Media Brief
I'm the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s media correspondent and this is my brief selection of what's going on.
The King's Speech ruled at the Baftas last night, winning seven awards included best film and best actor for Colin Firth. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ reports the film also won outstanding British film, best original screenplay, supporting acting honours for Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, and best score. The the low-budget British film has taken the world by storm.
The that for one-time stutterer David Seidler, the screenwriter of The King's Speech, it was the night he finally found his voice. His royal drama, telling the story of how King George VI overcame his stammer, picked up an extraordinary seven Baftas last night.
The the iPlayer's arrival on iPad and smartphones has seen a boom in mobile use of the service, according to the latest ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ figures.
The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ has been accused of lowering its standards to enable it to put more people from ethnic minority backgrounds on air. The the comment came from Samir Shah, an Indian-born former head of current affairs and former member of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s executive board, in the wake of a ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Trust report which said too many of Radio 4's listeners were white, middle class and elderly.
"It is done with the best of intentions - but for someone like me, from an ethnic minority, my heart sinks. It is just embarrassing."
But the the former controller of Radio 4 Mark Damazer urged ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ executives to make the station more representative of Britain's population, and expressed regret at not achieving a greater level of diversity while he was there. He said the Today programme and The Archers should have more voices from black and ethnic backgrounds.
Ofcom, the media regulator, today unveils its on-screen warning signal designed to alert viewers to the presence of product placement in television programmes. The the monochrome double P logo will be seen from 28 February, following the Government's decision to permit advertisers to pay broadcasters for the inclusion of branded goods and services in their programmes.
The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s newspaper review says as David Cameron prepares to relaunch his Big Society initiative, the papers explain how they see the concept. For the Daily Mirror, it is an ideological smokescreen to obscure the wilful destruction of public services.
Links in full
• ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ | King's Speech reigns over Bafta awards
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• ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ | Newspaper Review
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