Week commencing 11th February 2008
 Lenny Henry has lambasted the TV industry for its failure to improve the ethnic mix of production crews and the contuining lack of mainstream entertainment shows fronted by black and Asian talent. In a speech to the Royal Television Society, the comedian said that with the exception of children's TV and news, ethnic minorities were "pitifully underserved" by today's mainstream shows. He went on to criticise comedy commissioners for not heading out to black comedy nights at venues such as London's Hackney Empire to discover the next generation of TV comedy stars. Source: Broadcast
 After a poor month in December, national newspapers have bounced back in January, with The Independent, The Sun and The Guardian all reporting impressive circulation rises, according to the latest ABCs. The Independent shed its December blues with a circulation rise of 9.74% month on month to 250,641 copies in January. Its six-month average remains down however by 5.83% to 240,595 copies. The Guardian also experienced a dramatic increase in sales from December to January and was up by 7.06% month on month to 378,394 copies. However its six-month average was down 4.21% year on year to 362,299 copies. Its quality sector rival The Times, which had a two-week children's DVD giveaway, also performed well during January. Its circulation was up by 2.99% month on month to 633,718 copies but its six-month average was down by 3.78% to 637,595 copies. The Daily Telegraph's circulation rose by 1.90% to 890,086 copies in January and its six-month average was down by just 1.91% year on year to 884,542 copies. Source: BrandRepublic
Bauer Consumer Media, formerly Emap Consumer Media, has suspended publication of NW, previously New Woman, and First. Bauer Consumer Media made the announcement in a statement from Marcus Rich, group managing director Bauer Advertising and Bauer London Lifestyle Magazines. The magazines have been suspended and Bauer said it would now enter into a month-long period of consultation with editorial staff. Source: BrandRepublic
 Newly licensed commercial radio stations serving a population of 250,000 people or under will be allowed to request a change of format for co-location purposes before they even start broadcasting, Ofcom have announced. New guidelines say any station with under a 250,000 TSA, including those yet-to-launch are likely to have a co-location request approved on a sub-regional basis. This will give smaller stations the green light to save costs by basing themselves outside of their broadcast area with sister stations. Ofcom's proposals on local content for commercial stations published in November have also now come into effect. The new rules mean FM local radio stations should broadcast at least ten hours of locally made programmes each weekday during daytime (including breakfast) and at least four hours at weekends. In addition, AM stations should provide at least four hours of locally made programming every day of the week. Stations based in the nations (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) will be required to provide a further six weekday hours of programming from their home nation. Source: brad intelligence
 JCDecaux has unveiled plans to launch 20 new digital roadside billboards across central London. The PrimeTime billboards, using LED technology, will be in place by 24th March, measuring 6m wide by 3m high. The billboards will offer the same high definition, full-colour display that is used for the firm's JCDecaux Torch solution. Source: Media Week
 Mobile operators 3 and O2 have struck a landmark agreement to merge the pair's social network. A new mobile social network, EWyeVibe, will succeed 3's SeeMeTV and O2's LookAtMeTV, from the end of this month, when the two operators have finished testing the service. Source: MediaWeek
 Cinema advertising is three-times more cost effective than TV, according to research from the Cinema Advertising Association. It also has either times more impact than TV advertising recall, said the CAA. Source: Marketing Week
Edited by Ed Hockey
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