Sunday, December 27, 2009

CNNI Weekends: Needs Improvement

CNN International is quite frankly one of the better news channels out there.  But it is a commercial operation and thusly, needs to make a profit. 

But it has to be said that when CNNI airs on Freeview at the weekend, the only live programmes are 2 editions of World Report at 7pm UK 7 11pm UK, and World Sport at 10.30pm UK.  That’s just 1.5 hours of live programming out of 5 hours.  There’s really not enough live news, especially when you consider that France 24 has 10 minute news bulletins every 30 minutes, all the time, even weekends.

Perhaps the best way for CNN to maximise the programming is to share with CNN Domestic.  Far from ideal, but perhaps a better solution than the over-reliance on taped programming that seems to be the case now.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Progressive journalist arrested.

Maybe I’m strange but this story doesn’t make sense to me at all.  Either someone at the border has a huge case of paranoia, or a prominent independent media journalist made up a story in order to get more notoriety for herself.  The report comes from CBC News Vancouver.

There’s a longer version of this report at the CBC News website, but it seems that at the moment, they don’t allow their video to be embedded which is a shame.  There’s also the full 14 minutes of interview with Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman at the CBC News website.

Amy Goodman is known as being part of the independent progressive media, which obviously doesn’t agree with a Canadian Conservative government.  The guise of concern over Olympic security is just a cover story for an attempt to censor the media.  The media has been a favourite right wing bogeyman for years, but in more recent times, the idea of a politicised media has gained a lot of traction.  I think it’s time the media got back to basics, reporting facts and truth, rather than seeking to propagate political agendas.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

A Multiplex operator attacking the internet?

This does seem kind of strange to be reporting this, but it needs reporting.  If only because I can think of no other way to let these people know that something is badly wrong. 

I used to keep an eye on the NOW Digital website in the run up to the launch of the multiplex in Cornwall and Plymouth and for a short while afterwards as well. 

Well, I just tried to visit the site to check on capacity availability on some of their local multiplexes only to find that the website domain is now apparently harmful to computers and is a reported attack site!  Firefox completely blocked me off from the site and even Google warned me that it was harmful. 

Now whilst I think its great that that can be done, it’s strange to think what is regarded as the official website of the multiplex operator, is a reported attack site.

Global now own the multiplexes since they bought GCap Media, yet when you visit the ThisisGlobal site it makes no mention of the multiplexes at all, almost as though they don’t exist.  It’s really kind of poor.

Now, I’m not being critical of NOW Digital, just whoever is supposed to be looking after their web presence, but even Charles Allen at Global should realise that such a situation should not be allowed to continue as should word of this go much beyond this blog, it will create some very bad PR for Global and NOW Digital.  We already know that commercial radio is reluctant to go digital, despite their protestations that there should be a switchover date, something I believe would actually be a huge mistake.

There is no reason whatsoever to switch off AM & FM, however, more UK broadcasters should be looking towards DRM, DAB+ and HD Radio as possibilities for future expansion of digital radio.  However, just as there is no reason to switch off AM and FM, neither would there be any reason to switch off DAB. 

The cynic in me is saying that this is just another example of how committed to the future of broadcasting commercial radio is, in other words, not very.  But I truly hope the cynical side is wrong.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Viewpoint - MPs Expenses & Commons Reform

A committee that was set up in the wake of the MPs expenses scandal, has published a report that is nothing to do with the MPs Expenses scandal.  Ian Beaumont tells the committee what they REALLY should be worried about.

Stay tuned for a Viewpoint Election Commentary coming up shortly.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Time Travel

Scenes from various times.  My contribution to the NaVloPoMo chain.

 

Toss that over to you, Kath!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Lou Dobbs leaves CNN

In his final edition of “Lou Dobbs Tonight”, the former business anchor spoke about his decision to leave the network he was a founding member of back in 1980.

There has been lots of speculation about Lou going to Fox News or Fox Business, but I do remember previous speculation about him making a run for Congress at some stage.  It could well be that he might make a run for a congressional seat, not sure where.  Alternatively, he may turn up somewhere completely unexpected.

Lou Dobbs has a radio show, so he won’t be leaving the air entirely.  It’ll be interesting to see what his next move will be.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Update: Fort Hood shooting

FortHoodMap

Okay, developments are coming in fast here at the OpsCentre and I’m doing my best to sort them out.

What we know is that the shooter was a Major Nidal Malik Hasan, he was a doctor, a mental health professional, working at the medical facility on base.  There have been reports that he was due soon to be deployed to Iraq.

Fort Hood is still on lockdown right now.  CNN International is taking the domestic network.  MSNBC is also covering the story extensively.  BBC News is dipping in and out of coverage as required, as is Sky News

NaVloPoMo 2009 – Day 5: Fort Hood Shooting

This was not what I had planned for day 5, but Viewpoint is a news and media blog and as such, plans can get changed at the last minute.  Commentary on the ongoing story at Fort Hood, nr Austin, Texas.

NaVloPoMo 2009 – Day 4: US election insight.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Cross Dressing student sent home from school.

Okay, this caught my attention, especially as it looks like it is a pure discrimination case.  KHOU’s Courtney Zubowski has the story.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

CNN Abu Dhabi opens.

CNN has opened up their new Abu Dhabi broadcast hub, and broadcast their first shows from there.  Amanpour is currently airing a week of programmes from there, and Stan Grant is anchoring a programme called “Prism” every day.

In this video, Stan Grant himself takes us around the new bureau and broadcast hub.

NaVloPoMo 2009 – Day 3: US Election Day 2009

Ian Beaumont looks forward to today's off year elections in the US.

New BBC site: Democracy Live

The BBC has launched a new site as part of BBC News.  It’s called Democracy  Live and presents live coverage of the parliaments in Westmister, Holyrood and Brussels, and the assemblies at Stormont and Cardiff Bay.

Democracy Live also presents recorded coverage of every chamber, committee room and the Westminster Hall as well.

Monday, November 02, 2009

NaVloPoMo – Day 2: Afghanistan

A few points about the election of Hamid Karzai as President of Afghanistan.

Viewpoint Extra - NY 23: Republican backs Democrat not Conservative

There has been a further fascinating development in the story of Congressional District NY-23's special election.  Ian Beaumont examines these and looks at the possibilities for US right wing politics in the future.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

ITV News revamp tomorrow

With ITV News launching a new look tomorrow morning at 5.30 am, those of us who take an interest in that sort of thing will be watching with a lot of interest. 

New set, new music, new graphics, all sorts of things changing.  It’ll be interesting to look at and Ident City will have the coverage over the next few days.

NaVloPoMo 2009 – Day 1

The first video for National Vlog Posting Month, and again, a different style of video from what you're used to from me.  You might even say it was... golden!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Viewpoint - NY 23: Conservatism's first big election breakthrough?

In New York, a special election for the House of Representatives has garnered a lot of attention.  Ian Beaumont analyses developments.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Rachel Maddow: Why Fox News is not news.

Due to a personal situation, I haven’t been keeping up with things as much as I should have, but I’ve just spotted this commentary from Rachel Maddow about a week ago.

Actually, I call it a commentary but it’s the best piece by piece reasoning as to why Fox News Channel is not a news channel, but a political action group.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Keith Olbermann: Healthcare reform

I only just spotted this but recently, Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s Countdown devoted an entire programme to the healthcare reform debate that is consuming America’s politicians, politicos and those with an interest, which is in reality, everyone.

The video I am posting here is of the full programme, minus commercials, all 43 minutes of it.  You might not want to take it all in in one sitting, it took me two.  But I implore everyone to watch this, if you haven’t already, or indeed watch it again.  Because there are certain inexorable inalienable truths that Keith exposes in this Special Comment, and it is worth watching if even just for that.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I will have some things to say myself soon on this, and I hope you will listen with open ears, open mind and open heart.

Viewpoint – Republican sour grapes

Saturday, October 17, 2009

New Livestream Beta

I run a online TV channel on the Livestream platform, called IBC SuperChannel.  Right now, I’m testing out the new beta that Livestream have just released for public testing.

I have to admit, I’m using it as a chance to totally review everything.  I’ve temporarily switched to a pure music mix, to keep the channel under the 10 GB limit that Livestream have. 

But I am looking to do what I can to restore the service to full service as soon as possible. 

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Inside the Massachusetts Superior Court

Last night in Boston, WGBH aired a special presentation of their nightly public affairs programme “Greater Boston”.  The programme celebrated 150 years of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Superior Court.  As part of the programme, there was a 5 minute or so feature, showing you a day in the life of a Massachusetts Superior Court justice.  I’ve embedded the whole show below, but I have to say the day in the life segment was fascinating.

This is why Public Television is so good.  Whether its WGBH in Boston, the BBC in London or RTE in Dublin, it’s this kind of programming that makes public television worth paying for, whether directly to the broadcaster, or through a licence fee.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

New Doctor Who Logo!

It may be that if you’re outside the UK, the video may not work.  If you want to see the new logo, click here.

Friday, October 02, 2009

Olympic Decision Day for 2016 – Part 2

So the Olympics in 2016, will go to Rio De Janeiro, two years after they host the Football World Cup. 

I have to say, maybe two big events in quick succession like this may be too much.  I hope not, but I have some doubts.

I guess we’ll see in the months and years to come.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Public Radio taking over Classical radio.

WGBH in Boston has announced that it has bought a classical music radio station in New England, WCRB on 99.5FM.  So what you say, broadcasters buy other broadcasters?  True, but the equivalent in the UK would be the BBC buying Classic FM!  WGBH is a public broadcasting station, which broadcasts a lot of classical music programming on 89.7, alongside NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and PRI’s The World.

This is not the first time this has happened either.  Earlier this year, New York public radio station WNYC, bought WQXR, New York’s only Classical Music radio station from its previous owners, The New York Times.  However, the frequency of 96.3 where WQXR broadcasted on, had been separately sold to Univision, in exchange for the 105.9 frequency.  So the frequency of 105.9 has been sold to WNYC along with WQXR.  Price tag, a mere $11.5 million. 

So from October 8th, WQXR moves to 105.9 in New York, and becomes a public radio station rather than a commercial radio station.  Now if such a move were to happen here in the UK with the BBC buying Classic FM , there would be TOTAL uproar from the commercial sector, claiming the BBC was looking to take over commercial radio, nationalise the whole broadcast sector etc.  I can just imagine it happening, so how come even the totally rabid and unreasoning right wing nuts haven’t jumped all over this claiming socialised broadcasting by the back door or some other similarly daft accusation.

Maybe it would be because the commercial talk radio sector has been nationalised by the back door over the course of the last 20 years.  Most talk radio stations have a local breakfast show, then everything from about 9am onwards is syndicated, or worse, syndicated and recorded from earlier.

Anyway, back to the story at hand, and WCRB’s sale to WGBH gives the public broadcaster a real mini broadcast network in New England.  It already has 2 TV stations, WGBH on Channel 2 and WGBX on Channel 44, plus the main WGBH FM broadcast on 89.7, with 2 relays, and the WCAI service in Cape Cod on 90.1 with two relays.  Adding WCRB on 99.5 gives WGBH a real advantage over other broadcasters.  Few public broadcasting operations in the USA are both on radio and television, and WGBH is by far and away the most well known.  In New York, WNYC is the big public radio service, with an FM service on 93.9, an AM service on 820 and the upcoming all classical WQXR on 105.9.  But WNYC has no TV station.  For that, you’d have to add the WNET operation which runs two stations, WNET on 13 and WLIW on 21.

But I am surprised that there hasn’t been a more public outcry from those on the extreme right decrying this obvious encroachment of public broadcasting into commercial territory, at least in terms of frequencies.  It had been the rule that Public Radio stayed in the 88-95 part of the FM band whilst commercial radio occupied the 95-108 part.  Methinks the wing nuts are too worried about to socialised medicine to have noticed.  Or it could be that they’re so busy bowing down to the “god of talk radio” that is Boss Limburger, Rush Limbaugh, and defending him from his own words played back to him that again it has escaped their attention.  Perhaps they are too busy attacking Air America and the BBC and Al Jazeera and any number of other broadcasters who actually do reporting rather than just parroting talking points, that again, it escapes their notice.  Or maybe its because they consider NPR to be an honorary member of the conservative media, that they give things like this a pass. 

Whatever the reason, it means a stronger public media is slowly emerging, a public media that is based primarily in Washington, Boston and New York.  Could be a very interesting time for public broadcasting in the US.  I know the BBC will be slightly envious of the lack of attention being paid to these moves.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Viewpoint: 9/11 +8

It was 8 years ago today when the world changed forever.  9/11 as it was to become known killed over 3,000 people in 4 separate attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC and in Virgina.  Ian Beaumont looks back at a day that lives in the minds of all who witnessed it.

Top 3 stories: Thursday 10 September

These are the stories that have garnered my attention today.

3Republican Represenetative Joe Wilson of South Carolina last night shouted “You Lie!” at President Obama during his special address to Congress.  Today he apologised to the White House, and his apology was accepted.  He should be barred from the chamber for about 3 months or so.  In the UK, calling a politician a liar in the Palace Of Westminster is not allowed.  Offenders get named and shamed, ejected from the chamber, and then barred from returning for a length of time determined by his fellow politicians.  Joe Wilson got away lightly.  South Carolina’s electors should show their displeasure with him at the next election in Nov 2010.

2Another South Carolina Republican is in trouble.  Governor Mark Sanford held another press conference today in order to fight the growing calls for him to resign.  He even stated today that moves to impeach him should wait until an ethics investigation ends.  He will even take legal action to prevent a preliminary report from being given to state legislators.  HE could save all this trouble, and he should.  He should resign.

1The kidnapping of New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell was a story that the paper famous for “all the news that’s fit to print”, didn’t want to print, and didn’t want anybody else to report.  Executive Editor Bill Keller told NPR’s Talk Of The Nation programme that he had conducted a campaign to keep the story out of the news.  This is the first time I’ve heard of this happening.  Usually news organisations bite the bullet and report anyway.  Bill Keller needs to rethink that strategy for the future.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Obama’s address to Congress: The real keys.

Okay, here is the key points from President Barack Obama’s address to a special joint session of Congress.

1.  Obama proposes that his healthcare reform plan will be deficit-neutral.  In other words, it will not add one cent to the US national deficit.

2.  If you already have health insurance, you will NOT be forced to change your plan.  I repeat, you will NOT be forced to change your plan.

3.  Under Obama’s plan, it will be against the law for coverage to be denied because of a pre-existing condition.

4.  Under Obama’s plan, insurance companies will not be able to drop coverage or water it down when you get ill.

5.  A new insurance exchange will be created for those who change jobs, lose their jobs, and for small business owners.

6.  Tax credits will be provided to those who are most struggling to afford health insurance.

7.  All individuals will be required to have basic health insurance, in the same way that all drivers are required to have car insurance.

8.  The Public Insurance option must be self sufficient like any other business, and rely on the premiums they collect.

9.  Not one dollar of Medicare money will be used to pay for health reform.

10.  Medicare will be protected.

Those are the main points of an almost 60 minute long speech, interupted many times by standing ovations from the left and the right. 

I hate to say it, but knowing the Republican speech was actually written days in advance, long before we knew what was in President Obama’s speech, did seem to render it somewhat meaningless.  The fact that someone, we believe a Republican, shouted out “You lie!” at one point, obviously pointed out that some people in Congress have no intention of accepting any reform, even though the President said accepting the status quo is not an option.

This was a good speech, but I do wonder if the partisanship we have seen over the past month can be put to one side, and politicians actually do what they were elected to do, and that is to solve the real problems that America and the world faces.

Monday, September 07, 2009

CNN’s Freeview stream: don’t sell hours to others!

When CNN started on Freeview, they ran from 9pm to 1am.  Not a lot of time for a 24 hour news channel.  Then it got extended to 7pm to 2am, but then they sold on their last two hours to SuperCasino, then to Challenge Jackpot, and now to Rocks & Co. 

Last night, after the best of the Sitaution Room, we got treated to a lesson for broadcasters in why it is not a good idea to sell hours on to other broadcasters, when you already have the programming available to fill it.

Rocks and Co, who are currently timesharing the 7 hour CNNI stream on Freeview, have spent the whole time since midnight showing a very boring loop, stating that Live Auctions will begin at 8am.  Now that’s as well may be, but that’s of no use to us watching on Freeview Channel 84, which will switch off at 2am, 6 hours before the next set of live auctions is due to begin.

If this is going to keep happening then maybe CNN should forget about selling on the 2 hours from Midnight to 2am.  CNBC has all but given up on their 3 hour “Poker Channel Europe” slot, restricting it now to Saturdays and Sundays, whilst Asian market coverage gets aired the rest of the week.  Now, CNN should take a leaf out of the CNBC book, and forget completely about selling the two hours after Midnight.  Just air CNN Today on Freeview, and you’ll not only fill the hours, but when the US President speaks to the US, usually at 8pm ET, you’ll be on air in the UK for people to watch, instead of tuning to Sky or Cable.

Tonight’s after midnight debacle should be a lesson to all those who think broadcasting is about making money.  Nobody will have stayed tuned in during these two hours.  They will have tuned away almost immediately, because there was nothing to show.  Content is still king, and like it or not, will forever be king.  That’s why so many people are watching internet shows and podcasts, reading blogs and tweets, because that’s where the content is.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Viewpoint Original: The Plymouth Argyle situation.

There is a break for Premiership and Championship clubs this weekend as International matches are played.  Paul Sturrock of Plymouth Argyle must be happy to have the internationals take the attention away from the performance of Plymouth Argyle.

5 matches, 2 draws, 3 losses, no wins.  23rd in the Championship and currently in a position that would mean relegation at the end of the season.

Paul Sturrock has made a pledge to stay on and help Argyle turn the corner, rather than resign and move aside for someone else.

Now, it would very easy for me to say that Paul Sturrock should resign.  It would also be relatively easy for me to say that Paul Sturrock should stay and help Argyle turn it around.  But for me it’s never been about easy options, but about seeking and telling the truth.  So here it is.

Paul Sturrock, the only person who can make the decision when or whether to go from Plymouth Argyle is you.  Sure, fans like myself will say their piece, as they are perfectly entitled to do, but at the end of the day, only you, in your heart of hearts, will know if you CAN turn it around or not.  IF you know you can, then you will have my full support.  But if you know it is not possible for you to do this, deep down inside of you, then I would suggest that you step aside from the managerial role and make room for someone who can do it.

After the past few years of success that Argyle has enjoyed, this is the kind of start no-one likes to see.  Second from bottom is not where Argyle belongs.  We all know that.  There is still hope for an automatic promotion place.  But it has to start with the very next match, otherwise, even getting to a play off spot will be almost impossible.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Canadian phony Election has begun!

Oh boy!  Here we go!

Literally minutes after Michael Ignatieff, leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, announced that he would no longer support the Conservative minority government on Stephen Harper, Stephen Harper comes out and says that the decision goes against Canada’s interests in this economic downturn.

The phony election campaign has begun, and the government isn’t even out of power yet.  Whilst political instability is never a good thing, you could never call a minority government stable, given the fact it could get voted out at any time.

The fact is Harper’s Conservative government has been behind the curve on economic recovery from day 1 of this global recession, whilst other countries including the US, UK, France and Germany have been ahead of the curve.

Harper has been given too many chances to just limp on.  I’m glad that some decisive action will be taken.  Decisiveness is just what Canada needs right now, in order to catch up with other countries.  But whether that will be best served by Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, or a different prime minister is another question altogether.

Plymouth Herald seen in Truro

It’s been over 20 years since I last saw the Plymouth Herald on sale in Truro at all.  Back then, it was an “evening” paper, usually on sale in Truro by about 2.30 at the latest.  It was one of the few papers that I actually made a point of buying at all.  Most others actually didn’t interest me.  I used to buy the West Briton Argus when that was produced.  It was a Monday tabloid update to the Thursday broadsheet West Briton, and was very cheap.  I think when the Argus got absorbed into the main Thursday paper, The Argus would have been on sale for something like 15p on a Monday. 

Anyway, I was in town this morning, and what did I happen to see as I walked into a local newsagent this morning?  The Plymouth Herald.  Now a morning papers, as it has been since October 2006.  Still relatively cheap at just 36p, which is in fact cheaper than it’s sister paper, the Western Morning News. 

I’m hoping that this is a sign of a more permanent return to Cornwall’s newsagents.  Years ago, before my living memory, there was a Cornwall Evening Herald as well.  Perhaps the Plymouth Herald could also produce a separate edition for Cornwall, much like its sister paper does.  I for one would be all for it.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Disney buys Marvel - more corporate conservatism?

Imagine this: you are webslinging across the New York city skyline, just like Spiderman. You swing round to see the famous Baxter Building, home of the Fantastic Four, twith its big "4" rooftop landing pad. But as you swing by, you notice something unusual. The circle 4 logo, has suddenly got Mickey Mouse ears!

Okay, this is not likely to happen! But, it does highlight the strangeness of this whole deal. Disney is buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Sounds like a lot of money for a comic book company. But when you look at this in detail, like I have, you notice there are things about this whole deal that seem to be totally wrong here.

First off, is a simple one. The reputations of each company. Disney is well known for it's family friendly image. It's not well known for edgy, controversial and rosky storylines, like Marvel does in its comics. Will we end up seeing a Disney-fied Marvel as a result, with comics more aimed at younger children than at the current teen market? Only time will tell. But that must be a worry for the artists that work for Marvel.

Secondly, when you look at the indivdual properties that Marvel owns (most of these being characters and their related franchises), it would seem that Disney has got somewhat of a bargain, maybe even significantly underpaid the real value of Marvel. Marvel has over 5000 characters across its multitudes of comic books, and many years of history too.

Spiderman for instance, has been around since 1962. He made his first transition to television in the late 1960s cartoon, with perhaps the most memorable sung theme tune lyrics in history. "Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can...". He made his first live action appearance in 1978 TV specials, which were actually very well produced, and filmed, managing to achieve the effect of having him crawl up walls and make it look good. He had since also appeared in another 6 animated shows, including two running simulataneously in 1981, and the hit "Spiderman:The Animated Series" which ran from 1994 to 1998.

But it's been the recent Spiderman films that have made Spiderman a huge franchise. Since 2002, Tobey Maguire's Spiderman has catapulted the character into the stratusphere. Without doubt the Sam Raimi directed films have done more for the character than all the previous versions put together, taking almost $2.5 billion in box office revenues worldwide. Two films featuring another Marvel character, The Incredible Hulk, in the same time period, have taken over $500 million. Two films featuring The Fantastic Four in 2005 and 2007, grossed over $600 million. Put together the earnings from these three franchises alone, and it comes to $3.6 billion. Put that next to the $4 billion that Disney is paying, and it doesn't half look like Disney seriously underpaid for Marvel.

But the biggest concern I have in all this, is will we see the taming of the risk taking Marvel, by the more conservative Disney? It's been a growing trend across news media, broadcast media and entertainment media over the past 20 years. Corporations do not like taking risks. But Marvel had taken many risks over the years, including the purchase in 1981 of DFE Films, the company that produced the Pink Panther cartoons, which then became Marvel Productions.

The 1994 animated Spiderman series was a big risk, as they used a lot of new techniques in order to achieve the look that they wanted. But it cost a lot of money. So they started resorting to all the usual tricks to save money, such as repeating animations, a favourite trick of Filmation. Also, multi-part stories became the order of business, in order to cut down on the number of characters that they would have to animate.

Despite the success of Spiderman, Marvel went bankrupt in 1996. The fear of bankruptcy is what makes corporations very conservative. They will not take a risk. We've seen corporate conservatism at work already. In 1993, there were 15 ITV companies, each with their own ideas. Now, there is 1 dominant ITV company - ITV plc, and 3 smaller ones. ITV companies used to take risks with shows they had no idea if it would even work. Now, everything has to be in profit before it even aires. 15 diverse broadcasters have been replaced by 1 large broadcaster that seems scared of its own shadow.

Then there is the GWR/GCap/Global situation in commercial radio. In the late 1980's, commercial radio was forced to split FM and AM programming, creating two stations where there had previously only been one. The ILR heritage stations remained on FM< whilst new oldies stations were created on AM. GWR created Brunel Classic Gold on AM and as GWR bought up stations, they imported the Classic Gold name and format. In 1998, GWR sought the approval of the Radio Authority to network Classic Gold for 20 hours a day. They were granted this, and so began the process of creating a semi-national network, cutting expenses and local programmes, because of their growing corporate conservatism. Classic Gold is now Gold. But of course it didn't stop there.

They increased their networking arrangements on FM. Evenings and Overnights became the first easy targets for FM network programmes. It was understandable. In the early days of commercial radio, some neighbouring stations would get together to provide a mini network for evenings and overnights. The Yorkshire Radio Network, combinig Pennine Radio, Radio Hallam and Viking Radio, provided programmes most evenings and for a bit longer at weekends. Other little networks also emerged, so it was an easy target for GWR, or as they would later become, GCap.

But it took until Global had taken over GCap, for FM network to reach into daytime, with OFCOM allowing a rule change that allowed stations to broadcast just 10 hours of locally originated programming a day on weekdays. The Heart FM network would simulcast Toby Anstis between 10am and 1pm, in order, as they would say, to allow a big name personality to generate revenue across the network. Unfortuantely, Toby is such a bad radio presenter, that the only thing keeping him on air is his supposed star power.
That's the root of the thinking of corporate conservatism. Big names + big audience = profit. But it doesn't always work that way.

Now corporate conservative Disney is going to buy Marvel, and will we see the same corporate conservatism infect Marvel, like it has infected many other media corporations over the years? I hope not, but I'm not confident.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Murdoch claims independent journalism threatened by "dominant" BBC.

So James Murdoch, the head of NewsCorp in Europe, says a dominant BBC damages independent journalism in the UK.

The hypocrisy of that statement is positively drooling out of his mouth even as he says it.

NewsCorp has never been interested in independent journalism. All they are interested in is making sure that the conservative viewpoint is the dominant viewpoint. All other viewpoints are to be disparaged, dismissed, and generally made fun of. To them, there is only one truth, the one they manufacture to fit their own prejudices, whether it happens to fit the facts or not.

It gets better! Giving the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival, he said "The expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision."

He said this with no sense of being a hypocrite, no sense of irony, seemingly no sense of anything. If he had, he wouldn't have said what he said.

News provision has been dominated by conservative media over the years, especially in newspapers. UK newspapers are predominantly conservative in political bias, and that bias has been getting steadily more pronounced over the years, especially since the 1990s.

Broadcast news has less choice, with BBC, Sky and ITN basically dominating the market, and no other provider really stepping up to the plate since the demise of BSB back in 1990.

NewsCorp really wants to dominate news provision over here, in the way that FOX News Channel dominates cable news in the US. They see the BBC as a barrier to that kind of dominance, a barrier that doesn't exist in the same way in the US.

There's another fact that renders his statement factually incorrect. You're reading it. A blog. There are millions of them, across the world. There is also Twitter, which I consider to be the digest version of the blog. Tweets of no more than 140 characters, meaning you have to be very concise with your text.

If I were to tweet this, it would come out something like "Murdoch says BBC threatens independent journalism. Massive hypocrisy, blogs and tweets are the new independent journalism." That comes out at 123 characters. You'd be surprised what you can say in 140 characters or less.

Blogs and tweets are the new independent journalism that anyone can do, and best of all, anyone can read you. My own blogs and tweets have been followed and read by state governments, multinational companies, broadcasters, and politicians. I can't pretend that I am a major influence, but it is fascinating to know these people are interested enough in what you write to read it.

So you see, it just goes to prove that James Murdoch's statement was not only factually wrong, but way behind the times. Sky is not the new kid on the block anymore. There are media moguls a plenty out there on the web, and some of them may well be the next Rupert Murdoch in the next 10-20 years.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Angelina Jolie back in leather… finally!

Her hotness is truly back!

I was a bit slow on this but to be honest, it has been so long since Angelina Jolie provided us with a moment like this that I thought her more kinky side had gone into hibernation.  Apparently not, or maybe it just woke up!

Popoholic has pictures of Angelina in a totally sexy strapless leather dress.  Now she only wears gladiator-style high heels with the dress.  I would have prefered to have seen a nice pair of leather knee high boots with the pointed toe, for extra kinky points.  A pair of long leather opera gloves would have then given the outfit a classy touch, without making it less kinky.  But never mind.  Leather is leather, and its lovely to see.  We haven’t seen her wearing leather like that since the Mr & Mrs Smith premiere and that infamous leather dress.

It just goes to prove, she can still work a good leather outfit, make it both kinky and classy, and look classy herself.  All you young Hollywood pretenders, this is your homework.  Find the Mr & Mrs Smith premiere pictures, look at these ones from the Inglorious Basterds premiere, and see how you wear leather and make it look classy.  Here endeth the lesson.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Viewpoint – Review of Season 1

Ian Beaumont looks back on the stories that have most influenced Viewpoint over this past season just gone. 

Monday, July 27, 2009

Viewpoint - The Lingerie Football League

Even in the middle of the Major League Baseball season, Ian Beaumont looks forward to the return of American Football, but in this episode of Viewpoint, Ian talks about an American Football league - with a very sexy difference.

For more on the Lingerie Football League, have a look at their official website here.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Viewpoint – Transgendered mayor in trouble

A transgendered mayor in an Oregon town is embroiled in controversy, but as Ian Beaumont reports, it's really all a storm in a C-cup!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Mark Buehrle: The Perfect Game

The match: Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox.

The pitcher for the Sox: Mark Buehrle.

The Perfect Game: 27 Batters, 27 Outs, 0 Hits, 0 Walks, 0 Errors.

Sit back, relax and enjoy a moment of pure perfection.  All 27 outs, including extended highlights of the 25th out, the first in the 9th inning, which unquestionably saved the perfect game.

The coverage is from Comcast Sportsnet Chicago.  Your commentators are Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone & Bill Melton.

The final box score looked like this…

FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Extra Runs Hits Errors
Chicago White Sox 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0
Tampa Bay Rays 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 X X 5 6 0

 

Buehrle struck out 6 batters during his perfect game.  There have only been 18 perfect games in the history of Major League Baseball.  The previous one was pitched by Randy Johnson for the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2004.  Congratulations to Mark Buehrle.  You’re in a very exclusive club now.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Katie Couric: Walter Cronkite

Late Show monologue: Friday 17th July 2009

Katie Couric: Rhode Island


Watch CBS Videos Online

I didn’t know the state was officially called “Rhode Island and Providence Plantations”!

Late Show Top 10: Signs You’re Watching A Bad Wizard Movie!

Late Show monologue – Thursday 16th July 2009

Katie Couric: Crocs

Viewpoint – Walter Cronkite 1916-2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Viewpoint – Sex education and society

Late Show Monologue: Wednesday 15th July 2009

Worst Person In The World: Orly Taitz... again!

Worst Person In The World: Soldier trying to avoid Afghanistan deployement.



As a bonus, we present the footage of former Speaker of the House and Tuesday's Bronze medal winner, Newt Gingrich, putting his foot in his mouth on Al Jazeera English!

CBS Late Show: Top Ten signs Sonia Sotomayor is getting cocky.

Katie Couric: Court History

I do like Katie’s notebook pieces.  These short 1 minute pieces have slowly become the template for my Viewpoint pieces in terms of length and commentary style, with some of my own touches added.  I could never talk for just a minute about anything, but it does help to have a prompter that has a 2500 character limit on it.  Helps me keep my writing concise.

Late Show Monologue: 14th July 2009

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

NASA’s Endeavour finally pays off.

Finally, at the 6th attempt, the space shuttle Endeavour has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

The shuttle is taking Canadian astronaut Julie Payette to meet up with fellow Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk, who is at the International Space Station.

NASA TV continues to have full coverage of the mission.

Worst Person In The World: Pastor Wylie Drake

Late Show monologue: Monday 13th July 2009

Katie Couric: Cures of cursing

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Monday, July 13, 2009

Viewpoint – Alcohol, Newquay and Teens

In the wake of a teenager dying after falling off a cliff in Newquay, harsh words are being used all over the story, and Ian Beaumont tries to cut through the emotion and get to the facts.

Monday, July 06, 2009

A Republican I can agree with… almost!

The video you see below is Republican Congressman Peter King on New York, and he’s talking about the way the media has treated the Michael Jackson story.  Now, I can agree with almost every word he says, but there just a few I can’t agree with.  Look at the video and can you guess which ones I can’t agree with?

 

So, any guesses?

 

The words are “low-life”, “pervert”, “child molester”, “paedophile”. 

Michael Jackson was NEVER convicted of child molestation or paedophilia.  Now, if Peter King had used words such as “celebrity”, “singer” or “superstar”, then I could have agreed with him 100%.  Being the TruthSeeker isn’t something I am for show, it is something that pervades every ounce of my being.  Factual accuracy has to be at 100%, 100% of the time.  It may well be that Peter King believes Jackson was guilty, like many others believe OJ Simpson was guilty of murder, but like OJ, he wasn’t convicted, so he should have tempered his opinions with words like “I think”, “I believe”, “in my opinion”, you get the picture.  But no, Peter King used those words as though they were fact, recorded history, truth, undeniable.  So, Peter King gets +50% on the TruthSeekerMeter, which rates a “partially true”

TruthSeekerMeter

Friday, July 03, 2009

Viewpoint Extra: What’s the buzz in San Diego?

And the bee keeper has come in and done his job, and we’re now back into the ball game.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

What’s the buzz in San Diego?

I’m watching this unfold on ESPN America, with coverage being provided by Fox Sports Houston. 

A swarm of bees has descended on a chair just by the left field line, during the top of the 9th Inning.  Houston Astros were leading the San Diego Padres by 6 to 1 with 2 outs down in the top of the 9th, when the left fielder comes in and alerts the umpires to the situation.  A swarm of bees has taken up temporary residence under a jacket that had been worn by one of the ball girls.

I’m told that swarms have stopped other sporting events, but I have to say, this is the first time I have seen this happen.  It’s fascinating coverage right now, and they’re saying that they expect play to resume in the next 15 to 30 minutes. 

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Viewpoint - Idiot Brigade Awards! - 7th-13th June 2009

Ian Beaumont has 3 gold medal worthy moments of idioticness to talk about, but only one can get the first Idiot Brigade Awards Gold Medal!  Will it be the Malk Maid, Michelle Malkin who gets the gold medal?  Or perhaps Boss Limburger of the Republican Party himself, Rush Limabugh! 

 

Look out for another Idiot Brigade Awards episode next Saturday here on Viewpoint.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Viewpoint – New York Senate Coup

In the wake of a Republican power grab in the New York State Senate, Ian Beaumont is uncompromising about Republicans and their so called love of "Democracy".

Worst Person In The World: Rep Pete Hoekstra

Monday, June 08, 2009

Viewpoint Election Special – They think it’s all over…

Despite the fact that the media have moved on to other stories, the European Elections are still not quite over.  Ian Beaumont looks at where we are, and rounds up the facts and figures from this European Election.

Viewpoint Election Special – European Elections

The European Election results have been much slower to declare tonight than was originally planned.  Recorded after 1am in the morning, Ian Beaumont reviews developments to this point.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Viewpoint Election Special – Ireland’s Councils take shape.

As the shape of Ireland's City and County Counicl's become clearer, it looks like the councils have lost their "Green" fingers!  Ian Beaumont reviews developments.

Viewpoint Election Special – Ireland’s Local Elections

Friday, June 05, 2009

CBS News: The growth of online porn

Is the viewing of online porn addictive?  CBS News medical correspondent Dr John LaPook talks to addictions treatment specialist Mavis Humes Baird about the growth of online pornography.

Viewpoint Election Special – What a difference a day makes.

They say a week is a long time in politics.  The past 24 hours for Gordon Brown and Labour have been a marathon at 100mph!  Ian Beaumont reviews the day's events.

Viewpoint – from City Media Productions – Purnell’s Resignation.

This was recorded at 3pm on Friday 5th June 2009.

Viewpoint Election Special – The South West turns blue!

It's been a busy day.  The South West is turning blue, the cabinet is being reshuffled, and the Independent and minor party surge hasn't happened.  Ian Beaumont roundups developments.

Viewpoint Special – John Hutton Resigns

Ian Beaumont reports on the breaking news of another resignation, in the midst of a Cabinet Reshuffle.

Breaking News: John Hutton Resigns

Well, we have the sixth resignation in 4 days.  John Hutton, the Defence Secretary has resigned.  It seems he will not be a part of the ongoing reshuffle.  Whilst he is making it clear that in his mind, this has nothing to do with not supporting the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the very fact that during a reshuffle, he decides that the time is right to leave government, is none the less, telling in itself.  He was another Blairite supporter, and it seems to me that the links between the old Blair government and the current Brown government are slowly being torn away.

Stay tuned, we will update you on this blog as developments merit.

Viewpoint Election Special – Overnight Results & Reshuffle begins.

The first results from the UK Local Elections came in overnight, and new developments in the Government crisis after last night's resignation.  Ian Beaumont roundups the overnight developments.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Viewpoint Election Special – Polls close and Purnell Resigns!

The news came out just as the polls closed at 10pm.  In this first Viewpoint Election Special, Ian Beaumont takes a look at the breaking news, and just what could happen in the local elections.

Viewpoint – from City Media Productions - 1m

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Bill O’Reilly on George Tiller, in his own words.

This video is embedded in reference to the commentary given by Keith Olbermann about the lack of hubris from Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly.  This is what O’Reilly said, in his own words, in his Talking Points Memo segment.  It is as sickening as it is egotistical.