Media Monkeys Diary: BBC traitors, the Sun, John Ryley and Robert Peston

Professor Jean Seaton, the BBCs official historian, has at last agreed a title with it for her volume on the 1974-87 period, due in January. These were years of endless friction with the Thatcher government over reporting of Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and the bombing of Libya, and ended with the sacking of director general Alasdair Milne by BBC chairman Marmaduke Hussey, a Tory appointment. The book was delivered last summer, but the BBC threw away about 15 titles, until I thought it would be called The BBC In Slightly Difficult Times she told Monkey last week. Then I went to see Tony Hall, suggested Pinkos and Traitors, and he said yes. A glance at Amazon indicates one of the titles thrown away was Under Siege: The BBC in the Crisis Years, while Seatons academic profile still has the title as Holding the Line; which together suggest the BBC is determined to resist anything conveying the idea of it as beleaguered even 25-40 years ago. But a hotbed of leftwing subversives and people willing to betray their country? Not a problem. Posted free to 22m homes, last Thursdays supplement to the Sun a paper edited by a Scot, owned by an Australian-born American, and part of a division run by another Australian based in the US was a celebration of Englishness, featuring a Sgt Pepper cover-style front page collage of faces headlined as This Is Our England. How many, though, would have been happy to find themselves selected by the Sun as among the nations finest. Among the... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]

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The Guardian view on Brexit and publishing: a hardcore problem | Editorial

London book fair has shown how upbeat the literary world can be – and how worried our cultural businesses have become at the thought of losing old certaintiesThe mood at this week’s London book fair appeared upbeat, with hotly contested auctions leading to the return of the six-figure publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Slovenian prime minister signs deal for historical novel

Former prime minister and leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Janša, has signed to London-based publisher IndieBooks for his new historical novel White Panther. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bargain! You Can Rent a Trump Tower 1BR for $5,250/mo. (Now 30% Off!)

4. In a story headlined "Facebook wants you to watch longer videos, so it's going to show you longer videos," Recode's Peter Kafka reports that Facebook "is tweaking its News Feed algorithm to emphasize longer videos that are able to retain their audience; the longer they hold them, the more... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boris Johnson accused of breaching ministerial code after book signing

Boris Johnson has been accused of breaching the ministerial code of conduct by allegedly promoting his book The Churchill Factor (Hodder) during a diplomatic trip to Serbia last month. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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May, Balls, Clegg, Clarke: it is political biography season

As scores of politicians line up to release books, the first Theresa May biography is set to reveal far less racy details than David Cameron’s...Brexit means Brexit, and party conference season means the release of a slew of political biographies and memoirs. Not as punchy a slogan as Theresa... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Donald Trump, beware – when the ghostwriter gives you up

What do the US presidential candidate, Victoria Beckham, Zoella, Julian Assange and Tony Blair have in common? Issues with their ‘silent’ partnersOne of the first lessons of politics is never annoy your ghostwriter. Donald Trump is the latest to learn this, and is now sending a “cease and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Johnson's Shakespeare, or much ado about nothing

After news that Boris Johnson will not be writing his biography of Shakespeare, Liz Thomson says publishers should be on the lookout for bright young talent.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boris Johnson 'backs out £500k book deal' with Hodder

Boris Johnson has reportedly backed out of a £500,000 book deal with Hodder & Stoughton to write a biography of William Shakespeare. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why big publishers are ‘shying away’ from Theresa May

Small publishing houses have been snapping up deals for a biography of the new PM, so when will the traditional political publishers join the race? A week is a long time in politics, but a year can go in a flash in the publishing world, where it is becoming apparent that there is currently no... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Theresa May biography snapped up by Biteback

Biteback is to publish a biography of Theresa May, Britain's next Prime Minister, by journalist and Jeremy Corbyn biographer Rosa Prince. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Brexit would be a disaster for British publishing'

Over a book-writing career of more than three decades I have produced a number of well received books with very modest sales mainly on European and international political themes. But never have I had a book - Brexit: How Britain Will Leave Europe (I.B.Tauris) - go through two editions in just... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Now Boris Johnson must tackle Newsquest over lost jobs

London assembly urges mayor to express his concern to newspaper publisher I wrote yesterday about a London Assembly motion that attacked the regional newspaper publisher Newsquest/Gannett for its cutbacks and restructuring.That motion was passed by the assembly unanimously today (Wednesday). It... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boris Johnson urged to express concern over Newsquest cuts

London Assembly members call on mayor to complain to chief executiveA motion attacking the regional newspaper publisher Newsquest/Gannett for its cutbacks has been tabled for discussion at tomorrow’s (Friday’s) London Assembly.The motion, which criticises job cuts at a range of London weekly... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Weekly Beast: Tony Abbott’s political demise sparks rush of books

Political commentators pick apart the legacy of the former PM and his chief of staff, while Fairfax and News Corp staff feel the effects of further budget cutsJust when you thought you’d seen the back of Tony Abbott, the former prime minister is about to be back in the limelight in the form of a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Louise Adler of Melbourne University Press to chair Book Council of Australia

Announcement follows heightened pressure on arts minister to reveal plans for new council, to which Tony Abbott promised $6m in December 2014Louise Adler, the prominent Australian publisher and chief executive of Melbourne University Press, has been appointed inaugural chair of the Book Council... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boris Johnson to write Shakespeare biography

Boris Johnson is to write a biography of William Shakespeare for Hodder & Stoughton for October 2016. The publisher has confirmed the deal, which was reported in the Sunday Times to have been done for £500,000. The newspaper reported that Johnson’s advance was almost seven times his salary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Warren Mundine: Fairfax Media to apologise over Indigenous mining story

Fairfax and Warren Mundine have reached an out-of-court settlement over ‘inflammatory allegations’ Mundine says were made against himWarren Mundine says Fairfax Media will apologise to him over an article that claimed a company he had an interest in lobbied for an Indigenous body to drop... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Gambon to play Winston Churchill in ITV drama

Churchill’s Secret is based on Jonathan Smith’s book set in 1953, when the former prime minister had a strokeSir Michael Gambon is to play Winston Churchill in a new ITV drama about his final years in office opposite Lindsay Duncan as his wife, Clementine.Churchill’s Secret is based on Jonathan... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Octopus to publish Churchill: The Life

Octopus Publishing Group has signed world rights in Churchill: The Life - In His Own Words and Pictures. The illustrated history of the prime minister's life draws on unique archive resources, in association with Churchill Heritage Ltd, and written by historian Max Arthur. Editorial director... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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