Delivered ethnic slurs with 'tiara-strength twinkle,' says BBC author
Guardian (UK) Nov 10, 08 6:49 AM CST
(Newser)
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Britain's Queen Mother was a "ghastly old bigot" who once referred to some of England's closest EU allies using ethnic slurs that left a BBC newscaster appalled. "The words were delivered with the eyes on maximum tiara-strength twinkle, but I froze," said Edward Stourton, who revealed the incident in his new book, It's a PC World . "The nation's favorite grandmother was a ghastly old bigot. What she said was nasty and ugly."
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Author 'knows too much' to be on TV
Daily Telegraph (UK) Nov 6, 08 3:21 PM CST
(Newser)
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Gore Vidal is a YouTube sensation thanks to his election-night interview by David Dimbleby of the BBC, whom the famously contentious American author mocked mercilessly, the Telegraph reports. Vidal started by saying that he didn’t expect Barack Obama to win so easily, because the Republican Party is desperate to cling to power through “various operatives.” Dimbleby asked if Vidal thought the GOP would try to fix the election.
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Brand famous for racy, offensive jokes
BBC Oct 29, 08 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The BBC suspended two leading comedians for a prank call that infuriated 18,000 viewers and that even the prime minister called “inappropriate and unacceptable,” the news service reports. Foul-mouthed Russell Brand—who, stateside, offended abstinent teens at MTV's Music Video Awards—and Jonathan Ross told a 78-year-old actor that Brand had sex with his granddaughter.
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UK declassifies
BBC's Cold War script for nuclear attack
BBC Oct 3, 08 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A radio script that the British government planned to broadcast to survivors of a nuclear attack has been made public for the first time, the BBC reports. The script, written in the 1970s and released by the National Archives, warns listeners to stay in hiding for 14 days and to ration essential supplies. Related documents advised that familiar but authoritative voices make the broadcasts.
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Guardian (UK) Aug 27, 08 7:26 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Similarities between a leaked British government document and a recent BBC report on al-Qaeda’s waning support are just that, the broadcaster said today in denying its editorial independence had been dented. A report leaked to the Guardian talked of pushing material through UK media channels to suggest al-Qaeda is weakening; the BBC show suggested the group was losing support, but could still attack the West.
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Lennon and McCartney talk about first meeting
Associated Press Jul 1, 08 11:00 AM CDT
(AP)
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BBC Radio today aired a long lost Beatles interview featuring John Lennon and Paul McCartney talking about the day they met and their songwriting partnership. The precious film sat forgotten for 44 years in a garage in south London until film fan Richard Jeffs realized a piece of pop history was contained inside.
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Cops investigate why it took so long to discover the apparent suicide
Times (UK) Apr 15, 08 6:34 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A British TV celebrity's body was left hanging in London's Paddington station for six days, the London Times reports, in an apparent suicide. Mark Speight, 42, had been missing for a week and police are probing why it took so long for his body to be discovered. Speight was said to have been devastated by his fiancee's drug-related death earlier this year.
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Actor slams Webber's Idol clones as ads for musicals
Guardian (UK) Mar 31, 08 1:58 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Kevin Spacey has criticized the BBC’s West End reality shows as overt promotions for the musicals they're casting for, the Guardian reports. Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular talent-search series, Any Dream Will Do and I’d Do Anything , sought out new stars for big-budget productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Sound of Music .
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OPINION
Black author laments lack of company at music, theater events
Guardian (UK) Mar 5, 08 12:17 PM CST
(Newser)
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Britain's culture minister set off a row about high culture and national identity this week in castigating a popular series of classical music concerts for failing to attract a multiethnic audience. For Candace Allen, an African-American author living in London, the debate is more than theoretical: while classical music can be life-affirming, it's tougher to appreciate with white audience members staring at you.
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Funding shortfall, shifting audience
leads to restructuring
Reuters Oct 18, 07 5:41 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The BBC will cut 1,800 of its 18,000 jobs and integrate its TV, radio and Internet news operations to adapt to the digital age, the public broadcaster announced today. As many as 2,500 positions may be lost, but others will be added, the BBC said, to reflect shifting audience habits. The Beeb will also pare by 10% its original television programming, improve online offerings and establish bbc.com to carry advertising to non-British users.
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Independent (UK) Oct 10, 07 4:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A massive funding shortfall at the British Broadcasting Corporation could trigger unprecedented job cuts, reports the Independent . As many as 2,800 people—about 12% of the BBC's labor force—could lose their jobs. Officials at the BBC, which is financed by a $270 license fee paid by viewers, project a shortfall of up to $4 billion.
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Probe finds that
doc distorted footage
of her highness
Los Angeles Times Oct 6, 07 7:29 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A BBC chief resigned yesterday over footage of the Queen allegedly storming out of a photo session, the Los Angeles Times reports. A probe found that she never stalked out; another clip of her was spliced into the BBC doc. An ex-exec who led the "Crowngate" probe said the snafu was sparked by “misjudgments, poor practice and ineffective systems."
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British media giant
buys 75% stake in popular travel brand
Bloomberg Oct 1, 07 2:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The BBC is lacing up its hiking boots after acquiring a 75% stake in travel guidebook company Lonely Planet. The deal, announced today, nets the BBC a travel brand with a library of some 500 travel guides, a popular website, and a TV series shown in 100 countries. It’s “a great feather in the cap,” said a BBC exec.
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Top anchor accuses
net of 'catastrophic
loss of nerve'
Guardian (UK) Aug 24, 07 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Brits are having a crisis of conscience over the BBC: A summer of scandals has left the BBC's squeaky-clean image compromised. The UK's public broadcaster has aired rigged call-in games, sneakily edited news stories, and credulity-straining reality shows. A leading broadcaster charges the station has suffered "a catastrophic loss of nerve."
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Email? Shopping? News? Time picks the destinations you just can't live without
Time Aug 20, 07 9:01 AM CDT
(Newser)
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You find a restaurant on Citysearch, buy movie tickets on Fandango, and then go home and Google the guy you shared a cab with. Was there a time before the Internet? Here are the first 10 of Time' s 25 can't-live-without websites: Amazon.com BBC.co.uk Citysearch.com
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