Tuesday 31 March 2009

31.03.09 lesson write up

ROSS & BRAND PRANK CALLS

-Funny; not offensive to younger generation
But older generation may find offensive (40+)
40+=Half license fee payers

-Blown out of proportion; 80 or so complaints when aired, but 20,000 following press coverage

BBC's Ideology

John Reith's dream:
"An independant British broadcaster able to educate inform and entertain the whole nation free from political interference and commercial pressure"
ACTIONS OF ROSS, BRAND AND THE BBC-(WIKIPEDIA)
On 29 October 2008, the Director-General of the BBC, Mark Thompson, announced that Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross were suspended, pending the report of an investigation by Tim Davie, director of BBC audio and music. The suspension meant that for the week, Ross would not be appearing on his regular Friday Night with Jonathan Ross television show, Film 2008 with Jonathan Ross, or his Saturday daytime Radio 2 show, and similarly Brand would not be hosting his regular Saturday night Radio 2 show. Thompson called the events a "gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team" (who had chosen to broadcast the pre-recorded show) that had angered licence payers, and offered a personal and unreserved apology to Andrew Sachs and his family. In an interview, Sachs revealed that he had received and accepted written apologies from Brand and Ross. Brand resigned from the BBC later in the day.

On the evening of 30 October it was announced that Controller of Radio 2 Lesley Douglas had tendered her resignation, which had been accepted. Her resignation letter did not address the question of whether Douglas herself had approved the pre-recorded show for transmission. On the same day, Ross was suspended without pay from all BBC shows for a period of 12 weeks. The Daily Mail estimated that this would result in his losing £1,344,000 in wages. The BBC issued an apology over the incident on 8 November, stating that the telephone calls were "grossly offensive" and a "serious breach of editorial standards". The corporation apologized specifically to Sachs and Baillie, and also to the license fee payer. David Barber, the head of specialist music and compliance at Radio 2, resigned the evening before the formal apology. Like Douglas, he had been aware of the contents of the show, and had sanctioned the segment's broadcast.
TEAM BBC!

Your task is to justify the BBC's punishment of Ross and Brand, to put together a case outlining and supporting the BBC's handling of the incident and to prove that it was in keeping with the corpration values and responsibilities

Tuesday 10 March 2009

Key Issues affecting British TV
New Technology
Funding
Fragmented audiences
Piracy
Advertising

What will be the key features/factors in ensuring its successor downfall in the future?
Different models of funding and production
Format selling
Transmedia model (sharing production costs across countries)
Use of new technology

What other issues may effect British Broadcasting?
Declining popularity of TV as a medium (?)
Quality of American programming
-more cost effective to buy programmes in than make them
PSB tradition means that there are laws regarding product placement and other elements of output
Contemporary British Broadcasting!

Documentary Notes

-Advertising is biggest media success
-TV vs Internet for advertising
-PSB's finding services for income to meet demands
-Exploit of one TV programme

FORMATS-used again and again, versatile for many programmes

-Who wants to be a millionaire-first programme where it travelled from Atlantic to America
(Gave UK recognition)

-Multi-counrty production HQ
-Brits continue to propel interlectual quality. UK TV success in US

MERCHANDISING

-Rise of fake Tellytubby merchandise
-Piracy of digital content
YOUTUBE-File Sharing, ILLEGAL CONTENT
-Bebo

-Brought advertising in to TV programmes
-Give audience freedom to watch whatever advert, in exchange for free content

Tuesday 3 March 2009