Uk government policy

The UK government has published its long-awaited draft Media Bill to bring the U.S. streamers under its regulatory framework and help public broadcasters “embrace the digital age.” The bill marks the next step in long-planned legislation that, once passed, could see the likes of Netflix , Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video fined up to £250,000 ($308,000) or restricted in the UK entirely if they break rules around harmful material that have applied to the public broadcasters for decades. The White Paper that laid out plans for the bill in April 2022 had initially floated the idea that these streamers either be fined the £250,000 maximum or 5% of their local revenues, whichever was higher, but the latter option has been removed from today’s draft bill. Once passed, media regulator Ofcom will be given “more robust powers to investigate and take action to enforce standards if they consider it appropriate,” added the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). … [Read more...] about UK Government Publishes Long-Awaited Media Bill To Help Bring Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video Under Regulatory Framework

Britain’s culture secretary Oliver Dowden has denied a report that the government has asked right-wing commentator Charles Moore and former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre to fill two powerful UK media jobs. The Sunday Times reported that Moore has been tapped to be the next chair of the BBC , while Dacre is set to be installed as the new chair of UK media regulator Ofcom . The government is responsible for recruiting for both roles and the Sunday Times said prime minister Boris Johnson wants the pair, both ferocious critics of the BBC, to usher in a “revolution” in UK broadcasting. Senior government insiders told the newspaper that hiring Moore as a replacement for outgoing BBC chair David Clementi is a “done deal,” while Johnson “wooed” Dacre for the Ofcom job over drinks at Downing Street in February. But speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Dowden denied that any decisions have been made prior to the government launching a formal recruitment … [Read more...] about UK Government Denies Offering Powerful Media Jobs To Ferocious BBC Critics Paul Dacre & Charles Moore

EXCLUSIVE : The BBC raised concerns about the way the government was going about appointing its new Chairman before the controversial hire of Richard Sharp . Sir David Clementi, the BBC’s former Chairman, wrote to the government in October 2020 to complain about the recruitment process for his successor. The UK government is responsible for appointing the BBC’s Chairman, while ministers also play a role in hiring four other board members. The procedure has become increasingly divisive, with concerns about ministers installing political candidates, leaving the BBC open to the accusation that its non-executive directors are too close to the government. Clementi’s letter to Oliver Dowden, the former Culture Secretary, could fuel suspicions that the government played politics with the BBC’s board amid a wider agenda against the broadcaster. In the letter, disclosed by the BBC under a Freedom of Information request, Clementi raised questions about the Chairman … [Read more...] about BBC Complained To Government About Chairman Appointment Process Ahead Of Richard Sharp Hire

In the time it takes you to reach the end of this paragraph, 15 million emails will have been sent. Thirty-thousand tweets will have been published. Three million Facebook updates will have been made. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of blogs, Instagram posts and news articles will have been added to a running total measured in billions. During the biblical flood, the world was supposedly overflowing with water; today we are drowning in gigabytes. Technology has transformed every facet of our life – and there are few places where that is more evident than how we watch and consume TV. Our entertainment landscape is unrecognisable from even a decade ago. Today, figures from the UK media regulator Ofcom showed that young adults spend more time scrolling on TikTok than watching broadcast television. Instead, young people have flocked to streaming services – with deep-pocketed giants like Apple TV +, Netflix , Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video providing an all-you-can-eat television … [Read more...] about UK Culture Secretary Lays Out Why The Government Is Regulating The Streamers

Riot officers were dispatched to the violet carpet yesterday in Lille as nationwide protests against pension reforms hit Series Mania . The protestors fighting against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for reform were pushed back and order soon restored. However, unrest was seen by witnesses elsewhere in the historic city throughout the evening. Deadline heard sirens and saw multiple police vans and ambulances heading to incidents and we’ve seen pictures on delegates’ phones of street fires and riot police clashing with protestors. By late evening, the roads were quiet again as the protests died down. Civil unrest has sparked across France over plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and Lille was unable to escape. The reforms were passed without a vote in parliament, igniting protests in cities such as Paris, Marseille and Lyon. A general strike has been planned for Thursday (March 23), leaving many Series Mania delegates nervously looking at Thursday … [Read more...] about Pension Protestors Invade Series Mania As Unrest Over Government Reforms Reaches Drama Festival

The BBC’s appointment of Chair Richard Sharp “should not stand” and the process was “fatally flawed,” according to former Director General John Birt . The embattled Sharp, who is awaiting the result of a government inquiry into his appointment, was described by Birt as “a person of obvious weight and consequence but an unsuitable candidate in one vital respect.” “I don’t think the appointment should stand,” Birt told the UK’s influential DCMS Committee (DCMSC) this afternoon. “This isn’t about political connections because governments of all kinds have appointed BBC Chairs who enjoy their confidence. But having known every BBC Chair for decades, governments have tended to have a good record for appointing people with an independent cast of mind, who will protect the BBC’s independence.” Deadline revealed last week that the BBC had raised concerns about the way the government was going about appointing its new Chairman before the controversial hire of Sharp, who has … [Read more...] about Richard Sharp Appointment “Should Not Stand,” Says Former BBC Director General

Oscar-winning filmmaker and artist Steve McQueen is set to debut his latest project, a 24-minute film about the Grenfell Tower disaster, next month at the Serpentine art Gallery in West London. The film, titled Grenfell , was shot in December 2017 and is described as McQueen’s “response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy,” which saw 72 people killed as the result of a devastating fire at the high-rise Grenfell tower apartment block in North Kensington, West London. The tragedy caused the UK’s highest loss of life following a residential fire since the Second World War. McQueen’s film is said to run 24 minutes and 2 seconds long and features footage of the charred tower shot from a helicopter. There is no narrative story or dramatization within the installation. “There are going to be people who are going to be a little bit disturbed,” McQueen told the British newspaper The Guardian about the installation in a new interview. “When you make art, anything half decent … … [Read more...] about Steve McQueen To Debut Film Project Centered On Grenfell Tower Fire That Killed 72 People

The BBC is reviewing whether to ban TikTok and has told staff to delete the Chinese social media app from work phones unless they are using it for editorial or marketing reasons. The broadcaster issued fresh guidance for employees on Sunday after the UK government prohibited the use of TikTok on the phones of ministers and civil servants. The BBC’s guidance marks a significant change of tone from the broadcaster after it has vigorously embraced TikTok over the past year, even hiring specialists for its social media team. TikTok said it was “disappointed” by the BBC’s edict, adding that bans are “based on fundamental misconceptions” about the app’s security risk. In the guidance sent today, obtained by Deadline, the BBC said: “We don’t recommend installing TikTok on a BBC corporate device unless there is a justified business reason.” BBC employees were issued with the instruction after “concerns raised by government authorities worldwide regarding data privacy … [Read more...] about BBC Considers TikTok Ban As Staff Told To Delete App Unless They Are Using It For Work Purposes

EXCLUSIVE: Around 25 layoffs are incoming in the BBC Children’s & Education department, while BBC Studios Kids & Family team has seen a similar number depart since December. The decisions have been made independently of each other, we understand, and a voluntary redundancy process will now commence within Children’s & Education. Staff were informed yesterday afternoon by email. BBC Children’s hits include the likes of Hey Duggee, Oliver Twist adaptation Dodger (pictured) and Blue Peter . Following an 18-month review that has just concluded, the circa-25 layoffs will be within the presentation sub-division, which promotes kids content via links and resources, and the educational production sub-division, which will see a senior leader restructure. BBC Children’s & Education, which is based in Salford and runs channels CBBC and CBeebies along with online content and educational resources, is preparing to take the older-skewing CBBC channel online … [Read more...] about Layoffs To Come In BBC Kids Departments

Imagine not only believing the world is coming to an end, but wanting it to happen. Eagerly. Then, take it a step further and imagine people with such a mentality engineering American politics and foreign policy to bring about the very thing they seek — the apocalypse. It may sound outlandish, but there are many well organized fundamentalist Christian leaders and their followers working hard to make this doomsday scenario a reality, an alarming movement explored in the documentary Praying for Armageddon . The film directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tonje Hessen Schei and co-directed by Michael Rowley makes its world premiere Monday night at the prestigious CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen. “What they are really pushing for is the destruction of our civilization. It’s quite outrageous and mind blowing, really,” Schei tells Deadline as we sit at a café in Copenhagen. “And I don’t think a lot of Americans realize that the sort of hidden end time Armageddon lobby… that … [Read more...] about New Documentary Shows How American Evangelicals Are ‘Praying For Armageddon’ And Pulling The Levers Of Power To Achieve It – CPH:DOX