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Wednesday 28 May 2014, PM

Ofcom - Consultation on future use of the 700 MHz band - Cost-benefit analysis of changing its use to mobile services

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Wednesday 28 May 2014, AM

Freesat links with Curzon to offer pay-per-view movies - Media - theguardian.com

Blue Is the Warmest Colour will be available on Freesat thanks to a deal with Curzon. Freesat has been talking about adding pay-TV options to its premium service, called Freetime, since September 2012. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. - theguardian.com

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How Disney learned to stop worrying and love copyright infringement - Salon.com

The soundtrack to Frozen has sold 2.7 million copies. According to the Wall Street Journal, some 60,000 fan-made versions of Let It Go have been watched more than 60 million times. The authorized film clip featuring the song has been viewed over 147 million times. - salon.com

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Fancy a tour of Broadcasting House? diamond geezer

The BBC runs them daily, allowing access inside the corporation's 1930s HQ and the much more recent extension. Book in advance, stump up 13.50 for the privilege, and you could be looking round tomorrow. The curving outside with its embedded artwork, for example. - diamondgeezer.blogspot.co.uk

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Tuesday 27 May 2014, PM

Carry On YouView Regardless, BBC Trust tells the BBC • The Register

ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 shared these concerns they needed a modern distribution system, and so they together founded YouView. Here, in 2014, we have a million and one ways to get UK channels from apps in smart TVs and over-the-top services to the broadcasters' own on-demand services such as iPlayer or 4oD. All this means the case for YouView is far less certain than it used to be. - theregister.co.uk

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Return of the Mack on our new channel - Feed - Glasgow

It's the return of the Mack - Mrs Mack that is. - glasgow.stv.tv

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BBC licence fee top-slicing not on agenda of Ofcom review - Media - theguardian.com

Ofcom has said it will not ask or answer questions about the BBC that will be covered by the royal charter review. The review will cover the period from 2008 to 2013 inclusive, as well as looking at how the market might develop over the next five years and beyond. Ofcom said its initial analysis of the sector will run until the autumn, a public consultation will follow, ending in the spring. - theguardian.com

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RadioToday - Over half of new cars now have DAB radio

Fifty five per-cent of new cars now come with digital radio as standard, up from 37 a year ago. The news comes from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, who say demand for the new 14-plate saw March 2014 reach 464,824 new car registrations, a rise of 17.7, the highest in a decade. Record new car sales and the move to fitting digital radio mean that in 2014 to date over 440,000 vehicles have been sold with digital radio as standard an increase of 62 on last year. - radiotoday.co.uk

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Monday 26 May 2014, PM

Media Monkey's Diary: Times loses its religion, BBC Radio 4 plugs - Media - The Guardian

Ruth Gledhill the Times religious correspondent was reportedly offered an unholy crime role on the Sun. She declined to swap saints for sinners but is bound to resurface at a more godfearing paper, or perhaps one friendlier to middle-aged women. A fortnight after Monkey drew attention to the regime change at Horse Hound, the rightwing press has stirred from its slumbers, as if awakened by the sound of unrest in the shires. - theguardian.com

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Distrust Your Data - Learning - Source: An OpenNews project

In other words, its journalism that starts from interrogating the dataand applies the same skepticism and rigor that we apply to the testimony of an expert contacted by traditional phone-assistedreporting. All of which is to say that data journalism inherits a long tradition of journalists working with data, and that comes with the heavy responsibility to get it right. Specifically, to paraphase something I heard at a NICAR conference once fear and paranoia are the best friends a data journalist can have. - source.opennews.org

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Absolute Radio: how their new playlist choice at breakfast works

In many of my speaking engagements, I talk about the opportunities that digital offers radio stations - particularly in terms of brand extensions. Absolute have always wished to offer the kind of engagement and entertainment that radio listeners expect at breakfast time, and this simulcast also offers a larger opportunity in terms of breakfast sponsorshop and promotions, one of the largest money-spinners for the station. But, since 2008, the listeners to - say - Absolute 80s haven't been given 80s music during the breakfast show. - mediauk.com

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Saturday 24 May 2014, AM

Women dominate shortlist to succeed Lord Patten at BBC - Media - The Guardian

Chris Patten unexpectedly stepped down as chair earlier this month due to ill health. Senior broadcasting figures have been asked for their opinions on a group of potential candidates, with Dame Marjorie Scardino, the former chief executive of the company behind the Financial Times, also on the list. The 110,000-a-year, four-days-a-week job has not yet been advertised and those listed have not been approached, but the Department for Culture DCMS wants to establish who it should take seriously or perhaps invite to apply. - theguardian.com

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Friday 23 May 2014, PM

BBC legal chief warns that Bribery Act can make foreign newsgathering very difficult - Press Gazette

Many journalists may have failed to understand the extent to which the Bribery Act 2010 could affect their activities, the head of the BBC's editorial legal group told a conference. Section 1 of the Act made it an offence to offer, promise or give a financial or other advantage to another person with the intention of inducing or rewarding improper performance of a relevant function or activity. The result was that the small unofficial payments often made to secure necessary actions by very low-level government officials could be caught by the Act, as there was no lower limit on a payment. - pressgazette.co.uk

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ESPN fined for failing to provide enough audio description - Media - theguardian.com

Ofcom found that ESPN provided less than half of the required amount of audio description for visually impaired viewers. ESPN has been fined 120,000 for failing to provide enough audio description around programmes for blind and visually impaired viewers. Media regulator Ofcom has fined the broadcaster after an investigation, conducted last year. - theguardian.com

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Friday 23 May 2014, AM

Media Talk podcast: Channel 4 and ITV share spoils at the Baftas

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Dame Marjorie Scardino: The tycoon tipped to head the BBC Trust and a city that will never forgive her

The arc of the newspapers rise and fall at first seems unexceptional. Their paper for a while snatched the county legal notices from the Press titles. The Scardinos were to survive their disappointment, and more. - independent.co.uk

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Thursday 22 May 2014, PM

The Godzillas of cable TV have come to wreak havoc on your wallet - Money - theguardian.com

Another month another Godzilla-sized deal in the communications industry that almost certainly will end up having a direct impact on what kinds of services cable, Internet, satellite, phone you receive and how much you pay for them. Rather, the 48.5bn pact by ATT to acquire DirecTV will, if it comes to fruition, bring together representatives of the two biggest challengers to cables attempts to be a one-stop-shop for all our entertainment needs the traditional phone companies and the satellite television business. ATT will use its savings from the merger to bolster its broadband services, especially in areas where broadband isnt available today. - theguardian.com

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Ariel - BBC launches online service in Welsh

22 May 2014 Last updated at 0947 The BBC has launched a new online service for Welsh speakers. Available on computer, tablet and mobile, the service will feature a stream of short news updates - refreshed between 8am and 6pm on weekdays - as well as a magazine section with articles, opinions, blogs and photo galleries. It will provide easy access to other Welsh language content like weather forecasts and the Radio Cymru website, as well as links to suggested external sites. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC given approval to continue as YouView partner with technical change - Media - theguardian.com

The BBC has been given approval to remain a YouView partner. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - theguardian.com

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Thursday 22 May 2014, AM

Ariel - BBCs world output should be mobile-first

The suggestions were published in his assessment on how news could help double the BBC's international audience to 500 million by 2022, when the corporation marks its centenary. - bbc.co.uk

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Wednesday 21 May 2014, PM

Media: Dido Harding; female news editors; "sex-swap" headlines.

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Wednesday 21 May 2014, AM

Freeview still has government support, says Ed Vaizey - Media - theguardian.com

Vaizey was responding to concerns raised by Caroline Thomson, the chair of industry body Digital UK, who has repeatedly warned that Freeview faces a threat from mobile companies looking for more access to the airwaves to provide enhanced services to customers. Vaizey pointed out that there was also serious industry concern about the potential for the launch of 4G services to cause TV interference. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. - theguardian.com

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Friday 16 May 2014, PM

New TV channel set to broadcast in Sheffield - The Star

A new television channel dedicated to Sheffield should be on screens by autumn, the stations boss has said. TV, said it is hoped the station will be up and running by September. The channel, which will be available on Freeview, will broadcast round the clock although most new programmes will be shown between the peak times of 6pm and 11pm, with repeats being shown throughout the day. - thestar.co.uk

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BT YouView+ Humax DTR-T2100 review - Pocket-lint

YouView isn't standing still and the YouView hardware supplied by BT isn't either. The first generation of box - the Humax DTR-T1000- coped well enough, but had problems from the start it was slow to respond, which detracted from the overall experience, and the fan was pretty noisy too. However, the YouView platform is still the same, so whether you have the new box or old one it won't make a difference to what you can watch. - pocket-lint.com

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BBC Panorama editor Tom Giles leaves role after four years - Media - theguardian.com

Tom Giles leaving Panorama for a new role designing the future of current affairs at the BBC. It is understood that Giles is to be charged with a new role designing the future of current affairs at the BBC. Despite pressure from some senior executives, Panorama turned its spotlight on the corporation itself during the Savile scandal. - theguardian.com

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Friday 16 May 2014, AM

US should not adopt “information warfare” approach - Reporters Without Borders

In 1976, President Gerald Ford enshrined the principle of accurate, objective, and comprehensive broadcasting in VOAs charter. The International Communications Reform Act reverses the priorities of the 1994 law currently in effect. Programming focused on the United States and its foreign policy would be more important that providing independent news and information to the population of countries where it is otherwise inaccessible. - en.rsf.org

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Thursday 15 May 2014, PM

Glasgow TV gets ready to gallop onto your screens - Feed - Glasgow

If you've spotted a cone-clad man upon a horse today, don't worry, you haven't lost the plot. Twitter exploded with countless pictures of the Duke of Wellington coming alive and trotting around the city centre. We'll be bringing you a handy roundup of the best of these in just a few short minutes. - glasgow.stv.tv

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The big beasts who shaped the BBC - Media - The Guardian

It was 30 June 1938, John Reith's last night as the founding director general of the BBC. He had forbidden staff contributions towards a present and vetoed speeches. He fulfilled the nightly task of shutting down one of its oil engines with his own hands with his engineer's training, no one had to show him how to do it. - theguardian.com

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Sacked BBC technology boss claims he was the fall guy for £100m DMI debacle - Media - theguardian.com

To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. - theguardian.com

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RadioToday - The Guardian cancels Media Talk podcast

The Guardian is pulling the plug on the popular Media Talk podcast, first launched in 2006. Posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2014 at 217 pm by Radio Today UK. - radiotoday.co.uk

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RadioToday - RAJAR: RadioToday s local radio round-up

Across the UK, 90 of the population is tuning in to radio each week up 800,000 on the quarter. In Herefordshire and Worcestershire, reach is up 31 from 73,000 to 98,000 and share has also increased from 7.2 to 9.3. Free Radio Shropshire remains static, as does 96.4FM in Birmingham. - radiotoday.co.uk

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Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear: We are like an ant versus Goliath when it comes to the BBC - Press Gazett

Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear has mixed feelings about the BBC. He sees Newsnight as his main rival and variously describes the corporation as stifling, crippling and a monster. Weve got one person here, he says, pointing to Channel 4 News PR Hayley Barlow, who is sitting beside him. - pressgazette.co.uk

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RadioToday - talkSPORT to offer regional variations

The station has been unable to confirm to RadioToday what the intended use for the extra capacity is for, but owners UTV will be free to provide anything from a completely separate service to occasional opt-outs to cover local sport. Posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2014 at 151 pm by Radio Today UK. - radiotoday.co.uk

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Thursday 15 May 2014, AM

DTG :: News :: TruTV to launch as free-to-air channel in the UK

As well as existing programming, the channel is expected to buy distribution from the likes of Endemol and Zodiak rights. - dtg.org.uk

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Ariel - Removing racist words neuters the past, argues Colin Grant

David Lowe may have inadvertently played an offensive record during his set, but that song should not be removed from the BBC's playlist. The portraits were mostly as you might imagine alluring, black and white images of Cecil Beaton, Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward and company. Another portrait by the same photographer was mounted beside it, showing a white man in fancy dress wearing a theatrical turban. - bbc.co.uk

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Wednesday 14 May 2014, PM

Media: TV debates; women directors; all3media sold

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Media Talk podcast: Radio Academy awards 2014 special

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Wednesday 14 May 2014, AM

BBC News - The flying wi-fi camera: Testing Parrots new HD drone

The 400 gram 'Bebop' drone will be equipped with GPS, a 14-megapixel camera and a 180 degree fish-eye lens when it is released later this year. Thanks to on-board image processing and stabilisation, it can stream distortion-free HD images and video over w-ifi to mobile devices running Android or iOS. - bbc.co.uk

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ITV director defends breakfast show after ratings dip to below 400,000 - Media - theguardian.com

Peter Fincham, ITV director, says television viewing habits at breakfast time 'move very slowly'. On Tuesday it had an average of about 600,000 viewers, a 15.5 share of the audience, less than half the 1.4 million 35.1 who watched BBC1's Breakfast. We are all very habit formed at breakfast time. - theguardian.com

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From David Kelly to Jimmy Savile, how does the BBC deal with a crisis? - Media - The Guardian

They made me sign a piece of paper saying that I'm resigning for personal reasons, because they told me if I didn't sign it, it would affect my BBC pension. Why didn't he tell his colleagues' No one said a word. They all talked about where they were going on holiday. - theguardian.com

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Newspaper-backed Notts TV prepares to launch - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage

A local TV station backed by a regional daily newspaper is preparing to go on air a fortnight today. Notts TV will begin broadcasting on Tuesday 27 May and will be available on Freeview Channel 8. Backed by the Nottingham Post, the channel is part of what the government hopes will become a nationwide network of local TV channels. - holdthefrontpage.co.uk

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Monday 12 May 2014, PM

Sky plans European consolidation - informitv

The plans are said to be an early stage and could face regulatory challenges. A single European Sky operation could be better placed to bid for sports and movie rights. BSkyB has a market value of around 14 billion. - informitv.com

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DTG :: News :: Ericsson announces completion of it's acquisition of Red Bee Media

Ericsson have today confirmed that after announcing interest in acquiring the company in July 2013, Red Bee Media is to become a part of the networking communications giant. The deal has previously come under scrutinisation by the Competition Commission, but was cleared in March after deeming that competition in the playout sector would not be reduced. DTG Staff 12.05.2014 Links open in a new window. - dtg.org.uk

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Ofcom poised to block Murdoch pay-TV move - Telegraph

The intervention would come in spite of Mr Murdochs move last year to divide his television and newspaper assets into separately listed holding companies, 21st Century Fox and News Corp, the sources said, since he remains in control of both. Fox currently owns only a 39pc stake in BSkyB but the proposed deal could mean Mr Murdoch taking full control of the combined company. Mr Murdoch abandoned his last attempt to take control of BSkyB in 2011, after Ofcom effectively recommended the Government should block it. - telegraph.co.uk

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Monday 12 May 2014, AM

Sky Go and Now TV users complain after Premier League outage - Media - theguardian.com

Users of the Sky Go online player also faced difficulties as the football season reached its climax with games including Manchester City against West Ham. Fans who had paid 9.99 for a day pass to watch the action on Now TV faced screens saying that the service was unavailable. - theguardian.com

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Media Talk podcast: What will a Viacom-owned Channel 5 look like?

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Log In - The New York Times

Create an account Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account - nytimes.com

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Statement on potential acquisition

At the same time, the Company continuously explores ways to create further value for shareholders. BSkyB believes at the right value, this combination would have the potential to create a world-class multinational pay TV group. These discussions have not progressed beyond a preliminary stage, no agreement has been reached on terms, value or transaction structure and there is no certainty that a transaction will occur. - corporate.sky.com

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Sunday 11 May 2014, AM

Feeble, bland and rooted in a bygone era: the BBC must find its digital voice - Technology - The Observer

BBC3's Schoolgirl Superstar the management did not realise this was a service for 16- to 34-year-olds, a generation that lives online. There was no YouTube, no Facebook, no Twitter and Yahoo had just tried, unsuccessfully, to buy Google for 3bn. The discussion between the heads of BBC New Media over this proposal was not a long one. - theguardian.com

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Saturday 10 May 2014, PM

TV's big takeover: why Freesat is offering up its best tech feature to all - News - TechRadar

Freesat celebrated its sixth birthday this week, and since its inception it has done an admirable job of becoming a viable alternative to Freeview, positioning itself as a free-to-air offering that rejuvenates once-abandoned satellite dishes. It seems, however, that Freesat's ambitions are bigger than resuscitating your old dish. The TV service has so far used 2014 to prove to the world that it can be more than Freeview for satellite users. - techradar.com

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