http://www.mediauk.com/ Tv news feed en-gb This compilation copyright 1994-2009 Media UK; individual stories with contributors Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:23:18 +0000 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:23:18 +0000 http://www.mediauk.com/article/4733 Media UK wizardry admin@mediauk.com (Not At All Bad Ltd) 10 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86159?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:10:23 +0000 Looks like BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) is really gearing up to be an advertising player in 2010. http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86159 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86122?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:45:20 +0000 Greyhound racing in the UK appears to be going to the dogs according to the latest figures from GRA the company backed by entrepreneur and Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson. http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86122 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86114?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:00 +0000 If you have to tell people that a friend has died, it's best to get in touch with your inner Huw EdwardsThis week, I heard about Bruno. Have you heard about Bruno? Have you heard about Sarah? Have you heard about Jonny/Geoffrey/John? I've reached the age and the stage where all have-you-heards are followed by bad news. In fact, they're followed by the worst: Bruno and Sarah and Jonny and Geoffrey and John are dead.At that moment, bizarre and illogical as it is, I feel upset that the dead person hasn't called me themselves. It seems mean that they've left it to someone else. "Have you heard about me?" Bruno would say, to which I'd reply, shocked: "No! When? What happened?" "Pulmonary embolus," he'd reply, "this morning. As I was having a cup of coffee." At which point – given there's not much use in asking how he is – I'd at least have the chance to say: "OK, right, then. Goodbye."Invariably, I ask the bereaved person if there's anything I can do; and invariably they ask me to make a few calls on their behalf, sparing them the awful repetition that's the bane of the bearer of worst tidings. This is when my BBC training kicks in.My BBC training, I should explain, is that of a viewer. Decades of watching newsreaders, from Robert Dougall to Huw Edwards, have taught me that these people are in their jobs precisely because they're so skilled at telling us who's just died. This isn't the place to debate whether good news is no news, though the Good News Bible does seem a misnomer, given that Jesus died for our sins many, many bulletins ago. The fact is, death – currently, of British soldiers in Afghanistan – is the top news story of the day, whatever the day is. Like all newsreaders, Huw, with his magnificently melancholic grave-digger's mouth, is on the Grim Reaper's payroll.Give it to them straight. That's what I've learned from the Beeb. Come out with it. Deliver your headline. If you're calling someone to tell them your mutual friend Bruno's dead, don't delay. Niceties beget niceties. You ask how they are, they ask how you are; suddenly, they're telling you how well their daughter did in her GCSEs, which you're obliged to interrupt with the news of Bruno's death, as if their daughter's exam results aren't important, which of course they're not.Instinctively, before you break your bad news, you want to get them in the mood. (Who can blame you? This is the function performed by the self-important graphics and tension-inducing beeps that precede the Bad News At 10.) Don't do it. Don't conjure the mood by saying, in a sonorous voice, that you're calling them to tell them something awful. This is meant to give them time to sit down and prepare themselves. It's your way of being kind to be cruel.But it is, in fact, doubly cruel. It gives them time to imagine what your something awful's going to be. Inevitably, they imagine you're about to tell them their husband/wife/partner/child has died in an accident. So, when you tell them about Bruno, it comes as a kind of perverse relief. Phew. It's only Bruno that's died. Their friend, not their loved one. Surely, Bruno deserves better than to have his demise relegated to not-so-bad news.State the headline, then amplify it: time and cause of death, state of nearest and dearest, funeral arrangements and so on. You'll then sense that your bulletin is coming to an end. This is when – to change channels – you'll find you're suddenly in touch with your inner Sir Trevor McDonald. You'll feel obliged to provide your audience with an "and finally" moment. Death is not the end. It can't be. The end is something cheery. This, after all, is British news we're talking about.So you deliver your "and finally": it was quick, he didn't suffer much, at least he lived long enough to go to his daughter's wedding, he had a long innings. (As long as you think in terms of the limited-overs game, not a Test match.)These homilies aren't news, though. They're speculation. How do you know he didn't suffer much? Did he tell you? No. Let bad news be bad news. There'll be time, later, when the news has sunk in, for a comforting little joke about The Weather.BBCTelevisionAfghanistanJon Canterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86114 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86111?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:30:22 +0000 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86111 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86109?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:30:21 +0000 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86109 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86110?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:30:21 +0000 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86110 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86108?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:30:20 +0000 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86108 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86107?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:30:19 +0000 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86107 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86106?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:30:18 +0000 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86106 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86105?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:30:17 +0000 Musician Calvin Harris was ejected from TV's X Factor studio by security guards after storming the stage during a performance by twins John and Edwards Grimes http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86105 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86103?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:06:46 +0000 Labour's deputy leader speaks out after public anger over the news that at least 37 BBC employees earn more than the prime ministerHarriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, last night called for the sky-high salaries paid to hundreds of the nation's senior public servants, including the heads of quangos, to be slashed in response to growing public outrage.Harman spoke out as anger grew over revelations that at least 37 of the BBC's staff now earn more than the prime minister – whose annual salary is £197,689 – and that ministry of defence staff have taken £300m in bonuses since 2003.The row was fuelled by the release of official data last week showing a record gap had opened up between average public and private sector pay during the recession. Median weekly pay in the public sector stood at £539 – up 3.1% on a year earlier – while that in the private sector was £465, up 1%.In an interview with the Observer, Harman said the pay of the highest ranking public servants, many of whom earn more than £200,000 a year, should be cut to well below the level of Gordon Brown's wage. "The huge salaries in the private sector have fed across into the public sector in a way that has got to be pulled back," she said."There are many public servants who are paid more than the prime minister – with the pay rate and bonuses – and that is just evidence of how it has got out of hand."Research by the TaxPayers' Alliance, which publishes an annual public sector rich list, found 387 people last year who received remuneration packages of £150,000 or more a year across 140 government departments, quangos, other public bodies and public corporations. Twenty-one people in the public sector earned more than £500,000 a year and four were earning more than £1m.Top of the list was Iain Coucher, chief executive of Network Rail, who earned £1,244,000, followed by Adam Crozier, chief executive of Royal Mail, who pulled in £1,142,000 .Harman said a review being carried out by the chief secretary to the treasury, Liam Byrne, into top public sector salaries would establish a "mechanism" for cutting them back to reasonable levels. Asked whether she thought a ceiling should be set so that public servants could not earn more than the prime minister, Harman added: "I don't want to give any ceiling. I am not saying that is the right ceiling because that might be too high, it might be that that is too high for everybody else."A spokesman for the Treasury said that when vacancies occurred at "non-departmental public bodies" (quangos) the government would in future review the level of pay and, if necessary, reduce it to reflect "current labour market conditions".This would not, however, be possible with the BBC which is a public corporation set up on a statutory footing, or Royal Mail, which is a public company run at arm's length from the government. But if pay rates could be curbed across the expanding network of quangos then this would set an example elsewhere in the public sector.In Wednesday's Queen's Speech, the Financial Services Authority will be given new powers to clamp down on misconduct by City firms and to constrain big bonuses in a new financial services bill. The centrepiece of the Queen's Speech, the last before a general election expected in the spring, will be a social care bill laying out plans to give the most "needy" elderly people and their families the right to 16 hours of free care a week in their homes.Middle-class families with savings and property are currently penalised by means-testing rules that mean anyone with wealth of more than £22,500 receives no financial support. Those with the highest needs are defined as anyone requiring more than 16 hours of personal care a week – such as help with washing and dressing. About 350,000 people are currently paying for that level of care at home.Harriet HarmanCivil serviceBBCToby Helmguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86103 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86104?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:06:15 +0000 Eighty British tourists on a journey to watch emperor penguins in the Antarctic have been stranded for a week after their cruise ship got stuck in the ice. The Kapitan Khlebnikov, a Russian icebreaker that takes people through the icebergs of the Weddell Sea and to Snow Hill Island rookery, set out on 3 November and was due to return tomorrow.But bad weather caused the sea-ice to compact, making it impossible for the ship, with its 105 passengers, including the 80 Britons, to break through. Among those on board are a BBC crew filming The Frozen Planet, a nature documentary series produced by Alastair Fothergill, who also made Blue Planet. A BBC spokeswoman said the team, who were supposed to take helicopter rides from the ship to film the penguins from above, were frustrated but in no danger.There are also biologists and geologists on the ship, who are said to be giving daily conferences to keep passengers entertained.Passing the message on through a satellite phone, a passenger, who has asked to remain anonymous, said: "The first three days went according to plan, but then the weather started changing. Now we have to wait for winds to change."The passengers and crew are in no danger and it is expected that the ice will decompress enough over the weekend for the ship to navigate its way out and return to Ushuaia, Argentina.AntarcticaConservationDocumentaryBBCDocumentaryAntarcticaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86104 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86097?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 Ricky Hatton was ready to rumble last week, from a variety of orifices. The boxer was guest of honour on WWE Late Night Raw (Sky Sports 3, Thursday), his first time back in the ring since Manny Pacquiao laid him out like an undertaker in May. But Hatton looked more like his hero Bernard Manning than Manny. http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86097 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86095?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:31:00 +0000 Grace Brothers, the TV department store where sitcom Are You Being Served? was set, is to reopen its doors one final time – to sell off items owned by its most famous star. http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86095 http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86087?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=rss_newsfeeds&utm_campaign=XML Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:40:17 +0000 Eleven people have been killed by a suspected suicide car bomber in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, Sky News sources say. http://www.mediauk.com/tv/news/go/86087