WELCOME TO A NEW ACADEMIC YEAR

Welcome to all my students both old and new.
 

DON'T FORGET!

To AS Media Studies classes.  We're all meeting up in room G104 at 1 p.m.  Exam starts at 2 so we need to be in the rooms in plenty of time.

X-FACTOR

The X Factor: can the UK survive without Cheryl Cole?

As Simon Cowell confirms the Geordie lass is to join him in the US, will the singing show go the way of Britain's Got Talent?

Cheryl Cole confirmed as US X Factor judge
Poll: Will Cheryl Cole be a US success?

Finally it has been confirmed that Cheryl Cole, the formerly punchy but now ever-so-ladylike doyenne of British showbiz, is shipping out to Los Angeles to take her place on the US X Factor judging panel. After months of stories speculating on her suitability for the job, she is finally packing her Vuitton mega-trunks to sit at Simon Cowell's right hand, dishing out encouragement and verbal beatings in equal measure while gold bars are regularly delivered to her dressing room. She's made it.
But what will oor Cheryl bring to the US version of the show – and what does this mean for UK audiences who hang on each no-nonsense Geordie pronouncement; every flash of that entrancing dimple? And will the Americans understand her accent, because apparently some of her L'Oréal adverts have confused them a bit.

As a TV personality (let's put her music career aside for the moment) Cheryl's good qualities are many. She is incredibly, incredibly pretty. Pretty people can have any job they want as long as it's not as a vascular surgeon. She can cry at the drop of a hat without smudging her makeup. Gazing mesmerised at her delicate features gently leaking tears on to the desk, you forget she's a bit rough round the edges. She's one of those weeping angels from Doctor Who. While you're looking at her lovely face, everything is OK.

She has effectively been handed a gold ticket by Simon Cowell. A man who himself doesn't seem to know that much about music can sprinkle his stardust on practically anyone – Piers Morgan for god's sake – and they are instantly granted a licence to criticise, laugh at and belittle fellow members of the human race. And now Cheryl can do it on both sides of the Atlantic.

But will she bother with crappy old England now she's destined for Hollywood? When Dancing with the Stars took off in the US, Strictly judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli spent a fortune on transatlantic flights so they could appear on both shows at the same time. But something tells me Cheryl can't wait to be rid of this tired little country.

Where does that leave us? Witness if you will the latest incarnation of Britain's Got Talent. Michael McIntyre, Amanda Holden and David Hasselhoff are spray-tanned rats, clinging to a sinking ship. None of these shows have much of a shelf life without Cowell. Lord knows how but he's attained some sort of superpower which none of the other judges have and, without him, they have as much clout as Nick Clegg at a Tory party conference.

If the British X Factor carries on without Cowell and Cole, we'll be left with Dannii Minogue trying not to look utterly insulted that the US invitation was never proffered to her, Louis Walsh looking as happy as ever, unaware that anything is actually going on, and who? Sharon Osbourne? Pete Waterman? Dannii and Louis are set dressing. Who will scare the contestants and leave them gibbering with grateful awe now? And which one of the Saturdays will be groomed to take Cheryl's place? I think even the most ardent X Factor fan will find it hard to care.


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DECLINE IN ITV REVENUES

ITV expected to report first decline in ad revenues for 18 months
ITV advertising revenues in May and June expected to have dropped by 7% and 20% respectively – the first fall since November 2009

Some analysts question whether ITV chief Adam Crozier has used his first year wisely to build for the future. Photograph Justin Williams/ Rex Features
Mark Sweney
The Guardian, Sun 8 May 2011 18.09 BST
Adam Crozier's first year at ITV has had something of an extended honeymoon feel to it thanks to the remarkable recovery in the TV advertising market. However, reality will bite on Wednesday when he announces that the broadcaster is set to report its first fall in ad revenue in 18 months.
Crozier revealed bumper results for 2010 in March, fuelled almost entirely by an outstanding market-beating TV ad sales performance: up 16% year-on-year. ITV's share price flourished this year, reaching four-year highs and it returned to the blue-chip firms of the FTSE 100 this spring – ITV had dropped out in 2008 with losses of £2.7bn.
However, ITV's trading update on Wednesday this week will not be so rosy. The first quarter is expected to look healthy, with TV ad revenues likely to be up about 12% year-on-year and April up about 6%. But May and June are likely to be down at least 7% and 20% respectively – ITV's first revenue fall since November 2009 .
The market has responded warily to reports of a tough summer with ITV's share price falling 25%, to about 72p, since the after-glow of ITV's bumper results pushed it to a three-year high of 95p. Nevertheless, UBS analyst Tamsin Garrity believes that last year's World Cup was going to be a tough act to follow. "What did anyone expect after TV advertising last June leapt more than 40% during the World Cup, an amazing feat by the sales team," she said. She pointed to a string of "catalyst-rich" positives including wiping out net debt, improving the credit rating and pension deficit position, the possible removal of advertising regulations governing ITV1 and next year's London Olympics for why the stock is well underpriced.
But before 2012 arrives, 2011 has to be endured. ITV has to contend with Simon Cowell's almost complete absence from Britain's Got Talent and, far more importantly, this year's X Factor. Viewing of this year's Got Talent is down 10% year-on-year, how much of this is due to the run of bank holidays and fine weather is not yet clear, a worrying erosion of audience but not enough to damage ITV's financial figures.
The recovery in TV advertising has given Crozier the breathing space to implement his five-year turnaround plan, space his embattled predecessors would have dearly loved, yet there is little evidence to date of a masterplan to fix ITV's fundamental problems. ITV remains reliant on cyclical TV advertising. The drive to establish a meaningful digital presence seems as distant as ever with online revenues last year an anaemic £28m of the total £1.77bn netted by the broadcasting and digital division. And ITV Studios, the maker of shows including Coronation Street and Come Dine With Me, went into reverse with revenues down 12.5% and earnings falling by 11%.
Crozier has made much of the need to revitalise the operation, pointing out that the division has not created a global entertainment hit since Dancing on Ice in 2006, and has bought in new talent and earmarked £12m to boost pilot projects. Yet there are those that want something more substantial, such as splashing some of ITV's £1bn cash pile on an acquisition of a production company. However, the chief executive has not warmed to the notion of snapping up All3Media, the heftily price-tagged maker of shows such as Skins and Shameless, and some believe he may look to make a number of smaller acquisitions or invest in a range of producers internationally.
The lack of progress, though, has left analysts with nagging doubts. "The slowdown is likely to shift the focus back to longer term structural pressures with upside increasingly contingent on management's ability to deliver its turnaround strategy," said Daniel Kerven, of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Crozier has had time to play with since he arrived, but the question is whether he has used his first year wisely to build for the future.


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INSTITUTIONS: ITV

ITV fights back as advertising rebounds

Revenues up by 11 per cent, but Crozier posts cautious outlook for 2011
By Nikhil Kumar

TALKBACK THAMES
ITV’s ‘The X Factor’ has proved to be a big hit with advertisers.

ITV finally gave investors some positive news yesterday as the country’s biggest commercial broadcaster, bolstered by shows such as The X Factor and Downton Abbey, posted higher revenues on the back of a strong rebound in advertising.

Revenues rose by 11 per cent to £1.46bn in the nine months to September, comfortably above the £1.31bn booked for the same period last year. Despite the upbeat results, however, management remained wary of the uncertain economic outlook and struck a note of caution.

The gains were spurred on by a 16 per cent increase in television-advertising revenues in the three months to September, a period which coincided with part of the football World Cup. ITV expects the figure to ease to 10 per cent in the final quarter.

The update comes against the backdrop of a string of successes which promise to underpin the business during the three months to December.

The X Factor has been an evident hit: the price of a 30-second advertising slot on the network during the show’s final weekend are reported to be running at up to £250,000. The broadcaster also drew audiences of 10 million for the finale of Downton Abbey, the period-drama series created by the Oscar-winning scriptwriter Julian Fellowes.
Adam Crozier, who took over as ITV’s chief executive after joining from Royal Mail earlier this year, was, however, careful to put the figures in perspective.
“The television-advertising market has continued to recover strongly,” he said. “However this does not disguise the significant challenges ITV faces and we remain focused on delivering the five-year transformation plan.”

That plan is Mr Crozier’s prescription for overhauling the broadcaster. It was announced during the summer and the strategy includes entering the pay-TV market to generate around half of the company’s revenues from sources beyond advertising.
“It is pretty obvious to me that being so reliant on one extremely volatile and declining source of income is not a healthy place for us to be in the long run,” Mr Crozier said in August. Yesterday, he signalled progress with the transformation drive.
“We have launched HD [high definition] versions of ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 on the Sky platform, we have agreed a new three-year deal for both The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, and we have completed the sale of Screenvision,” he said.

He also highlighted the clouded economic picture, telling investors that “the economic outlook for 2011 is uncertain and we continue to plan on a cautious basis”.
UBS analysts welcomed the chief executive’s tone, arguing that it “will ward off complacency”. Credit Suisse turned its attention to the challenges in the medium term, commending management for setting out a “credible long-term plan”, but giving warning that investors may have to wait until the first half of 2012 before the strategy starts to bear fruit.

“In 2011, the UK Government austerity measures… will make it much more difficult to sustain the positive momentum in advertising revenues,” the broker said, adding that, until the company’s next formal update in March, “ad hoc updates from media buyers on trading in the UK TV advertising market will be important catalysts” for the shares.

« 

INSTITUTIONS BBC

Image by Getty Images via @daylife   From The Independent

More than 6,000 complaints about an Eastenders plot had been logged with the BBC last night and the number is expected to keep rising.

The public reaction was sparked by the storyline in which which Ronnie Branning, played by Samantha Womack, steals a newborn baby after her losing her own to cot death.

BBC executives were forced into defending the plot which was criticised as sensationalist and unrealistic. The website Mumsnet was among the critics. "We appreciate this is a challenging storyline," said executive producer Bryan Kirkwood.

The level of fury has been exceeded only once before – when more than 7,000 viewers objected to the death of Danielle Jones.

ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA

Link to excellent on-line study guide:

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xAntonyCleo.html#Antony

INSTITUTIONS: MEDIA REPORTING

 Article from The Guardian on the Media's coverage of the Joanna Yeates murder investigation.

Joanna Yeates murder case puts media coverage in the spotlight

David and Theresa Yeates lay flowers at the spot close to Bristol and Clifton Golf Club where the body of their daughter Joanna Yeates was found. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PAMeet “Professor Strange”, aka “The Strange Mr Jefferies”, landlord of the murdered Joanna Yeates and a “suspect peeping Tom” – at least, and in order of quotation, according to the Sun, Daily Mail andDaily Mirror. See pictures of “the blue-rinse bachelor” and read (or watch or listen, because TV and radio are deep into this game, too) what any available neighbours will say about him. Then, make up your own mind…

No: don’t! Indeed, wipe your mind blank and hurry on by, becauseDominic Grieve, the attorney general, grows visibly alarmed. “We need to avoid a situation where trials cannot take place or are prejudiced as a result of irrelevant or improper material being published, whether in print form or on the internet, in such a way that a trial becomes impossible,” he warns. In short, the Contempt of Court Act is circling over the media, waiting to smite those who go too far.

But what is “too far”? In much of the world, not least the US, coverage of the Yeates case would seem tame stuff. The US sifts juries for bias then trusts them – and editors know where they stand. But, in England at least, nobody is quite sure any longer. Once upon a time, the moment anyone was charged with an offence, a blanket of enforced silence descended. But too many decades of hunting terrorists and serial killers – and asking the public for help in tracking them down – has widened involvement and pushed back the boundaries of what can be said.

Now any high-profile case can set reporters crawling all over acrime scene and media lawyers fretting at the office. If this or that detail is publicised, will it render a “fair” trial impossible?
It is becoming an impossible line to draw. You may not like “the strange Mr Jefferies” and similar lurid, semi-sourced stuff. You certainly won’t like the thought of trial by newspapers or TV. But how can the net – in a WikiLeaked world – report things that newspapers can’t say? Our own version of contempt is falling into contempt itself. It’s time to begin trusting the good sense of juries more – and begin marching the American way.

Related articles

• Vicar leads prayers for Joanna (mirror.co.uk)
• Family share grief at Joanna murder (mirror.co.uk)
• A tragic relief for Joanna Yeates' mother and father (mirror.co.uk)
• Joanna Yeates' murder: Neighbour hands his car to police after spending hours talking to detective (dailymail.co.uk)
• Landlord Chris Jefferies released by police investigating Joanna Yeates murder (mirror.co.uk)
• Police Try To Allay Fears Amid Murder Hunt (news.sky.com)
• Joanna Yeates murder: 'Prof Strange' Chris Jefferies freed on bail after two days of questioning by police (dailymail.co.uk)
• Murder Probe Continues After Landlord Freed (news.sky.com)
• Joanna Yeates family make statement (mirror.co.uk)

INSTITUTIONS: AMERICAN TV AND HBO

  Article from The Independent on cable TV station HBO.

Star names and big budgets are on the line as cable faces web rivals

Will the advent of internet TV sound the death knell for HBO’s success story?

By Andrew Johnson

HBO
Steve Buscemi stars in HBO’s latest high-budget series, ‘Boardwalk Empire’, tracing organised crime in the 1920s

When the critically feted US television series Boardwalk Empire bursts on to British screens next month, it will make even the best of our home-grown small-screen dramas look dowdy by comparison.

The lavish serial could also prove a high-water mark in the renaissance of US television which has brought cinematic values – and budgets – to the small screen in recent years.
Analysts argue that the rise of internet television is eating into the business model which allowed the cable company HBO to spend huge sums on Boardwalk Empire and other serials, such as The Sopranos and The Wire, that redefined television over the past decade.
Boardwalk Empire, which will screen here on Sky1, stars Steve Buscemi and records the rise of organised crime in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1920s. It cost an estimated $70m (45m) to make, with an hour-long, $17m (11m) pilot directed by Martin Scorsese. By contrast, the recent ITV hit drama Downton Abbey cost around 800,000 an hour to make, while the costs of the effect-laden Dr Who are around 1m an hour.
Despite HBO’s successes, according to Peter Bazalgette, who as creative director of Endemol was responsible for the UK hits Big Brother and Deal or No Deal, there is a “cloud on the horizon” for HBO.
The company makes around $1.2bn a year from its cable subscription service which reaches more homes in America – 28.6 million – than there are in the UK. But HBO has seen its subscribers dip for two consecutive quarters – for the first time in six years – and the figure of 28.6 million is its lowest for four years.
“A quarter of television sales in the US last year were internet enabled,” Mr Bazalgette said. “This year will see the launch of internet TV in the UK. The question is whether homeowners are going to pay a lot to subscribe to cable when they can pay as they go and ‘graze’ on the net. It leaves a question mark over the funding of premium content.” Nevertheless, HBO’s subscriber base will still allow it to attract the cream of Hollywood talent in the near future.
Next year, the actors Michael Gambon and Dustin Hoffman will star in the HBO drama Luck, about horse racing; while Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce will star in Mildred Pierce, a mini series based on James M Cain’s 1941 novel about a Depression-era housewife struggling to keep up appearances.
The other big hit for the channel last year, The Pacific, a mini series about the Second World War, was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, while You Don’t Know Jack, a made-for-television movie which aired in April, starred Al Pacino.
The costs may be high but so, too, are the rewards. The Pacific was nominated for 23 Emmys, winning eight. Boardwalk Empire made it into the top 10 of most TV critics’ lists of television series of the year, including that of the American Film Institute; and is nominated for three Golden Globe awards, including best TV drama.
“Boardwalk Empire lived up to both its hype and budget, weaving a complex story of good and evil as it crashed on to the shores of Atlantic City in the 1920s,” gushed The New York Times.
Peter White, the deputy editor of Television Business International, a leading industry magazine, said that more A-list stars are being drawn to HBO because it offers a creative freedom rare in Hollywood, and also supplies a film-size budget.
“I went to the industry screening for the first hour-and-a-half of Boardwalk Empire and it was like watching a movie,” he said. “It cost $17m and there’s no way the BBC can compete with that, and ITV doesn’t have to. Downton Abbey is a step in that direction, although it was partly financed by America’s NBC. A-listers have been working with HBO because they get creative freedom and also the chance to work on projects that result in 20 or 30 hours of screen time.”
GEMS AND TURKEYS
A brief guide to the HBO shows garlanded with critical acclaim and those that were critically panned and canned…
The Hits:
The Sopranos (1999-2007)
A mafia soap opera, based on the domestic and business challenges faced by kingpin Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini); set new standards for television drama.
Sex and the city (1998-2004)
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her three New York pals tapped into the fantasies of the single, modern working girl.
The Wire (2002-2008)
A slow burner about the Baltimore drugs trade from street corner to mayor’s office; raised the bar higher for TV drama.
Six Feet Under (2001-2005)
A multiple Emmy-winning drama about a funeral-home family; laced with black humour.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-)
Larry David wowed the critics with this half-improvised, excruciating comedy about his alter ego.
True Blood (2008)
Created by Alan Ball, of Six Feet Under, True Blood examined the lives of vampires and humans coexisting in Louisiana.
The Pacific (2010)
This Spielberg-Hanks produced mini series about marines during WWII, raked in viewers and Emmys.
The Misses:
Deadwood (2004-2006)
Based on real events, this expensive series, starring Ian McShane, never took off despite sumptuous sets and photography.
John From Cincinnati (2007)
Not even Luke Perry and debuting after the final episode of The Sopranos could breathe life into this tale about the California surfer community. Cancelled after one season.
Lucky Louie (2006)
This vehicle for comedian Louie CK about a blue-collar family in Boston never rose above 1.5 million viewers.
The Comeback (2005)
Starring Friends actress Lisa Kudrow, written by her and Michael Patrick King. Low audiences did for it.
Unscripted (2005)
Produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, the improvised story of struggling actors with cameos from Brad Pitt and Uma Thurman, proved too much of a vanity project for viewers.
The Mind of the Married Man (2001-2002)
This take on family life from the viewpoint of three good friends in long-term marriages drew a mixed critical response.

ADVERTISING

 Link to feature from The Independent on 10 adverts that shocked the world.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/ten-adverts-that-shocked-the-world-1909328.html