‘Will Allah be OK with this?’: inside the BBC's first British-Muslim sketch show

They joke about airport security and overindulging over Ramadan. Meet the creators of Muzlamic, the trailblazing comedy exploring the contradictions of modern Muslim lifeAs Ali Shahalom and Aatif Nawaz scan the faces on the walls of the boardroom we’re in, their faces light up. “The BBC have put us in the brown room!” laughs Shahalom, gazing up at the cast of Goodness Gracious Me. It feels fateful that this is where we meet in Broadcasting House, given the impact the pioneering British-Asian sketch show had on these two comics. (“That was the first time I ever saw brown people on TV,” says Shahalom. “That did something to me.”) These days he and Nawaz are the trailblazers; they are about to launch Muzlamic – the first British-Muslim sketch show ever broadcast on the BBC. From airport interrogations to a childrens’ author forced to answer extraneous questions while plugging a book called The Diary of a Friendly Squirrel (“Don’t you think it was insensitive to release it so soon after the anniversary of September 11?!”), the Muzlamic pilot is made up of bite-sized chunks that never outstay their welcome. In one sketch, which they refer to as “the whitest brown guy”, two feuding colleagues stalk one another around an office in Stevenage, playing top trumps with facts like “I’m so white I have a loyalty card at Greggs” and “I think a C is a really good grade.”Shahalom and Nawaz often offer up a jester v straight man dynamic, with Shahalom playing loveable buffoons like... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-18 13:28:25 UTC ]
News tagged with: #brown people #loyalty card #open mics #unsuccessful attempts

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'We've Gone Headlong': Inside Time Inc.'s Video Strategy

Over the past two years Time Inc., the magazine company, has attempted to position itself as Time Inc., the digital content brand.   Core to the push has been video, which Time Inc. has produced in multiple forms. On the Web, its video team, now ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #years time #video strategy #video team #magazine company


A TV Talk Show Appearance That Can Change an Author’s Future

Seth Meyers on Late Night, a US TV talk show, has embraced interviewing novelists and the result is often a boost in book sales following broadcast. The post A TV Talk Show Appearance That Can Change an Author’s Future appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #future appeared #seth meyers #late night #book sales


Judge the BBC on the facts: nobody else does what we do

The music played by Radio 2 is not replicated anywhere else – and then there’s our drivetime book club, children’s writing contest and moreIt is true that in the next few months, many folk will want to have their say about the BBC. It is also true that many of them will have earned good money... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Look Inside the New Twinkie Cookbook

To celebrate the return of the Twinkie, Hostess Brands, on the heels of its unprecedented comeback, has published 'The Twinkies Cookbook, Twinkies 85th Anniversary Edition' with Ten Speed Press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A "cooler", more creative children's publishing industry on show at CMC

The theme of this year’s Children’s Media Conference (CMC), which took place 1-3 July in Sheffield, was “All Change”. Which is apt, because the children’s TV industry (from which this conference was originally born) is experiencing a disruption just as profound and perhaps more urgent than... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing industry #tv industry


Watch 'The Flash' cast react to the news that Jay Garrick will be joining the show

The finale of the CW's "The Flash" strongly hinted that the original speedy comic book superhero Jay Garrick was somewhere lurking in the DC Entertainment ether. The comic book character's famous silver-winged helmet was spotted in the final episode. And now it's confirmed: The original Flash... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why today's teenagers still want to take a peek inside My Mad Fat Diary

Lots has changed since Rae Earl wrote her personal diary in the 1980s, which she later converted into the bestselling book My Mad Fat Diary, but the basic pains of transition from teenager to grownup remain the same – and books help us find the way through itWhen my nan used to tell me about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British children's stories startup Lost My Name tells a $9m funding tale

After 600k personalised picture-book sales, London firm secures investment from Silicon Valley firms Google Ventures and GreycroftChildren’s storytelling startup Lost My Name raised its first $100k of funding in 2014 on TV show Dragon’s Den. Now the London-based firm is turning to Silicon Valley... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For TV shows based on books or comics, fans are a mixed blessing

During a recent talk show chat, "Game of Thrones" actress Maisie Williams revealed she had listened to fans' online opinions when crafting her scrappy Arya Stark character, originally written as a left-handed swordswoman in George R.R. Martin's book series. "The fans are so die-hard; they're... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mixed blessing #originally written #book series


April Bookstore Sales Show Small Gain

Bookstore sales rose 0.6% in April over April 2014, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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La Presse: Inside the $36M Bet Designed to Transform Newspaper Publishing

MONTREAL — If a “death of newspapers” narrative still mires the industry, then here might be a Lazarus story.    It’s hard to avoid such hyperbolic comparisons when talking about La Presse, a 131-year ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nikki Dinki's Star is on the Rise with New Show, Cookbook Deal

St. Martin's has signed signed up Dinki for a cookbook called 'Meat on the Side,' which offers recipes that put “meat in the passenger seat.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook letting more stores ping your phone when you're inside

You might find yourself browsing more than the shelves at your local store, if Facebook knows you’re there. It’s expanding a location-aware program that will let businesses pop information into the top of your news feed. Place Tips lets brick-and-mortar stores send information to people’s News... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Us' to be adapted for BBC

David Nicholls’ Us (Hodder & Stoughton), which was longlisted for last year’s Man Booker Prize, is being adapted into a drama for the BBC. The novel is being adapted by Drama Republic, who recently produced “The Honourable Woman” for BBC2, according to Broadcast.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #david nicholls #hodder stoughton


Inside BookCon: where literature lovers give hope to the industry

The convention’s throngs of teenagers prove there’s still an appetite for reading, raising spirits of publishers who are starting to realize the importance of fandomLast Saturday and Sunday at the Javits Center, on the far western edge of Manhattan, the newly popular book lovers’ convention,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #main stage #mindy kaling #nick offerman #favorite characters


Ex-BBC executive behind Little Britain joins Penguin Random House UK

Caroline Raphael takes up role as head of audio operations at world’s biggest book publisherFormer BBC radio executive Caroline Raphael, who was responsible for Little Britain, The League of Gentlemen and Cabin Pressure, is to join the world’s biggest book publisher as head of audio operations... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cabin pressure #bbc radio


PRH to be global publisher for BBC audio

Penguin Random House UK is to become the global publisher and distributor for all BBC-branded physical and digital audiobooks. The deal signed today with BBC Worldwide extends an agreement signed by Random House Audio and BBC Worldwide in 2013 to sell and distribute BBC audiobooks that had... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #global publisher #digital audiobooks #agreement signed #bbc worldwide


UsVsTh3m's demise shows challenge of making news for Facebook

As news organisations sign up to publish straight to Facebook with Instant Articles, Trinity Mirror’s decision to cull new formats teams shows how social media is changing publishers’ priorities Asked what are my favourite pieces of digital journalism to emerge from newsrooms over the past few... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital journalism #coming back #parliamentary debate #entry point #bbc news #guardian sign


Inside Pedro’s Brain

Michael Silverman is uniquely qualified among Boston sportswriters to assess Pedro Martinez’s fascinating life and career. Just two years into covering the Red Sox for the Boston Herald, Silverman contacted Martinez after he had been traded from the Expos in November 1997. Silverman, without the... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2015-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC to adapt 1992 Mantel novel

The BBC is adapting Hilary Mantel’s novel about the French Revolution, A Place of Greater Safety, following its recent adaptation of her Man Booker Prize-winning Tudor novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies (all Fourth Estate). The 1992 novel tells the story of three young men who were key... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wolf hall #fourth estate #young men #key figures #darker side