Just a quick note to wish a very Merry Christmas and seasonal greetings to all our readers, editors, contributors and supporters. Check out our special Christmas Card and read the Review of the Year - including a commemoration of broadcasting...

Late in October I attended a one-day conference on 50 Years of ITV at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford. It was actually fascinating - although not all of the presentations seemed to have a lot...

Some fascinating new articles for you this month, kicking off with an in-depth look from Russ J Graham at what exactly happened when the BBC Television Service went off the air at the outbreak of the Second World War. You've...

I must admit to finding myself slightly bemused, bothered and bewildered at the appearance of the two Tory party leadership contenders at the National Television Awards earlier this week. Coming on stage to present the Most Popular Drama Award to...

Thompson brands New Statesman claims 'nonsense' (Media Guardian) I read that BBC Director General Mark Thompson has sent news staff an email denying today's New Statesman report that chairman Michael Grade tried to sack Radio 4's Today presenter John Humphrys...

In the update this month we have an interesting discussion on the importance of public service broadcasting and a piece on how to reverse ITV's decline. We also feature an article on Ulster Television – with an alternative view to...

Blair 'attacked BBC over Katrina' Interesting that Rupert Murdoch is apparently now Tony Blair's mouthpiece on media matters. In a recent speech at Bill Clinton's Global Initiatives forum the News Corporation tycoon told the audience that the Prime Minister is...

In what is without doubt the most extensive monthly addition to the Transdiffusion Network in its history, we have several things to celebrate. The obvious one is the fiftieth anniversary of commercial television in the UK, and as Kenny Everett...

Something unique happened at the end of last month: the BBC broadcast for the last time via its own transmission system. The sell-off of BBC Broadcast to a bunch of Australian bankers, which went through on the stroke of midnight...

As we come up towards ITV50 in a couple of months time, and in the wake of Lord Bragg's variable-quality self-congratulation for the so-called 'People's Channel', there is a lot of ITV-bashing going on. Some of us see the third...

We are sad to note the death of Ray Herbert, one of John Logie Baird's co-workers, on 20 July 2005. Ray Herbert was one of the last remaining former employees of Baird Television Limited, joining the company after it had...

It's BBC-bashing time again, it seems - a perennial pastime these days. This time it's the old saw about the BBC threatening competition. BBC 7 is just so good that it's blowing the competition - OneWord, mainly - away. Now...

It's interesting that my colleague mentions the competition between OneWord and BBC (Radio) 7. I've discovered that when I listen to the radio, I'm listening more and more to BBC 7 (well, in fact I quite often listen to it...

MPs seek to block BBC free downloads The All-Party Internet Group apparently wants to stop the BBC making its archives available on-line for nothing. They're concerned that it could miss out on a valuable source of revenue if the Corporation...

It's interesting how digital terrestrial television – the subject of our lead article this month – has taken off after being such a flop when it started. I was out of the country at the time, but from what I...

It would appear that the BBC unions significantly overestimated the effect they could have on broadcast output, if yesterday's efforts are anything to go by. Despite an apparently good turnout, I am sure that ordinary viewers and listeners will have...

Paxman v Galloway (transcript and video) Election coverage highlight for many must surely be the acrimonious exchange between the BBC's Jeremy Paxman and George Galloway of Respect, moments after the latter had been declared the winner in a bitter...

It's General Election time again in the UK, so this month's issue has a distinctly political flavour, although we've been careful to put it all in one place - namely in a TBS Election Special meta-edited by Russ J Graham....

Full biography We regret to inform readers that noted composer Robert Farnon passed away peacefully on the night of Friday, 22 April 2005, at a hospice near his home in Guernsey. He was 87. Farnon was widely regarded as one...

Teyrnged Elan Closs Stephen Hopkinss, Cadeirydd S4C, i Gwynfor Evans "Gwynfor Evans realised the power of television to influence and change culture and language and he was determined that Welsh would have a proper place in the medium. His part...

Tessa Jowell’s Green Paper on the BBC, the subject of one of our articles this month, appears rather innocuous on the surface, but a more careful reading perhaps begins to explain the extensive, and I believe possibly disastrous staff cuts...

A few weeks ago I was flicking through channels on my Sky ?freesat? (the quotes are because ?Freesat? is actually, believe it or not, a BBC trademark) system upstairs to see what I could actually receive, and I stumbled across...

Over 2000 more jobs to go at BBC - this time from production The news that 2050 additional jobs, this time primarily from the production side, are to go, is a shock. If the BBC is to live up to...

The Green Paper on the future of the BBC largely leaves well enough alone, thank goodness. At least it doesn?t appear to propose causing any lasting damage. I suppose I should congratulate Tessa Jowell, and perhaps the Prime Minister, for...

Welcome to the March edition of EMC, with four new articles for your delectation and pleasure. We lead off with a fascinating article from Russ J Graham on Britain's first TV star, Gilbert Harding, who from around 1952 to 1960...

Hi, and welcome to February's new additions to EMC. Some philosophical content this month, including a look at modern British television that would no doubt make Adam Smith proud – privatise, damn your eyes, damn your eyes; why the Television...