Rupert Murdoch stepped into his father’s shoes when he took aim at power and profit. Keith Murdoch was the Australian kingmaker who taught the young Rupert how to forge political influence from media ownership. The son’s values differ from the father: Rupert’s promotes as his wedge instrument incitement of racial and class resentment saturated with …
The BBC dominates the Top 10 most viewed Factual programs in the UK for 2021. The mix of documentary and lifestyle programs is led by the Attenborough-narrated A Perfect Planet, with more than 7 million viewers and nearly 30% share. Storm Clouds: This week, the troubled Boris Johnson government announced an ominous overhaul of the BBC’s …
The COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference opens in Glasgow on October 31, bringing urgency to the race to save our planet. Documentary commissioners, producers and distributors have responded with lots of new orders. Does global warming have the urgent audience appeal of programs that address hot button issues like true crime, gender, and social …
Sean Bean is to lend his voice to a natural history documentary about Osprey. The Game of Thrones star is narrating Osprey: Sea Raptor, a one-hour doc for wildlife brand Love Nature that will also and Sky in the UK. The film, which is produced by Love Nature and CosmoVision Media Group, tells the true …
Essential Afghan Documentaries – War boosters & critics: 15 key documentaries about Afghanistan, From ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’ to ‘Hell and Back Again‘ // Variety ‘Pat Tillman‘ and other films both critical and supportive of the war // Washington Post Art Workers in France Mobilize to Help Afghan Creators // Artnet Women journalists fear brutal Taliban // Vice Director’s escape from …
Story of the Month: Investors Target Unscripted Production. There’s a frenzy of investment in unscripted production // Wall Street Journal. New SVOD’s fail to understand that success depends on streaming addiction // Lightshed Partners. Netflix Australia: Revenues surge but avoids taxes and local production // The Age + Documentary Business. Audiences want more documentaries in streaming libraries …
Update: Mandy Chang is leaving her post as legendary BBC-STORYVILLE‘s commissioning editor. Last year she recapped her STORYVILLE strategy in detail for my panel at Taiwan’s virtual CCDF-CNEX Documentary Conference. Our fellow expert panelists were: Hong Kong-based, Phoenix TV exec Haibo Huang And from Washington DC, all-knowing veteran programmer and senior consultant Dan Salerno. Read on …
BBC director general Tim Davie yesterday mounted a spirited defense of the pubcaster’s value to British audiences versus the streamers led by Netflix. His presentation and white paper BBC Value for Audiences gained wide coverage in the business media, where the initial focus was on $556 million in proposed cuts. Cut Documentaries Davie later spoke …