Category: media

Morale at the BBC is at an all-time low. “Breaking the news of 2,900 job cuts, with thousands more to follow, and a 15% budget cut, Mark Thompson said the BBC’s “creative prize” came with a “price tag”. The move, aimed at boosting annual savings to £320m in three years, is being seen as the start of what is likely to be a frenzied period of horse-trading with the government before the renewal of the BBC’s royal charter in 2006.”

Some of the best and most-popular foreign movies of the year are ineligible for foreign-language Academy Awards this year. “The main dispute centers on an old academy directive that allows overseas countries to submit only one film a year for Oscar consideration. Critics say the rule punishes prolific filmmaking countries such as Spain, which had to choose between two very strong contenders this year. The academy guidelines also ignore the boom in international co-productions, where any number of countries may join forces to make a single movie.”

In 2001 and 2002, the FCC received only a few hundred “indecency” complaints. Then last year the number soared to 240,000. Growing concern by the public? Hardly. “According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 2003—99.8 percent—were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group.”

“The increasing power of cellphones is fast shaping innovative forms of compact culture: micro-lit, phone soap operas and made-for-mobile dramas that can be absorbed in less time than it takes to flick through a book introduction.”

The BBC is cutting jobs and reorganizing administratively. “Almost 3,000 jobs are expected to go, mainly from administration departments.” Some “departments at the BBC will move from London to Manchester, as part of the BBC’s aim to be more reflective of UK audiences. The BBC believes it can save hundreds of millions of pounds as a result of the cuts, which will be effective over a three-year period.”

Fox TV appeals record $1.18 million FCC fines for “indecency” on one of its shows. “Fox said the show was not indecent, and it argues that over-the-air broadcasters are now treated as “second-class citizens” by a Federal Communications Commission that unfairly holds them but not their rivals to decency standards.”

FCC Chairman Michael Powell says chill. Take a breath. “We are not the federal Bureau of Indecency. We do not watch or listen to programs hoping to catch purveyors of dirty broadcasts. Instead, we rely on public complaints to point out potentially indecent shows. In recent years, complaints about television and radio broadcasts have skyrocketed, and the F.C.C. has stepped up its enforcement in response.”

Europe is adopting broadband internet at a faster rate, and a quarter of broadband users say they are watching less TV. Just over 54 million people are hooked up to the net via broadband, up from 34 million a year ago, according to market analysts Nielsen/NetRatings.

Why is Hollywood so stuck on the idea of a white Christmas? What a cliche! Especially when a great many of us will never see snow for the season. “When was the last time you saw a holiday film set in the sunshine states for any reason other than a good laugh? How many times do we need to chuckle at those hopeless wannabes in Beverly Hills who spray fake snow on their Christmas trees?”