Monday, March 18, 2024

Tweet tweet

Fearless Radio 4 Controller Mo Bakaya is cancelling the weekday editions of Tweet of The Day.

His arguments - it's apparently an important time to give Farming Today an extra 90 seconds; he couldn't afford to continue it without repeats; some of the saving allows new recordings for the surviving Sunday slot. 

Let's try some others. The show has been going since 6th May 2013; Twitter started in 2006, with Jack Dorsey explaining "We came across the word 'twitter', and it was just perfect. The definition was 'a short burst of inconsequential information', and 'chirps from birds'. And that's exactly what the product was...." 

Tweet of the Day was the idea of Julian Hector, running the radio end of the Natural History Unit. He'd started out as a sea-bird ecologist. He'd been stranded doing research work on Bird Island at the time of the invasion of South Georgia, with just a oil-drum of dried cabbage left; he was rescued by the Royal Navy. He recalled hearing a World Service programme featuring the tawny owl during his time in the South Atlantic, which propelled him to a safer life as a radio producer. 

There are currently 634 different species of bird in the UK. The first series found 166 of them, most recorded specially. The second series was named World Birds, using library and archive recordings; the third series featured less tweeting, and more presenter talk. 

You'd need 2836 birds to keep every weekday edition since 2013 different. The launch edition, with Sir David Attenborough on the cuckoo, has been out three times.  There are 743 editions available on BBC Sounds, but some are extended versions featuring the same birds.  

John Wilson

John Wilson, the BBC's first Controller of Editorial Policy, has died, aged 87.  

He was appointed in  September 1987, by John Birt. In an interview in 1993, he described what the job was supposed to do. 

"The idea was to have someone who would be a touchstone for Editorial standards for all of the factual programmes for the BBC, that's television and radio,  national television, national radio, local radio, regional television and of course, internationally as well. I thing one of the concerns had been that programme-makers all over the BBC, in what is nowadays and was certainly true then, an ever changing programme-making population, needed someone to whom they could tum to who'd had quite a lot of experience of editorial issues and to whom they could say, 'Look we have this problem, what do you think we should do ?'. That really was my role, was to give advice and guidance to programmes ad hoc, as they needed it but also to be a source for the stating of programme standards after discussions and whatever."

The transcript of the full interview provides marvellous insights on Northern Ireland, The Westland Affair, various tricky Panoramas, and political bullying of the BBC. 

John was running the Six O'Clock News on Radio 4 when I first met him as a trainee in late 1973; the three-day week was looming, and, during the programme, a new Government edict came through about the use of generators to keep evening football matches going. I was told to write it up as 'a tight half', and passed it to John, who said it was too long. In the corridor outside the studio, he asked "What's the real point ?" I said "Football clubs who thought they could use generators for night matches have been told they can't". 

"Why didn't you write that in the first place ?".  

Later, when John was in charge of all network radio news and current affairs, he was one of few senior managers who 'got' Newsbeat. He would regularly appear, quietly, at the back of the studio during the 1230 transmission, then chat with us afterwards. When there were arguments from others that we weren't following newsroom 'leads', he usually took our side. |



Sunday, March 17, 2024

Mike Chaney

Mike Chaney, founding editor of Newsbeat on Radio 1, has died, aged 91. 

He was genuinely larger than life, though a little smaller than James Robertson Justice, and only a tad less nautical than Captain Birdseye. 

He'd been in and around Fleet Street, with experience at World Service, and was working at The Sun when he was appointed; their headline was "Sun staff gets top Beeb job". 

After early editions fronted by Ed Stewart, the show settled down with Laurie Mayer and Richard Skinner presenting; one Roger Gale, now Sir Roger Gale, MP, Deputy Speaker, was on the production team, having been signed from Radio London. I was there as a trainee during the elections of 1974; Newsbeat was the first Radio 1 programme to interview a Prime Minister, Edward Heath.  

Mike moved to Today in 1976; The BBC Press Office release noted"Mike Chaney is married and lives in Dulwich; they have twelve children, three from his previous marriage, four by his wife, and five from his wife's previous marriage".  Mike's job was to launch co-presentation from Manchester and London, a plan refused by the previous editor Alistair Osborne. He brought in Roger Gale and Paul Heiney (then a reporter) with him from Newsbeat; he fired Gillian Reynolds and Barry Norman from weekend presentation. 

Mike's spell was short - a new Controller R4 invented the daft 'Up to the hour', Chaney walked, and hung around till given the job of launching Radio Norfolk, which lasted until 1982, when he had a row with Managing Director Aubrey Singer over the supply of fresh razor blades for audio tape editing.

He moved to Dorset, working in press and PR for the County Council. In retirement, he campaigned successfully to save Puddletown Library in 2013; represented the interests of local NHS patients; and co-ordinated shared cars in the town.  

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Yanked

Pretty clear that new investors Disney+ have called the shots in launch time and date for the next season of Dr Who. 

The 15th Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, makes his full debut at 7pm Eastern Time, Friday May 10th, and will be available in the UK on iPlayer at that time, 11pm BST. Its linear broadcast on the UK will come on Saturday 11th May, somewhere in the build-up to the Eurovision Final in Malmo. 

It's for charitee

We may never know who they were.  The mysterious funders of the Jewish Chronicle, fronted by Sir Robbie Gibb, want to turn the operation into a charitable trust. 

The weekly was rescued in April 2020. Current editor Jake Wallis Simons said that some of those involved in the consortium “are elderly and I understand that their motives are philanthropic.  Even prior to the events of 7th October, they had no interest in being publicised as the interim owners of the world’s oldest Jewish newspaper."

“Without their generosity, the JC may not be here today."

Whilst the advancement of journalism is not accepted as a charitable purpose, a number of new-ish organisations have achieved charitable status, including Full Fact, The Conversation UK, andThe Burngreave Messenger. 

Friday, March 15, 2024

All the answers

Tuesday 26th March is "Live Long and Prosper Day", in honour of the birthday of the late Leonard Nimoy. Let's hope the same applies to the BBC; DG Tim Davie has apparently chosen that date for a big "Future of Everything" speech. 

“A new wave of technological change is reshaping the media landscape and bringing fresh challenges for us all: to our democracy; to our creative economy; and, to society" is his build-up. 

Late March is when the BBC publishes its Annual Plan, required to hand to Ofcom since 2017/18; before that, the BBC issued an annual "statement of programme policy".  Over the years, they've morphed into a preview of big events coverage, with less and less financial detail. 

The plan requires endorsement from new Chairman Shah; will, as best BBC management speak now has it, their visions be aligned ?

Parallel running

Whilst Martha Kearney might not be surprised that Emma Barnett is to be her long-term replacement in the Today Programme presenter team, she might raise a ladylike eyebrow to see her successor arrive before the Kearney locker is emptied.  

Martha has announced her departure 'after the next General Election'. It seems BBC News can afford to bring Emma Barnett on board alongside her from May. 

The appointment was announced by Director of News Programmes, John McAndrew. Emma was one of the team of nine presenters on Sky News' weekly chatathon, The Pledge, launched by McAndrew in 2016. In 2017 he paired Barnett and Nick Ferrari as co-hosts of the experiment, After The News, from ITN. 

It's a channel

In the digital first world, the old-fashioned 'channel' is back on a roll as a FAST offering - free ad-supported streaming television, and, wait for it, BBC News is ON IT. 

With the help of AMC Networks, more people in the United States will be able to pick up BBC News via Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, Xumo Play, VIZIO WatchFree+, Sling Freestream and Plex. That could, in theory, double the channel's US reach, beyond its current satellite and cable providers. 


Starmer on BBC Local Radio

Sir Keir Starmer on yesterday's Front Row, Radio 4, talking to Samira Ahmed about Labour's arts strategy, the BBC licence fee and BBC Local Radio.


Three more years

By presumably universal acclaim from the Conservative Government, Sir Robbie Gibb has been appointed non-executive member of the BBC Board representing the interests of England for another three years. 

His most recent Chair, Dame Elan Closs Stephens opined  “Robbie has a particular point of view about diversity of thought that usually means we are probably too left in his opinion."  When Sr Robbie was accused of heavy lobbying about the appointment of the Ofcom chair by Nadine Dorries, Elan had a look, swerved the lobbying issue, and said "I am satisfied that no breach of the Board's Code of Practice has taken place". 

In the revolving world of public appointments, Samir Shah, who as an indie producer supplied This Week to the BBC under the editorial eye of Robbie Gibb, was on the interview panel when Robbie first turned up as a Board member. As BBC Chair-elect, Samir promised MPs he'd look at Robbie Gibb's lobbying activities; we must assume he has, and is happy. 

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