Alan Yentob: 'The BBC can't compete with its hands tied behind its back'

BBC's creative director on his closeness to Tony Hall, competition from rivals like Google – and his plan for more appsAlan Yentob is having his picture taken on a staircase overlooking the vast BBC newsroom at New Broadcasting House and telling me about the flooding at his house in Somerset when we are interrupted by annoyed news staff.They ask us to move as flashes from the camera can be seen on-screen on the BBC News Channel – illustrating the perils of having a newsroom as a backdrop for live bulletins.Yentob apologises and we retire to his office – a former radio drama kitchen that sits between Old and New Broadcasting House. Apt, as Yentob bridges the old and new within the organisation. His office is narrow but cosy – desk stacked with books and an Alan Yentob mask someone sent him. There is a fold-up bike below his desk, just like the one Hugh Bonneville's character Ian Fletcher has as head of BBC Values in John Morton's forthcoming follow-up to Twenty Twelve, W1A, in which Yentob has a cameo.But as there's no table, we move to director general Tony Hall's office. As he confirms, Yentob played a part in bringing Hall back to the BBC after George Entwistle resigned. "I always felt that Tony should've been the director general. Yes, I did talk to [Lord Patten] about it and I did speak to Tony. For Tony it wasn't without its risks, he loved his [Royal Opera House] job."It seemed his influence might wane under Entwistle, but it is obvious he is now back at the heart... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fox Is Bringing Metaphysics Back to the Masses With a Reboot of Cosmos

It’s an early January afternoon on the Upper West Side, just days after the Earth began heaving itself along on yet another elliptical voyage around the sun, and a polar vortex has stupefied New York with an interstellar chill. With about two hours of daylight left, sinuses are rimed with... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder pulls back on Keenan memoir

Hodder has said it has "decided not to further distribute…in its current form"... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From page to screen and back again

Movie tie-ins for '12 Years a Slave,' 'Philomena,' 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and other films give their namesake books — including one from 1853 — a second life. The memoir "12 Years A Slave" was published in 1853, a year after Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic, "Uncle Tom's Cabin."     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wall Street Beat: VC money pours back into Internet companies

Venture capitalists poured more money into Internet companies last year than they have since the dot-com bust, according to a survey published Friday.Internet companies in the U.S. took in US$7.1 billion from VCs in 1,059 deals in 2013, the highest level of Internet investment in terms of... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gollancz to publish second Game of Thrones tie-in

Gollancz will publish a sequel to Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones, covering the making of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maverick backs bedtime story app

A new story reading app will launch later this month with nine picture books from publisher... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Uncle the elephant joins brave march of children's classics back into print

JP Martin's much-loved but unavailable stories have been recovered for the rest of us by one courageous readerLet joy be unconfined! Almost seven years ago, I bewailed the loss of Uncle, the wealthy, purple-clad elephant with the BA whose surreal adventures, superbly illustrated by Quentin... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Polar vortex takes us back to the coldest story in American literature

The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jack london #coldest story #american literature #unnamed protagonist #frozen yukon #widely considered #short story #painful accuracy


Polar vortex takes us back to the coldest story in American literature (+video)

The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jack london #coldest story #unnamed protagonist #frozen yukon #widely considered #short story #painful accuracy


ITV and BBC told to learn lessons from graphic Lee Rigby murder coverage

Ofcom clears broadcasters after complaints, but tells them to consider explicit warnings before airing 'challenging' footageRead the full Ofcom ruling on TV news coverge of Woolwich killing (P22)Ofcom has told broadcasters including ITV and the BBC to learn lessons after they aired graphic... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alan Bennett: 'Stibbe got me wrong'

Writer Alan Bennett has claimed Nina Stibbe "misremembered" him in Love, Nina (Viking... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC Trust chief accused of 'obstruction and secrecy'

Lord Patten criticised by MPs for blocking publication of documents relating to corporation's failed £100m IT projectMPs have accused the BBC Trust chairman, Lord Patten, of "obstruction and secrecy" for stopping the corporation publishing key documents about a failed £100m IT project.Patten... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AudioGO's BBC titles signed by Random House

Random House Audio has signed an agreement with BBC Worldwide to sell and distribute the company... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC 'took too long to realise DMI project was in trouble'

Report finds flaws in tech project could have been identified two years before it was shut down in May at a cost of almost £100mRead the full PwC report on the BBC's DMI failureThe BBC should have identified that the Digital Media Initiative was set to fail as early as July 2011, almost two... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Changing Hands & St. Mark’s Fundraisers End Soon

The clock is ticking for two bookstores in the midst of transition: one about to open a second branch, the other to move. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alan Warner novel to Faber

Faber has signed the latest novel from Man Booker Prize-longlisted author Alan Warner, previously... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC's Lord Patten under pressure over claim Savile inquiry excluded evidence

Despite threat of legal action, Guido Fawkes blog publishes tape of Nick Pollard allegedly admitting omission was a 'mistake'Lord Patten is facing mounting pressure to get to the bottom of an allegation that the internal inquiry into the BBC's handling of the Jimmy Savile scandal may have... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sir Harold Evans backs plan for new press regulator to rival Ipso

The Impress Project aims to attract newspapers and publishers that want a regulator 'independent of owners and politicians'The former editor of the Sunday Times, Sir Harold Evans, is backing an initiative to set up a press regulator to rival the body being launched by the publishers of the Sun,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC spends £1.3m on flights between London and Manchester over two years

Cost of rail travel for more than 100 managers has also risen since relocation to MediaCity in Salford QuaysThe suspicion that British Airways and Virgin Trains would be among the beneficiaries of the BBC's move to Salford appears to be born out by figures on travel costs published this week.In... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newsweek to Bring Print Edition Back From the Dead

Newsweek's new owners think they can succeed at something its previous owners failed at: printing a weekly magazine in the United States. IBT Media, the obscure media company that bought Newsweek in August, said Tuesday that it intends to rev ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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