Biography:
About:
Education: Colston's Girls' School, Bristol; Bristol University: BA (Hons) History with German; University of Cardiff: MA Journalism
Career: Birmingham Post & Mail: graduate trainee; worked for Reuters Economic Service; helped found Financial Weekly (now defunct); The Guardian: Business journalist, 1980/1986; The Independent: (founder, starting its media section) Media editor, 1986/95; The Guardian: Media writer, 1996-present
Current position/role: writer and commentator
- also writes/has written for: The Stage (fortnightly column); PR Week and Media Week; contributes to The Evening Standard media section
Other roles/Main role:
Other activities: Trustee of the Sandford St Martin Trust; regular jury member at the BAFTA awards (special interest in children¹s programming) and also the Royal Television Society
Disclosures:
Viewpoints/Insight:
Broadcast media:
Video:
Controversy/Criticism:
Awards/Honours:
Scoops:
Other: Advised the Price Waterhouse media practice, 1995/96; wrote a policy paper on the creation of Ofcom for the European Media Forum, 2001
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Articles:
- Recession sparks comedy golden age as demand for TV scripts doubles - Audiences are yearning for shows packed with jokes – and it can be ratings gold dust if the channels get it right - 14th May 2012
- Jeremy Hunt is finished as culture secretary - Even if the minister is exonerated from breaching the ministerial code over the News Corp BSkyB, change is still necessary - 14th May 2012
- British TV drama such as Downton Abbey and Titanic will sink without tax breaks - As the cost of major series swell to £1m an episode, producers are being forced to film in other countries - 19th March 2012
- Women on the case: the new winning formula for primetime TV drama - Series like Call the Midwife and Scott & Bailey are attracting record audiences with a mix of strong female characters - 25th February 2012
- TV looks to new era of interactive game shows to lure the Facebook generation - The Million Pound Drop and The Bank Job are proving a bit hit with internet audiences, but it is the data collected from online players which is making advertisers take notice - 6th February 2012
- How Birdsong creates a replica of first world war's tunnels - Expert archaeologist helped drama producers make exact model of underground network - 23rd January 2012
- BBC3 v BBC4: no contest ... keep both - In a sensible climate, BBC3 and BBC4 ought to be expanded, enriched and started at midday - 5th September 2011
- Panorama's care home investigation shows need for undercover journalism - Undercover reporting is a touchy subject, but this Panorama was a reminder of how the media can act where officialdom fails - 1st June 2011
- The BBC is producing great drama – but not enough of it - Short series and a long wait for returns shows corporation is already struggling to provide quality and quantity - 14th February 2011
- What has Lord Burns done for Channel 4, one year on? - Jay Hunt is set to take the helm at a leaner, tougher channel - 6th December 2010
- Adam Crozier joins ITV today but how will he tackle its challenges? - Broadcaster may have returned to profit but serious structural and competition issues remain - 26th April 2010
- The BBC draft review offers its own manifesto for change - Internal review presented to the BBC Trust cuts services and readies corporation for political change - 1st March 2010
- What can David Abraham bring to Channel 4? - David Abraham rebranded UKTV but he faces even bigger challenges as the new chief executive of Channel 4 - 25th January 2010 (with Jane Martinson)
- New chair Lord Burns means business at Channel 4 - Newly crowned as chairman of Channel 4, Lord Burns faces many challenges if he is to retain his reputation as Teflon Terry - 9th November 2009 (with Jane Martinson)
- Who will save ITV? - Britain's largest commercial broadcaster lies battered and bleeding. It needs to be rescued from the ravages of the City - 13th October 2009
- BBC Trust under siege – but what is the alternative? - Politicians, rival broadcasters, BBC staff and viewers have all attacked the trust in recent months - 28th September 2009
- BBC reform is mired in muddle - The corporation's responses to James Murdoch's attack reveal an organisation struggling with its uncertain future - 11th September 2009
- TV dating returns with Dating in the Dark - Blind Date once had an audience of 14 million – how can Dating in the Dark fail? - 7th September 2009
- A chill wind - James Murdoch's hard-hitting speech, unsurprisingly, took aim at the BBC - just when the corporation could least afford it. But how much did he reflect industry concerns? - 31st August (with James Robinson)
- There's still jam in Jerusalem - City dwellers think celebrations of rural life, like post offices, have disappeared. But across Britain, country shows are thriving - 23rd August 2009
- Top-slicing is not the answer - The new culture secretary's support for proposals to top-slice the BBC's licence fee is misguided – and unlikely to succeed - 15th July 2009
- Independents' day - Lavish shows may have dominated the listings but behind the cameras there was a producer revolution - 18th May 2009
- Culture on television: a lost art? - The South Bank Show is set to disappear from screens. So is there still a place for serious arts programming on mass-appeal television - or could digital channels provide an alternative? - 11th May 2009
- Failing to make the Grade - Michael Grade was feted on his arrival at ITV, yet the announcement that he is stepping down has been welcomed. Where did he go wrong? - 27th April 2009
- Digital Britain: the response - Lord Carter's wide-ranging report aims to provide a blueprint for the future. Here, we ask leading industry figures for their opinion - 2nd February 2009
- Tanya Byron's role in Digital Britain - 28th January 2009
- Time for a change at the top of Channel 4 in the wake of Ofcom PSB report - After Ofcom's PSB report it is time for the broadcaster's chief executive, Andy Duncan, to make way to allow some fresh thinking - 21st January 2009
- The forecast for Channel 4 - Issuing dark warnings about its future, Channel 4 is making a pitch for a share of the BBC's funding. Is it in crisis or crying wolf? - 11th December 2009
- Why the economic crisis could lead to a privatised Channel 4 - In a straitened financial climate, the case for Channel 4 subsidies is harder to make - so could it end up being sold off? - 3rd December 2009
- Following Horrid Henry's lead - Currently less than 1% of new kids TV is UK made. What can be done to encourage production? - 24th November 2008
- The end of an era - BBC2 launches a major new WW2 history series tonight. A move to presenter-led, timely shows means it may be the last of its kind - 10th November 2008
- What it means for talent - Stars will still come to the BBC despite the fallout from Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand's phone prank - 3rd November 2008
- Yes, minister - Stephen Carter's new government role gives him influence over two key departments. So what is at the top of his in-tray? - 13th October 2008
- The BBC is increasingly under attack - what should the corporation's priority be? - 6th October 2008
- Tricky questions for Newsnight - The flagship current affairs show has come under fire, not least from one of its own presenters. So what kind of programme will the new editor inherit? - 29th September 2008
- Changing of the guard - Next month Jocelyn Hay steps down as chair of the VLV leaving her successor, Richard Lindley, to decide how the consumer body will adapt to challenging times ahead - 15th September 2008
- Another country - Shock horror, an English civil war drama was filmed in South Africa. But film-makers need to save money too - Guardian.co.uk - 27th August 2008
- Litter bugged - Bill Bryson is right: Britain is filthy. He may be an American, but on the evidence of a recent trip there, they understand clean - Guardian.co.uk - 13th August 2008
- 11 o'clock shadow - The 11 O'Clock Show discovered lots of new talent but it wasn't exactly a runaway success. So why is Channel 4 recreating the nightly format - 28th July 2008
- The chairman's challenge - As Ofcom boss David Currie prepares to step down, the focus is on who could take over the role - another economist, someone able to cope with political flux? - 21st July 2008
- 'It has to be right on the edge' - Has Love Productions' new show, marrying disability and fashion, taken the reality genre a step too far? -30th June 2008
- Is a £4m fine for ITV enough of a sanction? - 5th May 2008
- Surprise, surprise - Tapdancing grannies, breakdancing toddlers ... Who would have thought an old-school talent show could be such a hit for ITV? - 14th April 2008
- "Cautiously optimistic" over once-ambitious plans - Channel 4's ambitious plans to move into digital radio were largely ignored last week at its glitzy presentation - 17th March 2008
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