Sunday Times: BBC unlikely to prosecute licence fee rebel Charles Moore

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 17 November 2008 at 10:19
Tags: Broadcast, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People

The BBC is unlikely to launch a criminal prosecution against former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore for his refusal to pay his TV licence fee, the Sunday Times reports.

Two weeks ago, Moore wrote in his Telegraph column that he would refuse to pay his TV licence if the corporation continued to employ Jonathan Ross.

According to the Sunday Times, the BBC declines to prosecute such conscientious objectors to the TV licence for fear of creating “martyrs”. Other licence fee refusniks include Noel Edmunds and former Russian dissident Vladimir Bukovsky.

Holy Moly! set for global expansion

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 12 November 2008 at 10:46
Tags: New Media, Online, People

Following a relaunch and the addition of video earlier this month, UK-based celebrity and gossip website Holy Moly! is planning a global take over.

The website, which claims to to have 750,000 unique users a month, is set to launch a number of international sites.

The site’s founder told Media Guardian that a number of markets had already been identified. He said: “Getting the product firmly established as the biggest celebrity property in the UK is the first priority, then we will role it out internationally.

“Next year we are looking at Mumbai, Russia, Latin America and Australia for new sites.”

Veteran South Wales editor moves into books and PR

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 4 November 2008 at 10:03
Tags: Newspapers, People, Regional Newspapers

Editor of the Llanelli Star and Camerthen Journal Robert Lloyd is leaving journalism after 31 years in the business - to work on new projects involving books and PR.

The 49-year-old told Holdthefrontpage:

“It has been a privilege to be the editor of two of the best-known weekly newspapers in Wales. Working with such a dedicated team has been a delight and an honour.”

Charles Moore leads licence-fee revolt

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 2 November 2008 at 11:52
Tags: Broadcast, National Newspapers, People

Former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore has used his Saturday column to call for a nationwide BBC licence-fee payers revolt in response to the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross affair.

And Moore is to lead by example.

He said:

“If Ross is still in post when my television licence next comes up for renewal, I shall keep my television, but refuse to pay the fee.”

The current penalty for licence fee evasion is a fine of up to £1,000 and a criminal record.

Gillian Tett: From tea-girl to business journalism superstar

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 31 October 2008 at 11:20
Tags: Journalism, Media Business, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People

An indication of the extent to which the credit crunch has elevated financial journalism to the mainstream comes in the The Guardian today - which has a profile of the FT’s Gillian Tett in its main features section.

Tett was Press Gazette British Press Awards business and finance journalist of the year last year.

The Guardian credits the FT assistant editor as being one of the few people to have predicted the current economic meltdown two years ago. And it reveals that the FT journalist has PhD in social anthropology from Cambridge.

Explaining her interest in finance Tett says:

“People who come from a background of arts and humanities and social studies tend to think that money and the City is boring and somehow dirty.

“But if you don’t look at how money goes round the world you don’t actually understand the world at all. When you try and join up the dots about how money can be linked to politics, can be linked to culture, then it’s electrifying.”

She said she had her big break whilst on work experience at the FT at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union:

“They came around and said, ‘Does anyone speak Russian?’ I put my hand up, and I basically went from making the tea to writing pieces. Total Hollywood moment. Then the foreign editor comes round and says, ‘There’s going to be a revolution in Lithuania, does anyone want to go?’ And I went, ‘Yes! Me!”

Journalists v Scottish politicans football match ends in a brawl

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 29 October 2008 at 11:05
Tags: BBC, Broadcast, Journalism, Magazines, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People, Radio, Regional Newspapers, Television

A charity football match between Scottish politicians and sports journalists has to be cut short after it ended in a punch up between the players, reports The Times.

The game, which took place on Sunday morning in Glasgow, first showed signs of trouble when Labour MSP John Park was sent of for a challenge on BBC football pundit Chick Young.

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Former Daily Sketch editor Howard French dies aged 95

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 28 October 2008 at 10:18
Tags: Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People

Howard French - a journalist described as “a pivotal figure in the creation of the modern Daily Mail”, has died, aged 95.

Today’s Daily Mail report desribes French as “a distinguished journalist of the old school”, who worked for Associated Newspapers for 40 years. (more…)

London Press Club leading light John Frost has died

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 23 October 2008 at 09:41
Tags: Newspapers, People

London Press Club honorary life membeer John Frost has died.

He was a leading authority on collecting newspapers and provided all of the newpapers for the Newspaper Publishers Association centenary at the British Museum last year which, over six months, was attended by more than 100,000 visitors

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Yachtgate: Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Wade join cast list

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 22 October 2008 at 10:32
Tags: Broadcast, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People

The plot of the story which has inevitably been dubbed yachtgate, and which threatens to bring down Shadow Chancellor George Osbourne thickened today - as it emerged that Rupert Murdoch and Sun editor Rebekah Wade were also bit-part players in the drama. (more…)

Kambaksh thanks Independent after death sentence lifted

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 22 October 2008 at 09:17
Tags: Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People

An Afghan journalism student has thanked The Independent for helping to save his life after he was jailed for 20 years for downloading information from the internet about women’s rights.

Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, 24, was sentenced to death but yesterday Afghanistan’s appeal court commuted his sentence to jail. (more…)

Daily Mail: Kay Burley contacts police over stalking fears

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 17 October 2008 at 09:11
Tags: Broadcast, People, Television

Sky News presenter Kay Burley has contacted police because she fears she is being stalked by Barry George, according to the Daily Mail.

The paper reports that these fears may have contributed to Burley collapsing while presenting the afternoon programme on Sky News on Wednesday.

Dominic Lawson takes over Simon Jenkins slot on Sunday Times

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 16 October 2008 at 17:05
Tags: National Newspapers, Newspapers, People

Former Sunday Telegraph editor Dominic Lawson is going from strength to strength in his career as a columnist.

Media Guardian reports that he is cutting down his writing commitments at the Independent and Independent on Sunday to write a weekly column in the Sunday Times - taking over from Simon Jenkins.

Jenkins is understood to be cutting down on his journalism work to focus on his new job as chairman of the National Trust.

Lawson was editor of the Sunday Telegraph for ten years - leaving abruptly in 2005 following the Barclay Brothers takeover of the title. He will continue to write one column a week for The Independent.

Former Liverpool Post photographer dies

Posted by Paul McNally on 14 October 2008 at 16:56
Tags: People

Former Liverpool Post and Echo photographer Neville Willasey has died, aged 84.

Willasey joined the two titles in 1947 as a junior photographer before becoming picture editor. According to Hold The Front Page, he covered 27 Grand Nationals and more than 1,000 Liverpool and Everton football matches.

Herald and Daily Record reporter dies, aged 32

Posted by Paul McNally on 8 October 2008 at 08:30
Tags: Newspapers, People

Former Daily Record reporter Calum Macdonald died yesterday, aged 32. He had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Macdonald worked as a reporter on the Trinity Mirror red-top before moving to rival Newsquest Scottish daily, The Herald.

“He will be sadly missed by his former colleagues and his many friends in journalism,” the Record said last night.

Felix Dennis gives journalist interview - doesn’t confess to killing anyone

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 2 October 2008 at 10:07
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines, People

Dennis Publishing boss Felix Dennis has managed to give a national press interview without confessing to killing anyone ten months after telling Ginny Dougary of The Times that he pushed a man over a cliff.

In an interview in today’s Guardian he now says it was just the booze talking. (more…)

Sunday Telegraph deputy Dan Roberts is new Guardian head of business

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 22 September 2008 at 09:36
Tags: National Newspapers, Newspapers, People

Sunday Telegraph deputy editor Dan Roberts is joining the Guardian as head of business.

Roberts, 35, will be in charge of business across the Guardian, Observer and Guardian.co.uk and replaces Deborah Hargreaves who is stepping down.

Former Heat editor on when celebrity stopped being fun

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 3 September 2008 at 10:39
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines, People

Mark Frith, former editor of Heat magazine, has revealed he left the celebrity weekly he felt partly to blame for Britain’s unhealthy celebrity culture.

Writing in The Independent to promot his recent book, The Celeb Diaries, Frith explains that he felt celebrity culture turned sour as both the media and audience became more and more obsessed. He said:

“Gradually the celebrity world stopped being so much fun. Every time you switched on MTV they were glorifying the latest showbiz casualty by handing them their own fly-on-the-wall show, and we were suddenly seeing things many of us just didn’t want to see.

“This wasn’t the romance of the first kiss or the development of a friendship like in those early reality TV shows – this was mental illness and substance abuse and dysfunction.”

Frith edited Heat for ten years, announcing his departure to write his memoirs in February this year.

Explaining why he felt it was time to leave, Frith said:

“As time went on, I began to feel complicit in all of this while, according to some sectors of the media, it was my fault that Amy Winehouse was stumbling around at four in the morning, covered in blood. Britney Spears was troubled because of all those paparazzi, and those paparazzi were there because of celebrity-magazine editors like me.”

Royal takes job on Spanish celebrity magazine

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 2 September 2008 at 12:39
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines, People

A member of the Royal Family has taken a job at Hola!, the Spanish version of British celebrity weekly Hello!.

Lady Gabriella Windsor is already an established journalist, having written for the Sunday Telegraph, the Evening Standard, Country Life and The Spectator.

Earlier this year it was reported that The Queen was to ban senior members of the Royal Family from appearing in celebrity magazine photograph deals following a feature in Hello! on her grandson Peter Phillips’ wedding.