News Summary: 14th May 2010

May 14th, 2010 - 

New Government Stuff

As Jeremy settles into his new job as Culture Secretary, our favourite arts blog gives him some advice, more HERE.

Charlotte Higgins speculates on how it will go HERE, and Alistair Smith in The Stage kicks off cuts speculation, more HERE.

TV

Singapore has been accused by the pay-television industry of breaching WTO rules and damaging its future as an international media hub by moving to force broadcasters to share content. More HERE.

Press

ABC figures for April are out, with Sundays HERE and dailies HERE.

Considering the election coverage HERE.

Architecture

A question for Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, more HERE.

News Summary: 13th May 2010

May 13th, 2010 - 

New Government stuff

Following the Dave and Nick show, the Ed and Don show, on Hardtalk HERE (NB: we are still waiting for news on Ministerial posts).

Charlotte Higgins speculates on what kind of Culture Secretary Jeremy will be in the Granuiad, HERE. An excellent one, we think!

(Unnecessary) worry over the re-merger of the Olympics department back into DCMS and what it means for media policy. The Olympics civil servants were always based at DCMS and arguably Tessa Jowell’s move to the cabinet office was driven by Brown politicking. More HERE

Thoughtful, insightful stuff from Grayson Perry: ‘We all care about the quality of our culture, but are the tears shed at an opera any better than those shed at a football match? Are they better quality tears? People sometimes talk as if there is a vintage type of tear that is shed only at Glyndebourne.’ HERE

Press

The new coalition government has promised a review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech, more HERE

Fashion

At 10 Downing Street with Sam Cam HERE

Radio

Audience figures for Chris Evan’s Radio 2 breakfast show are up by 1 million listeners, which is good news for Evan, though as the Guardian points out, raises further questions about the size and dominance of the BBC vis the wider radio landscape. More HERE

Theatre

What do Nick Clegg and Samuel Beckett have in common? HERE

Michael Sheen is taking on Hamlet at the Young Vic with Jerusalem director Ian Rickson HERE

Poetry

The Michael Marks awards for poetry pamphlets shortlist has been announced, more HERE

Opera

The BBC is launching its biggest ever series on opera HERE

Film

Competition and controversy at Cannes HERE

Dance

Plug for a dance charity from Stephen Fry HERE

Daily News Summary: 12th May 2010

May 12th, 2010 - 

ITV

The Competition Commission has ruled to keep CRR today, but added that the mechanism should be dropped at some point and that the entire UK TV ad sales market needs a review, more HERE

Press

Johnston Press the owner of the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post expects its first revenue growth for three years in the third quarter, although cuts continue, more HERE.

Twitter

And the glitch and the fix, HERE.

Film

As Cannes begins, concern over the lack of women directors on the Cannes list for the Palme d’Or in the Times HERE and the Guardian HERE

Video Games

Microsoft and LG bring 3D gaming to Xbox 360, having sign a memorandum of understanding to cross-promote 3D technology more HERE

Fashion

A second showing for Liberty’s on the daily news blog this week, as they report sales up 41% in the most recent quarter, more HERE

Theatre

Why Enron didn’t survive on Broadway, HERE

And finally

Hadley Freeman on the accuracy of The Day Today and Anchorman, more HERE

Daily News Summary: 11th May 2010

May 11th, 2010 - 

Hung Parliament Stuff

General media excitement / apoplexy. We know you’re having fun chaps, but do try to keep it down to a dull roar, more HERE and a full round up in the New Yorker, who are finding this all particularly entertaining, HERE.

Publishing

Google is set to join the e-book battle by launching its digital book service this summer, more HERE.

Radio

BBC’s 6 Music and Asian Network have won a hat-trick at the Sony radio awards, congratulations to all the winners HERE.

Fashion

Liberty of London is to launch a men’s wear collection – Ed will be first in the queue, more HERE.

Design

Ed presented an award to Anya Hindmarch at Conde Nast Travellers Design and Innovation Awards last night, more HERE.

Social networking

Skype is considering offering adverts in order to stay free, more HERE.

There has been a prosecution for a menacing Twitter message HERE.

News Summary 10th May 2010

May 10th, 2010 - 

Election stuff

The Sinking BBC ship (though we know someone who was on it, and apparently it was fun if you were there): HERE

General Election Adverts HERE

The influence of television on the general election HERE

Music

Record sales breakdown by genre for 2009- pop is fighting back, and an entertaining rundown of official No 1 singles on election days since 1955, HERE

BBC Proms sales top 80,000 tickets HERE

Social Networking

The genius of Twitter HERE

Facebook fixes embarrassing security flaw  HERE

Technology and business

Apple will charge UK consumers more than US consumers, citing ‘higher business costs’ as a reason, more HERE

Will Lewis’s exit puts big question over Telegraph’s digital strategy – Award-winning editor had differences of opinion with Murdoch MacLennan over future of Euston Partners HERE

Opera

Baby Opera, yes really HERE

Visual Arts

3d street art: HERE

Dance

Akram khan: HERE

Film

Four Lions film boycott urged by 7/7 families HERE

Language

How English erased its roots to become the global tongue of the 21s century HERE

Awards

The TV Bafta Nominations are out, more HERE

Daily News Summary: 30th April 2010

April 30th, 2010 - 

Sky

BT and Top Up TV have confirmed they will launch cut-price subscriptions to Sky Sports channels in time for the new football season. This has been made possible after BskyB reached an interim settlement to drop its fight to get the Competition Appeals Tribunal to implement a ‘stay’ to postpone the implementation of Ofcom’s ruling that it must cut the amount it charges to rival pay-TV operators to offer Sky Sports by more that 20%.

The CAT has brokered a deal under which Virgin Media, BT and Top Up TV can all take advantage of the reduced wholesale price for the two Sky Sports channels but they must place the difference between the new regulated price and Sky’s original wholesale price in a so-called ‘escrow’ account.

If Sky wins the case (likely to be held in September), then the money will be handed over to the satellite broadcaster as it will be able to put its prices up again. If Sky loses, the cash will be returned to the three companies. More HERE.

Film

After seven years and 24 outings (the Darth Vader one was our favourite) Orange’s spoof film board executive and his sidekick Elliott has been scrapped, a sad day indeed, more HERE.

BBC

Alan Yentob explains why the license fee payer should cover him flying business class HERE.

And finally

The Guardian has compiled a helpful selection of Wire quotes that Cameron, Clegg and Brown might have used, more HERE.

Daily news summary: 29th April 2010

April 29th, 2010 - 

TV

Sky is thriving on a surge driven by HD as the take up rate exceeds expectations and the average revenue per user over £500 for the first time. More HERE.

Virgin Media’s chief executive Neil Berkett believes High-definition is the key to growth for his company too, more in the FT HERE.

Tech

The sale of Apple’s iPhone and Ipad is under threat in the US after the International Trade Commission initiated a formal investigation into the company for allegedly infringing a patent covering multi-touch technology, more HERE

Theatre

Congratulations to John Makinson, chief executive of Penguin, who has been appointed at the chairman of the Royal National Theatre, more HERE.

News summary: 28th April 2010

April 28th, 2010 - 

Election stuff

A new way to look at the election – Waterstone’s is reporting that total sales of the election’s manifestos has already overtaken the total achieved during the 2005 general election by 160%. The Lib Dems are up 250% on five years ago, with the Tory manifesto nearly doubling sales, up 193% on 2005, and taking 38% of total sales, with the Lib Dems on 32% and Labour bottom on 30%, more HERE.

Politicians fight shy of the arts, thinks Charlotte Higgins in the Guardian, and she’s not happy about it, more HERE.

Creative Industries

In a letter to today’s Times, CEO of UK Music Feargal Sharkey and Founder of New Deal of the Mind Martin Bright have highlighted the contribution of the creative industries to the UK economy – in excess of £50 billion a year and calls for support for creative entrepreneurs to ‘stimulate investment, employment and art’ more HERE.

Music

We7 shows the ad-funded model can work for online music, covering its running costs for the first time while paying proper royalties to artists, more HERE.

Meanwhile News Corp is backing an US digital music start-up called Beyond Oblivion that is promising to combat piracy by shifting the burden for paying for music to device manufacturers and broadband providers, giving consumers free, legal access to an unlimited number of tracks more HERE.

Online content

Yahoo has struck a deal with the Premier League for the UK online highlights for the next three seasons, more HERE.

Online privacy

Facebook has been criticised by US senators over its plans to share information with third-party websites and called on the site to streamline its increasingly complex privacy settings, more in the FT HERE.

Daily news summary: 27th April 2010

April 27th, 2010 - 
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Election stuff

David Cameron launched our Quality of Life Manifesto yesterday, which reaffirms our commitment to the arts and free museums, more and download the full document HERE see pages 10 and 11 for our specific commitments to the arts.

Peppa Pig withdrew from a Labour election event this morning ‘in the interests of avoiding any controversy or misunderstanding’ more HERE.

BBC

David Cameron has given an interview to the Radio Times pointing out that he is the most pro BBC Tory leader ever, more HERE.

Meanwhile, a group of performers wrote to this Sunday’s Observer HERE to denounce plans to cut the licence fee and accusing us (wrongly) of a cavalier attitude towards the BBC’s independence, more HERE.

Arts

David Hare has interviewed Jeremy and very nearly liked him, more HERE.

Music

BPI figures show a year on year sales increase of 0.9% from 2007 to 2008, the first year on year increase in five years, more from the BPI HERE This marks the first time that the growth in income from digital services such as iTunes has outweighed the decline in sales of CDs, more in the Times HERE, and discussion on what this tells means from Ben Cohen on the Channel 4 News blog HERE.

Spotify has announced plans to link the service with Facebook and Twitter and help to synchronise the service with users’ music collections more HERE.

News summary: 26th April 2010

April 26th, 2010 - 

Old media war

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are going head-to-head in a battle for readers and advertisers, although some media analysts are wondering why Murdoch has picked an old-media battle over investing in new media opportunities. More HERE.

New media war

Facebook is setting up a war with Google, as it prepares to launch a new software platform, Open Graph, more HERE.

Information

In a curious example of information (or non-information) eating itself, The BBC has refused a Freedom of Information request to reveal how many people watched its TV drama about freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke, more HERE.

Visual Art

Artists, critics and readers on 10 years of Tate Modern, more HERE.

BBC Four made a great two part film about fine art students as they graduate from Goldsmith’s MA programme, HERE.

Arts

The National Campaign for the Arts is carrying out a Cultural Workforce Survey, more HERE.