Category Archives: Television industry

Queen’s funeral may break TV records – but it’s no cash bonanza for media industry

Posted on by

A total blackout on TV advertising was agreed with Buckingham Palace following the death of the Queen

• Death of the Queen and King Charles’s accession – latest updates

The death of the Queen and coverage of her funeral will top the ranks of the most-watched broadcasts in British television history, while newspaper publishers have seen an unprecedented boost in sales as mourners seek commemorative copies. And yet the biggest national event in decades will not provide a commercial bonanza for media firms.

ITV has planned its largest-ever outside broadcast, with all of its channels simulcasting ad-free blanket live coverage for the first time in history. The day of the funeral will also be the first time in Channel 4’s four decades on air that it has instituted a 24-hour ad block across its channels.

Continue reading...

Bernard Shaw, CNN’s first chief anchor, dies of pneumonia aged 82

Posted on by

Trailblazing Black news anchor chronicled iconic moments in history from Tiananmen Square to the first Gulf war

The pioneering Black cable news anchor Bernard Shaw, who became a household name in the US with the launch of CNN, has died at the age of 82 after a bout with pneumonia unrelated to Covid-19, his family said Thursday.

When CNN debuted in 1980, Shaw served as the 24/7 news channel’s first chief anchor, and spent more than 20 years there before his retirement in February 2001. He reported on some of the biggest news stories from that era, including China’s deadly quelling of the Tiananmen Square student revolt in 1989, the first Gulf war in 1991 for which he went to Baghdad to report, and the 2000 presidential election, won by George W Bush following a controversial US supreme court ruling.

Continue reading...

BBC One announces Queen’s death and plays national anthem

Posted on by

Broadcaster had earlier cut short Bargain Hunt with Buckingham Palace statement and switched to special coverage

News of the Queen’s death was announced by Huw Edwards at 6.30pm on BBC One, breaking into programming on the BBC’s other channels. The broadcaster then played the national anthem, in line with a well-rehearsed plan that has been practised regularly in recent years.

Earlier, the BBC’s main channel had interrupted Bargain Hunt just after 12.30pm to deliver a statement from Buckingham Palace that said doctors were concerned for her health, and it continued with a BBC News special.

Continue reading...

Oklahoma TV news anchor has partial stroke on live broadcast

Posted on by

Julie Chin, who works for NBC in Tulsa, did not finish broadcast and was taken to hospital, but says she should be ‘just fine’

An Oklahoma TV news anchor suffered a stroke live on air as she read the news about the cancellation of a Nasa rocket launch.

Julie Chin, who works for an NBC station in Tulsa, started to stumble over her words as she read from a teleprompter over the weekend.

Continue reading...

Tracy Grimshaw to depart A Current Affair after 17 years as host

Posted on by

Grimshaw says decision is hers alone and she’s ‘not being shoved out the door by the boys club because I’m too old’

After 17 years in a prime time spot and 40 years on television, Tracy Grimshaw will step down from hosting Nine’s A Current Affair in November.

Grimshaw broke the news live on the program, telling viewers it was her decision to quit and to ignore the gossip magazines if they “start telling you rubbish”.

Continue reading...

Emily Maitlis says ‘active Tory party agent’ shaping BBC news output

Posted on by

Former Newsnight presenter says former No 10 communications chief Sir Robbie Gibb on board acting as ‘arbiter of impartiality’

Emily Maitlis has said a BBC board member is an “active agent of the Conservative party” who is shaping the broadcaster’s news output by acting “as the arbiter of BBC impartiality”.

The former Newsnight presenter highlighted the role of Sir Robbie Gibb, who previously worked as Theresa May’s director of communications and helped to found the rightwing GB News channel.

Continue reading...

Former Fox News politics editor says network stoked ‘paranoia and hatred’

Posted on by

Chris Stirewalter, who was forced out after Donald Trump’s electoral defeat, says Fox failed its viewers with 2020 election coverage

A former Fox News politics editor who was forced out of the conservative television network shortly after its opinions hosts’ preferred candidate Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential race has said that the channel failed its viewers with its election coverage.

In his upcoming memoir, Chris Stirewalt says Fox News resigned its duty to prepare Trump followers for the possibility that he would lose, instead stoking the “black-helicopter-level paranoia and hatred” which fuels white supremacist groups but translates into big ratings.

Continue reading...

Brian Stelter rebukes CNN on final show: ‘It’s not partisan to stand up to demagogues’

Posted on by

Host says, ‘It is not partisan to stand up for decency and democracy and dialogue,’ after CNN cancels media show Reliable Sources

Brian Stelter, host of CNN’s media affairs show Reliable Sources which was cancelled last week after 30 years on air, used his final episode Sunday to make a pointed rebuke of the network’s new bosses and their intention to pursue a more “neutral voice” to its coverage.

“It is not partisan to stand up for decency and democracy and dialogue,” Stelter said in his final monologue, which he stressed was unvetted by CNN management before he delivered it live. “It is not partisan to stand up to demagogues – it’s required, it’s patriotic.”

Continue reading...

BBC staff to publish damning report on planned merger of news channels

Posted on by

Exclusive: internal concerns raised over effect of proposals as broadcaster seeks to make £500m in savings

The BBC’s plan to merge its two rolling news channels could suffer a setback this week when staff publish a damning report that claims the move will have a negative effect on news coverage across BBC radio, TV and online.

The corporation is also braced for the regulator, Ofcom, to make a key announcement about the proposal, while some charities have already aired their concerns.

Continue reading...

CMA investigates sport broadcasters over ‘cartel-like behaviour’

Posted on by

Watchdog says it suspects possible breaches of competition law around purchase of freelance services

The competition watchdog is investigating possible cartel-like behaviour by sport broadcasters including BT Group, ITV, Sky and IMG Media, which includes Premier League Productions, around the purchase of freelance services.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it believes there are “reasonable grounds to suspect one or more breaches of competition law”.

Continue reading...

Channel 4 privatisation plan could be dropped by next prime minister

Posted on by

Tory MPs are ambivalent on the issue and there is uncertainty over what a caretaker government can do

Channel 4’s privatisation could be dropped by the next prime minister, with plans to sell the channel unlikely to be published before September.

Boris Johnson had already signed off on proposals to sell the publicly owned broadcaster, and the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, had been preparing to push the law authorising the change through parliament in the autumn.

Continue reading...

Ofcom may extend TV ad breaks in review of broadcasting rules

Posted on by

Regulator says it may change ad rules in light of growing competition from online streaming platforms

Ofcom has said it may extend the time and frequency allowed for advertising breaks on UK television as part of a review of broadcasting rules.

The regulator said it would consider changing advertising regulations amid market developments including the increasing influence of online streaming services.

Continue reading...

Actors call for better onscreen representation of women over 45

Posted on by

Open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures urges end to entertainment industry’s ‘entrenched’ ageism

Actors including Juliet Stevenson, Meera Syal, David Tennant and Zawe Ashton have called for better onscreen representation of women older than 45 to fight against the “entrenched” ageism of the entertainment industry.

In an open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures, the Acting Your Age Campaign (AYAC) called for equal representation in the UK between men and women over 45 and urged immediate action on a “parity pledge”.

Continue reading...

‘We can’t live with people who support Putin’s war’: the TV chief who fled Russia

Posted on by

When journalists faced jail for reporting on Ukraine, Viktor Muchnik closed down his Siberian TV station and left for Armenia

On the ninth day of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, editor-in-chief Viktor Muchnik gathered the staff of TV2 for a meeting at their small newsroom in the Siberian city of Tomsk.

New wartime laws meant the whole newsroom risked jailtime for reporting on the conflict, Muchnik told them, and TV2 had just been officially blocked by Russia’s communications watchdog, along with many other independent media outlets.

Continue reading...

Israeli forces deliberately shot Shireen Abu Aqleh, Palestinian probe finds

Posted on by

Israel claims the Al Jazeera journalist was killed during a battle between its soldiers and Palestinian militants

A Palestinian investigation into the shooting of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh has concluded that she was deliberately killed by Israeli forces as she tried to flee, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced.

The conclusion echoed the results of a preliminary investigation announced nearly two weeks ago and was widely expected. Israel rejected the findings, with the defence minister, Benny Gantz, calling them, “a blatant lie.”

Continue reading...

BBC to invest £10m and double comedy pilots in bid to find next Fleabag

Posted on by

BBC Comedy development drive to fuel search for ‘relatable British characters’

The BBC will double the number of half-hour comedy pilots it makes and invest an extra £10m in the genre in a bid to find the next Fleabag or Motherland.

Sharing plans for the future of comedy at the corporation, the director of BBC Comedy, Jon Petrie, said his department was investing in its “development process”.

Continue reading...

Kirsty Young to anchor Queen’s platinum jubilee coverage on BBC

Posted on by

Presenter will return to broadcaster for first time since 2018 to oversee weekend of programming

The radio and TV presenter Kirsty Young will return to the BBC for the first time since 2018 to lead the broadcaster’s platinum jubilee coverage.

Young, who presented BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs for 12 years, stepped back from the programme in August 2018 because she had a form of fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body.

Continue reading...

Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue reunite for Neighbours finale

Posted on by

The TV couple are to appear in Australia’s long-running soap opera as production ends after 37 years

They were one of television’s most popular couples, and now they’re getting back together, especially for you – or at least for viewers of Neighbours. Scott and Charlene, played by Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue, will return after more than 30 years for the show’s finale.

Jason Herbison, executive producer of the Australian soap, said the pair were “the ultimate Neighbours couple and it would not feel right to end the show without them”.

Continue reading...

Sarah Ferguson to replace Leigh Sales as host of ABC’s 7.30 program

Posted on by

Former Four Corners presenter has won five Walkley awards in a career with the ABC stretching back to 2008

Investigative reporter Sarah Ferguson will replace Leigh Sales as the presenter of ABC nightly current affairs flagship, 7.30, in July.

Ferguson, who has been reporting from Washington DC for two years, is a forensic long-form reporter and a tough interviewer whose work made headlines when she fronted 7.30 for six months in 2014.

Continue reading...

Sage Steele sues ESPN after remarks on vaccine mandate and Obama’s race

Posted on by
  • SportsCenter host was suspended for comment made on podcast
  • Anchor says network curtailed her right to free speech

ESPN anchor Sage Steele is suing the network after claiming it curtailed her right to free speech over remarks she made last year.

Steele attracted criticism after remarks she made on a podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler last September. During her appearance, the SportsCenter host called ESPN’s vaccine mandate “sick”, said female reporters should change the way they dress to avoid inappropriate comments from male athletes and questioned whether Barack Obama is Black.

Continue reading...