This is a selection of articles by Ian Richardson of Richardson Media Ltd. All are covered by copyright. Written permission is required from Richardson Media Services Ltd before any of these articles can be reproducted in part or in full.
Should BBC Arabic TV be revived?
A decade ago Ian Richardson was running the BBC's first ill-fated Arabic
television newsroom. He still bears the scars and wonders whether the
plan to revive the channel is a good idea.
The failed dream that led to Al
Jazeera
Sunday, 21 April, 1996, is a date that will forever be burnt into my
memory and the memories of the 150 or so former staff of BBC Arabic
Television. It was the day that I killed off, at just over an hour's
notice, my baby: a television service launched with high hopes and, given
a fair wind, one that could have brought about sweeping changes in the
media in the Arab world.
Arabic TV "monster"
The BBC loves celebrating an anniversary. But there are exceptions, and
one of these is the anniversary of the closure of the corporation's ill-fated
Arabic TV channel - a project that the corporation would dearly love to
forget.
Being true to "our boys"
There was a time - indeed, it could be argued that it is still with us
on
US television networks - when war correspondents understood what was
expected of them. They were not there as entirely detached observers,
though some did their best to be.
Television's Golden Age?
There are some broadcasting types who are convinced that nothing is ever
as good as it used to be. To them the past was brilliant and the present
and future are crap. They are what might be termed people from a Golden
Age.
Your website - from Heaven or Hell?
Imagine this, if you will. You walk up to a department store called
- shall we say - Inter+Net Universal Superstores Ltd. It doesn't look
much, but you go inside anyway. There is no proper sign-posting, and you
can't find an information desk, nor any staff.
By gum, it's another bloody eucalypt!
Let's get
one thing straight, right away: I am an Australian and I love eucalyptus
trees. But not in Britain!
BBC: How to save the World
Britain likes
to boast that it punches above its weight, diplomatically, politically
and now, once again, economically. Ever since WW2, it has also punched
above its weight as an international broadcaster. The two success stories
are connected.
This is the BBC - loud and clear and in French
There is a new revolution
going on in Africa. Yes, it's the BBC World Service in French - and being
heard in studio-quality FM, rather than the notorious crackle-and-fade
shortwave frequencies.
John Tusa and the "Save
the World Service" campaign
Three former World Service Managing-Directors have made a renewed attack
on the breakup of the BBC's World Service, calling for the changes to
be reversed. Once again, John Tusa, Managing-Director from 1986-1992.
Birt's
strike against World Service
You've got to hand it to Sir John Birt. He knows exactly when to strike:
just when everyone least expects it and just when they can do little or
nothing about it.
Bon jour! This is London calling
It is reasonable to assume that if you were one of the 160 million people
living in the 20 or so countries of Francophone Africa you would get most
of your news from a dreary state-controlled local radio network or from
Radio France International (RFI). Not so.
Book Review: An analysis of war reporting --
or pretentious nonsense?
Anyone who pays good money for a non-fiction book has a right to expect
that they will be informed, intellectually challenged and entertained
-- and that the author, specially when that author is a professor at a
top American university, should stick to points roughly pertinent to the
title.
Book Review: Who Stole the News?
Mort Rosenblum is a Special
Correspondent for the Associated Press in Paris. He is also very, very
angry. At times, reading his book is like standing in front of a blast
furnace fuelled by the trash of journalism and the broken promises of
politicians.
Is
broadcast news now a girls' game?
Back in the old days - a couple of decades ago - it would have been possible
to enter a radio or television newsroom and see that everyone knew their
place. The men would be in charge, of course, taking all the tough, courageous
decisions and doing all the robust reporting assignments.
BBC:
Bush House Diary
For most of this year my life is being dominated by the commitment to
launch an Arabic-language satellite television channel for BBC World Service
Television and its commercial partners, Orbit Communications.
Obituaries:
Rena M. Wood
The entertaining and inspirational life and times of an Australian provincial
newspaper proprietor, craftswoman and enthusiast.
Obituary: Desmond Tocchini (The Amazing
Ronricco)
By day, he was Des Tocchini, the amiable 3BO radio announcer with the
rich and comforting voice. By night, he confidently strode the stages
of packed theatres across Victoria, Australia, as The Amazing Ronricco,
Hypnotist & Mentalist.
Obituary: Johan "John" Fleming Ramsland
None of the tens of millions of viewers watching BBC World, the BBC's
television equivalent of World Service Radio, would have had the faintest
clue that the Editor of this most-British television service was an Australian.
Getting the best from your local media
Establishing a
rapport with the news media can take time. This is especially so if you
have been getting what is considered "a bad press" in the past.
A free guide to charities and community groups wishing to improve their
relations with their local media.