Multi-multimedia

Joyful online figures for our national newspaper groups in the ABCe figures for January. Total unique users in the month add up to 140 million (but remember unique in this case doesn't mean it's the only site they use !). The BBC would probably claim around 45 million working on similar metrics...

Guardian.co.uk Unique users: 29,811,671 (+30.6 per cent); +51.3 per cent year-on-year
Telegraph.co.ukUnique users: 25,904,722 (+23.1 per cent); +109.8 per cent year-on-year
MailOnlineUnique users: 22,877,431 (+16.3 per cent); +27.8 per cent year-on-year
TimesOnlineUnique users: 22,898,300 (+19.8 per cent); +51.8 per cent year-on-year
TheSun.co.ukUnique users: 21,910,839 (+15.6 per cent); +64.5 per cent year-on-year
Independent.co.uk Unique users: 10,240,271 (+17 per cent); +108.2 per cent year-on-year
Mirror Group Unique users: 6,646,495 (+25 per cent); year-on-year comparison not available

The merry-go-round still turns...

The great thing about filling vacancies internally in the BBC is you can move straight into idle speculation on who fills the gaps behind....

In sport, there is apparently only a mild shuffling of the pack behind Barbara Slater - though there may be some beaten candidates who will think enough is enough.

In news, there's going to be an contest to fill Peter Horrocks' role as Head of the Multimedia Newsroom, now he's confirmed as the next boss of World Service. Kevin Bakhurst, who runs the News Channel, must think he's in with a chance - though some believed he was destined for sport. Craig Oliver, not long arrived from ITN, is in a role - Editor of the 6pm and 10pm BBC One bulletins - that has often proved a stepping stone. Mary Hockaday, Mr Horrocks' deputy, will surely have a go. That, of course, is not the limit of ambitious talented people within news.

Meanwhile, at World Service, the document in demand will be a change strategy powerpoint Peter Horrocks might well have prepared for his interviews....

Gong night

RTS Journalism awards - yes, it was largely a BBC/Peston fest...

Young Journalist of the Year
Hannah Thomas-Peter - Sky News
Nations and Regions Current Affairs
The Story of Michael Barnett - Inside Out BBC Yorkshire
Nations and Regions News Coverage
Weston Pier Fire - The West Tonight ITV West for ITV1
Scoop of the Year
HBOS/Lloyds TSB Merger BBC News Channel
Presenter of the Year
Jon Snow - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
News Coverage - Home
The British Banking Crisis BBC News
News Coverage - International
Congo Crisis ITN for Channel 4 News
News Channel of the Year
BBC News Channel
Current Affairs - Home
Primark: On the Rack - Panorama BBC for BBC One
Current Affairs - International
Undercover in Tibet – Dispatches True Vision for Channel 4 Television
Innovative News
10 Days to War - Newsnight BBC Newsnight for BBC Two
Specialist Journalist of the Year
Robert Peston - BBC News
News Programme of the Year
BBC News at Ten BBC News for BBC One
Camera Operator of the Year
Garwen McLuckie - Sky News Sky News
Television Journalist of the Year
Robert Peston - BBC News
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Peter Wilkinson ITN
Judges’ Awards:
Zimbabwe News Teams
Gold Medal
Stewart Purvis

Helicopter pilot

Not Microsoft this time... Erik Huggers has hired John Linwood from Yahoo! to be his Number 2 in charge of technology at the BBC. Not sure how long John's home page will last once the suits get at him.

Pesto performs - it's no act

Interesting quintet of nominees from the Broadcasting Press Guild for radio broadcaster of the year. Evan Davis (BBC Radio 4) Eddie Mair (BBC Radio 4) Colin Murray (BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5 Live) Ed Stourton (BBC Radio 4) Kirsty Young (BBC Radio 4).

But Pesto creeps back in, nominated in Best Performer In A Non-Acting Role. Cheryl Cole for The X Factor (ITV1) Stephen Fry for Stephen Fry in America (BBC One) and QI (BBC Two) Robert Peston for BBC News, John Sergeant for Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One) .

From Press Gazette.

Uneven bars

It's no consolation to say I might have tipped Barbara Slater as the new BBC Head of Sport on Tuesday. I didn't.

At 17, she was slightly outshone in the 1976 Montreal Olympics by Nadia Comaneci. Sports Reference has the details.

World leader

The vacancy at the top of the BBC's World Service could be filled this week. Thanks to my current poor record, I'm unwilling to tip a winner, but will console myself with an udpated list of runners and riders. And a late entry is strongly rumoured to be Nick Pollard, until 2006 Head of Sky News, and currently a consultant for NewsX, the annual international tv journalism conference. He last worked for the BBC in 1980.

New platforms

I suspect I have more readers who use/travel through Reading station than a blog deserves. Specially for them, I bring news from Building Design that Sir Nicholas Grimshaw's team of architects has been appointed to design six new platforms, new station entrances and an extra bridge. Their rail record includes the first Eurostar platforms at Waterloo, and their distinctive sinewy canopy.

Grimshaw's spokeswoman states the Reading challenge: "In its current form the station is .. the Great Western Main Line’s biggest constraint on performance and capacity"

Puffing away

I was slightly startled by this paragraph from the Chicago Tribune's Mark Caro, reporting on the Hollywood parties ealier this week.

California's anti-smoking law doesn't apply to Oscar night revelers. Supporting actor nominee Josh Brolin is puffing away at a cocktail table with wife Diane Lane and Jessica Alba, whose hand he kisses in greeting. In the semi-outside area in back, Natalie Portman (who's tiny), Jason Segal (who's not) and now Winslet are taking their drags.

Kate, like many actresses, has had a range of "smoking"roles, but having a crafty snout off-screen doesn't quite tie-in with an English Rose, head girl, image. I discussed this with chums yesterday, one of whom claimed that UK laws on smoking are not always applied in pubs not far from Kate's country home.

Caption contest

Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that the Sky News strapline either side of ad breaks has changed from "News Channel of the Year" to "Website of the Year". This comes ahead of tomorrow's Royal Television Society Journalism Awards. We presume Sky are not expecting to hold on to the channel title.

Other industry sources say the RTS is going to be the BBC's night all round, with News mimicking the Oscar successes of Slumdog Millionaire - and for Kate Winslet, read Robert Peston.

Trimbling

Last night's University Challenge benefitted from the hype surrounding Latin scholar Gail Trimble (at least as tracked by BBC News), with this year's final of the quiz show reaching 5.3m viewers (20.8% share), the show's highest audience since at least 2001.

Trimble, team captain for the victorious Corpus Christi, Oxford, was on parade on Breakfast Time this morning, revealing that she'd had an indirect approach from Nuts magazine for a "tasteful" photoshoot. Charlie Stayt, Breakfast presenter, revealed that he thought Corpus was a women-only college ... and wasn't corrected. And the Manchester Evening News rightly celebrates the efforts of Matthew Yeo and the Manchester University team.

One size fits all

A4 for everyone - and publishing dates to suit the presses, not the writers or readers. That's the hard message from EMAP Inform chief executive Simon Middleboe to his clutch of weeklies, including Screen, Construction News, and Local Government Chronicle. Print day will be Tuesday or Friday.

At least they'll look tidier on the shelves...

Tip from Press Gazette.

The full list - Aesthetic Medicine, Architects Journal, Construction News, Drapers, Ground Engineering, Health Service Journal, Lighting, LGC, Material Recyling Week, New Civil Engineer, Professional Beauty, RAC, Retail Jeweller, Retail Week, Screen, Shots (not a lads' drinking mag, but covering new tv and print ads worldwide)

Even a recession creates work...

Tickled by this ad, which came to the top of my version of the Guardian Media Website this morning....

Site wide

The BBC News website has launched a beta site, News Radar, which lists pages most recently added or updated. It's either a national treasure; an aid to competitors; an indicator that, on a site the scale of the BBC's, there's bound to be a great deal of dull stuff; or all three.

Clearer Sky

Sky News has reduced font sizes on its main web page, resulting in a neater, more organised look.

The winning design

The set for tonight's Oscars has been designed by David Rockwell of the New York-based Rockwell Group - who describe themselves as architects and designers. Rockwell himself has ranged from sets for Hairspray to renovating Grand Central Station, and from branches of the W hotel chain to the JetBlue terminal at JFK. Design Week says the Group are the first architects to get the Oscar commission - but they're are bit wider than yer average firm....

Making a splash

Good feature at Journalism.co.uk on £12m of new facilities for the Department of Journalism and Publishing at City University.


Some ingenuity involved. "The old swimming pool, for example, has finally been converted into a large postgraduate computer and study room, despite issues over heritage preservation. In the end, the drained swimming pool remains beneath the room. Old changing cubicles are now painted study and storage booths".

He got a buzz

Jeff Jarvis, the journalist/blogger who has a column in the Guardian, has visited Google for the first time - and is impressed. "...I would love to have worked for a company where at least the culture decrees that the default is smart and the expectation is learning and the response to problems is finding solutions. For those who think I admire Google too much, yesterday didn’t help".

Big rig

Morris Architects of Houston, Texas, suggest turning worked-out oil-rigs in the Gulf of Mexico in Spa Hotels. Not sure if it would work in the North Sea. From Inhabitat.

Henry in colour....

A former BBC colleague, Henry Bonsu, re-emerges on the broadcast scene as a mover, shaker and dj on a new DAB station for London, Colourful Radio, from March. It so far exists only as web radio and in the Sky high numbers. From Radio Today.

Understanding Radio 4

The Controller of BBC Radio 4, Mark Damazer, has set up a public blog - and, so far, demonstrates an impressive record in number and length of posts. Famous in News for the speed and depth of his verbal analysis - though not always for the accessibility of his vocabulary - there's plenty in his written word to digest.

Eye eye

A number of reasons to enjoy the current Private Eye. A well-written letter from Niaz Alam, who resigned from the BBC's Appeals Advisory Committee over the BBC's decision not to screen the DEC Gaza Appeal. A new column taking the mickey out of Twitter, which seems set to replace the previous message board parody. And a helpful list of non-executive directors, many with no banking experience, who acquiesced in the strategies of our failed/failing banks.

Talking 'bout regeneration

We've mentioned before that regeneration (i.e. seeking EU/Government funding) is now the watchword of plans for the White City site opposite Television Centre. And lo and behold, Hammersmith and Fulham Council have appointed a Head of Strategic Regeneration. Thanks to Property Week.

There's more about the site in the latest issue of Estates Gazette, I'm told, but it's only available by subscription...

I said I wouldn't, but...

Back to the risky business of BBC jobs. Idle gossip suggests it's down to two insiders for BBC Sport; and taking references for an outsider as Chief Technology Officer. At World Service, no sign of movement, but I'm sticking by previous tips, and enjoying speculation about succession planning in both cases....

It wasn't that Sirius

Sirius XM saved, according to the New York Times. See earlier post for background.

Jack field in motion

Deep joy. Mobile phone manufacturers in Europe, with some urging from EU, are moving to standardise around the mini-USB jack as the way of connecting all mobiles to chargers. I've already got one ! From Gizmodo and AFP.

Even shorter

Another bit of radio history goes. The IRN bulletin out words "Independent Radio News, it's three minutes past xxx" first heard in 1974 won't apply from March 3; under the deal with Sky, the national news offering is cut to two minutes. From Press Gazette.

Comfier chairs

We've mentioned before that the BBC Trust looks expensive, especially when it duplicates work that Ofcom does, and when the BBC has non-executive directors in place. Lord Fowler lines up this morning in the Guardian amongst those who say it's time for change.

"Which organisation has a total revenue of more than £4bn a year, more than 20,000 staff, and offices throughout the world but has been without a chairman for the past two years? The answer is the BBC".

The good Lord is kinder to current Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons than others - he suggests he could just transfer into the re-engineered role of BBC chairman on the evaporation of the Trust.

Extra lines

A different way of banking

The Miami Herald reports how Leonard Abess gave some proceeds from the sale of his bank back to the staff who'd worked for him. He sold a majority stake in City National Bancshares last November, and gave $60 million in bonuses to everyone - 399 people - on the payroll. And he tracked down 72 former employees so they could share in the windfall.

Pretty vacant

I'm giving up tipping on BBC jobs for a while. There are a few which ought to be coming out of the pipeline soon - Director of Sport, Chief Technology Officer and Director of the World Service. Happy to showcase tips from others....

Audio drop-out

Google is pulling out of radio automation and associated ad provision. The service never reached the UK. The organisation says it will still work on audio streaming services.

Barron night

"If you go into journalism to change the world, you're slightly misguided." Peter Barron, former editor of Newsnight, now PR for Google, speaking to students in Coventry, as reported by the Press Gazette.

Going round the local

If the Guardian is right, John Myers has four weeks to write a report on the future of local radio in the UK. He's a colourful, plain-speaking man, and I'm sure he'll do a grand job. He started with BBC Radio Cumbria as a station assistant, but since 1982 his career has been with commercial radio and tv. And he has often stated that the BBC has too much spectrum.

Picture from the Manchester Evening News

Foster cans 400

The recession knock-ons continue. Sir Norman Foster's achitecture practice is closing offices in Berlin and Istanbul, and making around a quarter of its 1,700 staff worldwide redundant, reports Building Design.

Children's hour

The good and not so good of children's services at the BBC, as reviewed by the BBC Trust. Fantastic mix on tv.....

But no real impact on the radio....

Car radio problems

Sirius-XM, the US subscription satellite radio service which has been a beacon of hope for audio broadcasters around the world is in financial trouble, according to the New York Times. But the way out may be persuading someone else to take over, rather than closure.

As another example of the domino effect of recessions, the NYT says "the company’s success and failure are also tied to the faltering fortunes of the automobile industry, which sells vehicles with its radio technology installed and represented the largest customer base among Sirius XM’s 20 million subscribers"

Sweeping up

Missed some good stuff yesterday - but in case you did as well...

The FT is dropping sports reporting from its weekend and Monday editions, though will continue to report on "the business of sport". Press Gazette

Channel M, the local TV station run by the Manchester Evening News (part of the Guardian Media Group) is moving on to Freeview later this year. It's been going for a remarkable nine years - and this might give a further boost, because terrestial coverage was patchy. It might finally be a model to watch for other cities. Press Gazette as well.

They didn't win Boris' competition for a new Routemaster bus, but Building Design has published images of Future Systems' bubble bus which are rather appealing.

And finally a nice graph from the National Audit Office report on the efficiency and value of radio production around the BBC.

Life

... not really on-topic for this blog, but it's sometimes good to share.

The fates were good to me on Wednesday - got very good seats at short notice and good price to see Jonathan Miller's excellent new production of La Boheme at the ENO. And then got home in time to see the second period of extra-time in the FA Cup Replay between Everton and Liverpool. ITV failed to show Gosling's winning goal live, but the victory was no less rewarding. Furthermore, I am assured that the preceeding football was tense but dull. Trebles all round, as they say.

The fates were less kind this morning. Up at 5.45 to head to Stansted, for a long weekend in Rome. 8.40 flight finally cancelled at 10.00. Couldn't rebook a later flight, so we're getting up at 5.45 tomorrow for a truncated weekend. I hope.

Think we'll have pizza tonight - probably cheaper here....

Village life

Tidy but uninspiring computer visualisation of the Olympic Village from the ODA released yesterday...









and if you like construction shots, there are pictures of the stadium roof going into place here.

In translation....

Just found this - Twonvert - which converts prose to Twitter-speak as you type. It's just a clk away.

Finger trouble

Kevin Anderson, now with Guardian, is claiming 1,600 Twitter updates in his two-month coverage of the US Presidential election. More details in Journalism.co.uk.

Snow news

Snow, at least in the south east of England, usually means fun-time for headline writers, but despite the advance warning (or perhaps because less well-paid web teams have struggled without London buses) there's a poor crop on the news websites - and a particularly joyless effort from the BBC. No sign, either, of metric measurements.

Mail Online: Snow Day ! Millions trapped at home by travel chaos as Britain is hit by 10 inches of snow.

Telegraph Online: Britain comes to standstill after 1ft of snow

Times: Up to 1ft of snow causes overnight chaos

Sky News site: Storms Make UK A Snow-Go Area

BBC News: Heavy snow hits much of England

Singalong

The Presidential (Email) Address

The New York Times reports on a new American elite - those who have Obama's private email address, and have been issued with specially encrypted machines to engage in online conversation - no attachments or forwarding allowed.

Changing places

The Press Gazette offers a slideshow with commentary of a visit to the Guardian/Observer offices in Kings Cross. Not the fastest moving piece of work, matched by rather pensive contributions from Alan Rusbridger, but interesting on the change processes, and the consultants involved !