorrow’ or ‘The Home Secretary is coming back from Blackpool today’ makes sense only for listeners in the capital.
