AN annual festival of broadcasting and digital media from the ‘Celtic nations and regions’ has announced a record number of entries to its awards competition.
Next year’s Celtic Media Festival is taking place in Inverness.
And begins an announcement from the organisers: “Entries for Celtic Media Festival 2015’s Bronze Torc Awards for Excellence have exceeded previous years’ figures, with a record-breaking 500 entries submitted to festival organisers.
“Beating both 2013 and 2014 entries by 28 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, 2015 entries showcase the quality of productions both inspired by Celtic language and culture, and those whose production companies are based in Celtic regions and nations.”
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A PROGRAMME broadcast by STV on the day of the Scots independence referendum vote has been found to have breached regulations operated by the broadcasting regulators, Ofcom.
The watchdog noted STV’s claim that the repetition of a Scotland Tonight show from the evening before the September 18 vote was down to ‘human error’ and that the broadcaster had taken ‘remedial steps’ to ‘prevent a similar mistake happening again’.
It also noted that STV pro-actively brought the error to Ofcom’s attention.
But it still found “the programme was clearly in breach of [our] Rules 6.4 and 6.5″.
Says Ofcom: “Rule 6.4: Discussion and analysis of election and referendum issues must finish when the poll opens. (This refers to the opening of actual polling stations. This rule does not apply to any poll conducted entirely by post).
“Rule 6.5: Broadcasters may not publish the results of any opinion poll on polling day itself until the election or referendum poll closes. (For European Parliamentary elections, this applies until all polls throughout the European Union have closed).”
Read more, here.
The story is picked up by The Scotsman newspaper, here.
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THE editor of The Big Issue magazine, Glasgow-based Paul McNamee, is quoted, describing a new look to the magazine as being a response to the increasing number of free magazines now being distributed on the streets.
McNamee is interviewed on pressgazette.co.uk – here – in the wake of his magazine’s refresh, as noted here, on allmediascotland.com.
He is quoted, as saying: “From our perspective, rather than belly-ache, we say: right, we really need to work harder [for] people who are willing to give us their money.”
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BEGINS The Herald (here): “The estranged husband of former Clyde 1 DJ Suzie McGuire is facing jail after being convicted of a string of domestic assaults.”
But in a side piece, the paper also begins: “Suzie McGuire has been left facing charges that she assaulted her husband despite his conviction…”
The case had been ongoing for a few weeks.
The verdict is widely reported, including here (the BBC) and here (the Daily Record).
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A FORMER president of the National Union of Journalists is running a course – being hosted in Glasgow by the union – on scriptwriting.
Says the NUJ, James Doherty “became one of the UK’s youngest network TV scriptwriters when, at the age of 21, he wrote for [the Channel 4 soap opera] Brookside”.
Adds the NUJ: “Other shows followed including Family Affairs (Five) and BBC Scotland’s River City. This one-day course [this Saturday, November 22] will provide a detailed introduction to writing for television drama. It will provide an outline, focus and the tools necessary for you to take your script to screen.”
For the last seven years, Doherty has managed the press office at both Glasgow City Council and, latterly, at Glasgow Life.
The course costs £100 for NUJ members and £160 for non-members and this includes all materials, tea/coffees and a sandwich lunch.
For more information, contact Joan Macdonald, training manager, NUJ Training Scotland, on 0141 248 6648 or 07730 51399. Or by email, joanm@nuj.org.uk
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SCOTS stations feature in a list appearing in a radiotoday.co.uk story that begins: “A quarter of all community radio stations [over 50] are to be investigated by [broadcasting regulators] Ofcom about not sticking to their Key Commitments.”
Read more, here.
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THE managing director of Media Scotland – the Scotland division of newspaper publishers, Trinity Mirror – has been named among a quartet of managers reporting directly to the company’s CEO.
Says a Trinity Mirror announcement about widespread changes to its management structure, Allan Rennie joins Lloyd Embley, Steve Anderson-Dixon and Neil Jagger, with each being given “new reporting lines to Trinity Mirror chief executive, Simon Fox, following the resignation of Mark Hollinshead who leaves the business next year”.
Begins the announcement from the company – which publishes the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers, plus several Scots local newspapers: “Trinity Mirror has today unveiled a new senior management structure in a move to create a more streamlined publishing operation.
“The reorganisation is designed to benefit the group’s editorial output and commercial performance. There are a number of consequential organisational changes which result from this reorganisation including the departure of Paul Vickers, company secretary and group legal director, the details of which have been announced separately.
“Under the ‘One Trinity Mirror’ vision, the changes will simplify the decision making process for the group’s senior journalists, promote the exchange of best working practises and accelerate the growth of digital audiences.”
Read more, here.
Also, read more, here, on the website, holdthefrontpage.
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