eastenders complaints

The BBC has said sorry to viewers who complained about the Easter holiday episodes of EastEnders in which philanderer Max Branning was buried alive.However, the BBC staunchly defended the storyline and said it had taken "great care" to flag up the nature of the scenes in the advance publicity and pre-programme announcements.The BBC stopped short of a full apology, but said sorry to viewers who "did not enjoy" the EastEnders episodes featuring the buried-alive storyline on Good Friday and Easter Monday.Friday's scene, in which character Branning was put unconscious into a coffin by his wife Tanya and her lover, prompted 167 complaints.Viewers complained that the scene, broadcast just before 8.30pm on BBC1, should not have been shown before the 9pm watershed.Complainants also said it was inappropriate for a soap which is watched by a family audience.The BBC, in a statement on its complaints website today, said it had taken "great care to signal the nature of the content to the audience through pre-programme announcements, billings and programme publicity in order to prepare viewers for what to expect"."Whilst we appreciate that these episodes were dramatic, they were carefully filmed and edited in order that Max's ordeal was in the main implicit, rather than explicit, whilst still retaining their powerfulness. It's also important to note that Max made it out alive after Tanya realised she couldn't go through with her plan to leave him for dead," the BBC added."The burial is in no way glamorised or glorified, rather we see that when pushed to the edge, Tanya's behaviour becomes out of character, and indeed that it's Tanya herself who ultimately suffers because of her actions. Once again we are sorry that you did not enjoy these episodes."Friday's controversial episode featured Tanya, played by Jo Joyner, spiking Max's drink before driving him into Epping Forest with her lover, Sean Slater. Max, played by Jake Wood, was then buried alive in a coffin before later regaining consciousness.In its response to last Friday's episode, the BBC said: "Regular viewers will be aware that for some weeks now Tanya has been plotting her revenge against Max for his affair with Stacey, whilst at the same time lulling Max into a false sense of security, and convincing him that she has put the affair behind them."We believe the audience will have been expecting the culmination of these past few weeks to bring something particularly dramatic. Having been outsmarted by Max when she tried to deal with his adultery through the divorce courts, Tanya feels she has no option but to exact her own revenge."Given the story so far, Tanya's mode of revenge is entirely apposite; in an episode which transmitted last year, we saw Max confide in Tanya that when he was a child Jim had punished him for hanging around with some boys he disapproved of by shutting him alive in a coffin. It's an experience that clearly scarred him, and therefore - in Tanya's mind - an ideal way to wreak revenge on her husband."But one viewer said: "I know Max did a lot of horrible things, but that as a story line of getting buried alive was very inappropriate for a soap."Guardian TV critic Nancy Banks-Smith, in her review of the following episode, broadcast on Monday, commented: "Complaints to the BBC seem to be along the lines of it's-not-very-nice-to-bury-someone-alive-before-the-watershed-is-it? Personally, I think the director general should be walking to Canterbury with dried peas in his shoes."EastEnders was censured by Ofcom last month for an episode showing a gang attack the Queen Vic pub in which one of the characters went into premature labour.The media regulator said the soap had shown "sustained violence, intimidation and menace" inappropriate for a pre-watershed audience in the scene.

eastenders complaints

The BBC has said sorry to viewers who complained about the Easter holiday episodes of EastEnders in which philanderer Max Branning was buried alive.However, the BBC staunchly defended the storyline and said it had taken "great care" to flag up the nature of the scenes in the advance publicity and pre-programme announcements.The BBC stopped short of a full apology, but said sorry to viewers who "did not enjoy" the EastEnders episodes featuring the buried-alive storyline on Good Friday and Easter Monday.Friday's scene, in which character Branning was put unconscious into a coffin by his wife Tanya and her lover, prompted 167 complaints.Viewers complained that the scene, broadcast just before 8.30pm on BBC1, should not have been shown before the 9pm watershed.Complainants also said it was inappropriate for a soap which is watched by a family audience.The BBC, in a statement on its complaints website today, said it had taken "great care to signal the nature of the content to the audience through pre-programme announcements, billings and programme publicity in order to prepare viewers for what to expect"."Whilst we appreciate that these episodes were dramatic, they were carefully filmed and edited in order that Max's ordeal was in the main implicit, rather than explicit, whilst still retaining their powerfulness. It's also important to note that Max made it out alive after Tanya realised she couldn't go through with her plan to leave him for dead," the BBC added."The burial is in no way glamorised or glorified, rather we see that when pushed to the edge, Tanya's behaviour becomes out of character, and indeed that it's Tanya herself who ultimately suffers because of her actions. Once again we are sorry that you did not enjoy these episodes."Friday's controversial episode featured Tanya, played by Jo Joyner, spiking Max's drink before driving him into Epping Forest with her lover, Sean Slater. Max, played by Jake Wood, was then buried alive in a coffin before later regaining consciousness.In its response to last Friday's episode, the BBC said: "Regular viewers will be aware that for some weeks now Tanya has been plotting her revenge against Max for his affair with Stacey, whilst at the same time lulling Max into a false sense of security, and convincing him that she has put the affair behind them."We believe the audience will have been expecting the culmination of these past few weeks to bring something particularly dramatic. Having been outsmarted by Max when she tried to deal with his adultery through the divorce courts, Tanya feels she has no option but to exact her own revenge."Given the story so far, Tanya's mode of revenge is entirely apposite; in an episode which transmitted last year, we saw Max confide in Tanya that when he was a child Jim had punished him for hanging around with some boys he disapproved of by shutting him alive in a coffin. It's an experience that clearly scarred him, and therefore - in Tanya's mind - an ideal way to wreak revenge on her husband."But one viewer said: "I know Max did a lot of horrible things, but that as a story line of getting buried alive was very inappropriate for a soap."Guardian TV critic Nancy Banks-Smith, in her review of the following episode, broadcast on Monday, commented: "Complaints to the BBC seem to be along the lines of it's-not-very-nice-to-bury-someone-alive-before-the-watershed-is-it? Personally, I think the director general should be walking to Canterbury with dried peas in his shoes."EastEnders was censured by Ofcom last month for an episode showing a gang attack the Queen Vic pub in which one of the characters went into premature labour.The media regulator said the soap had shown "sustained violence, intimidation and menace" inappropriate for a pre-watershed audience in the scene.

Ban junk food advertising on internet, say campaigners

Food and drink companies should be banned from marketing unhealthy snacks and drinks to young children via new media such as social networking sites and text messaging, a coalition of international consumer groups and health bodies recommends today.

The group is urging governments to adopt a code that they say would curb the rising obesity rates among children. The code would restrict junk food marketing, including outlawing the use of cartoon characters, celebrity tie-ins, free gifts and competitions aimed at younger audiences.
The federation of consumer organisations - including the UK group Which? - wants its code to be adopted by governments as part of the World Health Organisation's broader strategy to tackle obesity and diet-related disease.

There are 177 million children worldwide threatened by obesity-related diseases. The code, which will be recommended to the WHO's decision-making body, the World Health Assembly in May, tackles the failures of the food industry to regulate itself.

Leading food, soft drink and confectionery companies spent $13bn (about £6.4bn) on advertising in 2006, the coalition says. But that excludes undisclosed sums spent on things as online games, cartoon characters and celebrity tie-ins.

Some of the world's leading food manufacturers market to children on social networking websites and internet chat programmes.

In the UK, popular brands such as McDonald's, Starburst, Haribo and Skittles have switched to the internet to target children since new rules from the media regulator Ofcom have made it difficult to advertise during children's television.

The proposed code specifically targets the marketing of foods that are poor in nutrients and high in fat, sugar and salt.

It also demands a ban on radio or TV adverts promoting unhealthy food between 6am and 9pm, any promotion of unhealthy food in schools, and the inclusion of free gifts, toys or collectable items which appeal to children to promote unhealthy foods.

Sue Davies, chief policy officer of Which? UK, said: "With rising rates of obesity and diet-related disease escalating globally, food companies need to take a more responsible approach to the way they market their foods to children, whichever part of the world they are trading in. This new code sets out the approach that we hope the WHO, national governments and the companies themselves will adopt to curb unhealthy food promotions and instead help to promote healthier messages."

The code is being launched worldwide today to mark World Consumer Rights Day. Over 50 national consumer groups will be undertaking campaign activities to highlight the damage done by junk food marketing and to urge government ministers to support the code ahead of the World Health Assembly.

Cosmo website to get glossy makeover

Cosmopolitan.co.uk: aiming to attract 500,000 unique users a month
The National Magazine Company is to relaunch Cosmopolitan magazine's website with a host of new features, including online video service Cosmo TV, with the aim of tripling visitor numbers within a year.
Cosmopolitan's online relaunch is earmarked for April 1, although it is expected that a "soft" version of cosmopolitan.co.uk will go live later this month.
The Cosmo website currently attracts around 176,000 unique users each month and the goal of the new-look website is to attract 500,000 within a year of relaunch.
A key development will be the launch of an online video channel, featuring a mixture of clips from "red carpet" events and shows as well as video made in-house by NatMags.
Duncan Edwards, the chief executive of NatMags, said that most of the content on Cosmo TV would be made in-house - including "How to…" videos such as a hair and makeup masterclass with Cosmopolitan staff. Some video content will also be acquired or licensed.
Edwards added that NatMags had looked at getting content from a third party such as VideoJug, but had decided to build its own capability in this area.
A key aim of the relaunch is to combine a better experience for readers as well as providing advertisers with new opportunities.
Cosmo TV will open the door for Hearst Digital, the new media arm of Nat Mags, to sell a range of premium-priced advertising around videos.
Stuart Flint, the Hearst Digital sales director, said that the company would offer ad options around Cosmo TV content including sponsorship, pre-roll ads, ad-funded programming for the service and, in the future, in-video ads.
The website will have a range of channels, which are also open for sponsorship, including Love and Sex, Men, Your Life and Fashion and Style.
Cosmopolitan.co.uk will also be developed to use technology platform provider Pluck to ramp up community elements including blogging and uploading user-generated content.
Following the relaunch of Cosmopolitan.co.uk, Hearst Digital will set about ramping up Allaboutyou.com, the portal for content from magazine titles House Beautiful, Coast, Prima, Good Housekeeping, Country Living and She.

FILM TRAILERS

Psycho Trailer (1960) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTkrSlsNfxQ&feature=related

It is a horror film trailer, it exists to promote the film to its audience, it is vital that the trailer is good so the audience are attracted to the film and want to go watch the film.

M the music is very slow at the beggining and then during the trailer as the narrative develops the music begins to go more faster and becomes more dramatic- the effect of this is that it then is clear what the genre of the film is.
Also there is no voice over in the trailer, writing appears from time to time and diolouge is mostly used. the trailer thus leaves the audience to make their own interpretation of what is happening. also as the diolouge cuts off many times it leaves the audience curous of what may happen next thus may attract them to watch the film.
The shots tend to begin off slow but then over time they go faster building up the tension.
The ending is significantly disturbing, the woman is screaming which is alarming for the audience. this is therefore what the audience would potentially remember the most.
'Psycho' appears right at the end, which is also memorable, it appears in the colour red which connotes, danger, blood and violence.


I 'Alfred Hitchcock presents' it appears that he is imporatant for it to be shown central to the film trailer. He was known particularly for as being a highly influential director and producer.

G the genre is horror, this is recognised by the music, the characters expressions, the diolouge, murder that happens and the screaming.

R It is interesting too see how the woman is the victim and the man is the killer and the pyscho
also how the old woman is seen to be the murderer in the trailer when it is really not the woman.

A the audience would be those who are familiar with Hitchcock's work and are fans. Also those whom enjot the horror genre.

I the woman is shown as the victim and the men in control and power. when the woman is stabbed with a knife that could be seena s a phallic symbol. The voice over also appears to be significant as it is of a man.

N is in chronological order, this therefore does not confuce the audience also it helps bulid up the tension.

Halloween Trailer (2007) :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kww5KSqzV9U

M

fast montage
voice over
it has text and a voice over of a man ...
dark mise on scene
mintage at the beggining
it has a striking ending after holloween a

I

institution appeasr foirst emphasising its importance

G

horror- the continous reminder of the man in the mask...reinforces the genre, the screamiong also

R

the voiceover is of a male, suggesting patriachal idealogies

when a young woman is shown her legs are shown also. #

A

are likely to be teenagers

ESSAY:

Film trailers, Psycho (1960) and Halloween (2007) both show similarities and differences, both being of the same genre consist of generic conventions to establish the horror genre however there time differences in which they were made shows significant changes.

Ultimately Psycho appears to be a subtle horror trailer in comparison to Halloween. The string music contributes to the intensity the audience feel as they watch the trailer. As the trailer develops the music also tends to and ultimately leads the end when the title of the film appears. The title appearing at the end remains particularly significant as it remains memorable to the audience. ‘Psycho’ actually appears in the colour red which connotes blood, violence and death, which is appropriate to the film. Alternatively Halloween consists of sounds at the beginning, which is then followed by a heart beat which engages its audience as though something intense shocking would happen. The music then develops and helps emphasises what goes on onscreen. Furthermore it them becomes silent when towards the end when the title appears in green, initially green connotes gruesome and slime suggesting the film would be brutal.

There is no voice over in the trailer of Psycho and it only consists of text and dialogue from the film this therefore allows the audience to interpret what is on screen themselves, and allowing them to concentrate more. Also as at times the dialogue cuts off it leaves the audience curious to what may happen next thus this fulfils the trailers objectives of attracting the audience to watch the film. Halloween however consists of dialogue and text which essentially reinforces what it says and also brings the audience’s attention. The voice over in Halloween is a deep voice of a man’s suggesting patriarchal ideologies. In addition in the representation of women within the trailer is shown as weak and victims, as they are the ones shown to be attacked. Also there is one particular shot showing young girls legs which seems unnecessary. Psycho is also guilty of this as the woman is the victim and the man is ultimately the one in power. It is also interesting that in the trailer the ‘mother’ is seen as the psycho when all along it was the man.

The edits in Psycho begin of slow which contributes to its intensity, then the edits begin to develop and go faster and faster which eventually leads to the disturbing sounds the audience witness. The woman screaming is alarming and distressing for the audience and it being the last scene is memorable. The audience thus want a proper conclusion as the end does not provide them closure; ultimately they would then go watch the film. Halloween also finishes its trailer with similar intensions. The title of the film appears slowly and then a scene reappears slowly which then shocks the audience with the character screaming and the pace of the edits being extremely fast. Alfred Hitchcock was known particularly for being a highly influential director and producer thus the trailer does not consist of his name perhaps as he was so established that he felt it was not necessary. Halloween’s trailer however consists of the institution appearing first which emphasises its importance to the film and how much the film relies on its institution to promote the film. The narrative in the trailer Psycho appears in chronological order thus the audience easily follow it all the way through as it builds up. In Halloween however the narrative id not in any particular order and the trailer is shown as a montage with quick clips from the film. Between clips however the trailer consists of an emphasis on the man with the mask which reinforces the genre of the film.

Both trailers consist of a dark atmosphere which is typical conventions of the genre. Psycho consists of a particularly isolated area with emphasises on the dark mysterious house on the hill. It seems appropriate at the time of when it was made as gruesome scenes were not allowed to be shown thus typical conventions of the horror genre had to be emphasised as a reminder to the audience. Halloween being made recently in 2007 obviously had different intentions, as more brutality and extreme horror is more accepted the film is set in more of a ‘normal’ area, which may not seem to be particularly scary. The actually narrative therefore compensates for it. The audience of the film are most likely to be teenagers and the trailer consists of teenagers. The shot showing the young woman’s legs suggests perhaps an audience of young men. Psycho’s audience is most likely to be Alfred Hitchcock’s fans, those whom at the time understood his intentions as an artist.

Phone-in scandal hits ITV profits

ITV lost £58m from the call-TV crisis last year, as tumbling revenues from premium-rate services contributed to a 5% decline in revenues and a 35% slide in pre-tax profits.
The broadcaster today reported revenues of £2.08bn in 2007, down 5% on £2.18bn the year before, while profits before tax were £188m, 35% down on the £288m recorded in 2006.
The company said revenues from premium-rate services - including the now discontinued ITV Play channel and late-night strand - were down by £58m.
Last year ITV uncovered a number of incidents where viewers had been misled by programmes involving call-TV and is now co-operating with an investigation by media watchdog Ofcom.
"Such incidents for the most part appeared to stem from misguided editorial judgments taken with a view to maximising viewer enjoyment, not from any desire to maximise PRS revenues," the ITV executive chairman, Michael Grade, said today.
"Nonetheless we let our viewers down and that is inexcusable."
He said the board's remuneration committee of the board had "taken account of PRS issues" in calculating the annual bonuses awarded to the executive team.
Another area in which ITV reported declining revenues was in the content division, where revenues were down £37m.
Net advertising revenue - ITV's main revenue stream - held steady at £1.49bn, while revenues from the company's digital channels rose by 33% to £209m.
Ad revenues are estimated to be up 1.9% for the first quarter of 2008, the company added.

Ryanair gets easyJet ad banned

An ad campaign by easyJet promising the lowest price flights has been banned by the advertising regulator after a complaint from rival low-cost airline Ryanair.
EasyJet ran a series of four internet banner ads and a press ad promoting a range of cheap summer fares.
Within the ads it said that consumers would receive a refund doubling the difference in price if they could find a better deal elsewhere.
However, in the terms and conditions easyJet stipulated that a range of restrictions applied to its cheapest price offer.
These included the stipulation that comparisons could only be made with fares from rivals with flights from the same departure and destination airport within an hour of easyJet's own scheduled services.
Ryanair lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority objecting that there were too many restrictions around easyJet's cheapest fare offer for customers to be able to find comparable flights with competitors.
The rival airline said that the hefty level of restrictions meant that the ads were therefore misleading.
In its ruling the ASA said that the ads implied that the "double the difference" refund offer was easy to obtain when it in reality "very restricting terms and conditions suggested it was not".
The ASA ruled that the ads should not be shown again.
Ryanair has had a tempestuous relationship with the advertising watchdog when decisions have gone against it - such as over the recent Britney ad - but seems to have no qualms using the system to attack rival's ad campaigns.
The ASA recently upheld another complaint made by Ryanair over an ad campaign run by rival Jet2.com.