Tuesday 16 December 2008

NICE TO SEE YOU, TO SEE YOU NICE

It's been a weekend of drama on Strictly Come Dancing, in another typical overreaction from the BBC and the great British public. First there was Ross and Brand, which despite being unethical and vulgar in content, was actually seen as quite funny by most of its target audience - I don't like either of them but lots of people I know think they're hilarious. Now we have a voting 'scandal' on Strictly, because the production team were not prepared for a tie between two candidates from the judges' scoring. Whilst this should have been forseen and avoided in planning meetings, these "exceptional circumstances" are certainly not "unforgivable", as the BBC's Jon Beazley said today. Unfortunately every time there is a slight issue at the BBC it's blown into a full-scale disaster and Mark Thompson is rolled out to give a public apology. The BBC needs to delegate power more efficiently and keep things in proportion.
PICTURE: BBC Entertainment

The departure of newspaper groups Mecom, Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror from the FTSE 250 underlines the concerns for media organisations during the economic crisis. Shareholders in Johnston and Mecom have been concerned about their debts for some time, but Trinity Mirror's crash out is just as surprising as ITV falling from the FTSE 100 in September. Trinity (which owns many regional papers and nationals such as the Daily Mirror and The People) has traditionally been a market-leader under the direction of Sly Bailey [pictured], but falling circulation and advertising revenues are starting to take their toll on the business. It's ironic that at a time when there is such a huge interest in news - specifically financial and business - so many newspaper groups are in big trouble. How long until the market turns round? Who knows. (Disclosure of Interest: I hold shares in Mecom and have previously worked for Trinity Mirror).
PICTURE: The Guardian

There's was a great story in today's Daily Mail about how romantic comedies can have an adverse effect on your love life. They give people "unrealistic – and potentially unhealthy – expectations about real-life relationships", say researchers. Well it wouldn't be a good film otherwise though, would it?! Imagine watching Love Actually and everyone falling out with each other some insignificant issue like what to have on their toast... at least Romeo and Juliet didn't quite go to plan.