It's startling to discover that the world continues to turn even when you take a break

I'm back. Did you miss me?

I have learned from past blogging experience that it is foolish to return from an unexpectedly protracted break and attempt to catch up in normal one-story-per-blog-post fashion. An accelerated process is required. So, you will find below, in a single post, an entire four-week's-worth of media regulation stuff, and normal service will resume tomorrow.

Ofcom looks at children's internet usage. Ofcom's media literacy team continues its focus on gathering meaningless information rather than actually doing anything useful by publishing a survey on children's use of the internet. The Telegraph headlines the finding that nearly a third of 12-to-15 year olds think Google ranks search results by truthfulness. Colin Brazier, blogging on Sky News, expresses his disapproval at the discovery that one-in-eight 8-to-11 year olds have internet access in their bedrooms, and one-in-five 5-to-7 years old can surf the web unsupervised. In a later bout of ineffectual data gathering, Ofcom discovered, amongst other things, that many more of us use social networking sites than we used to.

Sunday Express gets jabbed. The PCC fielded complaints about a Sunday Express story alleging (wrongly, and dangerously) that the HPV vaccination was as dangerous as the cervical cancer it is intended to prevent. Roy Greenslade in The Guardian suspects the PCC will refuse to entertain the complaints, but argues that it should demand an urgent correction from the Express. Greenslade subsequently wrote about Ben Goldacre's claim to have discovered that the expert upon whose opinions the entire Express piece was based strenuously denies ever having those opinions - indeed, she says she told The Express pretty much the exact opposite of what they reported she said. The Express then published an apology, but Greenslade observes that this is printed on page 2, and is not published online at all, and makes no reference at all to the alleged misquoting of the key source. The expert (Dr Diane Harper) has complained to the PCC (see this post in the journalism.co.uk blog about how the PCC's 'third party complaint' rules relate to this and the Jan Moir story below).

Global iPlayer to launch? BBC Worldwide is believed to be readying a request to the BBC Trust for approval for a global iPlayer that would provide BBC content online outside the UK, on a paid-for basis. paidContent.org suggests that sci-fi shows like Torchwood will be the main money-spinners.

...but shared UK iPlayer won't happen. The BBC Trust ruled against a proposal to share iPlayer technology with other UK broadcasters, saying they were too complex and failed to deliver value for money to licence fee payers (BBC News). Furious BBC staff are unlikely to re-present a similar idea (Broadcast). However, a single web presence for all UK radio stations, BBC and commercial, could be ready for launch within months (The Independent).

Commercial radio scores second against BBC. After ITV and RadioCentre win their fair trading complaint against the BBC for event sponsorship, TalkSport claims a second victory as the BBC Trust rules that offering 'value for money' does not mean acquiring exclusive radio rights to the FA Cup (The Guardian reports). At the same time, the Trust announced that the BBC had been wrong to develop its online educational platform without engaging with other providers of educational content, or considering adequately the competitive impact on them. However, the subsequent decision by the BBC to freeze the budgets of the relevant educational services has affected external suppliers, drawing the ire of PACT (reports Broadcast). Steve Hewlett, in The Guardian, still finds in these rulings evidence of capture by BBC management of the BBC Trust.

Atheists have thoughts, too. The BBC Trust is, according to The Guardian, considering whether to accede to demands from atheist and humanist groups to be included in the 'Thought for the Day' slot on Radio 4's Today programme. Blogging in The Telegraph about a debate on the issue, Jonathan Wynne-Jones found the obnoxious intolerance of the atheists present to be unhelpful to their cause. The Sunday Telegraph reports that some secularist groups had suggested to the BBC that it would be in breach of equality laws if it did not open the slot up to non-believers.

Sky vs. Ofcom contd. Sky chief Jeremy Darroch has been trying to persuade sports bodies that they will suffer if Ofcom goes ahead with its proposals to regulate the wholesale pricing of Sky's premiumn content, including the sporting channels. David Prosser in The Independent suggests that Sky will carry out its threat to challenge such a decision in the courts, if only to delay its implementation. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson hit back with a comment piece in The Financial Times, equating Sky's dominance in the pay-TV market with BA's pre-Virgin monopoly over transatlantic air travel, and arguing that Ofcom's proposed intervention would unleash competition and fix a dysfunctional market. At Sky's AGM, James Murdoch accused Ofcom of fostering a climate of regulatory uncertainty that would have a chilling effect on investment (Media Week). In their joint submission to Ofcom, Virgin, BT and Top Up TV urged Ofcom not to allow Sky to use Canvas or Picnic (should either or both win regulatory approval) to bypass whatever pricing remedy Ofcom should impose (The Guardian); and they urged Ofcom to accelerate the process of introducing price controls (Media Week). Some of the big sporting bodies from whom Sky has acquired broadcasting rights - including the England & Wales Cricket Board, the FA Premier League, the Rugby Football Union and the PGA European Tour - weighed in in favour of Sky (Broadcast). In a comment piece in City AM, Virgin Media chief exec Neil Berkett argues that the market for televised sports is not a competitive one, and that Ofcom intervention could remedy this in the interests of consumers.

Meanwhile, on Sky's other front... Sky formally launched its court appeal against the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruling that finalised the blocking of Sky's attempt to acquire 17.9% of ITV (Reuters via Exec Digital).

Ofcom allows more time. Ofcom announced that, in light of the government's decision to allow product placement on British TV, it would resume its review of the sections of the Ofcom Code relating to commercial references in the New Year. It also pointed out that, under a European directive, product placement in children's programming - whether UK-made or imported from elsewhere - would be prohibited in any case. The Guardian suggests - rather mischievously, given the total absence of supporting evidence - that The Simpsons might be caught by this latter issue.

ASA to hold masterclass in booze (advertising). It's an early start, so don't go hungover: there will be an ASA Masterclass on all the regulations around alcohol advertising, 8.30-11am, 5 November at ASA HQ in London. This comes just days after the alcohol industry body, The Portman Group, launched a responsible marketing guide for alcohol advertising (Marketing Week).

Cadbury's Fair Trade ad investigated. An ad promoting Cadbury's fair trade credentials, and showing residents of a Ghanaian village dancing around a large, floating wooden mask, has prompted complaints of racial stereotyping to the ASA (The Independent reports).

Griffin on Question Time. Labour minister Peter Hain tried to get the BBC Trust to prevent Nick Griffin's appearance on BBC1's Question Time (The Independent). The Trust, as we know, supported the editorial decision to allow Griffin on, after convening a special panel to discuss the issue, and despite further objections from anti-fascist groups (The Independent). James Robinson in The Guardian criticised the BBC for the way it had handled the BNP in the past, but expressed support for the BBC's view that it was under a legal obligation to provide some coverage of minor parties that have attracted significant recent electoral support. However, as Michael Savage in The Independent pointed out, the requirement for due impartiality did not necessarily equate to a requirement to offer a slot in Question Time (at least, that was Ofcom's view - but Ofcom does not regulate the BBC for impartiality). While the BBC (and Ofcom) expected plenty of complaints from people objecting to seeing Griffin being given such a high profile platform, it was Griffin himself who, though victorious in getting on the show to begin with, lodged a formal complaint about the way he was treated on the programme (The Guardian). Meanwhile, as Patrick Harvie MSP's blog highlights, the Scottish Green Party have lodged a complaint about Griffin's appearance in the run up to the Glasgow North East by-election, in which both the BNP and Green Party are standing candidates. And, in the 'This Week' show immediately after Question Time, Andrew Neill drew complaints for jokingly introducing guest Diane Abbott MP as a "chocolate Hob Nob" (Scottish Sunday Mail). Anticipating future complaints about BNP Party Election Broadcasts, the BBC Trust is consulting on procedural changes that would place greater requirements on complainants to produce evidence to support their complaints (that's right - the BBC is now seeking to regulate its complainants) (The Guardian).

BBFC draw fire over Saw VI. Tory MP Julian Brazier has critcised the BBFC for issuing a certificate for Saw VI, claiming it is "passing more and more violent films." (Sunday Express)

Canvasing opinions. BSkyB has written to the BBC Trust to object to the plans by the BBC and other broadcasters for Canvas, an IPTV platform. Sky is, according to Brand Republic, concerned that Canvas, if not opened up to all broadcasters, will stifle innovation in the pay-TV market. BT Vision's Marc Watson insisted to the Financial Times that Canvas would be an open standard, available to all content providers and broadband service providers. Canvas Director Richard Halton echoed this sentiment, and invited Sky to participate, as a broadband operator, in the project on the BBC Technology blog. A Freedom of Information Act request from The Daily Telegraph has revealed that, despite not having BBC Trust approval, Canvas has cost the BBC £1 million already, including £400,000 spent by the Trust on consultants to help it make its decision (Broadcast).

BBC slashes violence. Along with its new editorial guidelines that require Royal Assent before you can say 'c**t' on BBC2 (or something like that), the BBC is now reviewing the level of violence in its programmes. My understanding of this Guardian piece is that this will result in fewer live burials on Eastenders.

Ofcom sets out its equality plan. Ofcom published its 'Single Equality Scheme' - a policy document on employment diversity and equality both within Ofcom and generally in the sectors that it regulates.

BBC Nations News gets a report card. A review by the BBC Trust of BBC News in the UK nations and the English regions found plenty of improvement, along with room for further improvement still.

BBC Freeview HD encryption plans challenged. Digital Spy reports that IP Vision, a set-top box maker, is challenging the BBC's plans to encrypt programme coding data on its Freeview HD services in order to protect content producer's intellectual property rights.

Top ASA stories. Here are some of the ASA rulings that have attracted attention recently. Upheld complaints against Danone Activia (for its claims to boost children's immunity) attracted commentary on advertising claims made generally by the nutraceutical sector (like this from The Times). Upheld complaints against Miele for claiming, without adequate substantiation, an 'up to' 20 year lifespan for its vacuum cleaners (Which?). Complaints about savings claims made by Sky for phone and internet, compared with BT and Virgin, have not been upheld, but the ASA ruled that Sky had exaggerated savings claims for line rental (cable.co.uk). A government ad for Diplomas, saying that all universities recognised them, was banned because Cambridge University doesn't always (BBC News). A Bet365.com ad was pulled because it promised £200 of free bets, but failed to make clear that you had to spend £900 of your own money first (Campaign). Vodafone was told it could not say it "abolished" roaming charges when it had simply removed them for a limited offer period (Campaign). EDF was told it could continue to promote its environmentally-focused initiatives, and call itself British (Campaign). Rulings against the accuracy of a Daily Express reader offer is the fifth such adjudication in two months, notes Press Gazette. Ads for Durex products that contained double entendres (the ads, not the products) were cleared by the ASA because they were not overtly sexually explicit (The Drum). This week, the ASA ruled against what it felt was a misleading map of a proposed Asda development in Barnet and a campaign purporting to be a guide to hearing aids (Campaign and Campaign). An ad for the movie Antichrist, showing what appear to be a naked couple having sex, was cleared by the ASA because it showed nothing sexually explicit (BBC News). The ASA also decided that an Asda Christmas ad about parents hiding presents could not be considered to undermine children's belief in Santa Claus since Mr Claus was not actually referred to in the ad (Marketing Week).

OFT confirms pricing and advertising review. The Office of Fair Trading has confirmed that it will be investigating the advertising and pricing practices of companies - specifically the advertising of prices, and also online targeting of advertising and prices. Soon afterwards, the All-Party Parliamentary Communications Group called for any behavioural online advertising to require the user's express consent, and also called for the creation of a privacy law (Out-Law.com).

Ofcom reviews financial terms for Channels 3 and 5 licences. Ofcom launched a consultation on the financial terms of the licences for Channel 3 (i.e. ITV) and Channel 5 (Five), respectively. It expects responses only from "a limited number of stakeholders who are aware of the issues involved," so that's you and me told.

Danii draws complaints. A comment by Danii Minogue about the sexuality of an X Factor contestant (I don't watch it, so have no idea what this is about) attracted almost 4,000 complaints to Ofcom, says The Times. 'Odd' behaviour by Whitney Houston, and the suspicion of miming by Houston and Cheryl Cole, prompted further complaints about X Factor, according to the Daily Star (Digital Spy).

Couldn't this be done by way of a reality TV show? Both ITV and Channel 4 continue their searches for both chief executives and chairmen - with Channel 4's chairman being a job for Ofcom to deal with. For this role, Peter Bazalgette ruled himself out early on (The Guardian). The Telegraph identified Chorion chairman Lord Alli and former ITV chief exec and former GCap chairman Richard Eyre as leading contenders, adding that former Economist chief exec Helen Alexander and Camelot chief exec and RadioCentre chair Dianne Thompson had also been approached. Today, The Guardian claims to reveal that Lord Terry Burns, Abbey chairman and former chairman of the pre-Charter BBC Review panel, will be announced as the new Channel 4 chairman within days. All the while, Ofcom has reportedly been busy restraining current chairman Luke Johnson from thinking he can have anything to do with appointing Andy Duncan's successor as chief exec (Financial Mail). Peter Fincham, Kevin Lygo, Fru Hazlitt, David Abraham, Jane Root, Stephen Carter and Ed Richards are all considered possibilities by The Telegraph to succeed Duncan.

... as C4/BBC Worldwide deal sinks. Andy Duncan has reportedly conceded that he will not be able to reach a major agreement for a joint venture between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, meaning the issue will have to be parked until his successor is appointed (Variety). Duncan told the House of Lords Communications Committee today the he thought the BBC could have done more to make a deal happen (The Guardian).

Ofcom toughens radio premium rate rules. Following its earlier consultation, Ofcom confirmed that it will be varying the licences of commercial radio broadcasters to make them responsible for all aspects of the delivery of premium rate features. Then, Ofcom announced that there should be better rules for making clear how premium rate services should be priced, but fobbed off onto PhonepayPlus the difficult job of actually devising those rules. Ofcom capped it off, in its not-terribly-coherent way, with an announcement that PRS promoted in programmes had to relate to the editorial content of that programme, and anything else would be treated as advertising and regulated under the BCAP Advertising Codes.

It was just a drawing of a dog, not a real dog. Over 350 complaints have been received by the ASA about a government TV campaign about climate change (The Guardian). Most have challenged the accuracy of the ad, which asserts that climate change is both established fact and caused by man, which some dispute. However, some complaints feel that the ad, involving a parent ready a 'scary' bedtime story of global apocalypse to his young daughter, with the cartoonish depiction of a dog drowning in rising seas, is too scary to be seen by children. (No one, apparently, has complained about the ad's amateurish sound dubbing). Writing in The Telegraph, Christopher Brooker (who does not, apparently, believe in man-made global warming) describes the ad as a "tawdry piece of propaganda" that "appears to breach pretty well every requirement of section 4 of the Television Advertising Standards Code" prohibiting political advertising. B&Q chairman and Kingfisher chief exec Ian Cheshire said he thought the campaign was negative, irritating and would be meaningless to most consumers (Marketing).

Nothing natural about the PCC. The Press Complaints Commission website crashed (The Guardian) after a bizarrely hateful and bigoted column by Jan Moir in the Daily Mail about the late Stephen Gately prompted over 22,000 complaints. The PCC has done nothing but give a confused response. Initially it said it would not 'normally' entertain complaints by parties not directly affected by the story (in this case, that would be Gately's family), yet it put a separate complaints form on its website just for Jan Moir complaints. Later, it said it would "consider" the complaints it had received (The Guardian) and had asked the Mail for a formal response, but I'm not clear as to whether this means the PCC is accepting the complaints as valid, or is just trying to avoid a riot. Gately's record label, Polydor, subsequently lodged their own complaint with the PCC (The Guardian) but, again, it remains unclear if they count as sufficiently closely related to Gately for the complaint to be investigated formally. Meanwhile, blogger Malcolm Coles has an interesting post about why the PCC website crashed, and what that says about the quality of their web hosting arrangements. Here's a well-researched post by Matthew Cain on why he thinks the Mail will escape sanction, even if the PCC does investigate. Roy Greenslade told the Evening Standard that he also expected the PCC not to uphold the complaints (Digital Spy). A petition has been started on the Downing Street website calling for the PCC to be abolished in its present form (HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk).

Ofcom not calling the police, apparently. "Ofcom appears intent on burying the British Comedy Awards scandal despite having failed to discover how ITV's Ant and Dec came to win in 2005, when the public voted for the BBC's Catherine Tate," writes Ian Burrell in The Independent. Ofcom, it seems, has no intention of heeding Channel TV's call to bring in the police.

Government-in-waiting (?) vs. the BBC. Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the FT he was considering ripping up the current BBC Charter and scrapping the BBC Trust. The only possible good news for the Beeb is that he would also scrap any plans to top-slice the licence fee. (BBC News) Ray Snoddy, writing in The Independent, argues that the case for abolishing the Trust, made by both Hunt and Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw, lacks supporting evidence. BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons, in a letter to the Financial Times, insists that the BBC Trust defends BBC impartiality, not the BBC's management.

Top Ofcom adjudications. Channel 4 was cleared of causing harm to children in its 'Boys and Girls Alone' programme, but criticised for causing undue distress to viewers by failing to explain the measures taken to protect the children in the programme (Press Association via The Independent). Sky Sports had complaints upheld for undue prominence because of the appearance of the Specsavers logo whenever the channel used its Hawk-Eye technology to assess leg-before-wicket claims during the Ashes (Broadcast).

Boyle lanced over Adlington 'joke'. The BBC Trust upheld a complaint against 'Mock the Week' over a joke made by Frankie Boyle about the appearance of Olympic swimming gold medallist Rebecca Adlington (Broadcast), saying the joke was unnecessarily humiliating and had therefore crossed the line in terms of offensiveness. Boyle insisted that no malice was intended by his jokes, and argued that rules and regulations would make television dull and boring (The Daily Telegraph). Ms Adlington herself takes a different view, criticising the BBC Trust for not being harsh enough (The Daily Telegraph) while her mother, Kay, questions the logic of publicly announcing the Trust's finding, thereby giving Boyle and his humour more publicity (Mansfield Chad). Another joke by Boyle, about the Queen's, ahem, la-la was not uphold because, although it was "in poor taste" and "clearly ... offensive" with "sexist and ageist overtones", it "would not have gone beyond audience expectations for the programme" (The Guardian). Complaints were also upheld against DJ Spoony on BBC Three, for "crude and offensive" jokes about Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson (Press Association). A joke about the Queen and Prince Phillip on Have I Got News for You has re-opened anew the debate on what humour is and isn't acceptable on the BBC (Daily Mail).

Advertisers to seek to see off stricter regulation. The Advertising Association announced the launch of a new foundation designed to restore public trust in advertising, after a survey found fewer than one-in-six people trusted adverts. AA chief exec Tim Lefroy told The Guardian that this loss of trust could lead to stricter advertising regulation, which the new foundation would hope to avoid. Which? (i.e. the Consumers' Association) has indeed called for the ASA's remit to be broadened and toughened but, as Marketing editor Lucy Barrett notes in a Guardian blog piece, Which? did find the ASA to be quite an effective regulator to begin with. In a written debate in Marketing, ISBA's Bob Wootton, Action for Children's Tom Davis and Lowe London's Rebecca Morgan all argue against the ASA having the power to fine errant advertisers, while Wunderman's Brendan Tansey argues in favour.

STV vs. ITV. ITV has reportedly rejected an offer from Ofcom of binding arbitration in its dispute with STV over STV's decision to opt out of broadcasting some network programmes; the issue may end up going to court (Scotsman).

Panorama gets steamed up. The BBC Trust upheld complaints against Panorama for repeatedly using images of steam rising from cooling towers to illustrate an item on greenhouse gases (of which, just so we're clear, steam is not one). (The Daily Telegraph)

MPs call for new local TV channel. 80 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling on Ofcom to reserve capacity on Freeview and cable TV for a new, universally available channel carrying local news and information (Digital Spy).

OFT looks at Club Asia acquisition. The Office of Fair Trading has launched its routine invitation for comment on the acquisition of London AM radio station Club Asia by the Litt Corporation, which also owns Sunrise London, Kismat and Punjabi Radio (BizAsia).

Are we still debating the minutiae of radio localness regulation? Commercial radio trade body, the RadioCentre, has yet again called on Ofcom to provide greater flexibility in the way it regulates where local radio content is produced (Media Week).

BBC boosts kids programming. A BBC Trust review of children's programming on the BBC has resulted in the Trust approving an extra £25.5 million in the BBC children's budget (Broadcast).

Ciamar a tha thu?* The BBC Trust is reviewing the service provided by Gaelic language TV channel BBC ALBA, and will look at the possibility of making the channel more widely available in Scotland on Freeview by removing the BBC network radio stations during evening hours (BBC News). *'How are you?' in Scottish Gaelic.

Sikh complaints about BBC use of symbol. A Sikh group has complained to the BBC Trust about the use of the khanda - a holy Sikh symbol - in a BBC News story about a woman in Cardiff who was raped by members of her extended family (Asians in Media).

Lots and lots of BBC managers to go. The BBC Trust announced plans to reduce the cost of BBC's management, including the loss of over 100 senior management roles and the freezing of the senior executive team's pay (The Guardian). (It boggles the mind to think of the scale of waste in the BBC if, suddenly, under political pressure, the Corporation can just shed over 100 senior managers with no ill effect.) David Elstein suggested, in a Guardian blog post, that the BBC's numbers didn't seem to add up - prompting a response from BBC People (that's HR to you and me) Director Lucy Adams explaining how she thinks they do.

Could BBC compliance management get any more amateurish and ineffective? BAFTA-winning script writer Tony Marchant hit out at the patronising nature of BBC compliance training, and the fact that all contributors, however experienced, have to go through the same courses - as producers reportedly become hyper-cautious about causing even the slightest offence (The Times).

Complaints for suicide image. A photograph in the Sunday World newspaper in Northern Ireland attracted over 70 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission for showing the body of a man who had hanged himself from a bridge in Bangor, County Down (BBC News).

Dyke calls for licence fee to be scrapped. A panel of industry experts established by David Cameron to review the Conservative Party's media policies, and chaired by former BBC Director General Greg Dyke, has recommended scrapping the TV licence fee and funding the BBC from a direct government grant; the money saved from licensing and enforcement could be spent on other aspects of PSB (The Guardian via Digital Spy).

Friends Reunited sale referred to Competition Commission. ITV must surely have considered their exit from the ill-fated Friends Reunited to be a pretty safe bet but the Office of Fair Trading announced on Monday that it was referring the sale to the Competition Commission. Friends Reunited includes Genes Reunited, and the acquirer, Brightsolid Group Ltd (a D C Thomson subsidiary), owns two other genealogy websites, leading to (wait for it) a possible reduction in competition in the online genealogy market.

Magazine VOD should not be regulated says PPA. "Magazine industry trade body the PPA has called on the government not to widen the scope of video-on-demand regulations to include content streamed through magazine websites," reports Press Gazette.

UTV calls for different digital radio approach. UTV Radio - which, as well as UKRD/TLRC, recently quit its membership of trade body the RadioCentre over differing opinions on radio's digital future - has called on Ofcom to pay more attention in its digital thinking to smaller radio stations whose digital future remains unclear (Radio Today).


So there you have it. Not very elegant, I'll grant you, but that's everything that struck me as worthing noting, noted. I'm sure I've missed stuff, but there's no going back now. Onwards, onwards...