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Another Cultural Dilemma Challenges Television
no laughing Everything on television passes through phases. Some genres disappear only to reemerge as something else. When TV channels were exploding, every variation could find a place. Streaming services only drove to hysteria the need to attract viewers. But, still, tastes do change.

 

 

Tabloids Shriek As Celebrities Go After Celebrities
will dance for food Celebrity is very common to the human species. People are ranked by their own: the rich, powerful, talented and well-bred vie for status, sometimes intermingling, with the mean, cruel, vicious and brutal. Pigeons, turtles and trout are much less so inclined. To communicate human celebrity came gossip. To memorialize it came tabloids.

 

 

 

 

Absolutely Live And Right Now
is it live? The media trend of the decade is right now. People want that drama at the moment they want it and they want to be in it. Delivering that means lots of bandwidth, literally and figuratively. For some media watchers live television is over. For others it isn’t just the future it’s the only future.

In Show Business

Were You One Of The Few Who Didn’t Watch THE Wedding? - May 2 2011
cartwheel at the Abbey They expected about two billion people globally to watch the British Royal wedding although numbers in the US were a bit lower than predicted and for anyone who wanted to see the pomp and pageantry that Britain does best it was the only place to be.

 

 

 

 

April 29, 2011, Westminster Abbey – Oh, What A Royal Media Circus For The Next Five Months And Beyond - November 25 2010
Can you imagine the flurry to book hotel rooms and suites; trying to make appointments at the top hair and beauty parlors in London for those not travelling with their own hair and makeup artistes, will there be enough limos available -- no, we’re not talking about the guests for William and Catherine’s royal wedding April 29 at Westminster Abbey, but rather the hoards of international star journalists who will be in London for the great day. The great media frenzy is off and running.

You Believe Twitter that Johnny Depp Died? You Believe The Exclusive News of the World Report That Brad and Angelina Are Splitting? Who, What Can You Believe These Days? - January 26 2010
For those who can’t get enough gossip about Hollywood stars this past weekend was a bumper time – there was Twitter saying Johnny Depp had died in a French car crash (he didn’t) and Murdoch’s News of the World in The UK with a global exclusive that Brad and Angelina were splitting (nothing official but People says no, whereas “friends” hint all over the place it may be.) So, who and what can you believe these days?

Compensation Overload - January 11, 2010
Showbiz is, for anybody who’s seen it in person, not for the faint hearted. As part of the creative trade, performers are asked to do things most people won’t and fewer can. Perhaps that is the reason all accountants and most politicians find them expendable.

What The Paparazzi Are Doing To Britney Spears Just Isn’t Right, And It’s An Abuse Of Freedom Of The Press - February 22, 2008
A Los Angeles councilman is proposing a city ordinance that creates a “safety zone “for people swarmed by paparazzi, and after seeing what they have been doing to Britney Spears – doesn’t matter what you think of the girl herself -- as human beings we just know the way they hound her just isn’t right.

An Italian Court Cracks Down On Gossip For Gossip’s Sake -- You Think That Is Going To Stop The Henchman of Rumor And Scandal?
If an Italian court has its way there’ll be no more gossip for the sake of gossip on Italian television or any other media. Some hope! Crafty TV producers and magazine editors will find their way around that, but it is one more instance of the courts putting their fingers where they are not welcome.

Live Earth Concerts Bomb on UK TV (Many Complaints on Foul Language Used) , And NBC’s US Saturday Night Ratings Lower Than Usual , But The Internet Sets Streaming Records – Maybe Viewers Thought The Pussycat Dolls Wiggling Their Bottoms And Lecturing Us On The Environment Was Just Too Much? - July 10, 2007
Live Earth was supposed to set television history – nine shows on seven continents with 150 of the best music acts around – surely that had to be a global TV ratings extravaganza attracting two billion viewers? But the first ratings from the US and the UK shows it all to be one terrific TV flop, but it set records for online streaming.

The Eurovision Song Contest is OVER – Let the Whinging Begin! - May 15, 2007
The 2007 Eurovision Song Contest is history. Marija Serifovic from Serbia won. She is unquestionably talented. Serbia has friends. Now begins the requisite whining and whinging from the losers.

The Talent Show of All Talent Shows – Vote For Your Favorite Country - May 11, 2007
eurovision logo

It’s the eve of the Eurovision Song Contest finals. The production will air in 42 countries. Viewers by the millions will tune in, cast their votes and tell us how they feel about more than music.

 

 

 

CBS Tries to Laugh It Off Using Photoshop Software to Change A Katie Couric Picture, But For A TV Network That Has Worked So Hard to Regain Its Credibility This Is No Laughing Matter - August 31, 2006
When news organizations shoot themselves in the foot they do it with great style. Someone at the CBS photo department thought new anchor Katie Couric looked too fat in the picture chosen to illustrate her for a magazine article CBS prepared so editors decided to slim her down electronically by some 20 pounds (9kg).

Want a Good Job in Radio? Bring Attitude and Character! - July 1, 2006
As summer arrives full-force and new graduates start to consider career opportunities broadcasters find a steady rise in the number of job applicants. Broadcasting careers are always challenging, with more competition across all media and new skills to be learned. Four essential characteristics for new workers are on the minds of most European radio managers: knowledge, attitude, character and flexibility.

Advice to Holiday Replacement DJs (et.al.) – December 30, 2005
Reader attention to suggestions offered to DJs, show hosts and presenters in the recent ftm conversation prove that the cover is truly off the box of secrets. Unfortunately the knowledge transfer so accessible in this internet age has not filtered down to holiday replacement this humble writer has had to suffer with. Hence, here are a few more suggestions from le ancien directeur du programmes (sounds far more sexy than “old PD “).

The World's Best Advice for DJs, Show-hosts and Presenters - December 9, 2005
One reader asked: "Have you seen a good style-guide, something up-to-date, for DJs, show-hosts and presenters." We posed the question, and here are the expert answers.

Popular DJs, a Winning PD and a Mini-drama Take German Radio Awards - September 4, 2005
Germany’s private radio broadcasters threw a gala party full of awards for themselves and their favorite music stars in the Berlin Tempodrom

Paying for An Exclusive Doesn’t Necessarily Mean It Stays Exclusive - May 19, 2005
It was the celebrity wedding of 2000 – Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a lavish, $1.5 million to $2 million New York Plaza Hotel ceremony attended by 250 guests. And the UK’s OK! Magazine paid £1 million for exclusive photo rights.

UK DJs Are Audience Magnets - February 3, 2005
DJs, show hosts and presenters draw the praise when audience surveys show more listeners tuning in. And they are roundly flogged when those numbers are down. In the UK, voices on the radio are more and more tied to a stations’ success.

The Passing of John Peel - October 27, 2004
Legendary broadcaster John Peel died of a heart attack this week. His 40 years of radio leaves a legacy of story, wit and music.

US DJ Moves to Satellite Radio in $500m deal - October 10, 2004
In a move that rattled American broadcasters but startled few financial analysts, notorious shock-jock Howard Stern will leave Infinity Radio for Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006

Bad Day in Court for French “King of Radio” - September 13, 2004
A Paris court ordered self-proclaimed “King of Radio” Fun Radio DJ Arthur to pay 1000 euros last week (September 7) after losing a lawsuit against another DJ. One day later Fun Radio “suspended” his program, Planet Arthur.


ftm Knowledge

Media in Spain - Diverse and Challenged – new

Media in Spain is steeped in tradition. yet challenged by diversity. Publishers hold great influence, broadcasters competing. New media has been slow to rise and business models for all are under stress. Rich in language and culture, Spain's media is reaching into the future and finding more than expected. 123 pages, PDF. January 2018

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The Campaign Is On - Elections and Media

Elections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 84 pages. PDF (September 2017)

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Fake News, Hate Speech and Propaganda

The institutional threat of fake news, hate speech and propaganda is testing the mettle of those who toil in news media. Those three related evils are not new, by any means, but taken together have put the truth and those reporting it on the back foot. Words matter. This ftm Knowledge file explores that light. 48 pages, PDF (March 2017)

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