GMG cuts 12 stations' daily news shows


Tuesday May 6 2008

GMG Radio has axed its two daily news programmes across all but one of its 13 FM stations a month after it won four nominations in news categories at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.
The two 15-minute news programmes ran in the lunchtime and drivetime slots across its stable of Real, Century, Smooth and Rock Radio stations.
The group said the resources would be put into providing exclusive material for its news bulletins throughout the day, and a new campaigning strand called The Big Story.
It said there were no planned job losses as a result of the changes, which came into effect yesterday.
Century Radio bagged a total of four nominations for this year's Sony radio awards, which take place next Monday, including the news and current affairs programme award, news journalist of the year, the news feature award and the breaking news award.
105.4 Century FM, which is based in Manchester, was also recognised at the IRN News awards last month, winning three prizes for its coverage of the shooting of Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones.
The GMG Radio group head of news, James Rea, said: "By refocusing our news resource we will be able to provide more compelling and original news content for our stations with a focus on the key day parts of breakfast and drivetime."
In a statement, the group said it was refocusing its news resources "to give its stations a more original and campaigning news feel" with a "focus on providing exclusive material for key bulletins as well as news specials on the issues most relevant to our audiences"
It said The Big Story would be an "umbrella title for its news specials and campaigning journalism strand which involves news programming across some or all stations".
The changes affect 12 of GMG Radio's 13 FM stations. The only unaffected station, Rock Radio in Manchester, launched yesterday and has the two bulletins included as part of its licence agreement with Ofcom.
GMG Radio employs journalists across its stations with a 14-strong news hub at its Manchester base.
A GMG Radio spokeswoman said: "There are no planned redundancies as part of these changes. We are constantly assessing our news resource to ensure we have the right teams and support staff in place and this will continue."
GMG Radio is part of Guardian Media Group, which also publishes MediaGuardian.co.uk

This article is about a radio station who have taken away two of their 15 mins radio slots. Seeing as they won an award for their news i think it was not a wise move to take them away.

Media Quiz week 8
1)ITV were fined £4m b'coz of phone scandal
2)Women mag called 'EVE', core readers are women (30 +)
3)Miley Cyrus has offended her young fans through taking sexual photgraphs and revealing her body too much
4)iTunes (Apple)
5)Financial Times

Media Quiz week 7
1)Charles Allen
2)Newsday (Rupert Murdoch)
3)Coca Cola is beign targeted because they are sponsoring the Olympics.
4)Murdoch
5)March of the Penguins, the 2005 documentary that cost $3m to make and took $127m globally at the box office.

Medical show avoids embarrassment

Tuesday April 29 2008

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Tuesday April 29 2008. It was last updated at 15:28 on April 29 2008.

Embarrassing Bodies: drew 2.6m viewers. Photograph: Channel 4
The first episode of Channel 4's Embarrassing Bodies, which focuses on intimate medical complaints, attracted 2.6 million viewers last night, Monday April 28.
The new series, in which three doctors trawled the country in a travelling surgery, averaged an 11% share in the 9pm hour, according to the unofficial overnight ratings.
It easily beat BBC2's Tanya Byron series Am I Normal?, which examined attitudes to religion and the supernatural. Am I Normal? drew 1.2 million viewers and a 5% share at the same time.
Embarrassing Bodies also attracted 319,000 extra viewers to the Channel 4 +1 catch-up service an hour later.
The 9pm slot was won comfortably by BBC1 police drama Waking the Dead, which picked up 6.8 million viewers and a 29% share with the first of a two-part story about the discovery of a headless corpse.
This was 500,000 viewers and three share points up on last Monday's instalment of the drama.
ITV1's Real Crime documentary, Murder at Harvey Nicks, which traced the 2005 killing of Clare Bernal in the beauty section of the London department store by her former boyfriend, pulled in 3.5 million viewers and a 15% share in the 9pm hour.
In the same slot last week, a one-off episode of Scottish police drama Taggart pulled in 4.7 million viewers a 20% share.
A Channel Five repeat of Paul Merton in China drew 700,000 viewers and a 3% share on Channel 5 at the same time.
Earlier in the evening, a Panorama documentary about alleged corruption at the United Nations scored 2.4 million viewers and a 10% share on BBC1 between 8.30pm and 9pm.
Panorama was inevitably blown out of the water by ITV1 soap Coronation Street which attracted 9.5 million viewers and a 40% share at the same time.
Likewise, EastEnders - which pulled in 9.4 million viewers and a 41% share between 8pm and 8.30pm - smashed ITV1's Tonight special, Bad Manners Britain, which averaged 3.4 million and 15% in the half hour from 8pm.
In the 8pm hour, BBC2's coverage of the world snooker championship drew 1.8 million viewers and an 8% share on BBC2 between 8pm and 9pm.
The full two hours of snooker coverage between 7pm and 9pm cued up 1.5 million viewers and a 7% share for the channel.
Channel 4's offering in the 8pm hour, a Dispatches documentary about the mobile phone industry, picked up 1.3 million viewers and a 5% a share, with another 130,000 tuning in on Channel 4 +1 an hour later.
Five's The Gadget Show attracted 1.2 million viewers and a 5% share in the 9pm hour.

This article is about the television viewings of the week. it shows how much time people spend watching TV! and how the "embarassing bodies" got A LOT of viewers, showing how obsessed we are with our bodies.

2000s

2000s

2000
- George W Bush is declared president elect
- Big Brother launches.
- ITN news channel launched.
- Child of Our Time begins.
-Reformists win control of Iranian parliament for first time since 1979 Islamic revolution (Feb. 26).

2001
- US terrorists attacks. September 11th bombings of the World Trade Centre
-In response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. and British forces launch bombing campaign on Taliban government and al-Qaeda terrorist camps in Afghanistan (Oct. 7). Bombings continue on a daily basis. Background: Afghanistan.
-Race riots in Cincinnati continue for several days following a shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer (April 7 et seq.).

2002
- 17th Football World Cup begins
- BBC four launches
-Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government sign a cease-fire agreement, ending 19 years of civil war (Feb. 22). Background: World in Review
-India's worst Hindu-Muslim violence in a decade rocked the state of Gujarat after a Muslim mob fire-bombed a train, killing Hindu activists. Hindus retaliated, and more than 1,000 died in the bloodshed (Feb. 27 et seq.).
-U.S. and Afghan troops launch Operation Anaconda against remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan (March 2). Background: Taliban Timeline and Afghanistan.

2003
- After giving Saddam Hussain and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq, Bush orders the firing of missiles on the country’s capital
-Ariel Sharon elected Israeli prime minister (Jan. 29).
-Suicide bombing destroys UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing 24, including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello (Aug. 19).
-Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem kills 20 Israelis, including 6 children (Aug. 19).
-Suicide bombers attack two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25 (Nov. 15).
-Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops (Dec. 13).
- Leni Reifenstahl dies

2004
- Tsunami kills hundreds and thousands of people.
- The Secret Policeman documentary looks at institutional racism within the police force.
-Spain is rocked by terrorist attacks, killing more than 200. Al Qaeda takes responsibility (March 11).
- Michael Moore releases Farenheit 9/11
- Mel Gibson releases Passion of the Christ

2005
- Desperate Housewives (Kiran’s Independent Study)
- Iraq elections take place
-Pope John Paul II Dies (April 2). Benedict XVI becomes the next pope (April 24).
-Tony Blair becomes first Labour Party prime minister to win three successive terms, but his party loses a large number of seats in the elections (May 5).
-The European Union abandons plans to ratify the proposed European constitution by 2006 after both France and the Netherlands vote against it (June 16).
-London hit by Islamic terrorist bombings, killing 52 and wounding about 700. It is Britain's worst attack since World War II (July 7).
-Group of Eight industrial nations pledge to double aid to Africa to $50 billion a year by 2010, cancel the debt of many poor countries, and open trade (July 8).

2006
-A Danish newspaper challenges taboos against illustrations of Muhammad by printing several negative cartoons depicting him. Angry demonstrators throughout the Muslim world smash windows, set fires, and burn flags of Denmark and other nations whose newspapers reprint the cartoons (Feb. 4 onward).
-Saddam Hussein is convicted of crimes against humanity by an Iraqi court (Nov. 5), and hanged in Baghdad. A witness videotapes the hanging using a cell phone and captures the chaos that unfolds as Shiite guards taunt Hussein (Dec. 30).

1990s

1990s

1990
- Thatcher steps down from prime minister. John Major comes in
- British Satellite Broadcasting makes its debut but the company is quickly hit by financial difficulties. It then merges with Sky
- Yugoslav Communists end 45-year monopoly of power.
- Nelson Mandela is freed after being imprisoned for 27yrs.
-The X rating is replaced by NC-17 (no children under 17).

1991
- The Broadcasting Standards Council is set up to monitor sex, violence and bad language on radio and tv.
- Europeans end sanctions on South Africa (April 15). South African Parliament repeals apartheid laws (June 5).

1992
- Previously agreed by EC governments in 1991, the treaty on closer political and economic union between European states is finally signed.
- Channel 4 ‘The Big Breakfast’ begins
-Bush and Yeltsin proclaim a formal end to the Cold War (Feb. 1).
-US lifts trade sanctions against China (Feb. 21).

1993
-Vaclav Havel elected Czech President (Jan. 26).
-British House of Commons approves European unity pact (May 20). Maastricht -Treaty takes effect, creating European Union (Nov. 1).
-Twenty-two UN troops killed in Somalia (June 5).
-Clinton agrees to compromise on military's ban on homosexuals (Jan. 29).
-Five arrested, sixth sought in bombing of World Trade Center in New York (March 29).

1994
-Thousands dead in Rwanda massacre (April 6).
-South Africa holds first interracial national election (April 29); Nelson Mandela elected President.
-Israel signs accord with Palestinians (May 4), peace treaty with Jordan (Oct. 17).
-IRA declares cease-fire in Northern Ireland (Aug. 31). Ulster Protestants declare cease-fire (Oct. 13).
- Friends and ER begin.

1995
- OJ Simpson found not guilty.
- The Rhona Cameron show for gays and lesbians.

1996
- First GM food goes on sale.
- The Simpsons arrive to the BBC.
-France agrees to end nuclear testing (Jan. 29). Background: nuclear disarmament
-Britain alarmed by an outbreak of "mad cow" disease (March 20 et seq.).
-Ethnic violence breaks out in Zairian refugee camps (Oct. 13); Clinton approves plan for UN-backed relief mission for 1.2 million Hutu refugees starving in eastern Zaire (Nov. 13). Hundreds of thousands return to Rwanda (Nov. 15–18).

1997
- Channel 5 launches.
- The ‘Teletubbies’ begins.
- News 24 launches.
-Tony Blair leads Labour to huge victory making him the youngest prime minister.
- Princess Diana and Mother Teresa die.
-US, UK, and France agree to freeze Nazis' gold loot (Feb. 3).
-Hong Kong returns to Chinese rule (June 30).

1998
- Viagra goes on sale.
- ITV screens a three-part series about the wave of women MPs that have arrived with the advent of Tony Blair’s Labour Gov.
-ITV2 launches.
-Europeans agree on single currency, the euro(May 3).
-India conducts three atomic tests despite worldwide disapproval (May 11, 13). Pakistan stages five nuclear tests in response (May 29, 30).
-US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania bombed (Aug. 7). US cruise missiles hit suspected terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan (Aug. 20).

1999
- Total Eclipse (I remember this I thought I was going to be blind if I looked directly)
- Queer as Folk- gay sitcom which received complaints about the sex scenes
- Last transmission of ITV’s news at 10
- Television cameras are allowed into the House of Commons for the first time on an experimental basis.
-Nelson Mandela, first black president of South Africa, steps down (June 16), and Thabo Mbeki takes over.
-Pakistani government is overthrown in the midst of economic strife and intensified fighting with India over Kashmir (Oct. 12). Background: 1999 in Review.
-The world awaits the consequences of the Y2K bug, with more drastic millennial theorists warning of Armageddon.

1980s

1980s

1980
- Debut of Margaret Thatcher’s ‘truly favourite programme.’ In 1984, the PM performs in her own sketch with Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington to mark the 20th anniversary of the National Viewers and Listeners Association
- The oil tycoon is shot at the end of the second series of US soap Dallas, promoting a national obsession over who pulled the trigger and even a BBC report.
- Women police officers have been on Britain’s streets since the 1949, but it isn’t until the 1980s that TV really takes notice
- Telethons come to the UK for the first time with the BBC’s appeal show. Comic Relief follow in 1988
- 6 US embassy aides escape from Iran with Canadian help
- US diplomatic ties with Iran
- Ronald Reagan elected president in Republican sweep
- Ted Turner launches CNN, the first all news network

1981
- Lord Scarman’s report following the Brixton race riots leads to the introduction of the Police Complaints Authority and other measures aimed at improving trust improving trust between the police and ethnic minority communities
- A worldwide TV audience of 750 million watch the Royal wedding which features the first Buckingham Palace ‘balcony kiss’
- The Supreme Courts rules to allow television cameras in the courtroom

1982
- Roger Graef and Charles Stewart’s fly-on-the-wall series for the BBC following the Thames Valley Police is broadcast a year after the 1981 race riots
- Falklands War
- Channel 4 launches
- ‘The Young Ones’ sitcom full of topical references to Thatcher’s government, police brutality and the Bomb.
- ‘Brookside’ The show’s continual use of the word ‘pissing’ and ‘bollocks’ lead to tabloids to dub the new station ‘Channel Swore’

1983
- Terrorist explosion kills 237 US marines in Beirut
- BBC 1 Breakfast Time a month later TV AM begins on ITV

1984
- The longest industrial dispute in British history begins over proposed pit closure in Yorkshire. Miners return to work in 1985 after national campaigns of support, pitched battles with police and 10,000 arrests.
- Micheal Buerk reports broadcasts from Ethiopia about the famine
- Italy and Vatican agree to end Roman Catholicism as a state religion.
- Three hundred slain as Indian Army occupies Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar (June 6).
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards; 1,000 killed in anti-Sikh riots; son Rajiv succeeds her (Oct. 31).
Toxic gas leaks from Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killing 2,000 and injuring 150,000 (Dec. 3).

1985
- Eastenders begins at 7pm then moves to a later time after various complaints of it often containing gritty subject matter
- Gorbachev become Soviet Leader
- The Home Secretary Leon Brittan asks the BBC governors to stop the broadcast of At Edge of the Union an edition of Real Lives about extremists in Northern Ireland.

1986
-Nuclear disaster in Ukraine more than 10,000 dead.
- 5 years after the first cases of Aids were discovered. John Hurt narrates the ‘Don’t die of ignorance’
-Spain and Portugal join European Economic Community
- US supreme courts bars racial bias in trial jury selection.
- US supreme courts reaffirms abortion rights.

1987
- Women are able to become priests in the Church of England
- ‘Rising star of the New Right’ The series spans Thatcher and major governments and often pre-empts the sex scandals and other embarrassments that plague the Tories in the late 80’s
- Prime Minister Thatcher wins rare third term in Britain.
-US supreme courts rules must admit women
- Fatal Attraction the film is released.

1988
- The government fails to prevent the broadcast of ITV’s investigative documentary about the British Special Forces’ controversial killings of 3 IRA gunmen in Gibraltar. The Sun newspaper had a headline ‘Storm as SAS Telly Trial’
- Benazir Bhutto first Islamic woman prime minister

1989
- Neelema and Kiran were born
- Channel 4 helps cement its reputation as the broadcaster most attuned to multicultural Britain, with a sitcom ‘Desmonds’ set in Peckham.
- Sky launches the UK’s first satellite television service.
- ‘Blackadder goes forth’ sitcom set during the First World War set in the trenches.
- Fall of the Berlin Wall
-Salman Rushdie's novel Satanic Verses is published and sparks immediate controversy. Islamic militants put a price on his head.

1970s

1970:

-Biafra surrenders after 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.

-Doctors are writing 4.8 million prescriptions for Librium in England alone.

1971:

-Shillings disappear in Britain and decimals come in.

1972:

-Bloody Sunday,peaceful civil-rights march in Derry descends into chaos as British paratroopers open fire, killing 14 irish civilians.

-Newsround, first news programme for children.

-Second longest running soap on Brit tv = Emmerdale.

- Supreme Court rules that death penalty is unconstitutional (June 29).

-Eleven Israeli athletes at Olympic Games in Munich are killed after eight members of an Arab terrorist group invade Olympic Village.

1973:

-Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark enter European Economic Community.

-Chile's Marxist president, Salvadore Allende, is overthrown.

-Watergate Trial, trial of 7 men accused of bugging the Democratic Party HQ in Washington leads to constitutional crisis.

-First teletext system is devised by BBC technicians.

-Fourth and biggest Arab-Israeli conflict begins as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel as Jews mark Yom Kippur, holiest day in their calendar (Oct. 6

1974:

-Local Government Act reforms local government; replaces counties with metropolitan and non-metropolitan county and district councils.

-Patricia Hearst, 19-year-old daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army, later she takes part in the gang's terror activities, claiming she had been brainwashed.

1975:

-Equal Pay Act makes it illegal for men and women to have different terms and conditions of employment.

1976:

-Supreme Court rules that blacks and other minorities are entitled to retroactive job seniority.

-Trial of Liberal MP Jeremny Thorpe begins after allegations that he had arranged to murder a man with whom he had had a homosexual relationshiop.

-Bill Grundy from Sex Pistols says F word live on early evening tv, Pistols are dropped from their record label, the punk movement gains nationwide publicity.

1977:

-First woman Episcopal priest ordained.

-Elizabeth II celebrates her Silver Jubilee; 25 years on the throne.

1978:

-Winter of Discontent': during strikes power cuts and fuel shortages commonplace.

-Over 900 members of Reverend Jim Jones' cult die after a mass suicide/murder at their compound in Guyana, where poisoned juice is distributed, or force fed to his followers.

-Home cooking is in decline as people turn to takeaways, Delia takes charge!

1979:

-Margaret Thatcher becomes prime minister (first woman to hold the office).

-Oil spills pollute ocean waters in Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

-Revolutionary forces under Muslim leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, take over.

-Soviet invasion of Afghanistan stirs world protests (Dec. 27).