Roman Polanski files open after 45 years, judge planned to imprison film director before he fled US July 18, 2022 A Los Angeles judge privately told lawyers he would renege on a plea deal and imprison Roman Polanski for having sex with a teenage girl in 1977, a former prosecutor has testified, setting the stage for the renowned director to flee the US as a fugitive. A previously sealed transcript – obtained late on Sunday [...]
Newsroom’s fake news dilemma: The role of NGOs in an understaffed, hyper-competitive sector July 17, 2022 Th pressure on media outlets to rapidly get good quality footage to support global news stories has never been greater. Understaffed news rooms are rushing to beat the competition – not just the vast number of global online, print, radio and television media but also the factories dedicated to creating fake news stories that are propagated through [...]
Channel 4 chief pockets more than £1m as Alex Mahon is handed biggest bonus possible July 15, 2022 Annual reports from broadcaster Channel 4 show this afternoon that its chief executive received a salary of more than £1m last year. Alex Mahon was handed the biggest bonus possible after the number of people watching the company’s programmes online boomed. She was paid £1.2m in 2021, compared with £991,000 a year earlier, as her [...]
Sky Sports pays more than £880m to extend broadcast deal with England cricket chiefs July 14, 2022 Sky Sports has agreed a four-year extension to its current deal as the main broadcast partner of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The ECB said the agreement, which runs from 2025 to 2028 and covers men’s and women’s internationals, The Hundred and the Vitality Blast, would see Sky show more cricket than ever [...]
Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to accusations of sex offences July 14, 2022 Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty to accusations of sex offences dating back almost 20 years in a London court on Thursday.
Netflix and ads: Streaming giant teams up with Microsoft to launch cheaper subscription plan July 14, 2022 Netflix announced a partnership with Microsoft late yesterday to introduce a “lower priced ad-supported subscription plan” to drive down its prices. The advert option will be an “addition” to the existing plans and will not feature on all offers. The streaming giant has not said how much the reduced package will cost, but comes after a [...]
Tim Westwood scandal blows up as another 10 women come forward and accuse BBC DJ of sexual misconduct July 13, 2022 It was revealed this afternoon that another 10 women have come forward and claim they are victims of sexual misconduct by DJ Tim Westwood, with one alleging he had sex with her when she was 14. The teenager, who uses the pseudonym Esther, said Westwood, now 64, was in his 40s when they had sex [...]
Watchdog investigates big broadcasters for supposed antitrust breaches with freelance workers July 13, 2022 The UK watchdog has opened an investigation into ITV's purchase of freelance services, which support the production and broadcasting of sports content.
The Evening Standard says commuters coming back despite losses deepening July 12, 2022 The Evening Standard reported a loss of £14m for the last year as the commuter paper battled to draw office workers back to its pages. According to filings on Companies House, the firm faced a 36 per cent year-on-year fall in turnover from £44m to £28m last year. The London freesheet said that despite work [...]
Channel 4 chief suggests government pushed privatisation agenda on its delayed annual report July 12, 2022 Channel 4 have said the government tried to tamper with the broadcaster’s annual report to ensure it aligned with its own privatisation ambitions.