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Ofcom Launches Sky Picnic Consultation

Media regulator Ofcom today launched a public consultation on plans by Sky to replace its free-to-air channels with pay-TV services on Freeview.

Sky currently provides Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky 3 on the digital terrestrial platform.

The broadcaster unveiled details of its new service - Picnic - on Monday which would offer Sky Sports 1, Sky One and Sky Movies SD1 as well as two channels - one factual, the other a children's channel - on a pay basis.

It requires the approval of Ofcom before changes can be implemented on its Freeview channels

Ofcom said: "As a result of the success of Freeview, the DTT platform has become the single largest platform for the delivery of digital TV in the UK. As digital switchover approaches, the DTT platform is reaching a significant transition point which may have implications for the development of pay TV services.

"It is essential that Ofcom considers how it can best ensure fair and effective competition for the benefit of consumers in the light of the development of the DTT platform, Sky’s strong market position in pay TV and the specific aspects of the proposal.

"The Sky proposal would increase the choice and availability of retail pay TV services on the DTT platform. Consumers would be presented with an increase in choice of sports, movies, factual, children’s and general entertainment programming.

"However, it would also have an impact on competition for pay TV services on DTT and possibly across other digital TV platforms. For example, if as a result of Sky’s position in the wholesale provision of sports and movies channels, Sky were to emerge as the main retailer of pay TV services not only on the satellite platform but also on DTT, other providers of pay TV services may find it more difficult to enter the market. This may not be in the long term interest of consumers.

Ofcom wants to ensure that consumers have the benefit of innovation and new services on digital TV while ensuring fair and effective competition in pay TV, both on DTT and more widely. Such an outcome would maximize benefits for consumers now and in the future.

The consultation period will end on December 14.

waveguide.co.uk

Sooty For Sale

Sooty, Sweep and Sue, the panda, are being put up for sale by owner Hit Entertainment.

The first television appearance of Sooty was on the BBC in the Fifties when he appeared alongside Harry Corbett who had bought the puppet in Blackpool for his son Matthew.

The programme moved in ITV in 1968 and Matthew succeeded his father as presenter in the Seventies.

The characters were sold to Hit Entertainment in 1996.



Alan Johnston To Tell His Kidnap Story

Former BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston is to tell the story of his kidnap ordeal in two special BBC programmes on October 27.

An hour-long Panorama special on BBC One will feature an extended Jeremy Vine interview and in From Our Own Correspondent, on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service, Johnston will tell his story in his own words.

He spent 114 days in captivity after being abducted at gunpoint by militants on 12 March in Gaza City earlier this year.

Panorama will feature reports from the Middle East, the US and the UK as well as interviews with those involved in the efforts to free Johnston.

In From Our Own Correspondent, listeners will hear him make a return to the programme to tell his story in detail.
waveguide.co.uk

Artist gives voice to daytime reality show guests


Turner nominee's work reveals how participants felt after shows were broadcast




Faked phone-in competitions, "bear-baiting" on Jeremy Kyle, even a misnamed Blue Peter pet: times are bad for trust in television. And they are about to get worse.

When Phil Collins was nominated for the Turner prize last year, he set up a TV production office in Tate Britain called Shady Lane Productions. The company invited people whose lives had been ruined by reality TV to come forward. Plenty did, and last November Collins hosted a press conference at a London hotel where nine people spoke for 10 minutes each about their experiences on programmes from Wife Swap to Brand New You, an "extreme makeover" show involving radical plastic surgery.

Now the finished artwork resulting from the research is about to be unveiled. It consists of footage from the press conference and hour-long filmed interviews with the volunteers conducted by lawyer Mark Stephens. It also contains anonymous testimony from former researchers on daytime TV studio shows claiming shocking manipulation and exploitation of their guests.

One father talks of being told he was going to take part in a show called Families, only for the programme's title to be abruptly changed to something more redolent of outrageous teenage behaviour. His then 12-year-old son's Asperger's syndrome was never mentioned by name and the child's unpredictable moods were portrayed as unruly behaviour and down to poor parenting. After the programme his son became more withdrawn, his behaviour worsening after the TV exposure.

In common with most of the participants in the installation, called The Return of the Real, George claimed he was trying to find help for his son. One young mother, called Kerry, agreed to be filmed on a parenting show only to be branded "the mother from hell" in the press and taunted as the worst mother in Scotland. "I wanted to get my son help," she said. "But I felt I was portrayed as a psychotic mother."

Perhaps the most grotesque material came from former researchers for studio shows - the sort of programme satirised by Jennifer Saunders in The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle.

One ex-employee told of a guest who had called in to ask for help in tracking down her father. What she was actually confronted with in the studio was the father of her baby, his other girlfriend and her baby. "She went on the show hoping to find her dad and ended up being called a prostitute on national TV," said the ex-researcher.

"For telly purposes, to be quite honest, that was pure gold, but what it did to her I don't know."

Psychological tricks are revealed. The shows do not use chairs with arms, so it is easier for guests to attack each other. Guests are fed lines about each other by researchers to maximise the chance of on-screen conflict. Every effort is made to prevent people from walking out. "My producer actually lay down in front of his car" to try to stop a guest from driving away, said one researcher.

According to Mr Stephens, what puzzles some people is why anyone would volunteer to appear on such programmes. "Collins shows why people do it," he said. "It is a case of weak, vulnerable, susceptible people being preyed upon by the media for commercial gain ... these people are seen by TV companies as entirely disposable - they seem to have the same attitude as first world war generals sending troops over the top."

Collins accepted there were questions about why the subjects of these disastrous encounters should want to come back for more. "It asks questions about whether the camera is ever a redemptive field," he said. "My place in this is problematic. The camera is not a field of unlimited transcendence in any way."

· The Return of the Real is at the Victoria Miro gallery, London, from Saturday

guardian

Meet the minds behind those wacky VH1 reality shows www.ocregister.com

60 SECONDS: Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner, 35, shot to fame with a starring role as double agent Sydney Bristow on the TV series Alias. She's as famous now as the wife of Ben Affleck with whom she has a daughter, Violet. Her new film, The Kingdom, has Garner playing a government agent charged with investigating a terrorist attack on an American compound in Saudi Arabia.

Which came first: the political science classes you’ve been taking or The Kingdom?
The movie. I wasn’t looking to take a political science class. I went online with a girlfriend and we were looking for a class to take and just whittled it down. I’m always looking for some way to use my brain but this movie was an education in itself. You don’t just see the Americans going in, guns blazing, saving the day. You see both sides of it. It’s a much more complicated world than what most movies show. I didn’t want to do anything that had action or the CIA in it because of Alias but, for some reason, I think I’ve managed to escape being typecast.

How was it being the only girl?
It was great. Guys are scared of boob talk and I was breast-feeding at the time. It was really easy to get what I wanted. I’d just say: ‘My boobs!’ and they’d go: ‘What do you need?’

Didn’t you have to go to hospital a couple of times?
Yeah, the heat was an issue. I’d be on the way home from work and I’d be like: ‘God, I don’t feel right. I’m one dizzy person.’ So we turned round and we went to the hospital. I had heatstroke so I got an IV and felt better.

What did you learn in the name of research?
I learned a lot about the making of bombs. It surprised me how easy it is to make something that can hurt so many people.

Could you make a bomb in your kitchen?
I learned it but didn’t retain it. I can make a really beautiful loaf of bread, though. I also learned a lot about women in Saudi Arabia – not just their lack of rights but the fact that they are treated as a different level of human being. I was shocked by that. I can’t imagine living in a country where you’re not allowed to drive a car, be outside without a male relative or get an education. It’s mind-boggling.

I learned how to make a bomb but didn’t retain it – I can make a really beautiful loaf of bread, though

How has having a child changed you and Ben?
You just feel everything more deeply. I think that’s pretty universal – you feel fear more deeply, happiness, joy, your child’s sadness. If Violet can’t find her pink baby doll, my heart breaks for her. Last night, we were on our hands and knees looking for this book she wanted and we couldn’t find it anywhere. And Ben has been a dad waiting to happen. He’s a total teddy bear of a guy and so incredibly nurturing as a person, so it’s a real natural fit for him.

Were you surprised at how good a dad he is?
No. Or I wouldn’t have tried to have a baby with him. But it’s still so sweet to see and so gratifying to think: ‘Yep, I was right about this.’

You’ve been very vocal about struggling to lose your baby weight.
Yes, because I really thought it would be easier. Both my sisters’ baby weight just melted off and I thought: ‘This is great. It must be in the genes.’ But instead, I was wearing big jeans for a long time. It took me a while for it to start happening and eventually, unlike my sisters, I just had to get on a treadmill and run. I hate running. What makes me happy is pilates.

What are you doing next?
I’m doing Cyrano on Broadway with Kevin Kline, which is a total dream come true. It just makes my stomach drop every time I say it out loud but it’s true. I auditioned with him for something 12 years ago and that audition is part of why they thought of me for this. Isn’t that crazy?

Are you a big theatre buff?
I was about to sign on to do a big movie. I was really excited but, the night before it was going to be finalised, Cyrano came up. Growing up, my parents didn’t have a lot of extra money but somehow we always had enough for theatre. If we were in London, all staying in one room in some horrible little bed and breakfast somewhere, we would stand in the half-price ticket line and see theatre every night. It was what we did as a family. Even in my little town in West Virginia, if anyone came through with a travelling show, we’d go. We saw the ballet, the symphony, theatre, everything.

To what do you attribute your success?
Luck. But the luck was that I have loved what I do since I was a little kid – when it wasn’t even a thought in my head that I could do this for a living.

Will the Afflecks be involved in the upcoming presidential campaign?
I bet Ben will be and, just by being his date, so will I. I’m not as vocal politically as he is. While I have my own beliefs, I don’t know as much about it as he does.

Who are you rooting for?
Barack Obama. He seems to believe what he says, as much as a politician can. He will ultimately be electable. I like John Edwards, too.

Ben has talked about running for office one day. How do you feel about that?
You have to be ready for anything when you’re married to someone like Ben. But I do believe that when the film he directed comes out, Gone Baby Gone, he’s going to be stuck directing for a long time. It’s excellent.

You’ve said he’s crazy about politics. Is it hard to be married to someone like that?
It’s hard to be married to someone who’s crazy in general but I’ll promise you one thing: he is not boring. I can’t get him to go out somewhere but at least I can have a good conversation with him. Just as long as I don’t want to leave the couch.
Metro

TV Committee approves plan
Eurovision: 2 semi finals confirmed!
esctoday

Found: The monster of the My Lai massacre
film-maker Oliver Stone is determined that the savagery to which some American soldiers lowered themselves in Vietnam must never be forgotten.

He believes that now, more than ever, the White House hawks need to learn from the past. Having made his name with a trilogy of controversial films about Vietnam (Platoon, Born On The Fourth Of July and Heaven & Earth) Stone is working on a fourth, about My Lai. Mail

Warner's Robinov Bitchslaps Film Women; Gloria Allred Calls For Warner's Boycott deadlinehollywooddaily

Five News poaches Natasha Kaplinsky

Five News has poached Natasha Kaplinsky from the BBC as part of a plan to relaunch the programme.

Kaplinsky, the regular presenter of BBC One’s Six O’Clock News and a guest presenter on the BBC Ten O'Clock News, will present the main 5.30pm and 7pm news bulletins at Five News, her first broadcast to be in 2008.

Kaplinsky said: "After five incredibly rewarding years at the BBC, I found the chance to work with the team at Five too exciting to pass up. Chris Shaw has an unrivalled track record in reinventing television news and I already know how talented Jay Hunt and David Kermode are, having worked with them at the BBC. Five has changed the face of news before, and now they're going to do it again. I can't wait to be a part of it.”

PressGazette

Truth is crucial, but BBC witch-hunts risk stifling creativity



The BBC has been on what the presenters of reality TV like to call 'a journey'. Except that this makeover has gone in reverse. The gloss has been stripped away and the corporation's confidence shredded.

It was the cavalier editorial practices of reality TV - promoting sensation over accuracy - that cost BBC1 controller Peter Fincham his job last week. In July, he showed journalists extracts of a documentary appearing to show the Queen storming out of a photo shoot. In fact, the sequence of events had been manipulated by RDF, the production company behind the documentary. An inquiry last week found Mr Fincham innocent of deliberate deceit, but criticised the corporation for mismanaging the ensuing furore.


It is true that the record was not put straight with anything like due expedition. Mr Fincham was guilty of vacillation. But his record in the job had been excellent. His position would have been tenable but for a climate of distrust in broadcasters after offences of varying severity: rigged competitions, pre-recorded 'live' broadcasts and, most seriously, fraudulent money-spinning phone-in quizzes. By comparison Mr Fincham's crime was minor - bad luck combined with foolish complacency and the whiff of lese-majesty. His departure was made inevitable, however, because a purge was already under way at the BBC of anyone suspected of bringing the brand into disrepute.

The BBC has promised new procedures to safeguard standards; only time will tell if they are sufficient. Meanwhile, witch-hunts will not solve anything and risk denuding the corporation of talent. They also create a climate in which fear of error stifles creativity. Reality TV has always operated on the assumption that slickly plausible mock-ups of reality sometimes serve audiences better than unglamorous truth. That is fine as far as entertainment is concerned, but it is plain corrupt if those values are deliberately applied in current affairs broadcasts. That was the most serious charge over the Queen documentary, and the BBC stands not guilty.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,,2185421,00.html]Observer

A real threat www.thetimes.co.za

60 SECONDS: Roisin Murphy

Singer Roisin Murphy fronted electro act Moloko, scoring hits with Sing It Back and The Time Is Now. She went solo in 2005 with her quirky debut album, Ruby Blue, and is currently promoting her latest album Overpowered. For the campaign, she is photographed wearing bizarre outfits in humdrum locations. Murphy's new single, Let Me Know, is out today.

You’ve worn some weird outfits to promote your latest album. Any favourites?
The most unusual one was for the Overpowered video. It had a lighting rig built into the dress, which was like a big sail – it kept catching the wind and dragging me over. I like outfits that are dangerous. Doing the ‘running man’ on stage wearing high heels is dangerous. I slipped over on some brandy on stage in Australia and broke my arm. I didn’t realise I’d broken it until I got off stage because I was pumped full of adrenaline.

Who designed the Overpowered dress?
Viktor & Rolf. I thought, years ago, how great it would be to be able to take a lighting rig around with you, because good lighting is better than a facelift. This rig was attached to my body by a steel brace on the inside of the dress and shot up over my head on scaffolding.

You did a photo shoot up a mountain, wearing a suit of armour, milking a cow. Is that the weirdest one?
That was odd but this one was pretty weird too. There’s a scene in the Overpowered video where I was wearing a huge Gareth Pugh dress on a rough high street after the clubs kicked out on a Friday night. It was dangerous but I got such a buzz out of it. The thing that amazed me with all the shoots was how little attention I got.

What is your favourite item of clothing?
I have a lot of vintage Yves St Laurent and a beautiful vintage Zandra Rhodes dress. It sounds awful but it’s amazing – it’s tiers of turquoise frill in a column with a black neck. It’s gorgeous.

Kanye West phoned to ask who styled your video. How would you make him over?
I’d tell him it’s all about shoulder pads. And it is. Believe me, Murphy is always right about these thing

It’s all about shoulder pads. Believe me, Murphy is always right about these things

Do you enjoy playing festivals?
Yes, they’re great. The best one I did was in Serbia. It was in an old fort on top of a hill with tunnels underneath it. The people in Eastern Europe are completely gorgeous. People are more alive when they live in a very politicised environment. They think a great deal and don’t take life for granted; they’ve seen a lot of change. Moloko and myself as a solo artiste are pretty massive in Eastern Europe. It’s a huge compliment. All the records are pirated, so there are no record companies in that area. There’s no point. It means that the success I have there is down to people power and not marketing campaigns.

Are you under pressure to have a commercial hit with this record?
I felt more pressure with Ruby Blue, my last record, but that was never going to sell millions because it was quite weird. With my current label, if I say I want an outfit or a particular photographer or director, I’ll get it, so I don’t feel any pressure. My current label saw me play in Prague and signed me because they thought I was like Robbie Williams. I had the audience in the palm of my hand. They saw that I was a great performer and that I work hard.

If you had as much money as Robbie what would you do with it?
I got a record deal when I was 18 so I’ve always had some money. I’ve never needed an awful lot of money and have never worried about having too little – I’m very lucky. I’ve never hankered after a speedboat. I was on one once from Capri to Naples and it bounced about so much I thought I’d be thrown out any second. That didn’t excite me.

Who is your favourite actor?
I love Gene Hackman, he’s my favourite. The French Connection is one of my favourite films and I love The Royal Tenenbaums, he reminds me of my dad in that; deeply charismatic and flawed.
Metro

Serkis to star in audio drama





Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Lord of the Rings, and David Warner are to star in an audio comedy drama being made by independent producer Ladbroke Radio for BBC Worldwide.

The 13-part adaptation of Robert Rankin's Brightonomicon was developed by Ladbroke Radio's creative director and executive producer, Neil Gardner and will be released by BBC Audiobooks.

The Brightonomicon is a fantasy comedy drama in the style of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and The Mighty Boosh. It is being co-produced with BBC Audiobooks and Hokus Bloke Productions, which was set up by Gardner and Warner for this project.

"The market in comedy sci-fi and fantasy is huge, and radio is the only current medium that doesn't embrace it," said Gardner.

It is unusual for an independent to go direct to BBC Audiobooks, part of BBC Worldwide, for a drama commission rather than through one of the BBC's stations such as BBC Radio 4 or Radio 3.

Warner, a classical actor who appeared in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits and returned to the London stage after a 30-year absence five years ago, stars as the novel's anti-hero, Hugo Rune.

Lord of the Rings star Serkis, who was nominated for a Bafta in Channel 4 drama Longford, plays Rune's nemesis, Count Otto Black.

"It shows that you don't have to rely directly on the BBC for commissions - you can do it through BBC Worldwide through audiobooks or downloads," said Gardner, who is producing, editing and directing the series, and adapted it for radio with Elliott Stein.

The series, which is currently in production, will also feature Michael Fenton-Stevens, Rupert Degas, Kevin Eldon, Ricky Grover and Martin Jarvis.

It will be released as a 13 x 30-minute seven CD audiobook and download on Feburary 14, next year.
guardian

60 SECONDS: Nazanin Afshin-Jam


Nazanin Afshin-Jam was born in Iran during the 1979 revolution and fled with her family to Canada. A former Miss Canada and Miss World first runner-up, she successfully campaigned to spare the life of 17-year-old Nazanin Fatehi, sentenced to death in Iran for stabbing a man who tried to rape her. Afshin-Jam's album Someday is out now. Visit http://www.stopchildexecutions.com

You say you hope your pop career raises the profile of your causes. What are they?
The main one is Stop Child Executions. We’ve put up the profiles of 80 minors who are facing the death penalty in Iran for homosexuality, adultery or drug-trafficking. Last year I campaigned for Nazanin Fatehi to be spared the death penalty and now we’re trying to remind Iran of its commitments, under international treaties, not to execute people under the age of 18.

Did you meet the girl you saved from the death penalty?
No, but I talk to her regularly on the phone and she can’t thank the international community enough for acting on her behalf. She still has psychological scars from the ordeal. She was abused in prison and was kept in solitary confinement. She has nightmares every night.

Would you be killed if you returned to Iran?
It would be extremely dangerous; both my websites are banned. I get sent death threats. There have been Canadian and American scholars who have gone to Iran and been put in jail for allegedly being Zionist spies for the US government. They don’t even need an excuse to put you into prison.

Did Islamic extremists condemn you for competing in beauty contests?
When I entered the Miss Canada competition I got hate mail from Islamic fundamentalists who said they’d slash me across the face and end my career. Now that I’ve spoken out against the regime in Iran and for Iranian women’s rights, they are bothered even more.

Do you feel threatened?
My eyes are always open when I’m out in public and sometimes I even take a bodyguard with me to events. Iranians are silenced by their government; I live in Canada – a democracy that believes in free speech – and I won’t be silenced from the other side of the ocean.

People know the name of Paris Hilton’s dog, but not the United Nations’ secretary-general

Most models aren’t too politically aware, are they?
No, most aren’t. When I graduated from university I realised that a regular person won’t necessarily know the name of the UN secretarygeneral but will know Paris Hilton’s dog’s name. I realised I had to get into the public eye for people to listen. You have to take part in the system to beat the system in the end.

How’s it working out?
The Miss Canada title opened doors. When I worked on the Fatehi campaign I noticed no one had picked up on the story – they said it was too commonplace. But the angle of a former Miss Canada trying to save a life did have appeal. I’m going to use anything I can to bring attention to these cases. That’s where fame and beauty can help bring attention.

Who are your favourite bands?
I’m listening to the new Carla Bruni album and I still like Cat Stevens, Carole King and Arabic-Spanish fusion music.

You’ve got a pilot’s licence. Does that ever come in handy?
It’s more of a hobby. When I have the time and resources I go flying, but it’s quite expensive.

You’ve also trained in bush survival skills.
That was when I was in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and it was part of the training. We had to learn how to make a shelter and a fire and feed ourselves.

Can you cook a hedgehog?
They taught us how to catch and eat squirrels and rabbits but I didn’t have the heart to do it. I just had to look for plants to eat. I’d rather not eat than have to kill a rabbit.

Did you have to do any bizarre things in the beauty contests?
Film crews followed us around during Miss World. At one point they asked us who should win and told us to point at ourselves and say ‘me me me’. I refused to do it. I don’t think the organisers liked it but I thought it was ridiculous. To point to yourself and say ‘me’ seemed very juvenile.
Metro

Aardman to round up pre-school viewers






Aardman, the independent producer behind Wallace and Gromit, is to make its first foray into programming for pre-school children with a stop-motion animation about a little lamb for the BBC's CBeebies digital channel.

Timmy, which is based on sketches by Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park, is centred around a three-year old lamb who goes to nursery and learns things about himself and his friends.

The series, which is aimed at both boys and girls, will not have any dialogue, but will feature a variety of animal noises, comedy and strong character animation.

Timmy made his first television appearance in Aardman's hit animated series Shaun the Sheep, which has racked up television sales and licensing deals in more than 150 territories, including the BBC in the UK.

Aardman will be hoping that the fact the new series does not have dialogue will help the international sales of the series, where it is one of the company's key series at this week's Mipcom TV market in Cannes.

The new series, which comprises 52 10-minute long episodes, is currently in pre-production and is due to air in 2009.

Jackie Cockle, Aardman's creative producer and supervising director, said: "Pre-schoolers around the world will be able to identify with Timmy as he learns universal lessons about himself, his friends and the world around him.

"Timmy's world is set over the hill and down the lane from Shaun's farm and is a bright, colourful, stylised world with its own unique look sitting alongside Shaun's world."

Kay Benbow, head of CBeebies production, animation and acquisitions, added: "Shaun the Sheep has been a great success for older viewers and we know that that this charming and quirky new series will engage and entertain our younger viewers just as much."

Last week, Aardman announced they would be making a new TV film featuring Wallace and Gromit for BBC1.
guardian