Normally I have no interest in gardening whatsoever (plants tend to die if I have anything to do with them!), but back in 1992 I recorded "25 Years of Gardeners' World" for someone and came across the programme again...

It's time to talk about the growing Countdown. No, this is nothing to do with the Channel 4 game show which started on the same day that the channel did, but a news programme on US cable network MSNBC. Countdown...

Dr Paxman's diagnosis That speech again, all on one page (possibly) in a more palatable form Last year, television executives at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival were treated to a MacTaggart lecture delivered by the ex-ITV chairman Charles Allen,...

'Second Life' after the backlash Second Life's Real-World Problems This weekend the Hilton, in downtown Chicago, is playing host to the third Second Life Community Convention - SLCC 07 - along with around 800 'residents' of the on-line 'metaverse', or...

?Anchorwoman? Canceled After One Airing We're used to so-called 'reality' shows crashing and burning, or getting themselves into deep water (or other substances). The latest tale that will hopefully contribute to the downfall of this tacky tabloid show format comes...

The text of this year's MacTaggart Lecture as read by Jeremy Paxman (PDF file) This should be compulsory reading material for everyone in the media industry and politicians of all persuasions, plus it's the antithesis of last year's speech made...

Channel 4 plans radical overhaul Dropping Big Brother altogether is still impossible financially for Channel 4 in the current media climate despite the steady decline in its ratings, but they've just gone and done the next best thing, namely 'resting'...

The Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures for Jun 06-Jun 07 have been released by Ireland's media regulator, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI). These are the figures for radio stations in Ireland. Of interest to me is the fact...

C4 headquarters to get giant logo When it comes to landmarks, London has a few. From the Palace of Westminster and its famous clock tower (and Big Ben bell!) and St Pauls Cathedral, through to the more modern Millenium Wheel...

BBC scandals stoking crisis of distrust, say Paxman and Marr Despite all the alleged uncertainties, there are a lot of certainties in relation to the BBC's current position: the licence fee settlement has been resolved for the next few years...

Hot on the heels of one piece of bad journalism from the Daily Star yesterday, comes a very different journalistic boo-boo from the ultra-conservative Daily Mail. This time, making a news story out of nothing. The story is basically that...

Stories may go in and out of television and radio news bulletins and newspapers depending on how much has happened in the meantime, but rarely do you get stale news. Today, you did, from the Daily Star! The story is...

Channel 4+1 website (still claiming that the channel "will be available" at the time of writing!) The launch of Channel 4+1 (no, not Channel 5) today was an interesting move as it's the first time that a mainstream channel has...

"Big L time is three o'clock, and Radio London is now... closing down...." This is what we heard Paul Kaye say, forty years ago today, virtually to the minute as I write this. The "Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, 1967" was...

TUAW Rumour: iTunes UK to promote Channel 4 video content So far, Apple Mac users (those not running Windows XP, that is) have been denied access to the back catalogue of UK TV broadcasters (apart from some free BBC programme...

BBC chairman will oversee reforms to win back public trust So it's official: the BBC Trust is still considering the possibility of axing whole channels and/or services, and although the chairman has "complete confidence" in Mark Thompson with relation to...

Channel 4 accused of 'distortion' Not for the first time, we have a broadcaster using events out of sequence and out of context to create the impression it wanted. The story is supposed to fit the facts, not the other...

BBC Corrupted by Microsoft Free Software Foundation plans protest against "corrupt" BBC BBC Trust backs calls for Linux iPlayer So, let's look at this story in a little more detail. What this is fundamentally about is that the BBC's iPlayer,...

BBC corrupted by Microsoft In its defence, it's not exactly the BBC's fault that a) it's faced with a choice between DRM-protected downloads and no downloads at all, and b) the only implementation so far that fits the bill isn't...

A recent blog entry on the web site www.defectivebydesign.org, under the headline "BBC Corrupted by Microsoft" bemoans the latest development in copy protection. What it is fundamentally about is that the BBC's iPlayer, which is required to view the content...