Media Brief
I'm the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s media correspondent and this is my brief selection of what's going on.
´óÏó´«Ã½ Two's daytime schedules could be axed in favour of rolling news under plans being drawn up by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ as programme budgets bear the brunt of a 20% savings drive. He says the proposals will be put to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Trust in the early summer - and it would be the first time the ´óÏó´«Ã½ has introduced significant programming cuts on a mainstream channel. He quotes Will Wyatt, managing director of ´óÏó´«Ã½ TV from 1991 to 1996: "You have to keep daytime [programming] on ´óÏó´«Ã½1 but cutting it right back on ´óÏó´«Ã½2 is sensible." The ´óÏó´«Ã½ said: "These are early proposals which need to be put to the trust."
For those who can't access the Sunday Times, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two story is .
John Prescott is to read the Shipping Forecast for Comic Relief. Lord Prescott - and those at sea - will be hoping that calm weather prevails when he takes on the task. "As a famed mangler of the English language, the former deputy prime minister will need all his experience in the merchant navy to steer a course through the potential pitfalls."
Rupert Murdoch will be 80 on Friday. The , with articles by Roy Greenslade, Michael White, Dan Sabbagh and others.
Rupert Murdoch will be 80 on Friday. For R4's Archive on Four, Steve Hewlett looks back and assesses his impact.
Research by ICM for TV Licensing shows people underestimate how much TV they watch, . People said they watched about three hours a day. We actually tune in for more than four hours, according to official BARB ratings. Viewers are also buying more TV sets - twice as many last year as in 2002 - and bigger screens, belying reports that TV is in decline because of the internet.
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is promoting its production trainee scheme on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ website. Applications close on 14 March.
Highlighted in the ´óÏó´«Ã½ newspaper review the Daily Telegraph says the Duke of York will pay the price for his association with a convicted paedophile because the government is to downgrade his role as Britain's trade ambassador. The Times quotes government sources as saying Downing Street would "shed no tears" if the Duke of York resigned.
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