Ofcom has dismissed claims by a group of MPs that the 9pm watershed is failing to protect young children because they can now access television online.
Giving evidence at a culture, media and sport committee hearing today, the Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards, denied the regulator had put itself in an "impossible and absurd position" by not doing more to regulate objectionable content on the web.
Richards was responding to claims made by Nigel Evans, the Ribble Valley conservative MP, who argued that Ofcom's powers over broadcasting should be more rigorously applied to internet content.
"It's important to remember that the watershed isn't dead," Richards said.
"Despite the internet, television remains remarkably resilient as a medium. The watershed is still a very important and I think it will remain so for several years."
The cross-party group of MPs raised concerns about services such as the BBC iPlayer, which make it possible for anyone to view post-watershed content at any time of the day.
The Ofcom partner for content and standards, Stuart Purvis, said a lot of the responsibility rested with parents to make sure their children were not watching inappropriate material.
"If you look at the iPlayer, it immediately asks you if you are over 16," Purvis said.
"The question that arises is: Are children going to understand that or are they going to override it?"
He added that new technology had "in a sense disadvantaged parents" who might not necessarily know how to use access locks to protect children from post-watershed content.
However, both Purvis and Richards dismissed suggestions that it was the role of Ofcom on its own to encourage parents to become more aware of their children's online activities.
"We are definitely not the right body to deliver a mass campaign to promote media literacy," Richards said.
"We are not qualified enough to do it. We don't have the skills to do it. I think somebody does have to do that, but it's not the duty of Ofcom.
"That sort of mass campaign to bring parents understanding of literacy issues is not appropriate for us."
Asked by the panel whether he would allow a 10-year-old to watch Channel 4 drama Shameless, Richards replied: "Parents have got to make that judgment. These are matters for parents.
"The issue for us is: Is it in the right place in the schedule? I think it is."
Richards also told MPs that Ofcom would be willing to cooperate if police decided to launch an investigation into ITV's premium-rate phone abuses, but he said the regulator had not yet been approached to provide evidence.
Ofcom's appearance before the culture, media and sport committee comes after the publication of a report by Dr Tanya Byron in March on how to protect children on the internet.
Among the key recommendations was the introduction of a national strategy for child internet safety, which involves a self-regulatory approach to internet content.
The Byron report also called for better provision of information to families, after it concluded that there was a "generational digital divide", which meant parents did not feel equipped to protect their children online.
Tuesday 13 May 2008
Sunday 4 May 2008
Guardian Story..*
US releases al-Jazeera cameraman
An al-Jazeera cameraman detained by American forces in Afghanistan was last night released after spending nearly six years imprisoned without charge at Guantánamo Bay.
Sami al-Haj, 39, was arrested on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan on December 15 2001, while on assignment to cover the war against the Taliban. Although he had a valid visa to work in Afghanistan, US intelligence alleged that he was an al-Qaida operative, and he was transferred to Guantánamo in June 2002.
Last night, his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said Haj was en route to his home in Sudan to be reunited with his wife and son. He said: "I'm very glad Sami has finally been released, but the question is why he wasn't freed many years ago."
The US military alleged that Haj had secretly interviewed Osama bin Laden, smuggled guns for al-Qaida and worked as a financial courier for Chechen rebels. But the evidence against him was never revealed, and he was never charged.
Prior to his release, Haj had been on hunger strike since January 2007, and was forced to undergo "assisted feeding" via a tube through his nose. According to Stafford Smith, he was suicidal and had throat cancer, but camp authorities withheld medical treatment. "We are very concerned about him, because he has been under a tremendous amount of stress and has been on hunger strike for 480 days. He has asked to be taken straight to a hospital in Khartoum," Stafford Smith said.
In exchange for Haj's release, the Sudanese government has agreed to ban him from working as a journalist or leaving Sudan, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Robert Ménard, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, said: "Sami al-Haj should never have been held so long. US authorities never proved that he had been involved in any criminal activity."
Haj's case was one of number involving journalists captured by US forces while reporting from war zones. Two weeks ago US forces in Iraq released Bilal Hussein, a photographer from the Associated Press news agency, who was detained in Ramadi in April 2006.
Commentators in the Middle East viewed Haj's imprisonment as a proxy punishment for al-Jazeera, whose broadcasts have angered US officials.
When the BBC reporter Alan Johnston was kidnapped in Gaza, Haj appealed for his release. Johnston in turn, called on the US authorities to free Haj. But Stafford Smith said much of the western media had been slow to take up Haj's case.
A spokesman for the Pentagon refused to comment on the case.
Tuesday 29 April 2008
ITV's £4m fine 'a bit of a result'
ITV's anticipated record £4m fine is a "bit of a result" for the broadcaster - and executive chairman Michael Grade handled the controversy well, media and industry analysts say.
The fine - for a string of viewer deceptions surrounding phone-ins on programmes including Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - was well below the £70m maximum from regulator Ofcom and lower than many had anticipated.
Grade's swift move to appoint Deloitte to conduct an internal review of programming and promising to spend £18m on compensation and other remedies has been seen as key to the relatively small punishment.
"Compare the size of GMTV and ITV and outwardly financially it is probably a bit of a result," said Jim Marshall, the chairman of Starcom UK. "But the ruling has to take into account the way it was handled.
"Michael Grade handled it well in accepting responsibility, getting ITV's house in order and there was a feeling that most of the problem was under the previous regime. I expect that Ofcom want to draw a line under this and move on."
Other analysts said the fine was small in the context of ITV's revenues - about £265m in pre-tax profits in 2007.
"You are talking about a company that makes hundreds of millions in pre-tax profits so £4m is neither here nor there," says Alex DeGroote, a media analyst at Panmure.
Despite the fine being far below the maximum available to Ofcom, in the wider context of breaches of the broadcast code the fine is still likely to be double the previous record levied against GMTV.
"It does feel like it could have been much worse but it is still a significant amount of money," said Richard Oliver, managing partner at media agency Universal McCann.
"If ITV's TV revenue dropped by £4m in a month that would be a big deal and such a sum can't be dismissed easily.
"It seems like a reasonable result all round, sending a suitably strong message - but it isn't crippling either."
Beyond the value of the fine, the industry will examine how damning Ofcom's ruling is against the broadcaster and its operations. Previous rulings have included forcing broadcasters to make several on-air apologies.
"It would send out the wrong signals to hammer them [with a huge fine]. Ofcom has to take everything in the round," says DeGroote.
"A punitive fine would not have served a good purpose in light of ITV's low share price, poor morale in general and an unhealthy advertising outlook. Ofcom has to take a broader view and been sensible in its decisions."
The fine - for a string of viewer deceptions surrounding phone-ins on programmes including Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - was well below the £70m maximum from regulator Ofcom and lower than many had anticipated.
Grade's swift move to appoint Deloitte to conduct an internal review of programming and promising to spend £18m on compensation and other remedies has been seen as key to the relatively small punishment.
"Compare the size of GMTV and ITV and outwardly financially it is probably a bit of a result," said Jim Marshall, the chairman of Starcom UK. "But the ruling has to take into account the way it was handled.
"Michael Grade handled it well in accepting responsibility, getting ITV's house in order and there was a feeling that most of the problem was under the previous regime. I expect that Ofcom want to draw a line under this and move on."
Other analysts said the fine was small in the context of ITV's revenues - about £265m in pre-tax profits in 2007.
"You are talking about a company that makes hundreds of millions in pre-tax profits so £4m is neither here nor there," says Alex DeGroote, a media analyst at Panmure.
Despite the fine being far below the maximum available to Ofcom, in the wider context of breaches of the broadcast code the fine is still likely to be double the previous record levied against GMTV.
"It does feel like it could have been much worse but it is still a significant amount of money," said Richard Oliver, managing partner at media agency Universal McCann.
"If ITV's TV revenue dropped by £4m in a month that would be a big deal and such a sum can't be dismissed easily.
"It seems like a reasonable result all round, sending a suitably strong message - but it isn't crippling either."
Beyond the value of the fine, the industry will examine how damning Ofcom's ruling is against the broadcaster and its operations. Previous rulings have included forcing broadcasters to make several on-air apologies.
"It would send out the wrong signals to hammer them [with a huge fine]. Ofcom has to take everything in the round," says DeGroote.
"A punitive fine would not have served a good purpose in light of ITV's low share price, poor morale in general and an unhealthy advertising outlook. Ofcom has to take a broader view and been sensible in its decisions."
SUN HOMEPAGE
Form and function – inform audiences of current stories. Attract an online audience as print is in decline. The website attracts advertisers so therefore the newspaper still gets money, even if the website is free and print sales being under threat.
Bold colours, typical of the sun – red and white.
Typical audience is C, D; However the Sun is highly read so upper classes are likely to read it but not to gain all their news from it.
Celebrity based stories shows what the audience expects of the newspaper.
BBC NEWS REPORT
Form and function – inform the audience of what is going on internationally, fulfilling the channels educative function.
Although the BBC has the purpose to provide for everyone it is likely this piece of news will be aimed at those interested in international politics and those generally more informed in such matters. The audience can be assumed to be educated as the event centres on a demand for a democratic reform so therefore they would be required to understand all this as well as the communist state of China.
Gaining first hands news and footage.
THEORIES/ISSUES AND DEBATES
Mulvey – representation of women, Sun’s Page 3.
Moral Panic – The Sun is known to sensationalise stories for example those about terrorism, to gain a greater audience reaction.
Cult of the Celebrity – soft news which is a key part of the Sun.
Galtung & Ruge – news values and its appeal to the audience.
Gatekeepers – The Sun’s editors pick stories which are usually national whereas the BBC picks stories which are making global headlines reflecting their audiences need for greater knowledge.
Adorno – dumbing down can be used in reference to the Sun.
Text one is the sun homepage which is aimed at an online audience to give them the daily news, text two is a BBC report about the Tiananmen Square massacre which took place in china, the purpose of this text is again to provide news as well as inform and educate the audience on the situation.
The Sun is a conglomerate owned business run by Rupert Murdoch. So therefore could contain some of his beliefs hence being a hegemonic paper, the homepage is also from 2008 so therefore has been affected by vast changes within the media and the technology it uses. The BBC however is a government owned channel which is meant to remain neutral and provide a balanced argument, the text provided is dated from 1989 so could be affected by fewer resources and developments during that time.
The BBC report is a piece of hard news which focuses on politics and an international event. The event in china took place due to a demand for democracy, the fact that the BBC chose a piece like this could be a reflection of their audience, and their relation to living in a democratic state and assuming it is right. Unlike the red top newspapers such as the Sun, the BBC covers hard international news which allows us to make the assumption that this is what their audience demands and has knowledge about. From a political report like this we can assume the audience for this particular story are likely to be more educated and aware of the situation in China, therefore of a social standing of C1 and up.
The Sun page however, does not carry much in the way of international politics and contains more home grown stories and celebrities. An article advertised on the homepage about terrorist plots within England shows the current situation the world is in with the threat of terror increasing since the events of 9/11. The newspaper sensationalizes the story and gives the audience another reason to continue living in a state of fear, in a “moral panic” as described by Cohen. A lot of the news in the Sun is soft news and covers stories about celebrities and television channels. The Sun is a good example of the recent phenomenon in celebrity soft news coverage and shows the extent of this “cult of the celebrity”. With the gatekeepers of a newspaper such as the Sun which reaches millions on a daily basis, as well as providing an online page, shows the ideologies and values that they and the audience are likely to carry. The “white van man” is not interested in international events and just requires the basic, maybe even “dumbed down” (Adorno) news about what’s going on in the country and some celebrity gossip for entertainment. Hence the audience for the Sun is assumed to be from social group C2 and lower.
The Sun homepage contains a completely separate section for women entitled “Woman” with sections about “sex and love”, “beauty” and “fashion” assuming that a female audience which reads the Sun must only be interested in this, not the actual news which is covered on the homepage. The title of “Woman” sounds so harsh, and as if the paper is throwing a female audience to the side, even if the title was “Women” it would still give a more appeal to it, as well as only containing superficial articles for the female audience shows that this newspaper is aimed at predominately men, which is proven by the fairly controversial page 3, which completely objectifies women and proves that females are solely there for the pleasure of the “male gaze”. Women are often placed in demeaning positions by the paper as many articles are about scantily clad women at the beach, in the paper, in adverts etc. and this seems to be the only role women seem to play in the newspaper. They are there to be objectified and to be stared at, nothing more. Again playing up to the newspapers “white van man” audience.
In contrast, the BBC report is by a woman, showing a more equal representation of women by the BBC and showing women and not an object but are educated and intelligent career women. This shows that the BBC audience do not expect women to be constantly objectified and show them in a more equal role. Also seeing as the two texts are from different time periods, it could be considered interesting that the BBC during the 1980s chose a female to cover such an important international story rather than a man, seeing as women were fewer on screen as shown by studies carried out by Gunter. Whereas, a modern day newspaper still continues to show women in such undignified roles, however by now it could be considered almost a tradition and be part of the male back lash to gain control over the audience and their values.
Form and function – inform audiences of current stories. Attract an online audience as print is in decline. The website attracts advertisers so therefore the newspaper still gets money, even if the website is free and print sales being under threat.
Bold colours, typical of the sun – red and white.
Typical audience is C, D; However the Sun is highly read so upper classes are likely to read it but not to gain all their news from it.
Celebrity based stories shows what the audience expects of the newspaper.
BBC NEWS REPORT
Form and function – inform the audience of what is going on internationally, fulfilling the channels educative function.
Although the BBC has the purpose to provide for everyone it is likely this piece of news will be aimed at those interested in international politics and those generally more informed in such matters. The audience can be assumed to be educated as the event centres on a demand for a democratic reform so therefore they would be required to understand all this as well as the communist state of China.
Gaining first hands news and footage.
THEORIES/ISSUES AND DEBATES
Mulvey – representation of women, Sun’s Page 3.
Moral Panic – The Sun is known to sensationalise stories for example those about terrorism, to gain a greater audience reaction.
Cult of the Celebrity – soft news which is a key part of the Sun.
Galtung & Ruge – news values and its appeal to the audience.
Gatekeepers – The Sun’s editors pick stories which are usually national whereas the BBC picks stories which are making global headlines reflecting their audiences need for greater knowledge.
Adorno – dumbing down can be used in reference to the Sun.
Text one is the sun homepage which is aimed at an online audience to give them the daily news, text two is a BBC report about the Tiananmen Square massacre which took place in china, the purpose of this text is again to provide news as well as inform and educate the audience on the situation.
The Sun is a conglomerate owned business run by Rupert Murdoch. So therefore could contain some of his beliefs hence being a hegemonic paper, the homepage is also from 2008 so therefore has been affected by vast changes within the media and the technology it uses. The BBC however is a government owned channel which is meant to remain neutral and provide a balanced argument, the text provided is dated from 1989 so could be affected by fewer resources and developments during that time.
The BBC report is a piece of hard news which focuses on politics and an international event. The event in china took place due to a demand for democracy, the fact that the BBC chose a piece like this could be a reflection of their audience, and their relation to living in a democratic state and assuming it is right. Unlike the red top newspapers such as the Sun, the BBC covers hard international news which allows us to make the assumption that this is what their audience demands and has knowledge about. From a political report like this we can assume the audience for this particular story are likely to be more educated and aware of the situation in China, therefore of a social standing of C1 and up.
The Sun page however, does not carry much in the way of international politics and contains more home grown stories and celebrities. An article advertised on the homepage about terrorist plots within England shows the current situation the world is in with the threat of terror increasing since the events of 9/11. The newspaper sensationalizes the story and gives the audience another reason to continue living in a state of fear, in a “moral panic” as described by Cohen. A lot of the news in the Sun is soft news and covers stories about celebrities and television channels. The Sun is a good example of the recent phenomenon in celebrity soft news coverage and shows the extent of this “cult of the celebrity”. With the gatekeepers of a newspaper such as the Sun which reaches millions on a daily basis, as well as providing an online page, shows the ideologies and values that they and the audience are likely to carry. The “white van man” is not interested in international events and just requires the basic, maybe even “dumbed down” (Adorno) news about what’s going on in the country and some celebrity gossip for entertainment. Hence the audience for the Sun is assumed to be from social group C2 and lower.
The Sun homepage contains a completely separate section for women entitled “Woman” with sections about “sex and love”, “beauty” and “fashion” assuming that a female audience which reads the Sun must only be interested in this, not the actual news which is covered on the homepage. The title of “Woman” sounds so harsh, and as if the paper is throwing a female audience to the side, even if the title was “Women” it would still give a more appeal to it, as well as only containing superficial articles for the female audience shows that this newspaper is aimed at predominately men, which is proven by the fairly controversial page 3, which completely objectifies women and proves that females are solely there for the pleasure of the “male gaze”. Women are often placed in demeaning positions by the paper as many articles are about scantily clad women at the beach, in the paper, in adverts etc. and this seems to be the only role women seem to play in the newspaper. They are there to be objectified and to be stared at, nothing more. Again playing up to the newspapers “white van man” audience.
In contrast, the BBC report is by a woman, showing a more equal representation of women by the BBC and showing women and not an object but are educated and intelligent career women. This shows that the BBC audience do not expect women to be constantly objectified and show them in a more equal role. Also seeing as the two texts are from different time periods, it could be considered interesting that the BBC during the 1980s chose a female to cover such an important international story rather than a man, seeing as women were fewer on screen as shown by studies carried out by Gunter. Whereas, a modern day newspaper still continues to show women in such undignified roles, however by now it could be considered almost a tradition and be part of the male back lash to gain control over the audience and their values.
Tuesday 22 April 2008
ITV to sell classic shows on iTunes
ITV is to make a range of classic programmes including Brideshead Revisited and Inspector Morse available for sale through iTunes.
The deal, which will be the first time that ITV has made TV shows available for sale via a third-party website, will see more than 260 hours of archive shows made available via Apple's iTunes UK store.
ITV shows available on the iTunes service from today include Lewis, Cold Feet, Brideshead Revisited, Goodnight Mr Tom, and Gerry Anderson's puppet classic Captain Scarlet.
Later this year ITV will make shows including Inspector Morse, The Prisoner, The Saint and adaptations of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Emma available via iTunes.
The shows will be priced at from £1.89p per episode and fans will be able to download complete series.
ITV is not making current programmes or series available.
"ITV has thousands of hours of classic content in the archive which we are bringing to a whole new audience via iTunes," said Dawn Airey, managing director of ITV global content.
"Our strategy is to deliver 360-degree value for our content on multiple platforms, and in multiple territories, and our partnership with Apple is a demonstration that we are delivering on that strategy."
The deal was brokered by Granada Ventures, which has previously made more than 300 films from the ITV DVD catalogue available via movie download services such as filmon.com, lovefilm.com and vizumi.com.
ITV streams its programming live via ITV.com and offers a catch-up TV service.
The broadcaster's shows are also being made available via an ad-funded service on youth-targeted social networking website Bebo.
The deal, which will be the first time that ITV has made TV shows available for sale via a third-party website, will see more than 260 hours of archive shows made available via Apple's iTunes UK store.
ITV shows available on the iTunes service from today include Lewis, Cold Feet, Brideshead Revisited, Goodnight Mr Tom, and Gerry Anderson's puppet classic Captain Scarlet.
Later this year ITV will make shows including Inspector Morse, The Prisoner, The Saint and adaptations of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Emma available via iTunes.
The shows will be priced at from £1.89p per episode and fans will be able to download complete series.
ITV is not making current programmes or series available.
"ITV has thousands of hours of classic content in the archive which we are bringing to a whole new audience via iTunes," said Dawn Airey, managing director of ITV global content.
"Our strategy is to deliver 360-degree value for our content on multiple platforms, and in multiple territories, and our partnership with Apple is a demonstration that we are delivering on that strategy."
The deal was brokered by Granada Ventures, which has previously made more than 300 films from the ITV DVD catalogue available via movie download services such as filmon.com, lovefilm.com and vizumi.com.
ITV streams its programming live via ITV.com and offers a catch-up TV service.
The broadcaster's shows are also being made available via an ad-funded service on youth-targeted social networking website Bebo.
Sunday 13 April 2008
1950s
4th January 1951 - TV cameras allowed in 10 Downing Street - encouraging political views
15th February 1952 - Funeral of King George broadcasted on TV shared with mass audience, established a tradition of royal television events
25 June 1950 - Korean War begins
26 October 1950 - First broadcast from the House of Commons
25 June 1951 – CBS transmits first colour programme
13th June 1952 - programme for children with impaired hearing
7th Feb. 1952 – first interlude programming introduced for when a show breaks down or under ran.
2nd June 1953 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – definitive event in the evolution of British television
18 July 1953 – quatermass experiment first British sci fi programme, mass audiences.
11 November 1953 – panorama began
11 January 1954 - first in vision weatherman
5th July 1954 - first transmission of Newsreel
Television act 1954 becomes law – introduction of commercial television is given royal assent.
2nd April 1954 - the Grove family - first Soap opera, tried to convey a social representation of the country at that time.1/4 of the U.K's population tuned into this programme.
17th February 1955 - Kitchen magic – Fanny Craddock’s gourmet cooking show.
22 September 1955 – ITV began broadcasting, independent television channel.
1 July 1955 – Montgomery bus boycott – Rosa parks, helped set in motion the US civil rights movement
27th April 1956 - First Ministerial broadcast Anthony Eden
24 May 1956 – first Eurovision
19 February 1957 - first medical drama – first appointment at emergency ward 10.
9th January 1957 - Anthony Eden resigns as prime minister after the Suez crisis
16 October 1958 - first blue peter show broadcasted
2nd April 1958 - People in trouble - programme which focused on social issues within real people's lives, mixed marriages, and unmarried mothers
4 April 1958 - The first CND protests (campaign for nuclear disarmament)
14th June 1958 - black and white minstrel show - now seen as highly racist. However it was extremely popular at that time.
21 march 1959 - Whickers world globe trotting show opening one of the first windows on the world for the British audience
1960s
9th December 1960 - Coronation Street launch. Now the longest running soap drama
25th December 1960 - queen pre-records her first Christmas message, it used to be live.
9 November 1960 - Kennedy elected president, youngest and first Roman Catholic to hold the office
12th April 1961-- first man to go into space Yuri Gagarin
1960 - Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho becomes one of the year’s most successful films
29 April 1961 - ITV goes regional
1st October 1961 - songs of praise first broadcast (religious views) 5th August 1962 - Marilyn Monroe found dead24th September 1962 - university challenge (educational programme) 22nd November 1963 - JFK assassinated1 January 1964 - first top of the pops aired
20th April 1964 - launch of BBC 2, disrupted by power failure.12th June 1964 - nelson Mandela sentenced22nd august 1964 - match of the day launch24th January 1965 - Winston Churchill funeral broadcasted on BBC and ITV
12 June 1965 - Kenneth Tynan swears on a live BBC show, sparked major debate and one mp called for him to be hung.
3rd July 1967 - news at ten extended news on for 1/2 hour on ITV with 2 news casters, adopting a US style
20th July 1969 - Neil Armstrong first man to walk on the moon, broadcasted to millions
9 Feb. 1970 - Doomwatch, environmental science programmed, which lead to debates in parliament
1970s
15 Feb. 1971 - Britain adopts the decimal system
2 October 1971 - generation game begins most watched game show in history and had 23.9 million viewers
30 January 1972 - Bloody Sunday – peaceful civil rights march in Derry descends into chaos, British paratroopers open fire
4 April 1972 - Newsround begins
8 Jan 1973 - Watergate scandal
17 December 1975 - the naked civil servant discussed the persecution of a homosexual, defining moment in the presentation of homosexuals.
8 April 1977 - BBC airs Roots, about the slavery of African Americans, these kind of historical dramas were a signature of 1970s programming.
4 January 1978 - the south bank show, which examined cultural changes.
3 may 1979 - Margaret Thatcher came to power
25 September 1979 - question time began, gave the public the opportunity to question politicians.
2 September 1979 - subtitling began
1980s
30 august 1980 - first time television acknowledged female police officers
21 November 1980 - Children in need, first British telethon
25 November 1981 - Brixton and Toxeth race riots
2 April 1982 - Falkland’s war
2 November 1982 - channel 4 launches
5 march 1984 - miners strike
19 February 1985 - Eastenders first aired
26 February 1987 - women priests accepted in the Church of England.
15 January 1988 - this morning, Britain’s most popular morning show.
5 January 1989 - Desmonds broadcasted on channel 4, shows its multicultural nature
5 February 1989 - sky launches the UK’s first satellite television service
9 November 1989 - Berlin wall comes down
22 November 1990 - Thatcher steps down
30 march 1997 - channel 5 launches
9 November 1997 - news 24 launches
7 December 1998 - ITV 2 launches
23 February 1999 - channel 4 broadcasts queer as folk, deals with gays exclusively.
21 September 1999 - walking with dinosaurs, most costly science BBC programme
2 November 1999 - house of commons is televised
2000s
13 November 2000 - George w bush elected president
11 September 2001 - terrorist attacks
20 November 2002 - channel 4 airs a live autopsy
20 March 2003 - USA enters Iraq
28 January 2004 - Hutton inquiry
26 December 2004 - tsunami
30 January 2005 - Iraqi elections
February 2005 - youtube launched
7 July 2005 - London bomb attacks
30 September 2005 - Danish cartoons published depicting the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), causing much controversy
4th January 1951 - TV cameras allowed in 10 Downing Street - encouraging political views
15th February 1952 - Funeral of King George broadcasted on TV shared with mass audience, established a tradition of royal television events
25 June 1950 - Korean War begins
26 October 1950 - First broadcast from the House of Commons
25 June 1951 – CBS transmits first colour programme
13th June 1952 - programme for children with impaired hearing
7th Feb. 1952 – first interlude programming introduced for when a show breaks down or under ran.
2nd June 1953 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – definitive event in the evolution of British television
18 July 1953 – quatermass experiment first British sci fi programme, mass audiences.
11 November 1953 – panorama began
11 January 1954 - first in vision weatherman
5th July 1954 - first transmission of Newsreel
Television act 1954 becomes law – introduction of commercial television is given royal assent.
2nd April 1954 - the Grove family - first Soap opera, tried to convey a social representation of the country at that time.1/4 of the U.K's population tuned into this programme.
17th February 1955 - Kitchen magic – Fanny Craddock’s gourmet cooking show.
22 September 1955 – ITV began broadcasting, independent television channel.
1 July 1955 – Montgomery bus boycott – Rosa parks, helped set in motion the US civil rights movement
27th April 1956 - First Ministerial broadcast Anthony Eden
24 May 1956 – first Eurovision
19 February 1957 - first medical drama – first appointment at emergency ward 10.
9th January 1957 - Anthony Eden resigns as prime minister after the Suez crisis
16 October 1958 - first blue peter show broadcasted
2nd April 1958 - People in trouble - programme which focused on social issues within real people's lives, mixed marriages, and unmarried mothers
4 April 1958 - The first CND protests (campaign for nuclear disarmament)
14th June 1958 - black and white minstrel show - now seen as highly racist. However it was extremely popular at that time.
21 march 1959 - Whickers world globe trotting show opening one of the first windows on the world for the British audience
1960s
9th December 1960 - Coronation Street launch. Now the longest running soap drama
25th December 1960 - queen pre-records her first Christmas message, it used to be live.
9 November 1960 - Kennedy elected president, youngest and first Roman Catholic to hold the office
12th April 1961-- first man to go into space Yuri Gagarin
1960 - Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho becomes one of the year’s most successful films
29 April 1961 - ITV goes regional
1st October 1961 - songs of praise first broadcast (religious views) 5th August 1962 - Marilyn Monroe found dead24th September 1962 - university challenge (educational programme) 22nd November 1963 - JFK assassinated1 January 1964 - first top of the pops aired
20th April 1964 - launch of BBC 2, disrupted by power failure.12th June 1964 - nelson Mandela sentenced22nd august 1964 - match of the day launch24th January 1965 - Winston Churchill funeral broadcasted on BBC and ITV
12 June 1965 - Kenneth Tynan swears on a live BBC show, sparked major debate and one mp called for him to be hung.
3rd July 1967 - news at ten extended news on for 1/2 hour on ITV with 2 news casters, adopting a US style
20th July 1969 - Neil Armstrong first man to walk on the moon, broadcasted to millions
9 Feb. 1970 - Doomwatch, environmental science programmed, which lead to debates in parliament
1970s
15 Feb. 1971 - Britain adopts the decimal system
2 October 1971 - generation game begins most watched game show in history and had 23.9 million viewers
30 January 1972 - Bloody Sunday – peaceful civil rights march in Derry descends into chaos, British paratroopers open fire
4 April 1972 - Newsround begins
8 Jan 1973 - Watergate scandal
17 December 1975 - the naked civil servant discussed the persecution of a homosexual, defining moment in the presentation of homosexuals.
8 April 1977 - BBC airs Roots, about the slavery of African Americans, these kind of historical dramas were a signature of 1970s programming.
4 January 1978 - the south bank show, which examined cultural changes.
3 may 1979 - Margaret Thatcher came to power
25 September 1979 - question time began, gave the public the opportunity to question politicians.
2 September 1979 - subtitling began
1980s
30 august 1980 - first time television acknowledged female police officers
21 November 1980 - Children in need, first British telethon
25 November 1981 - Brixton and Toxeth race riots
2 April 1982 - Falkland’s war
2 November 1982 - channel 4 launches
5 march 1984 - miners strike
19 February 1985 - Eastenders first aired
26 February 1987 - women priests accepted in the Church of England.
15 January 1988 - this morning, Britain’s most popular morning show.
5 January 1989 - Desmonds broadcasted on channel 4, shows its multicultural nature
5 February 1989 - sky launches the UK’s first satellite television service
9 November 1989 - Berlin wall comes down
22 November 1990 - Thatcher steps down
30 march 1997 - channel 5 launches
9 November 1997 - news 24 launches
7 December 1998 - ITV 2 launches
23 February 1999 - channel 4 broadcasts queer as folk, deals with gays exclusively.
21 September 1999 - walking with dinosaurs, most costly science BBC programme
2 November 1999 - house of commons is televised
2000s
13 November 2000 - George w bush elected president
11 September 2001 - terrorist attacks
20 November 2002 - channel 4 airs a live autopsy
20 March 2003 - USA enters Iraq
28 January 2004 - Hutton inquiry
26 December 2004 - tsunami
30 January 2005 - Iraqi elections
February 2005 - youtube launched
7 July 2005 - London bomb attacks
30 September 2005 - Danish cartoons published depicting the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), causing much controversy
Tuesday 18 March 2008
The Godfather (1972) & Goodfellas (1990)
The Godfather (1972)
Basic MIGRAIN:
- begins with a black screen and classic music playing as the nam"e Marlon Brando" appears and an image. "Al Pacino" introduced. Music begins before any name appears or any images - the music sets up a dramatic environment.
Key characters, Brando was already established, and this movie aimed to establish Pacino.
- familial idealogies throughout the trailer - we see images of family, weddings, children and women. The only joyous scene in the movie is a clip of a family wedding.
- "dont ever tell anyone outside the family what your thinking again" - backs up familial ideologies - introduction of violence as its a threat.
- "women and children can be careless, but not men" - sets up a patriarchal thinking, could be linked to familial ideologies as he believes he has to look after and protect the women and children.
- classic music turns into loud typical italian music.
- dark lighting - dark rooms - Brando's office.
- all wearing suits - shows wealth, sophistication, power, well established in whatever they do - capitalist ideologies ?
- we can see that Brando is the dominant figure - most respected.
- Brando is the only one who wears a red handkerchief in his suit - connotes violence and blood - relfective of his lifestyle.
- guns and violence introduced later in the trailer.
- "he'll never fear you" - typical of gangster films.
- we see several relationships - between family and men and women.
- family dinner - again backs up the familial ideologies this trailer establishes - "its my family not me" - loyalty despite orignally disagreeing with this lifestyle.
- kissing of Brandos hand - power, dominance, fear.
Goodfellas (1990)
Basic MIGRAIN:
- unlike the previous film which was tradition based when it came to the gangster lifestyle, this film makes it more about the luxury.
- begins with laughter unlike the Godfather.
- gangster lifestyle is set up to be a childhood dream, to gain wealth and luxury. "Rags to riches" song.
- "always keep your mouth shut" - violence quickly introduced - breaking car windows and blowing up cars as a child.
- large group of men greet the young boy after hes carried out a task - patriarchal ideologies - violence is a form of acceptance by these men.
- quick shots introduce 4 key things in this lifestyle - money, guns, the cross, blood.
- religious reference with the cross - lifestyle associated with italians - catholics.
- stealing of large sums of money and murder seen as casual - part of their lifestyle - accepted the violence and murder.
- "if we wanted something we just took it".
- show a joy in what they do - do not see itsdangerous or take it serious.
- gangster films usually show women as passive and weak under the mans power however here we see a woman confront Liotta's character for standing her up on a date and then holding a gun aimed at his head. She is a strong woman - it is shown that she is a jewish woman - maybe its shown to say if she was italian she would be passive like the other women in such films? only outside women can act this way?
- glamourises the lifestyle whereas the Godfather doesnt look at that aspect of the lifestyle and is more about carrying on for your family.
Related Texts:
- Scarface (1983)
- The Godfather trilogy (1974, 1992)
- One Upon A Time in America (1984)
- Casino (1995)
- Carlito's Way (1993)
SHEP -
- prohibition
- immigration in the early 1990s
- crime development
- poverty
- glamour linked to the gangster lifestyle shown through people such as Al Capone.
Cult of the Celebrity - people such as Al Capone, John Gotti etc. gained alot of importance within society and the media, they glamourised this lifestyle and made it more appealing due to the wealth they had gained. Made it more appealing to watch these types of films and learn about the life.
Moral Panic - during the period the films are set in there was a significant amount of moral panic associated with the gangster way of life, it was a threatening and dangerous thing. We learn through both movies what people outside these links thought and how they feared these people.
Hypodermic Needle Model - some may be influenced by the glamour and money, may want to take part in this kind of life, similiar to Ray Liotta's character in Goodfellas who dreamt of becoming a gangster from a young age.
Similarities & Differences
- The Godfather shows this life as more traditional, it is for the sake of the family, however, Goodfellas shows it more about the luxury and the wealth which comes with this lifestyle.
- Goodfellas has more elements of humour and comedy, the trailer begins with laughter and we see as they bury a body the are making jokes. The Godfather is more serious about these issues.
- Godfather is more family based and traditional however Goodfellas is about these group of men and what they can get out of it all.
- Goodfellas shows more female figures, and establishes one of them as stronger than most women in this film genre.
- Goodfellas glamourises violence and robberies alot more than the Godfather does.
:: Guardian Story :: Oscar-winning director Minghella dies at 54
Anthony Minghella, the Oscar-winning director of The English Patient, has died at the age of 54, his agent said today.
Minghella won the best director Academy award in 1997, the year in which the film won nine Oscars. He was also nominated for the best adapted screenwriting award in 2000 for The Talented Mr Ripley.
He had undergone an operation for cancer of the tonsils and neck last week and the operation seemed to have gone well. But he suffered a fatal haemorrhage at 5am today, his agent Leslee Dart said. "The surgery had gone well and they were very optimistic," she said. "But he developed a haemorrhage last night and they were not able to stop it."
The actor Jude Law, who worked with Minghella on The Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain and Breaking And Entering, said he would miss the director "hugely".
He said: "I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Anthony's untimely death.
"I worked with him on three films, more than with any other director, but had come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague.
"He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it on to the screen in a way that always looked effortless.
"He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and, most of all, his family whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love. I shall miss him hugely."
Former prime minister Tony Blair said Minghella, who directed him in a party election broadcast for Labour, was a "wonderful human being".
"Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest calibre," he said.
Fellow film director Lord Puttnam said the death was a "shattering blow" to the industry.
He said: "I am shattered. He was a very important person in the film community because not only was he a fine, fine writer ... and made the transfer into becoming a really excellent director, he was also a really beautiful man. I just spoke to Alan Parker and it was the line Alan used: he was a beautiful man; he was a lot of fun to be with; he was thoughtful and intelligent."
Lord Puttnam said Minghella had been "a storyteller in the classic British tradition". He compared him with David Lean, saying he was particularly good at inspiring great performances from actresses.
The film-maker recently completed work on the Botswana-set comedy, The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which he directed after co-writing with Four Weddings and a Funeral scribe Richard Curtis. An adaptation of the Alexander McCall Smith novel, it had been due to premiere on BBC1 on Easter Monday.
Minghella had two projects in the pipeline: New York, I Love You, a celluloid ode to the Big Apple for which he had written and directed a segment, and the drama The Ninth Life of Louis Drax.
The director was born on the Isle of Wight, the son of Gloria and Edward Minghella, who owned an ice-cream factory.
His father was Italian-Scottish and his mother came from Leeds, although her ancestors were also Italian. Minghella attended Sandown grammar school and St John's college in Portsmouth. He is a graduate of the University of Hull, where he completed undergraduate and graduate courses, but eventually abandoned his doctoral thesis.
Minghella worked as a television script editor before making his directing debut in 1990 with Truly, Madly, Deeply, a comedy about love and grief starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. The made-for-TV production proved so popular that it received a cinematic release.
The director also received critical plaudits for his 2003 film Cold Mountain. While Minghella himself did not receive any nominations, it saw Renée Zellweger take the Oscar for best supporting actress, with Jude Law picking up a nomination for best actor.
Minghella began his career in theatre, working as a playwright as well as a director. The plays of Beckett were a lifelong fascination - Play and Happy Days provided his directorial debut - and Minghella presided over a starry gala tribute to celebrate the playwright's 100th birthday in 2006, as well as writing a radio play to commemorate the occasion.
Two volumes of Minghella's own plays were published by Methuen, and he won a number of awards for his theatre writing in the mid-80s.
He returned to the stage in 2005 with a cinematically lavish staging of Puccini's Madam Butterfly at the English National Opera, which disappointed critics but was enthusiastically received by audiences. Last year, it was announced he would direct and write the libretto for a new work at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the 2011-12 season
At the time of his death Minghella had recently relinquished his role as chairman of the British Film Institute. He was replaced by the former director-general of the BBC, Greg Dyke, on March 1. Minghella was made a CBE in the 2001 Queen's birthday honours list. He was married to Carolyn Choa and had two grown-up children, Max and Hannah.
Minghella won the best director Academy award in 1997, the year in which the film won nine Oscars. He was also nominated for the best adapted screenwriting award in 2000 for The Talented Mr Ripley.
He had undergone an operation for cancer of the tonsils and neck last week and the operation seemed to have gone well. But he suffered a fatal haemorrhage at 5am today, his agent Leslee Dart said. "The surgery had gone well and they were very optimistic," she said. "But he developed a haemorrhage last night and they were not able to stop it."
The actor Jude Law, who worked with Minghella on The Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain and Breaking And Entering, said he would miss the director "hugely".
He said: "I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Anthony's untimely death.
"I worked with him on three films, more than with any other director, but had come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague.
"He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it on to the screen in a way that always looked effortless.
"He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and, most of all, his family whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love. I shall miss him hugely."
Former prime minister Tony Blair said Minghella, who directed him in a party election broadcast for Labour, was a "wonderful human being".
"Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest calibre," he said.
Fellow film director Lord Puttnam said the death was a "shattering blow" to the industry.
He said: "I am shattered. He was a very important person in the film community because not only was he a fine, fine writer ... and made the transfer into becoming a really excellent director, he was also a really beautiful man. I just spoke to Alan Parker and it was the line Alan used: he was a beautiful man; he was a lot of fun to be with; he was thoughtful and intelligent."
Lord Puttnam said Minghella had been "a storyteller in the classic British tradition". He compared him with David Lean, saying he was particularly good at inspiring great performances from actresses.
The film-maker recently completed work on the Botswana-set comedy, The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which he directed after co-writing with Four Weddings and a Funeral scribe Richard Curtis. An adaptation of the Alexander McCall Smith novel, it had been due to premiere on BBC1 on Easter Monday.
Minghella had two projects in the pipeline: New York, I Love You, a celluloid ode to the Big Apple for which he had written and directed a segment, and the drama The Ninth Life of Louis Drax.
The director was born on the Isle of Wight, the son of Gloria and Edward Minghella, who owned an ice-cream factory.
His father was Italian-Scottish and his mother came from Leeds, although her ancestors were also Italian. Minghella attended Sandown grammar school and St John's college in Portsmouth. He is a graduate of the University of Hull, where he completed undergraduate and graduate courses, but eventually abandoned his doctoral thesis.
Minghella worked as a television script editor before making his directing debut in 1990 with Truly, Madly, Deeply, a comedy about love and grief starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. The made-for-TV production proved so popular that it received a cinematic release.
The director also received critical plaudits for his 2003 film Cold Mountain. While Minghella himself did not receive any nominations, it saw Renée Zellweger take the Oscar for best supporting actress, with Jude Law picking up a nomination for best actor.
Minghella began his career in theatre, working as a playwright as well as a director. The plays of Beckett were a lifelong fascination - Play and Happy Days provided his directorial debut - and Minghella presided over a starry gala tribute to celebrate the playwright's 100th birthday in 2006, as well as writing a radio play to commemorate the occasion.
Two volumes of Minghella's own plays were published by Methuen, and he won a number of awards for his theatre writing in the mid-80s.
He returned to the stage in 2005 with a cinematically lavish staging of Puccini's Madam Butterfly at the English National Opera, which disappointed critics but was enthusiastically received by audiences. Last year, it was announced he would direct and write the libretto for a new work at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the 2011-12 season
At the time of his death Minghella had recently relinquished his role as chairman of the British Film Institute. He was replaced by the former director-general of the BBC, Greg Dyke, on March 1. Minghella was made a CBE in the 2001 Queen's birthday honours list. He was married to Carolyn Choa and had two grown-up children, Max and Hannah.
Tuesday 26 February 2008
m e d ii a s t o 0 o r y..*
Pakistan bans YouTube over anti-Islamic film clips
Pakistan's government has banned access to the video-clip website YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies posted on the site, an official said yesterday.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority told the country's 70 internet service providers that the popular website would be blocked until further notice.
The authority did not specify what the offensive material was, but a PTA official said the ban concerned a trailer for an forthcoming film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders. The film portrays Islam as a fascist religion prone to inciting violence against women and homosexuals.
The unnamed official said the PTA had also blocked websites showing the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The drawings were originally printed in European newspapers in 2006, but were reprinted by some papers last week.
The PTA urged internet users to write to YouTube and request the removal of the films, saying that the authorities would stop blocking the video-sharing site once that had happened.
Pakistan is not the only country to have blocked access to YouTube. In January, a Turkish court ordered the site to be blocked on account of video clips that allegedly broke the law by insulting the country's founding father, Kemal Ataturk.
Last spring the Thai government banned YouTube for four months because of clips regarded as offensive to the country's revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Moroccans were unable to access YouTube last year after users posted footage critical of Morocco's treatment of the people of Western Sahara.
m e d ii a sto0ory
Channel 4 names documentaries chief
The Channel 4 executive behind City of Vice and the broadcaster's controversial investigation into the death of Princess Diana has been named the station's head of documentaries.
Hamish Mykura replaces Angus MacQueen, who resigned last month to return to film-making.
Mykura is currently the head of specialist factual at Channel 4, overseeing the channel's history, science and religion output.
His commissions include Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel, which caused controversy last year when it used pictures of the crash that killed Princess Diana despite a personal plea from her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Another Mykura commission, Martin Durkin documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle, also sparked a row when it criticised the consensus on global warming.
Mykura's more recent credits include five-part historical drama City of Vice and feature-length documentary, Day of the Kamikaze.
He will continue to report to Channel 4 head of programmes, Julian Bellamy.
"The range and quality of Channel 4's documentary output tends to be a leading indicator of how effectively we're delivering against our broader public service remit, so I'm delighted a commissioner of Hamish's experience and insight is eager to take up this key role," said Bellamy.
Other Mykura commissions include The Human Footprint, Richard Dawkins' Enemies of Reason, historical parenting series Bringing Up Baby and feature-length historical drama The Relief of Belsen. He was also responsible for Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand and 9/11: The Falling Man.
Mykura said: "The documentary brief at Channel 4 is one of the most exciting and varied commissioning roles within television, ranging from popular innovations like The Secret Millionaire and Meet the Natives to feature-length landmarks like the Lie of the Land. It represents an irresistible new challenge."
He joined Channel 4 in 2001 as commissioning editor, history, becoming head of history in 2003 and later taking on additional oversight of the channel's religion and science programming.
Mykura previously worked for independent producers Blakeway Productions and Mentorn, and spent 10 years at the BBC.
Tuesday 12 February 2008
Guardian Story
British reporter kidnapped in Basra
Michael Howard
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday February 12 2008
Iraqi security forces in Basra were today engaged in "an intensive hunt" for a British reporter and his Iraqi interpreter who were abducted from their hotel by a gang of masked and armed men.
Basra police said the two men, who work for the US television network CBS, were seized at Basra's Sultan Palace hotel on Sunday morning. Police sources said one man had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the raid.
CBS yesterday confirmed that two of its journalists were missing, but it did not name them. The network appealed to other media "not to speculate on the identities of those involved" until more information was available.
In London, a foreign office spokesperson said she was aware that western citizens had been reported missing in Iraq, and that the FCO was looking into the matter "with some urgency".
The news of the kidnapping came as the bullet-riddled body of a young Iraqi journalist was found on the streets of Baghdad, two days after he had left his office to buy supplies.
Hisham Michwit Hamdan, 27, had not been seen by colleagues since leaving the offices of the Young Journalists League, an independent media watchdog, to buy stationery at a market in the Bab al-Mudham area.
The murder and the kidnapping were a reminder that despite recent security gains, Iraq remains the world's most dangerous country for journalists.
According to a report by Reporters Without Borders, 47 journalists lost their lives in Iraq in 2007, up from 41 in 2006, while 25 were kidnapped. The vast majority of the victims were Iraqi citizens. The only foreign journalist killed last year was a Russian photographer who was killed in a bomb blast north of Baghdad. Most of the hostages were freed unharmed, Reporters Without Borders said.
If the accounts of the latest kidnapping in Basra are confirmed, it would be the first abduction of a western reporter in Iraq since Jill Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor was seized and her driver killed in western Baghdad in January 2006. She was released two months later.
The British army transferred security in Basra to Iraqi forces in December. Since then, Iraq's second largest city has been generally quieter, but there are occasional eruptions of violence as Shia political parties, militias and criminal gangs continue to battle each other for dominance.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said three journalists had been abducted in Basra since 2004. Freelancer James Brandon was released, but Steven Vincent, also a freelancer, and Fakher Haider of the New York Times were later found shot dead.
The Basra office of the radical Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr today appealed for the release of the CBS staff. "We condemn such events and we call on security forces to help in their release," an official said.
Michael Howard
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday February 12 2008
Iraqi security forces in Basra were today engaged in "an intensive hunt" for a British reporter and his Iraqi interpreter who were abducted from their hotel by a gang of masked and armed men.
Basra police said the two men, who work for the US television network CBS, were seized at Basra's Sultan Palace hotel on Sunday morning. Police sources said one man had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the raid.
CBS yesterday confirmed that two of its journalists were missing, but it did not name them. The network appealed to other media "not to speculate on the identities of those involved" until more information was available.
In London, a foreign office spokesperson said she was aware that western citizens had been reported missing in Iraq, and that the FCO was looking into the matter "with some urgency".
The news of the kidnapping came as the bullet-riddled body of a young Iraqi journalist was found on the streets of Baghdad, two days after he had left his office to buy supplies.
Hisham Michwit Hamdan, 27, had not been seen by colleagues since leaving the offices of the Young Journalists League, an independent media watchdog, to buy stationery at a market in the Bab al-Mudham area.
The murder and the kidnapping were a reminder that despite recent security gains, Iraq remains the world's most dangerous country for journalists.
According to a report by Reporters Without Borders, 47 journalists lost their lives in Iraq in 2007, up from 41 in 2006, while 25 were kidnapped. The vast majority of the victims were Iraqi citizens. The only foreign journalist killed last year was a Russian photographer who was killed in a bomb blast north of Baghdad. Most of the hostages were freed unharmed, Reporters Without Borders said.
If the accounts of the latest kidnapping in Basra are confirmed, it would be the first abduction of a western reporter in Iraq since Jill Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor was seized and her driver killed in western Baghdad in January 2006. She was released two months later.
The British army transferred security in Basra to Iraqi forces in December. Since then, Iraq's second largest city has been generally quieter, but there are occasional eruptions of violence as Shia political parties, militias and criminal gangs continue to battle each other for dominance.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said three journalists had been abducted in Basra since 2004. Freelancer James Brandon was released, but Steven Vincent, also a freelancer, and Fakher Haider of the New York Times were later found shot dead.
The Basra office of the radical Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr today appealed for the release of the CBS staff. "We condemn such events and we call on security forces to help in their release," an official said.
Tuesday 5 February 2008
Guardian Sto0ory
ITV1 lost prime time share in January as its new-look schedule bedded in, but Channel 4 was the biggest ratings loser among the five main networks.
There was better news for ITV1 across the day, with the network averaging an audience share of 18.1% between 9.30am and 1am last month, only slightly down from 18.2% in January 2007, according to Barb/Infosys figures seen by MediaGuardian.co.uk.
Channel 4 fell from 10.4% to 8.1% compared with January 2007, or to 8.7% if the new +1 channel is factored in, between 9.30am and 1am. BBC1 went down from 22.3% to 21.6% year on year.
In prime time - between 7pm and 10.30pm - ITV1 suffered a bigger fall in share than BBC1, down from 26% to 24.2%; while BBC1 was down one percentage point from 23.8% to 22.8%.
However, in relative terms Channel 4 took the biggest prime time ratings hit last month - not surprisingly, given the absence of Celebrity Big Brother. Channel 4's share in prime time fell from 10.3% to 8%, or 8.5%, including the +1 service.
These figures suggest that ITV1's daytime programming is propping up the network's overall audience share, while its new look primetime schedule finds its feet, complete with the resurrected News at Ten.BBC2 saw its 9.30am to 1am share fall from 8.7% to 8.3%, compared with January 2007. In prime time the network almost held its own, down from 8.9% to 8.8%.
Channel Five kept prime time share stable at 5.2%. But Five lost half a percentage point between 9.30am and 1am across January, down from 5.4% to 4.9%.
Channel 4's decline stems mainly from losses in the 9pm hour, the berth of the highly controversial Celebrity Big Brother last year.
Share on Mondays to Fridays fell from 16.1% in January 2007 to 12% last month in the 9pm hour, with the network's audience share among 16- to 34-year-olds almost halving from 25.8% to 13.1%.
Closer analysis of the crucial 9pm hour on weekdays shows that, year on year, ITV1 has closed the gap with BBC1, although it is losing out to its chief rival on three nights out of five.
In the past four weeks, ITV1 shows have averaged 4.3 million viewers and an 18% share in the slot, compared with BBC1's 4.4 million, also an 18% share, according to data compiled by MediaGuardian.co.uk.
The comparable period a year ago saw BBC1 average 5.7 million viewers and a 23% share, while ITV1 averaged 4.7 million and 20%.
Some of ITV1's new shows - The Palace on Monday, Ladette to Lady on Tuesday and the pairing of Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach on Friday - are failing to deliver ratings to match BBC1's shows.
But ITV1 is a thumping winner on Thursday, with returning drama Trial & Retribution averaging nearly double BBC1's Fairy Tales.
Honours are almost even on Wednesday night, when ITV1's new Amanda Redman drama Honest has just about edged out BBC1's offerings, which have varied from live FA Cup football to Crimewatch and a repeat of Mel Gibson film What Women Want.
While BBC1 regularly wins with Mistresses on Tuesday night and New Tricks repeats on Friday, it is suffering in comparison with last year, when Waking the Dead, Judge John Deed and Five Days all fuelled its ratings success.
There was better news for ITV1 across the day, with the network averaging an audience share of 18.1% between 9.30am and 1am last month, only slightly down from 18.2% in January 2007, according to Barb/Infosys figures seen by MediaGuardian.co.uk.
Channel 4 fell from 10.4% to 8.1% compared with January 2007, or to 8.7% if the new +1 channel is factored in, between 9.30am and 1am. BBC1 went down from 22.3% to 21.6% year on year.
In prime time - between 7pm and 10.30pm - ITV1 suffered a bigger fall in share than BBC1, down from 26% to 24.2%; while BBC1 was down one percentage point from 23.8% to 22.8%.
However, in relative terms Channel 4 took the biggest prime time ratings hit last month - not surprisingly, given the absence of Celebrity Big Brother. Channel 4's share in prime time fell from 10.3% to 8%, or 8.5%, including the +1 service.
These figures suggest that ITV1's daytime programming is propping up the network's overall audience share, while its new look primetime schedule finds its feet, complete with the resurrected News at Ten.BBC2 saw its 9.30am to 1am share fall from 8.7% to 8.3%, compared with January 2007. In prime time the network almost held its own, down from 8.9% to 8.8%.
Channel Five kept prime time share stable at 5.2%. But Five lost half a percentage point between 9.30am and 1am across January, down from 5.4% to 4.9%.
Channel 4's decline stems mainly from losses in the 9pm hour, the berth of the highly controversial Celebrity Big Brother last year.
Share on Mondays to Fridays fell from 16.1% in January 2007 to 12% last month in the 9pm hour, with the network's audience share among 16- to 34-year-olds almost halving from 25.8% to 13.1%.
Closer analysis of the crucial 9pm hour on weekdays shows that, year on year, ITV1 has closed the gap with BBC1, although it is losing out to its chief rival on three nights out of five.
In the past four weeks, ITV1 shows have averaged 4.3 million viewers and an 18% share in the slot, compared with BBC1's 4.4 million, also an 18% share, according to data compiled by MediaGuardian.co.uk.
The comparable period a year ago saw BBC1 average 5.7 million viewers and a 23% share, while ITV1 averaged 4.7 million and 20%.
Some of ITV1's new shows - The Palace on Monday, Ladette to Lady on Tuesday and the pairing of Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach on Friday - are failing to deliver ratings to match BBC1's shows.
But ITV1 is a thumping winner on Thursday, with returning drama Trial & Retribution averaging nearly double BBC1's Fairy Tales.
Honours are almost even on Wednesday night, when ITV1's new Amanda Redman drama Honest has just about edged out BBC1's offerings, which have varied from live FA Cup football to Crimewatch and a repeat of Mel Gibson film What Women Want.
While BBC1 regularly wins with Mistresses on Tuesday night and New Tricks repeats on Friday, it is suffering in comparison with last year, when Waking the Dead, Judge John Deed and Five Days all fuelled its ratings success.
Saturday 26 January 2008
Branagh to star in Newsnight Iraq films
Mark Sweney and Tara Conlan
Thursday January 24 2008
The BBC has signed up Kenneth Branagh, Harriet Walter and Art Malik to appear in a series of special Newsnight mini-dramas, called 10 Days to War, marking the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion.
Due for broadcast in March, the 10- to 12-minute films will run in Newsnight's regular slot on BBC2 at 10.30pm.
Kenneth Branagh: will star as Colonel Tim Collins. Photograph: AP They will be followed immediately by special editions of Newsnight, which will allow the current affairs show to question "the real players about the events of 2003", according to the Newsnight editor, Peter Barron.
A total of eight short films, which will air on BBC2 between March 10 and 19, will chart the countdown to the eventual military action in Iraq.
The mini-dramas are a collaboration between Newsnight, BBC Vision and the BBC factual department.
10 Days to War was today described by BBC2 controller Roly Keating at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch as "the most schedule-testing thing" his channel is doing.
Each drama will be 10 to 12 minutes long and the series will tell the story of key events including the hunt for weapons of mass destruction, the political manoeuvring in the lead-up to the decision to invade and the tense build-up to the invasion itself.
Branagh has been confirmed to star as Colonel Tim Collins, the British Army officer who uttered the famous lines "We go to liberate not to conquer... if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory" in a speech to his troops as they prepared to invade Iraq in March 2003.
He will appear in the final mini-drama of the series, while Malik and Toby Jones will star in the second film, which will be about Iraqi exiles.
Another of the short films will feature Harriet Walter and focus on two Labour MPs battling with issues of loyalty and personal conscience during the crucial House of Commons vote on the war.
The BBC describes the series of dramas, the first collaboration of its kind between BBC Vision and BBC News, as "part thriller, part political drama".
No details have yet been revealed on the other films in the series.
The dramas have been penned by writer Ronan Bennett, the writer behind Hamburg Cell and Face, and executive produced by Colin Barr, who has previously worked on The Secretary Who Stole £4million.
BBC drama productions has also announced details of the BBC1 adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorritt.
The production, from Sense and Sensibility and Bleak House writer Andrew Davies, stars Spooks actor Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur Clennam. The rest of the cast are yet to be revealed.
The 15-part series, commissioned by the BBC Fiction controller, Jane Tranter, will begin filming in April and is directed by Adam Smith.
Mark Sweney and Tara Conlan
Thursday January 24 2008
The BBC has signed up Kenneth Branagh, Harriet Walter and Art Malik to appear in a series of special Newsnight mini-dramas, called 10 Days to War, marking the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion.
Due for broadcast in March, the 10- to 12-minute films will run in Newsnight's regular slot on BBC2 at 10.30pm.
Kenneth Branagh: will star as Colonel Tim Collins. Photograph: AP They will be followed immediately by special editions of Newsnight, which will allow the current affairs show to question "the real players about the events of 2003", according to the Newsnight editor, Peter Barron.
A total of eight short films, which will air on BBC2 between March 10 and 19, will chart the countdown to the eventual military action in Iraq.
The mini-dramas are a collaboration between Newsnight, BBC Vision and the BBC factual department.
10 Days to War was today described by BBC2 controller Roly Keating at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch as "the most schedule-testing thing" his channel is doing.
Each drama will be 10 to 12 minutes long and the series will tell the story of key events including the hunt for weapons of mass destruction, the political manoeuvring in the lead-up to the decision to invade and the tense build-up to the invasion itself.
Branagh has been confirmed to star as Colonel Tim Collins, the British Army officer who uttered the famous lines "We go to liberate not to conquer... if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory" in a speech to his troops as they prepared to invade Iraq in March 2003.
He will appear in the final mini-drama of the series, while Malik and Toby Jones will star in the second film, which will be about Iraqi exiles.
Another of the short films will feature Harriet Walter and focus on two Labour MPs battling with issues of loyalty and personal conscience during the crucial House of Commons vote on the war.
The BBC describes the series of dramas, the first collaboration of its kind between BBC Vision and BBC News, as "part thriller, part political drama".
No details have yet been revealed on the other films in the series.
The dramas have been penned by writer Ronan Bennett, the writer behind Hamburg Cell and Face, and executive produced by Colin Barr, who has previously worked on The Secretary Who Stole £4million.
BBC drama productions has also announced details of the BBC1 adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorritt.
The production, from Sense and Sensibility and Bleak House writer Andrew Davies, stars Spooks actor Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur Clennam. The rest of the cast are yet to be revealed.
The 15-part series, commissioned by the BBC Fiction controller, Jane Tranter, will begin filming in April and is directed by Adam Smith.
Tuesday 22 January 2008
Guardian Media Story!
Musharraf finally lifts ban on TV news channel
Julian Borger, diplomatic editorTuesday January 22, 2008
The Guardian
Pervez Musharraf lifted a ban on Pakistan's most popular television station yesterday, less than a month before parliamentary elections which could be pivotal in the country's return to democracy.
Geo News and its sister sports channel began broadcasting at 6pm yesterday, just hours after the Pakistani president began his eight-day EU tour in which he is seeking to reassure Pakistan's partners that the democratic transition is still on course, despite the assassination of Benazir Bhutto last month.
Speaking in Brussels, Musharraf referred to what he called the west's "obsession" with democracy and appealed for Pakistan to be given more time to improve its record on human rights and civil liberties.
"While we believe in democracy and human rights and civil liberties please allow us time to reach what you have reached. And you have taken centuries to reach it," he said. "We are determined to hold free, fair and transparent elections ... There is no possibility of it being rigged."
Musharraf had been under pressure from Europe to lift the ban on Geo News, one of the restrictions left after a six-week state of emergency ended last month.
But the news channel, which had intensively covered his stand-off with the Pakistani judiciary last year, had to agree to a code of conduct, limiting criticism of the head of state, before going back on air.
Geo had also been forced to drop shows by journalists unpopular with the regime, claimed Reporters Without Borders. "This constitutes yet further evidence that censorship is unfortunately still the rule just a few weeks before the elections scheduled for February 18," the Paris-based organisation said in a statement.
Julian Borger, diplomatic editorTuesday January 22, 2008
The Guardian
Pervez Musharraf lifted a ban on Pakistan's most popular television station yesterday, less than a month before parliamentary elections which could be pivotal in the country's return to democracy.
Geo News and its sister sports channel began broadcasting at 6pm yesterday, just hours after the Pakistani president began his eight-day EU tour in which he is seeking to reassure Pakistan's partners that the democratic transition is still on course, despite the assassination of Benazir Bhutto last month.
Speaking in Brussels, Musharraf referred to what he called the west's "obsession" with democracy and appealed for Pakistan to be given more time to improve its record on human rights and civil liberties.
"While we believe in democracy and human rights and civil liberties please allow us time to reach what you have reached. And you have taken centuries to reach it," he said. "We are determined to hold free, fair and transparent elections ... There is no possibility of it being rigged."
Musharraf had been under pressure from Europe to lift the ban on Geo News, one of the restrictions left after a six-week state of emergency ended last month.
But the news channel, which had intensively covered his stand-off with the Pakistani judiciary last year, had to agree to a code of conduct, limiting criticism of the head of state, before going back on air.
Geo had also been forced to drop shows by journalists unpopular with the regime, claimed Reporters Without Borders. "This constitutes yet further evidence that censorship is unfortunately still the rule just a few weeks before the elections scheduled for February 18," the Paris-based organisation said in a statement.
Thursday 3 January 2008
An advertisement for "the deeply superficial series" Nip/Tuck.
The image is set in an operating theatre which provides the audience with generic conventions for a hospital/surgical drama.
The two lead male characters are seen suited, which could be a reflection of their wealth and their social class, being professionals they are in social bracket A. This could imply that the audience is similar to the chracters with B's and aspirational C's. From their facial expressions they seem sinister and serious which could reflect their characters as well as the nature of the show. Such beauty based series are usually targetted at females however the main characters here are men, this shows that males are being targetted for this show, as well as reflecting the changing society, which accepts that the modern man,"metrosexual", can also be concerned about his appearance.
The men also seem very casual despite having two women wearing little just walking around and laying on the operating table, this could imply that they are used to such behaviour, which could suggest there are sexual elements within the show, therefore being targetted at a more mature audience.
In the shot we see two women who are "scantily clad" in their skin tone bra and underwear. The costume implies nudity and being completely bare and ready for change. Their poses are quite dramatic which could mean that the show is full of drama and seeing as it is not an everyday thing to see women in a theatre like this could imply people in the show do not live an everyday type of life.
The woman on the operating table has some sort of operating equipment through her chest which shows the programmes strong surgical theme and that the characters are willing to die for the sake of vanity.
The surgical instrument in the womans chest could be considered to be a phallic symbol. As women perfect themselves they will become more attractive as well as incharge, so with this instrument the men are reasserting their dominance. Also the women in order to gain perfection have to go to male surgeons, so it is the man who perfects the women, again enforcing a patriarchal society.
The lighting is very dark to show the serious tone of the program. The lighting creates a very dark side to the show and creates drama. The lighting focuses on the men and only their faces can be seen clearly showing their importance and telling us who we should focus on in the show.
The two womens faces are shaded so obviously they are not characters but are just there to show the role of women within the show, women are the ones that seek surgery. This could imply it is women who who are vain and want surgery to gain "perfection".
The image is set in an operating theatre which provides the audience with generic conventions for a hospital/surgical drama.
The two lead male characters are seen suited, which could be a reflection of their wealth and their social class, being professionals they are in social bracket A. This could imply that the audience is similar to the chracters with B's and aspirational C's. From their facial expressions they seem sinister and serious which could reflect their characters as well as the nature of the show. Such beauty based series are usually targetted at females however the main characters here are men, this shows that males are being targetted for this show, as well as reflecting the changing society, which accepts that the modern man,"metrosexual", can also be concerned about his appearance.
The men also seem very casual despite having two women wearing little just walking around and laying on the operating table, this could imply that they are used to such behaviour, which could suggest there are sexual elements within the show, therefore being targetted at a more mature audience.
In the shot we see two women who are "scantily clad" in their skin tone bra and underwear. The costume implies nudity and being completely bare and ready for change. Their poses are quite dramatic which could mean that the show is full of drama and seeing as it is not an everyday thing to see women in a theatre like this could imply people in the show do not live an everyday type of life.
The woman on the operating table has some sort of operating equipment through her chest which shows the programmes strong surgical theme and that the characters are willing to die for the sake of vanity.
The surgical instrument in the womans chest could be considered to be a phallic symbol. As women perfect themselves they will become more attractive as well as incharge, so with this instrument the men are reasserting their dominance. Also the women in order to gain perfection have to go to male surgeons, so it is the man who perfects the women, again enforcing a patriarchal society.
The lighting is very dark to show the serious tone of the program. The lighting creates a very dark side to the show and creates drama. The lighting focuses on the men and only their faces can be seen clearly showing their importance and telling us who we should focus on in the show.
The two womens faces are shaded so obviously they are not characters but are just there to show the role of women within the show, women are the ones that seek surgery. This could imply it is women who who are vain and want surgery to gain "perfection".
The title "Mean Girls" is placed vertically just under half way across the page. This can be seen as unconventional as the majority of film posters have the title horizontally and placed at the top. This could insinuate this movie is an unconventional teen movie and different from the rest. The title is written in a purple font which connotes feminism as it is not a harsh purple, also if the title was to be written in a stereotypically feminine colour such as pink it might not work as powerfully and the audience may just assume the film is another "girly" teen movie, a style of film which was dominate during the 90's.
The word mean is also written in bold lettering which makes it the more significant word in the title. The word emphasises the nature of the girls within the film as well as dennoting their characteristics. However the word mean also connotes child like qualities as it is a word often associated and used with childish fights and children. This could imply the rivalry and competition between the girls is childish and petty and almost superficial like the characters themselves.
One of the main images is of the lead, Lindsay Lohan, who is standing to a side looking over her shoulder. Her facial expressions shows her to be in almost fear of the girls behind her, although she is standing straight which could connote confidence her position is seen as insecure compared to the other girls on the page. This could be reflective of her character and the relationship between her and these girls within the movie, they are more secure and dominant than her in the film. Also standing with her back to them could symbolise a sense of "back stabbing" which is associated with teenage girls and could be a theme within the movie. Her costume is simple and is a red top with a pair of jeans. The red of the top could be a reflection of the trouble to come concerning the character. The jeans connote a more comfortable and casual nature which is missing from the other girls in the shot. Her being the main image and significantly bigger than the other three girls on the page could show the movie is using her to further sell it. Lindsay Lohan who is often associated with teen movies, rebelliousness and being a teen icon in Hollywood is having her public image used to attract girls who may admire or aspire to be like her to watch the film. Lndsay Lohan is also often type cast in these teenage movies which further sets up generic conventions for the film. Her name is also positioned on the poster above her head showing her to be a key selling point of the film.
In the background there are the other three girls, who although smaller in size to Lindsay Lohan, are assumed to be key in the film as they are the only other characters presented to the audience. The main girl is standing in a confident and domineering position all the while appearing to be passing judgement on you. Unlike Lindsay's character she is looking directly at the audience which makes it seem she is passing judgement on the audience. This is relatable for teenage girls, who are clearly the target audience of the film, being a relatable situation further draws the audience and attracts them to the film. The two girls shown behind her are also in a similar position which makes it seem like they are almost ready to attack, which could explain the facial expression of the lead. The fact that the other two girls are stood behind her rather than alongside her shows that she is more signifcant than them and is probably the leader of their group within the movie. Unlike Lindsay Lohan's character they are dressed more feminine, attractively and somewhat superficially with their short skirts and high heels. The way they are dressed could reflect their characters within the film and sets up character expectations of them being "stuck up" and superficial and image based. But also attract this type of image concerned teenagers to watch the movie.
The catch line at the bottom in bold says "Watch Your Back" which confirms any movie and character expectations the audience may have had about the idea of "back stabbing" and female rivalry, the leads fear of the girls and the three girls dominant position.
At the bottom we see the name of another actress within the film, Tina Fey, unlike Lindsay's name this name is written in white which could show her distance from these girls as well as her neautral character. She is not shown on the poster which could show that she is not a key character, but also could show her name is so well known the audience do not need to see who she is to be aware of her previous works. Tina Fey is known as a comedian as well as actress so her starring in the film provides the audience with the assumption that the movie is a comedy.
The word mean is also written in bold lettering which makes it the more significant word in the title. The word emphasises the nature of the girls within the film as well as dennoting their characteristics. However the word mean also connotes child like qualities as it is a word often associated and used with childish fights and children. This could imply the rivalry and competition between the girls is childish and petty and almost superficial like the characters themselves.
One of the main images is of the lead, Lindsay Lohan, who is standing to a side looking over her shoulder. Her facial expressions shows her to be in almost fear of the girls behind her, although she is standing straight which could connote confidence her position is seen as insecure compared to the other girls on the page. This could be reflective of her character and the relationship between her and these girls within the movie, they are more secure and dominant than her in the film. Also standing with her back to them could symbolise a sense of "back stabbing" which is associated with teenage girls and could be a theme within the movie. Her costume is simple and is a red top with a pair of jeans. The red of the top could be a reflection of the trouble to come concerning the character. The jeans connote a more comfortable and casual nature which is missing from the other girls in the shot. Her being the main image and significantly bigger than the other three girls on the page could show the movie is using her to further sell it. Lindsay Lohan who is often associated with teen movies, rebelliousness and being a teen icon in Hollywood is having her public image used to attract girls who may admire or aspire to be like her to watch the film. Lndsay Lohan is also often type cast in these teenage movies which further sets up generic conventions for the film. Her name is also positioned on the poster above her head showing her to be a key selling point of the film.
In the background there are the other three girls, who although smaller in size to Lindsay Lohan, are assumed to be key in the film as they are the only other characters presented to the audience. The main girl is standing in a confident and domineering position all the while appearing to be passing judgement on you. Unlike Lindsay's character she is looking directly at the audience which makes it seem she is passing judgement on the audience. This is relatable for teenage girls, who are clearly the target audience of the film, being a relatable situation further draws the audience and attracts them to the film. The two girls shown behind her are also in a similar position which makes it seem like they are almost ready to attack, which could explain the facial expression of the lead. The fact that the other two girls are stood behind her rather than alongside her shows that she is more signifcant than them and is probably the leader of their group within the movie. Unlike Lindsay Lohan's character they are dressed more feminine, attractively and somewhat superficially with their short skirts and high heels. The way they are dressed could reflect their characters within the film and sets up character expectations of them being "stuck up" and superficial and image based. But also attract this type of image concerned teenagers to watch the movie.
The catch line at the bottom in bold says "Watch Your Back" which confirms any movie and character expectations the audience may have had about the idea of "back stabbing" and female rivalry, the leads fear of the girls and the three girls dominant position.
At the bottom we see the name of another actress within the film, Tina Fey, unlike Lindsay's name this name is written in white which could show her distance from these girls as well as her neautral character. She is not shown on the poster which could show that she is not a key character, but also could show her name is so well known the audience do not need to see who she is to be aware of her previous works. Tina Fey is known as a comedian as well as actress so her starring in the film provides the audience with the assumption that the movie is a comedy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)