Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Thommo, Mark (II)

Mark Thompson gets that rare opportunity this August - a second go at a MacTaggart Lecture, as part of the the Edinburgh International Television Festival. John Birt has done two (one before and one after ennoblement); Greg Dyke has done two, without an honour in sight; Murdoch father and son have had one go each.

Mark's last appearance at the lectern was as Chief Executive of Channel 4, in 2002, and the references to programmes are interesting. In a essay about creative risk, he "celebrates" Jackass, Ali G, Big Brother and Graham Norton; US imports like 6 Feet Under and 24; promises one-a-week subversive drama after the watershed; and talks about C4's ownership of creative space (now copyrighted at the BBC as public space) and role as a cultural catalyst. And moans about a Draft Communications Bill. What will have changed ?

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