Saturday Sitdown: Public media played key role during Covid, says STV boss May 22, 2021 The UK’s public service broadcasters played a vital role during the Covid-19 pandemic and should be protected, the chief executive of STV has said. In an interview with City A.M., Simon Pitts threw his weight behind traditional TV channels, insisting they were still relevant despite the rise of streaming heavyweights such as Netflix. “I don’t [...]
Jeremy Paxman diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease May 21, 2021 Legendary broadcaster Jeremy Paxman has revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The 71-year-old journalist and University Challenge presenter said he had been receiving “excellent treatment” and that his symptoms were “currently mild”. “I can confirm I have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. I am receiving excellent treatment and my symptoms are currently [...]
BBC: Boris Johnson ‘very concerned’ about Princess Diana interview scandal May 21, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson today waded into the row over the BBC’s infamous interview with Princess Diana, saying he was “obviously very concerned” about the findings of a new report. The damning report by Lord Dyson, published yesterday, found the broadcaster had covered up the “deceitful” tactics used by reporter Martin Bashir in securing the [...]
Six Nations to remain free-to-air as BBC and ITV ink new deal May 21, 2021 The Six Nations is set to remain free-to-air after the competition reached an agreement in principle to renew its broadcasting deal with the BBC and ITV. The new agreement will run for four years from 2022 until after the championships in 2025. For the men’s competition, ITV will show all of England, Ireland, Italian and [...]
Sunday Times Rich List: Marcus Rashford tops the UK’s biggest givers May 21, 2021 Manchester United football player Marcus Rashford has become the youngest person to top The Sunday Times Giving List this year, which measures philanthropy among the ultra-wealthy. The list highlighted today that the UK saw more new billionaire’s during the pandemic than any other time over the list’s 33-year history. However, this year also saw a record amount of donations, exceeding £4bn [...]
Screenshot: Have the streaming wars just gone nuclear? May 21, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: That’ll do, you donkeys **Have the streaming wars just gone nuclear? **Can London close the tech gap on Silicon Valley? Media Moment of the Week: That’ll do, you donkeys Shrek turned 20 this week. Ah lovely, an innocent reminder of youth, I bet you’re thinking. Wrong. It’s actually [...]
Snap launches new video editing app in bid to take in Tiktok May 20, 2021 Snap today unveiled plans for a new standalone app offering professional levels of video editing as it looks to challenge the dominance of rivals Tiktok and Instagram. The US tech firm, which owns Snapchat, said Story Studio will give social media stars powerful editing tools to make professional content for mobile. It will also introduce [...]
BBC ‘covered up’ failings over Martin Bashir’s bombshell Diana interview May 20, 2021 The BBC has been blasted over its handling of a 1995 interview of Diana after reporter Martin Bashir used “deceit” to gain access to the Princess of Wales. A damning report into the incident, published today, concluded that the broadcaster had covered up the tactics used by the journalist to secure the interview. It said [...]
LSE warns Reuters paywall plan breaches Refinitiv deal terms May 20, 2021 Reuters has reportedly been warned by the London Stock Exchange Group that its plan to instigate a paywall on its content is in breach of the London bourse’s purchase of data provider Refinitiv. A letter from the LSE to the news provider, which was reported by Barron’s, says that the plan, which was announced in [...]
EU to demand tougher pledges from tech giants over fake news May 19, 2021 Tech giants such as Facebook and Google will be forced to make firmer pledges to crack down on misinformation on their platforms on new rules being prepared by the EU. The European Commission is planning to hold social media firms more responsible for curbing the money they make through advertising placed next to false information. [...]