Media in Manchester

[GShutty]

Originally Posted by LNGCats

Didn't realise a prestigious radio awards ceromony took place in Manc last week...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/201...-academy.shtml

Also, more new on 5Live's transfer...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/201...he-lates.shtml

Originally Posted by skit_uk

Must....not.....read....comments.

Another good MC photo, aerial this time, within a ManCon article.

I wish those commentators, who skit_uk refers to had actually seen the architecture, rather just giving it the old... "RIBA says". Of course RIBA are something of an authority in the area, but IMO can be picky and even snobbish at times.

If more had been spent on the buildings, there would have been even more whinging about 'waste of licence payers money', so it seems as though the Beeb would have struggled to win and for me have found a decent balance.

Bearing in mind you have the views of the IWMN and Lowry across the water, the large public square and the two bridges.... Well for me the comments look ill-conceived.

[hulmeman2]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/lat...1the-fuse.html

BBC Media Centre

Dervla Kirwan and Ewen Bremner among cast confirmed to join Christopher Eccleston in new BBC One psychological thriller, The Fuse

Date: 10.11.2011Last updated: 10.11.2011 at 14.54
Category: BBC One; Drama
Dervla Kirwan (Injustice, The Silence) and Ewen Bremner (Page Eight, Perfect Sense) join Christopher Eccleston in this original four-part drama for BBC One, written by Bill Gallagher (Lark Rise To Candleford, The Prisoner) and produced by Red Production Company (Exile, Single Father).

Also confirmed are Andrew Scott (The Hour, Sherlock), Lyndsey Marshal (Garrow’s Law, Being Human), Rebecca Callard (32 Brinkburn Street, Robin Hood), MyAnna Buring (The Twilight Saga, Any Human Heart) and Branka Katic (The Jury II, Big Love).

The Fuse follows Daniel Demoys (Eccleston), a stranger in his own life. Over the years he has gone from being an idealistic young man with a burning desire to make the world a better place, to a disillusioned and corrupt council official. His alcoholism has driven a wedge between him and wife, Alex (Kirwan), and their three children. The fallout from his alcohol-fuelled actions prove agonising for all around him.

When Daniel wakes up after another drunken night, he realises that he might be responsible for a murder. A dramatic act of redemption buys him public adoration, so much so that he has become a candidate in the race for Mayor, persuaded by council official Jerry Durrans (Bremner), and lawyer sister Lucy (Marshal).

The public’s opinion of Daniel as a straight-talking everyday hero couldn’t be higher. They are enthralled by his no nonsense determination not to treat the electorate like fools and by his openness about his personal problems and struggle with addiction.

As his public star rises ever higher and he tries to repair the damage done to his private life, he is painfully aware that it could all come crashing down at any moment. With Detective Dalien Bevan (Scott) hot on his trail and determined to gain respect in the force, he could be just the person to do this.

Daniel’s deepening relationships with Bevan’s ex-wife Sylvie (Buring), hospital nurse Donna (Katic), and the murdered man’s daughter Ruth (Callard), means he finds himself in even more of a tangled web than he could ever have imagined.

Christopher Eccleston says: “Bill Gallagher has written a fantastic four episode drama about obsession, addiction and redemption. I’m very excited about the role of Daniel Demoys and to be working with Red Production Company and BBC One”.

Bill Gallagher, Writer and Executive Producer, says: “I liked the idea of starting a story with a man who finds himself in a self-induced hell, and following him as he tries to make amends for the harm he has done. He happens to be a politician, so he has a chance to pay for his sins in his community”.

“I am extremely excited to be working on another Bill Gallagher script,” says Nicola Shindler, Executive Producer, Red Production Company. “He has written an incredibly compelling, morally complex thriller with a very recognisable family at its core. We are going to make an accessible, very honest and stylish drama for BBC One”.

Filming has started and will take place on location in Liverpool and Manchester, for a Spring 2012 transmission.

The Fuse was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, and Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One. The producer is Matthew Bird (Death In Paradise, The Street) and director is Tom Green (Misfits, Kid). Executive Producers are Christopher Aird for BBC, Nicola Shindler for Red Production Company, and Bill Gallagher.

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Sounds good.

[macc]

http://www.manchesterconfidential.co...s/Confidential

CONFIDENTIAL online magazines – including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and London – has announced a merger with the media industries website How-Do and the commercial property website Place North West.

The merger came into effect on Friday 11 November 2011.

Staff across all the titles will be based at Quay House in central Manchester. Total staff headcount will be 32 with several further contracted freelance writers.

The publisher of Confidential, Mark Garner, and the publisher of How-Do and Place North West, Nick Jaspan, both believe there are numerous opportunities to be gained by combining resources and assets offering a broader range of services to both B2B and B2C markets.

The Confidential titles attract 188,000 unique readers a month , Place North West just over 40,000 and How-Do almost 50,000.

In addition, Confidential titles currently have 156,000 subscribers to their various email lists. How-Do has over 18,000 and Place North West circa 11,000.

Garner said of the merger: “Coming together will allow us to enhance our existing titles and also develop new opportunities. Our readers will see the fruits of these new initiatives in the coming weeks and months.

“We believe that the combined group will be the North West’s leading digital publisher and our B2B/B2C offering will offer even greater opportunities for our commercial partners. We also intend to exploit Confidential’s broader geographical reach”.

[Manclad83]

I personally think it should be referred to as Manchester. I'm not a Manc, though I live here and I have my own views on the Manchester/Salford rivalry but don't wish to open that can of worms.

However, Salford is more of a suburb in many ways and it's not nearly aswell known and so when the border with Manchester is within spitting distance I believe that Manchester is the best term. Let's face it, Salford doesn't conjour up the type of image that springs to mind when Manchester is mentioned. Plus, Radio Manchester is still going to be known as just that.

Finally, with regards to the old rivalry......the strong Salfordian views will eventually die off. Manchester (as a whole-including Salford) has so much to be proud about and the borough borders are becoming ever blurred, even with Oldham and Bolton, and people want to be part of that success. The generic term for that success is Manchester.

[jrb]

How Do.

ITV 'on track' with MediaCity

Monday 14 November 2011

ITV said today it remained "on track" with its move to MediaCityUK and it is spreading the cost of the relocation.

In an interim management statement it said it had revised down the group's rate of capital expenditure for 2011 from £80m to £50m, "primarily due to phasing in the payment schedule relating to our move to MediaCity, which remains on track".

In the summer ITV warned that capital expenditure would leap from £28m to £80m due to IT spend and the MediaCityUK move.

ITV is relocating from the old Granada headquarters on Quay Street in Manchester and building a new Coronation Street set on the Trafford Park side of the ship canal, which is due for completion in 2013.

In the nine months to September 30 the group said revenues increased by 4% to £1.5bn, but it expects a tough Christmas and start to 2012.

Across ITV 1, 2, 3 and 4 net advertising revenue was down 2% in July, down 3% in August and up 7% in September.

Overall in the third quarter ad revenue was up by 1%, ahead of expectations. ITV said this was also ahead of the wider TV advertising market.

But the group is pessimistic about ad income in the final quarter, expecting a 2% fall. It predicts a decline of 10% in December.

The X-Factor and Downton Abbey helped ITV's family of channels grow their share of viewing by 2% to 23% but ITV 1's share was flat at 15%. The digital channels grew strongly with ITV 2 up 8% and 3 and 4 both growing by 10%.

Revenue from ITV Studios grew 9% to £224m during the period, driven by international sales.

"We remain cautious on the outlook for 2012 - quarterly revenue trends are likely to follow a different pattern to 2011 with tough comparatives continuing into the first quarter before easing from the second quarter onwards, helped by Euro 2012," said chief executive Adam Crozier.

[flange]

BBC 6 Music moves to MediaCityUK

Monday 14 November 2011

Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie are the latest high profile BBC presenters to start broadcasting from new studios at MediaCityUK.

The pair hosted their live BBC 6 Music show from the new BBC North headquarters in Salford today.

They have moved from the BBC's Oxford Road studios along with Radcliffe's former sidekick Marc Riley, who presents an evening show on the digital station.

Craig Charles' funk show and the production team for Guy Garvey's finest hour have also moved over to Salford.

The 6 Music staff will be based at Dock House along with Radio 4 programmes including You and Yours, Woman’s Hour and Front Row. BBC Radio Manchester and 5 Live are based at Quay House.

Radcliffe and Maconie compered the Radio Festival at the Lowry Theatre earlier in the month. They welcomed delegates by telling them the theatre was, "in the shadow of the Lowry Outlet Mall, named after the great painter LS Outlet Mall".

The 6 Music staff are among 115 people moving to the new centre this week.

http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-m...11114100955902

[jrb]

How Do.

BBC bids goodbye to Oxford Road with Our Favourites From The North

As the BBC departs its Oxford Road home for its spanking new home at MediaCity, on Saturday 26 November BBC Two will air a special ‘TV Greats: Our Favourites From The North’, a nostalgic look back at some of the classic television programmes that have come out of the North West of England over the last 50 years, presented by Tess Daly.

The current studios on Oxford Road in Manchester were opened by the then Prime Minister James Callaghan in June 1976.

One of the programme’s highlights includes Sir Jimmy Savile in his last BBC TV interview before his death, talking about the beginnings of Top Of The Pops.

For the first three years, the iconic show was filmed at a disused church in Rusholme, Manchester, and it was here that The Supremes made their world television debut.

Like Top Of The Pops, It’s A Knockout was also broadcast from Manchester before the BBC moved into the studios on Oxford Road. Presenter Stuart Hall, who describes It’s A Knockout as “the Olympic Games with custard pies”, reminisces about the early days. He recalls the quick work of the set and costume designers. Other stars, including Stuart Maconie, Debbie McGee and Juliet Morris give their take on the show’s huge impact as they remember the giant costumes, the famous Penguin Game and Stuart Hall’s infectious laugh.

Some of the nation’s most popular comedians started out in the North West, from Peter Kay to Johnny Vegas, John Bishop to Steve Coogan. Caroline Aherne used to be a secretary at BBC Manchester, but her hidden talents came to the fore with the role of spoof chat show hostess Mrs Merton.

The Mrs Merton Show ran on BBC Two from 1995 and the first guest was Debbie McGee, wife of magician Paul Daniels. McGee recalls the moment when she was disarmed by Mrs Merton’s opening question: “What ever first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?”

Some of the programmes made in Manchester have revolutionised the way television is made. In 1987, Janet Street Porter moved from Channel 4 to the BBC in Manchester. She was tasked with revamping BBC Two to appeal to 16–24 year olds. She talks about how she wanted everything to look radically different to the way programmes had been made before when she created the programming strand DEF II, including Reportage and Rough Guide.

BBC Manchester is home to some of the most popular long-running entertainment programmes on TV. Last year A Question Of Sport celebrated its 40th anniversary. Mastermind was brought back to our screens in 2003 when it was revived by the entertainment team in Manchester and John Humphrys became the host.

Humphrys recalls how when he was approached to host the show, he thought the producers were asking him to be a contender, an offer he was sure he didn’t want to take up! Of the Mastermind contenders, he says: “However experienced at quizzes they are and however clever they are, you know they’re scared!”

Stuart Maconie is one broadcaster who has experienced that terrifying walk to the black chair first hand, when he appeared on Celebrity Mastermind. “When he says our next contender please, you feel a band of steel around your stomach,” he says.

BBC Manchester has also been home to the production team behind Songs Of Praise, which this year celebrated its 50th anniversary. Aled Jones talks about his own childhood memories of the series which has had such long-lasting appeal.

Tess Daly looks back at North West dramas including Life On Mars, Accused and The Street. Paul Abbott pays tribute to John Simm’s performance in the BBC One thriller Exile. Salford-born actor Christopher Eccleston gives his take on why the North West has produced so many great dramas.

“We all think we’re comedians don’t we?” he says. “There’s a great love of language in and around Manchester and Liverpool pubs… a great joy in language and a great joy in storytelling, in conversation actually, in the sense of a community and I think writers have tapped into that and brought it to a national audience.”

[jrb]

How Do.

BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards moving to Manchester

The BBC announced last night that the annual BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards would be held at the Lowry in Salford next year. The awards aim to celebrate the best in folk music over the preceding year.

This will be the first time the awards ceremony has been staged outside London.

The event will take place on Wednesday 8 February 2012 and will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 and also online at bbc.co.uk/radio2. The awards are produced by the independent production company Smooth Operations.

Mike Harding, who presents a weekly folk show on Radio 2 (with a weekly audience of over 900,000), will be one of the two comperes on the night.

The Lowry event will also be the first time that Radio 2 listeners will be able to attend the awards and tickets have now gone on sale.

Head of music for BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, Jeff Smith, said: "Folk is an important component of the network’s specialist music offering, and Radio 2 is looking forward to welcoming hundreds of our listeners to the 13th Radio 2 Folk Awards.”

[LNGCats]

BBC north move deemed a success...

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...s-peter-salmon

[neil]

Children in need rocks MANCHESTER live on BBC now!!

[aek-94]

Originally Posted by neil

Children in need rocks MANCHESTER live on BBC now!!

It's good so far

[hulmeman2]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15792282

Danger Mouse co-creator Mark Hall dies

Animator Mark Hall, co-founder of Cosgrove Hall - responsible for cartoons including Chorlton and the Wheelies, Dangermouse and The Wind in the Willows - has died of cancer.

He died in the early hours of Friday at his home in Manchester surrounded by his family, his company Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment said.

Operations director Adrian Wilkins hailed "a lifetime of achievement" in the world of animation.

"He is one of life's gentlemen."

Hall, together with Brian Cosgrove, set up production company Stop Frame in the late 1960s before forming Cosgrave Hall Films.

They enjoyed international success with their productions which also included Danger Mouse spin-off Count Duckula, Jamie and the Magic Torch and Cockleshell Bay.

Danger Mouse - voiced by Only Fools and Horses actor David Jason - was joined in his quest to defeat the evil Baron Greenback by bumbling sidekick Penfold, voiced by Terry and June star Terry Scott.

In 2006, the 25th anniversary year of Danger Mouse, Hall told the BBC that the programme had succeeded because of the strange scenarios the pair found themselves in.

"The adults watched because of that kind of anarchy," he said.

"The kids watched it because they just loved the stories and the absolutely stupid gags."

He praised Jason's "fantastic" voicing of Danger Mouse as well as Scott's "wonderful" Penfold.

He said that Dangermouse, who lived inside a postbox in London's Baker Street, was "a sort of cross between Bond and all sorts of things".

"He was supposed to be suave but he was a mouse with big ears."

The show, produced by Cosgrove Hall for Thames TV, attracted an average audience of 3.5 million when it was first shown in the UK on ITV.

It has since been seen in more than 80 countries.

[Manc Guy]

Originally Posted by neil

Children in need rocks MANCHESTER live on BBC now!!

But what about all these stars not wanting to travel 'oop north?

I thought this kind of thing only happened in London?

[hulmeman2]

Docudrama on C4, 9pm tonight about Alan Turing, looks worth watching!

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/b...es-1/episode-1

Britain's Greatest Codebreaker

Alan Turing is the genius British mathematician who was instrumental in breaking the German Naval Enigma Code during World War II, arguably saving millions of lives. He was also the visionary scientist who gave birth to the computer age, pioneered artificial intelligence, and was the first to investigate the mathematical underpinnings of the living world.

Turing is one of the great original thinkers of the 20th century, who foresaw the digital world in which we now live. In the eyes of many scientists today Turing sits alongside Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin at the table of scientific greats.

Turing's achievements went unrecognised during his lifetime. Instead he ended up being treated as a common criminal, for being homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were a crime.

In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' with another man and was forced to undergo so-called 'organo-therapy' or chemical castration.

Two years later, he killed himself with cyanide, aged just 41. Alan Turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save.

In the last 18 months of his short life, Turing visited a psychiatrist, Dr Franz Greenbaum, who tried to help him. This film brings Turing's ideas to life by dramatising this relationship and these sessions, based on historical records, Turing's writings, and accounts of those who knew him.

The film includes the testimony of people who knew and remember Turing.

Plus, contemporary experts from the world of technology and high science, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, bring Turing's exciting impact up to the present day, explaining why, in many ways, modern technology has only just begun to explore the potential of Turing's ideas.

[ashley b]

And Newsround is now broadcast from Salford, as of 7.40 this morning. Here's the new set:

[kids]

Infinite Monkey Cage Feat. Brian Cox, Robin Ince and Jon Culshaw came from Manchester today which was the theme of the show.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...r_Done_for_Us/

Cringe factor - 6/10

[LNGCats]

Excellent article by David Ottewell (Mr Parks ) in BBC Ariel...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ariel/15836354

[Marksy_1]

Originally Posted by LNGCats

Excellent article by David Ottewell (Mr Parks ) in BBC Ariel...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ariel/15836354

Yes one of the best articles i've read about MC

[skit_uk]

This was on the same site as well.

A fond farewell to BBC Manchester

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ariel/15822162