Jane Lighting didn't pull her punches in parting company with Dan Chambers.Five's chief executive praised him with "Dan has done a good job" before sticking the knife in with "we now need a creative director with the skills and expertise to run a portfolio of channels".Sorry Dan that isn't you, seems to be the subtext. Five has done a lot to move itself on from its early days of football, soft porn and movies.It does have some quality programming from the US with the likes of 'Gray's Anatomy' and 'House', which put it firmly in Channel 4's back yard. Then it has the likes of its cop related slate of 'CSI' and 'NCIS'.But, unlike C4, it hasn't ever really made the jump to producing much in the way of quality drama that way C4 has with 'Shameless', 'Black Books' and 'Green Wing'.However, it is starting to do more and has a new backpacker drama, 'Tripping Over', starting this week from 'Cold Feet' writer Mike Bullen. Being something of a first, and funded by Chambers with the cash saved from axing lame soap 'Family Affairs', it has had some good write-ups.Sadly, according to Media Guardian despite a largely positive critical reaction it debuted last night with an underwhelming 900,000 viewers and a 5% share between 10pm and 11pm, according to unofficial overnights.Shame, but if you will tuck it away at 10pm then really, what do you expect?Other than that, there is increasingly little to distinguish C4 and Five. They both rely on reality programming with Five filling up on the likes of 'The Farm', 'Make Me a Supermodel' and 'Back to Reality'. Not quite 'Big Brother'.Five also rivals C4 on the home and gardens front, as well with its slew of house related programming, which is also pretty indistinguishable.Maybe that is the problem. Maybe that is why Five's annual audience share has notably fallen since its high of 6.6% in 2004, and is now down to 5.8% this year.Time to strike out. Its just-launched digital channels, Five US and Five Life, should give it some scope to do that.
no comments
Some people shouldn't be allowed to own national newspapers. Richard Desmond is one of those.Yesterday's decision to cut 35 jobs – including the entire City desk – is further evidence of this.Former porn baron Desmond seems to be using the paper as a cash cow and pension fund. Last year, he received £27.2m in payouts and pension funds from the Express Group.This week, he cuts 35 staff to ensure the "company remains in a sound financial position"!No seriously, that's what group editorial director Paul Ashford told staff. "We need to act quickly to ensure that the company remains in a sound financial position and circulations can continue to be supported."Very regrettably, this may mean approximately 30 to 35 redundancies across the editorial department plus tighter controls on freelance costs and contribution budgets."The City desk could probably explain to Desmond that if you take out almost £30m out of the business, things are not going to be so financially sound. Solution? Sack the entire City desk and replace it with Press Association copy. It's a first for a national newspaper: a title without a City desk.The Express has been shoddy for years, this is just another nail in its coffin. In the latest ABC figures, the title dropped 1.27% to 818,942, but its six-month average circulation fall was sharper, down by 4.80%.My guess is that in the not-too-distant future, Desmond will sell the Express after he has taken out of it all that he can.Earlier in the month, the Daily Express dismissed six trainee journalists just one month into their two-year contracts following "a re-evaluation of the group's internet strategy".
NBC has banned spots promoting the documentary about the Dixie Chicks slating President Bush. The major US TV network, owned by General Electric, said the ban was part of its policy of barring ads that dealt with "public controversy".The documentary, 'Shut Up & Sing', has also been banned by the new CW network, created out of the Warner/UPN merger.The film documents the incident in London back in March 2003 when the Dixie Chicks' said they were "ashamed" to come from the same state as President George W. Bush. That's harsh on the Lone Star state.Ironically, Bush doesn't even come from Texas. The whole thing is a myth he comes from Connecticut. He is a god to honest Connecticut Yankee. He tried to get into Texas State to do Law, but they wouldn't take him. He went to Harvard instead...wonder how he got in there? Later he became Texas governor and that ranch he's always pictured hanging around? He bought it five minutes before he entered the Whitehouse. He's about as cowboy as I am.'Shut Up & Sing', directed by Cecilia Peck and Oscar winner Barbara Kopple, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the backlash sparked by Maines' anti-Bush outburst in 2003.Maines later said she was sorry for "disrespecting the office of the president" but fanned flames anew when she retracted her apology in a Time magazine interview this year, saying: "I don't feel he is owned any respect whatsoever".The banned ad features the moment when lead singer Natalie Maines opened her mouth and got the whole "ashamed" band wagon rolling.If it hadn't have been for her anti war remarks, and the subsequent banning of their music by conservative country music stations, they would have probably quietly slipped away as their sub Shania Twain country pop career ran its course.It isn't as if their subsequent post 2003 career has been one where they penned some great 'Born in the USA' type anti war songs. They haven't.There have been some of these, but they have come from people of substance, such as Willie Nelson who penned one for Christmas 2004.Their career might be sustained for another ten minutes with this latest controversy as the film's distributor, the Weinstein Company says it's looking at "exploring taking legal action" to fight this political censorship by NBC and CW.And it probably is a case of political censorship, no doubt about it, but Harvey Weinstein is over egging a little with his statement about "a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech".Mmm, courageous entertainers who are just out for a buck like everyone else, more like, including the likes of Harvey Weinstein who is renowned for aggressive marketing tactics. Another cheap publicity ploy? Probably.Ironic bit nunmber two: this is the same network that for seven years gave us the 'West Wing', possibly one of the best shows ever written, that year in and year out detail the life of the best democratic liberal president that America never had.
Michael J Fox's hard hitting ad in stem cell research is shaking up the US mid term elections. It is quite hard to watch, but very hard hitting.Fox and the Democrats who is supporting are under fire from the all the usual suspects from Catholic Church and anti-abortionists and George W Bush as well who vetoed a bill supporting research earlier this year.
Paul Weiland is destined to be stood up. Having made a very funny film about next to no one attending his Bar Mitzvah, one of his stars Helena Bonham-Carter was a no-show for the UK premier of 'Sixty Six'. Weiland, best known for directing some of the glossiest commercials around from the Guardian classic "points of view" to Walkers Crisps, has made a true(ish) story out of what was intended to be the biggest day of his young life as his Bar Mitzvah loomed. With 250 guests planned and a lavish dinner, it was to be a Bar Mitzvah of Bar Mitzvahs. If only England hadn't come from nowhere to win the World Cup in 1966. In the end, 23 guests turned up. Even the caterer cancelled. At least it left him with a good story to tell, which he apparently did at his 50th birthday two years ago. Luckily Richard Curtis was in the audience and suggested turning the story into a film and a rather good one it is too.Sadly its UK premiere at the London Film Festival had to go ahead without one of its stars because Bonham-Carter's 2 and a half year old sold broke his arm.It isn't Weiland's first film. There is 'Roseanna's Grave' and 'City Slickers II', but this is likely to be his best received. Its funny, has that universal ring and is reminiscent of John Boorman's 'Hope and Glory', but with bombs swapped for footballs.'Sixty Six' also stars Eddie Marsan, Stephen Rea, Catherine Tate and introduces Gregg Sulkin as 'Bernie' aka the young Paul Weiland.'Sixty Six' is at cinemas from November 3rd and you can watch the trailer here.
Bad news. The Ministry of Defence has banned Britain's biggest commercial news broadcaster ITV from frontline.According to a report in The Times the government has withdrawn cooperation from ITV News in warzones after accusing it of inaccurate and intrusive reports about the fate of wounded soldiers.There has been a storm brewing recently and the government has been taking it on all fronts, with stories about casualty reports being suppressed in Helmland, warnings of defeat in Afghanistan by senior staff officers and others of troops being mistreated in civilian hospitals back in the UK. Not good.This only makes things worse. Did a spin doctor come off their axis? While it might feel justified this is the equivalent of putting a sign on the door and saying: this is going badly.The Times says that the first casualty is ITV’s planned trip to Afghanistan to cover troops marking Remembrance Sunday. Usually a moment in the news cycle when the government can rely of some positive coverage. ITV sources said last night that the trip had been cancelled because of the row with the MoD. David Mannion, the head of ITV News, is reported to have written to the MoD and asked for an explanation. He also sent a copy of the letter to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, a move that is likely to drag Tony Blair into the dispute. Trouble kicked off last week after ITV broadcast reports showing how British soldiers wounded during the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated when arriving back home. This has been a PR disaster that the government has let happen. The Sun has been all over this as well, as has the Daily Mail. They've both been running campaigns to improve the care of injured troops with stories such as that in The Sun yesterday exposing "the shambolic security that forced Tony Blair to set up a military ward" exclusively for injured troops.The ITV reports are said to have topped the agenda at a meeting between ministers, including the Defence Secretary Des Browne, and military chiefs. MoD sources told The Times that there was concern about images showing identifiable wounded servicemen arriving at Birmingham airport by night. It has been suggested that no permission was obtained from the men and that their families may have been caused distress. ITV only broadcast later scenes from Headley Court, the MoD's state-of-the art rehabilitation centre where seriously injured personnel are taken. The MoD has accused ITV of a "hatchet job". In an email to ITV the MoD’s director of news, James Clark, said: "As bad a hatchet-job as I’ve seen in years. Cheap shots all over the place, no context, no reasonable explanation. Like the Daily Star in moving pictures. If giving ITN detailed exposure to our people, lengthy briefing and open access results in this, then I dread to think how your editors and producers would look to exploit access to our people in theatres (of war), or our chiefs and ministers." That email omitted any specific details of perceived errors. Following that, the MoD ceased cooperation with ITV by withdrawing access to "embeds", the much-sought placements for reporters with battlefield units.Mark Wood, chief executive of ITN, which produces ITV News, told The Times: "We are not happy about the way it has been handled. They [the MoD] have objected to some of our coverage but we haven’t quite worked out what the repercussions are. We welcome any criticism particularly if it is pointing to factual errors or inaccuracies. What we have had is criticism of our coverage which has not actually gone into any detail of what is factually wrong."
Again just two words: 'Celebrity Wrestling'. Well, ITV knows something about ratings disasters. Although it does the business on Saturday night, as far as I know there is nothing on ITV on Friday nights. Pot kettle, kettle black means nothing to ITV. Otherwise it would realise how laughable it looks for it to tell Channel 4 it is being dragged downmarket.This from the channel that gave us 'Rock Around the Block', 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' and 'Celebrity Wrestling', which had to be pulled from its primetime slot halfway through its eight-week run and put to the sword after attracting only 2m viewers.None of this has stopped ITV accusing Channel 4 of relying on too few show formats to bolster its audience share, and going downmarket.Firstly too few formats? Just one word: 'X-Factor'/'Pop Stars/ the Rivals'/'Pop Idol'/A N Other derivative format. Oh and of course 'Celebrity (will they shag) Love Island'. Proper posh, all of it. Then isn't the rest of the ITV schedule just full of the 'The Bill', 'Coronation Street' and 'Emmerdale'? Marketing reported that Gary Digby, managing director of ITV Sales, made the claims to media agencies during the current “upfront” agency presentations, which precede the annual round of TV negotiations.Digby apparently claimed that 'Deal or No Deal', which accounts for 10% of C4's impacts, has dragged the channel's profile downmarket. Mike Parker, head of strategic sales for C4, admitted that some programmes delivered a disproportionate volume of impacts, but said that the channel had a diverse schedule.Digby also said that new programmes have caused Channel 4's share to plummet this autumn. 'Star Stories' was singled out as the worst-performing show ever in the 9pm Friday night slot, which is a bit harsh, seeing as how the show is a very funny celebrity spoof.Pot kettle, kettle black means nothing to ITV. Otherwise it would realise how laughable it looks for it to tell Channel 4 it is being dragged downmarket.This from the channel that gave us 'Rock Around the Block', 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' and 'Celebrity Wrestling', which had to be pulled from its primetime slot halfway through its eight-week run and put to the sword after attracting only 2m viewers.None of this has stopped ITV accusing Channel 4 of relying on too few show formats to bolster its audience share, and going downmarket.Firstly too few formats? Just one word: 'X-Factor'/'Pop Stars/ the Rivals'/'Pop Idol'/A N Other derivative format. Oh and of course 'Celebrity (will they shag) Love Island'. Proper posh, all of it. Then isn't the rest of the ITV schedule just full of the 'The Bill', 'Coronation Street' and 'Emmerdale'? Marketing reported that Gary Digby, managing director of ITV Sales, made the claims to media agencies during the current “upfront” agency presentations, which precede the annual round of TV negotiations.Digby apparently claimed that 'Deal or No Deal', which accounts for 10% of C4's impacts, has dragged the channel's profile downmarket. Mike Parker, head of strategic sales for C4, admitted that some programmes delivered a disproportionate volume of impacts, but said that the channel had a diverse schedule.Digby also said that new programmes have caused Channel 4's share to plummet this autumn. 'Star Stories' was singled out as the worst-performing show ever in the 9pm Friday night slot, which is a bit harsh, seeing as how the show is a very funny celebrity spoof.Again just two words: 'Celebrity Wrestling'. Well, ITV knows something about ratings disasters. Although it does the business on Saturday night, as far as I know there is nothing on ITV on Friday nights.
Jacquie Bowser
Blogging for:
Member since: 03 Jun 2008
Last login: 23 Nov 2009
Total Posts: 241
Dan Leahul
Member since: 10 Sep 2008
Last login: 30 Sep 2009
Total Posts: 126
Gordon Macmillan
Total Posts: 1,617
