Read this: The Media Podcast #2 - Robert Peston Michael Woolf go off-message

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Hello, I'm holy man and on today's show is all about the Renegade is Robert Peston slams BBC news for following a newspaper agenda and us commentator Michael Wolff Lathan to his old employers at the Guardian + Channel 4 aims to steal a march on ITV's rising star with its own talent show where viewers vote via an app and as the World Cup kicks off Sky announces a new football channel, are they now seeing BT Sport as a threat? This is the media podcast from the media podcast.com and with us today in the studio or meteorite a Maggie Brown and the TV editor of heat magazine Boyd Hilton welcome to both sometimes.

There are even more nursing in the ones on here at first of all Maggie just name dropped Hugh Grant you just met Hugh Grant what was that about?

Of the way through Preston speech the door opened and m in kms the rather elegant figure of 30 Hugh Grant I think he came along because he said to me actually that when I when you started off on this fact of these thought it would be fun levison.

He thought it be three weeks.

He said it's 3 years and counting and still going strong there's been quite at you might say a lot of tension within the British journalism review because Steve Barnett is one of the members and he is absolutely 100-percent in favour of a royal charter to regulate the press Hugh Grant audit with active is a course on that side very much to an across the British journalism review and its editorial and it's stands is completely opposed to hacked off.

I think that explains why there was this was a very interesting drinks party wear the star of the show was actually standing there with a professor and not with that huge bunch of people around him asking for autographs untouchable.

Did you accidentally?

Purpose some painting with your coffee and then fall in love.

That's what we really want to know and then you just you just told us as if there's couldn't get any more showbiz that you are on Route after this to go and be live on the one show me I've got it Gonna Cut you are going straight to watch walking there from this glamorous studio.

I think we could go like Shack Shack shack it's a shame to be on with Maureen Lipman my name is the main guests obviously I'm not the main guests that would be a hideous come down in the one shows celebrity booking situation, but they're doing a feature do an item with I think this is genuinely a good idea on that they've always absolutely brilliant Shack they doing an item on explaining things like Blinkbox and Netflix and all of those downloading TV things streaming devices and all of that to their for old people and you're going to be there going to be helping them and then.

Do normal people so people know right well, I'm with the show and first love Robert Peston has Maggie alluded to delivering the Charles Wheeler lecture last week causing no end of first when he said that the most frustrating thing was the way BBC News world quote completely obsessed by the agenda.

Set buy newspapers and Maggie May be frustrating, but it is it particularly massive surprise the BBC News radio TV does follow a newspaper agenda to some extent PR and the pr industry over the head this was in the question-and-answer afterwards and what he was actually talking about was the frustration of being a journalist tasting original stories and having to get them through these layers of editors at the BBC and I think that the quote that he gave was preceded by this and have a lot of his activity as a journey.

Actually battling fighting to get stories that matter in his opinion as first business correspondent now you can mix editor of the BBC on to air when people listening to what say that's not a story so that preceded this what you might call almost a ranch really about the news values or the news agenda of parts of the BBC afterwards of course I was actually talking about this with Hugh Grant and that I said do you know that's one of the interesting thing is well.

I've been a journalist for 40 years and I started on the Birmingham Post and Mail in my experience from that members was that especially then when the reason oppress was so strong that you used to have to monitor the BBC regional news to see if they have I got any stories they never did but they always followed up your storage under stairs on regional television and on radio and slice of luxury in 40 years.

I don't think anything has really changed except of course the regional press has got much less powerful and as I was standing.

I realise actually a little light went on in my head and I thought no this really as the story so although the speech was released this wasn't and I seem to have been the only working journalists are to actually pick it up and write it for the media Guardian regarding the male and the Telegraph specifically that you mention.

They're having a look quite surprised by that because a lot of people think the BBC is actually more led by the likes of the Guardian The Independent than the male in the Telegraph but if you actually look at the papers at the most likely to give the BBC a bashing.

It is probably the myelin the Telegraph isn't it boys this is surprised that someone very senior within BBC new seems to be saying there in Thrall to the right wing press.

No, I think it's actually true because it's got to the point.

Where is BBC's scared of the cover to the lake get in the mail on the Telegraph and the sun as well go to to a slightly lesser extent.

So they have never doctor this defensive position about it as an organisation and so every time you know posts of all time in Beijing going back.

Before that into into actually going lol you never seen every time.

They do something that they do make a mistake and I do have a massive cock of a whatever happens.

They can get it incredibly defensive about response to in the papers.

So I think it's all part of that and I get the sense that on big subjects like immigration and the economy even and you know lots of social issues in a sense as well that the agenda is set by the by the by the popular press or by the right wing press to the I don't think the BBC is biased in the why am I genuinely think either way and I generally think you know it's trying it's very best to be rejected as it can be but I do think they can mission shut some types of show and sent types of documentary and they at tho I have sent items on Newsnight answer all of the stuff clearly in reaction to the way that those items are covered in the papers.

It's that kind of things.

I think brought person was talking about I think it's clearly right and he talks as well about the fears of journalism from PR companies as well.

Not just chilling what you see the tabloid papers.

I mean.

Boyd a memorably talked in this lecture about her at the Sunday Telegraph they're being a waste paper basket by the fax machine 10 years ago and it was called the round filing cabinet PR statements would come in then go straight in the round filing cabinet.

What's your attitude to PR people? It's a different world because I'm in showbiz journalism TV criticism and Lena interview celebrities and I write about it.

Such a different world.

We are entirely reliant on piano in public relations industry, and that will make no bones about me know the whole the whole world of showbiz jainism.

It's now.

I don't think it's that people would assume it's terrible thing and it's disgrace.

It's actually said to actually if you if you prove on a weekly basis that you maintain independence of in all kinds of publications Jack relations Giants whether it's Simon Cowell's team.

You know it's like over whether it's channel for BBC BBC as an enormous PR machine, let's not forget who are very very defensive everything that happened to the BBC I mean you know you speak to certain tablets over soon as they get Furious about the way to BBC tries to pretend.

Does that mean it clearly is we are relying on pianos? It's because they are The Gatekeepers to the people you want access to and yes, but yet.

You know you wouldn't give copy approval you know to them.

You wouldn't you wouldn't say we're not going to give the salmabad review to get an issue with Cheryl Cole we don't do any of that and I was very clear about that.

So I think it's up to you to maintain a level of Dignity if you like as a showbiz journalist just spoke that you are absolutely relying on them to get access to TV shows to the stars to whatever even within showbiz journalism.

I mean this is the Lynn Barber complaint isn't this is the Michael Parkinson complaint that is relatively new 20 years ago 30 years ago.

There wasn't so much.

Around for a while.

Have you seen this change happen? But a lot has changed in the world that he operates in which ok? It's been pretty much a broadsheet newspaper industry and to he came to the BBC and his point also is that the pr industry advice?

That wears the number of active journalist in in in in the normal exchanges of business, so he was also extremely concerned about what he calls native advertising what he means really is the blurring of editorial and advertising lines and you can see it on television to with product placement and advertising funded programming and the same thing creeping in he feels I think two areas which had previously been pretty clean.

So it was all together at a rather magnificent speech actually and I recommend anybody to to look it up and read it because that is certainly got the juices going when it comes about kind of advertorial there.

I was wondering I understand his concerns if you apply to the Telegraph all the independent but if you think about something like BuzzFeed if you consider that a new source which is what they claim to be at then actually.

It's the Woodlands online who are operating the articles that they find interesting if they find them interesting and it's advertorial is that a problem if the audience like it and I don't think it's a massive problem in that particular case I think with all these things you know you have to I think it's

The problem if something is being paid for on television and the show is completely driven by that one product or something I say of food show or something.

It's not transparent.

I think we are in a magazine.

You have to make it clear that I think on a website BuzzFeed it doesn't bother me ok makes Mr Rogues Gallery Michael Wolff the former Media columnist for the Guardian wrote a warts and all essay about his former employer for this month's GQ magazine writing about the editor of The Guardian Alan rusbridger.

He says a kind of preternatural consensus surrounds rusbridge yet, but underneath in the Guardian is a fraud political cauldron with Underling struggling to align with him.

Stay in his favour and undercut everyone else who is trying a nest of vipers in the description of an outside consultant boy that every newspaper, isn't it?

Absolution I think I know Sun newspaper article absolutely brilliant Leaf gripping fascinating and entertaining and Piers Morgan has a scripture on because he then wrote another piece more recently about CNN and how all the sea and ambulances boring you stayed idiots petition Piers Morgan was preposterous full who is a pic tragic failure and Piers Morgan reported on Twitter and called him some kind of like little.

Like I was I meant to write down.

I forgot.

I thought oh yeah.

Well.

I bring is Piers Morgan about Michael wolf because he is a really irritating little man United photos in very bitterly gripping and entertaining and I think it's brilliant that he wrote this thing about the Guardian clearly having recently been been got rid of I don't know they do some of that Maggie May as the Guardian contributor.

50 times smaller than you spell relative Heights of I think he's the man who is clearly as striking because he's been wounded and he did I think have a very enjoyable and I suspect rather lucrative extra job really with the Guardian writing about the media.

He does do this in a very fascinating manner and it's certainly very readable.

I thought that they were quite a few basic big floors in in his first of all he says that you know the Guardians experimental for into America hasn't worked well.

He's only 3 years into a five-year program.

He said that the team out there left by Janine Gibson who he describes an analysis and flattering manner somebody always looking for the next cigarette in in in Manhattan where they don't smoke anymore.

He was saying that because they were coming back 18th May coming back to London the mothership.

At it, it's a sign that it's fair on a minute if you are if you want at the diplomatic service if you're if you're in the army people always change the generals they change their top people it's perfectly reasonable and descending in a deputy editor of The Guardian to to run the the New York an American office, so doesn't say it sounds to me as if that vid is correct he also said that I am ok.

Alan has the sort of aura well.

I thought actually there was a bit of a sort of what you might call culture problem going on here because Brits abroad silently.

We don't go around emoting in the way that some Americans do although I know Obama is a very hard to read person and just about to it, but somehow the Guardian is very strange operation Western that I have known three editors of the Guardian and I worked alongside Alan yes, he is a man of kind of quotes password but a vision that you can say the same for.

Alistair Hetherington and you can say the same for Peterborough hold onto your dragons the final season of Game of Thrones is on now tv.

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Spend less time accounting and what time does Nespresso builder website design to work perfectly on a mobile with works get a reception if that's not your nan out we work and nothing says I've got this like a business card from Lewisham mobile plant actually help your business because three means business search three.co.uk / business for further details of people who invited you come to the Central issue, which is really whether the garden is in absolute trouble because it's changed its financial model it no longer has the other media companies it can rely on to subsidize.

It has become something of a Wealth Management Centre where it's told it's last big acid and is hoping to subsidize the losses has evolved from its investments.

And the jury again is out on that as it is with also whether it's digital income is growing fast enough to ensure that that that the losses are kept under control now the next results with income outnet in July so it will be very interesting to see what the actual position is a book about I think he should if I was him because it needs to be done in interesting not liking to write all of GQ every month.

I like to read his thoughts on shoes and trousers released all of its countries to make sure they supported you know it's recent big big investment if you like in in the loading slow define the word itself says regarding you messaging the Snowdon business right now.

You know I don't know if it's a fascinating.

I was a fascinating revelation if it's true because you kind of respect the garden not too babe like that.

I don't know but no reason why it shouldn't necessarily but

Bigger issue really I think it's very rare for the Guardian to get this kind of analysis you know you got it all the time with the Murdoch papers you get it quite a lot with a mile.

You get other journalists writing about those big power hitters in the end of the BBC in a bit, but the Guardian and yeah, you know the god.

I love the garden.

I actually have a call Tony Mourne Observer everything about it is, left wing liberal media as you loved ones are supposed to be generous gardener stuff, but a lot of things are extraordinary.

I mean really will now in love this place where where in a payroll at the word is considered a bad thing and all these newspapers are facing the end of the printed the printed work because the Guardian decided at some point years ago that they're going to give everything they do to everyone for free and they don't need me as well.

That's Christmas on American police officers fascinated guardian journalist thing but they do make extraordinary decision that way and very rarely does did the people pay much attention to or duvet Reggie get that analysis of people who made an interesting point about Janine Gibson early campaign against capital punishment and you could link to Piers Morgan's problems with CNN when he came out very heavily against gun control which is unknown.

We may think it's just obviously isn't obvious to Americans unfortunately so there was distorted sense of dissonance as I see it the Guardians Road in America isn't to be American it is to be a British Liberal voices Sensibility that's what they're attempting to do and I think it's actually quite a were the exercise.

I just don't know financially if it if it's going to work.

I got the quote on Twitter from Piers Morgan directed at Michael Wolff personally you're a world-class.

Little tired Michael Wolff but I can't help liking you in a sweaty uncomfortable way, thank you to Michael Hall for suggesting that story on Twitter that you can do the same by following us at the media podcast has commissioned a new talent show where viewers can vote Sounds Familiar so far in real-time all-new using a smartphone app for that that's 21st century if that sounds familiar in itself.

That's probably because I TV has already snapped up a show called rising star from Israeli television where viewers can vote in real-time using a smartphone app according to broadcast magazine for episodes going to be aired this August that's 5 months before I TV show is set to launch a boy to Channel 4 recording this the singer Takes It All

Trying to take it all isn't it? They trying to steal a march on ITV you know but it has been years since I had a decent in own on chat show entertainment falcons.

Can't remember last one so it just needs to to have one this sounds been like a decent stabilo it does sound quite easy, but you know if Alan Carr it will make it funny.

This is thing is sitting by app now Big Brother start this last week and also launched nice Big Brother the way it for you to select which of the housemates has going to be in charge was to do only via the app that you have to download the washing this is my job.

They didn't even tell you what the heck was called you find the bloody app find it a better about 10 people in marriage to Folkestone on on on the night.

I hope that explain what the happy and I want to how much money they will make our selling that so that's all the interesting.

Advertising business as well.

I mean there are obvious crossovers with The X Factor with the voice and told doing an entertainment music format, but this is much more with an emphasis on entertainment.

Is it baby talking about a stage that moves so that you can see how popular black sesame almost like a comedy show Alan Carr's in charge.

It's gonna be a bit like the fun bit of the X Factor which is poking fun at all the people with mental illness if I can't really watched The X Factor anymore or Britain's Got Talent but when I thought it was fun.

I also noted that the company behind it really is remarkable who's done the Million Pound Drop and they're very much in favour of live voting and live programming that there's a new dating show starting.

I think it's tomorrow night on Channel 5 Stand By Your Man which I've been watching and again that is all pre-recorded and it would be much more fun and probably much more expensive to make these shows live and and let people participate more TV now and the BBC Three show Russell Howard's Good News

Move to BBC 2 which which is good news for him according to the radio Times the decision was made before March when BBC3 was announced as moving online 8 series on BBC Three but BBC2 already has Mock the Week does it need both of these sort of quite blokey.

Let's look back at the news shows BBC3 than some of the stars have to be fitted in somewhere or their contracts presume you whatever it is that they're doing I am I mean he's he's a good stuff.

So I don't know how I meant that that's just kind of how it is at the moment at the BBC lots of strange decisions being made by kind of the gossip but actually Russell Howard wouldn't do another series on BBC Three if it went online in only do appreciate if I think it is absolutely right that some other a lot of Talent won't want to be on BBC Three want to just goes online that decision by the way, I still believe yet to be ratified by the by the girls and I think they might have attended is such a preposterous thing to do they see what happened was.

BBC Somali BBC Three the Russell Howard's brother how to change mic sensitivity of the biggest shows as he's very popular as if you don't be with him, but he's not just my mind by the way is very popular among women it's one of the few stand up so I would say equally popular among women anyway the BBC Three decision, they had to cut the budget they have to do something so take it off TV was so ridiculously this true multimedia Excision the boss is the BBC so young kids only WhatsApp online but I don't like watching TV like the rest of us and by the way lots of genuinely poor people still can't watch tuf online and all of that does hummus taken without thinking about any of that and that's brilliant joke made on the backchat with Jack Jack why was another big BBC Three show where they she still had a special edition for the World Cup is pretty still being repeated still on my player where they will say they're not going to want to do it when she goes on that BBC three things that decision is gonna have notifications.

I'm actually the problem.

Doesn't it? Which is if they're not going to want to get rid of their really big hits like this then actually the justification the BBC Three

And the money that they do have left for those kind of nose is all about new Talent and giving up age is it won't be clearly could be saving the big shows and probably pumping with more money to make them ready for BBC to let you know I've had BBC PCP she sent me no no.

No you don't understand the future of TV is online.

That's all we doing with his life on like that hold on a minute.

You can put BBC one of you to take them off transmission not have them on our TVs and make them nonlinear like Netflix and in theory BBC Three course.

They were completely confused bewildered and trying to maintain some level of modernity and hold things disaster management goes maker but actually the more stuff.

You do put online you Accelerate the path to people arguing for subscription for the BBC instead of a licence for you to all been reallocated drama by large which is super serving people who already love dramas, so is even more.

Just strange.

I'm very bored by the whole thing.

Johnny and the BBC some more detail on nose job cuts at BBC Radio have emerged that they're gonna group The station's Radio 1 1 Xtra Radio 2 6 Music and the Asian Network all under the heading pop music whilst Radio 4 4 Extra Radio 3 and BBC Proms come under the categories classical music and speech output.

What does it mean really interrogator quite a few people on this as it was breaking last week, I ran into a really senior Radio 4 Executive who was seizing and heartbroken about the whole thing and so there clearly is a great deal of anxiety within Radio 4 that it's somehow losing key Personnel other people believe that actually.

Oh no.

No no the controllers remain the same they do have to cut the budgets, but this is designed to as it was squeezed middle managers people who just walked in and out of Studios and don't really have proper jobs.

I don't know where the truth lies.

I suspect that it is as we all know radio has been squeezed and is not an extravagant part of the BBC's output.

I would tend to worry that despite modestly founded.

I'm not a lot about the proms nabbit in general speech radio side could well be facing more threats and more cats than we we think at the moment to the the the axing of the review show with the define which I think is one of us are anyone so Furious you on that one as well bright future employer that I am finally BSkyB a launching Sky Sports 5 for a dedicated to can you tell another fated to European football with more than 600 live matches a month according to Roy greenslade writing in the Guardian avoid you are a football fan is if they tempting proposition.

Scotland European matches on Sky have the rights to would become a spread around there.

Are you want quite know where to get me? I think generally Sky Sports channel the selection of what goes where is all a bit confused.

I don't quite get what they put son Premier League games are on Sky Sports 1 another one with all of that if they're simplifying that and what created the Sony channel.

That's a good thing if your broadband.

I think I don't know if it is because they they feel they threaten beats per minute should be the threatened BT Sports BT Sports got the Champions League next year which is a big big deal.

So it makes sense for them to do something about that.

I don't feel this is gonna have any impact on bt.

Sports people watch those much as they want to watch as much are BSkyB introduces new front page on the screen which is really very interesting so you've got a change in the electronic program guide so when you when you turn on you have the whole menu very of what you can do not just basically channel guide or does make sense to I find it I found that that quite a major change and and it just sort of arrived.

There is Maggie for Sky Sports to be looking over their shoulder at someone is that week as well which again is positioned very neatly on the EPG so you have a sort of cluster of ITV channels and I haven't been watching Broadchurch again on it, but you done it doesn't matter how she missed my totally Madness part of the first episode actually know that you know domination clip.

They showed her reacting to who done it.

I was like.

What are you doing? What happened to living in a no spoiler generation honestly right time for the media quiz to wrap up this week at its void vs.

Maggie very exciting moment? The one Celebrity MasterChef started again this week, but who has signed up as a judge on Masterchef the Professionals

I don't do cricketers wear very good 1.2 Boyd Hilton question over to which popular documentary festival there are so many had its most popular opening night ever last Friday I knew it was Sheffield because I wasn't there and I would like to be there but I'm not exactly sure what it was showing to be honest.

I was showing florium habits documentary pulp a film about life death and supermarkets which is about pulp actually but yes Sheffield doc fest very good 1.2 Maggie 1.2 Boyd this is therefore a crucial question the decider question number three which crowdfunding site again so many Jews from now has its own section in the Guardian correct boys.

There'll be looked at them all our customers the Guardian website is going to highlight journalism project in need of cash.

We got an idea.

The podcast they might like to feature in the future.

I'm sure the God he would have no issues with that well.

That's it for this week.

My thanks to Maggie Brown and Boyd Hilton thank you very much.

Thank you to you for listening.

You can subscribe and help support the Show by going to the media podcast dot.com we were number 26 in iTunes earlier in the week.

So let's keep that momentum going I've been Olly Mann the producer is Matt Hill and media podcast PPM production until next week, but I potential by definition is the possibility of achieving more in the fast-paced world of digital advertising Oracle data cloud has built it's like a seat on finding the signal through the noise on unlocking potential we bring together data and technology to help you better understand your audience where to best engage them and how to measure a tool to realise true.

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