Russian regulator retaliates against Ofcom with legal checks on BBC December 21, 2018 Russia's media regulator has said it will carry out checks on the BBC following an announcment from Ofcom that it was considering imposing sanctions on Russian state-financed media service RT. The Russian regulator, Roskomnadzor, released a statement on Friday saying it would check whether the BBC's World Service and internet sites complied with Russian law. “The results of our check [...]
RT broke broadcasting rules on impartiality, says Ofcom December 20, 2018 Kremlin-funded broadcaster RT broke impartiality in news programmes after the Salisbury novichok poisoning in March, Ofcom said today. The media regulator said RT, formerly known as Russia Today, failed to preserve due impartiality in seven news and current affairs programmes over a six-week period. “Taken together, the seven breaches represent a serious failure of compliance with [...]
Snapchat filter brings Big Ben back to life for Christmas December 20, 2018 Snapchat today unveiled a new filter that will bring Big Ben back to life for Westminster visitors over the Christmas period. The iconic clock tower is currently undergoing repair work and the Great Bell, known as Big Ben, has been silent since August last year. But the photo app will now strip away the scaffolding, [...]
The new Brexit Wars episode is out: May the force be with you December 17, 2018 Maybe it’s just me, but the Stormtroopers in the new Star Wars movies never seem to have the same menace as the old ones. Last week, Jacob Rees-Mogg and his colleagues in the eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) of the Conservative party looked like they believed that they had gone old-school – Empire Strikes Back. [...]
The unstoppable rise of podcasts: How an industry was reborn December 16, 2018 It seems nothing can stop the rise of podcasts. On-demand listening has become the sine qua non of the commuter; the lifeblood of dinner party conversation. Popular podcasters attract millions of listeners, and advertisers are starting to reap the rewards. And yet podcasts are not a new phenomenon. They predate Facebook, Youtube and Twitter, and [...]
Mirror and Express owner Reach bumps up trading expectations December 14, 2018 The publisher of the Mirror and Express newspapers saw its share price climb more than five per cent this morning after saying that trading for the year will finish “marginally ahead of market expectations”. Reach, the company name adopted by Trinity Mirror after it acquired Richard Desmond’s media portfolio in February for £127m, reported a rise [...]
Half of homes could boost their broadband Ofcom says December 14, 2018 Half of British homes could switch to a faster broadband service, Ofcom said today as it plans new rules to encourage people to get the best deal. The media regulator’s research showed that 94 per cent of UK homes and offices can now get superfast broadband but less than half have taken it up. It also [...]
BBC’s Eastenders set revamp goes £27m over budget December 13, 2018 The BBC’s project to rebuild and enlarge the Eastenders set will be £27m over budget and take an extra two-and-a-half years to complete. The cost estimate for the construction project has soared 45 per cent from £59.7m to £86.7m, the National Audit Office (NAO) said today. The expected completion date of the project, known as E20, [...]
The seven trends in the digital sport world to look out for in 2019 December 11, 2018 This has been a transformative year for the digital sport landscape, from tech giants Amazon and Facebook making major rights acquisitions to a rise in behind-the-scenes and self-authored content. Here, Charlie Beall of consultancy Seven League assesses the trends that dominated 2018 and look set to shape the next 12 months. 1. Athletes becoming media As [...]
Former GCHQ boss calls for greater regulation of Facebook December 7, 2018 Former GCHQ boss Robert Hannigan has attacked Facebook, claiming it is undermining democracy and demanding that the social media giant face greater regulation. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Hannigan stated that Facebook “isn't a kind of fluffy charity providing free services". "It's is a very hard-headed international business and these big tech companies are essentially the [...]
