“I would protect the licence fee and my government would not hold the BBC to ransom over appointments and funding.”

A refreshing tone from new Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy:

To maintain the BBC as an institution, it must be accountable to those who fund it – the British people.”

We’ll watch with interest.

Morning all. It’s Monday 22nd July 2024.

And an extra hello to those journalists hoping for a quiet Sunday shift in the newsroom last night.

All of the below (with perhaps the exception of the Olympics) will be lost in the fallout of President Biden’s historic decision not to seek re-election.

(However as I’d already gone to the trouble to compile the list…)

Monday: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle appears before the House Homeland Security Committee

Tuesday: The Hundred (cricket) begins

Keanu Reeves novel The Book of Elsewhere released

Wednesday: Role reversal at PMQs

Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a controversial address to a joint session of Congress

International Olympic Committee announces 2030 and 2034 hosts

Thursday: Met Office releases State of the UK Climate report

Friday: Opening Ceremony, Paris Olympics

Saturday: V&A’s Taylor Swift exhibition opens

Sunday: Presidential Elections, Venezuela

“Talk to yourself. Talk and record into your phone and listen back. You’ll feel like a banana. But trust me, there is a pressure to interviews, and the muscle memory of having heard yourself say key lines, certain specifics, linking phrases is worth its weight in gold. “

As Part 3 of Year Of The Expert draws to a close, here’s the advice we give in media training sessions that I suspect is ignored above anything else…

LISTEN HERE

“I love the absurd. And election campaigns are festivals of absurdity.”

 Chris Mason, BBC Political Editor

A couple of documentaries take us behind the scenes of election night for two of the big beasts – the BBC and Sky.

The BBC’s programme is disappointingly dull, so I’d start with Sky if I were you.

Watch SKY

Watch BBC

Rupert Murdoch predicts printed newspapers likely have 15 years left, “with a lot of luck.”

“You get on a train, public transport? You see anyone with a paper? You see no one. Now they’re reading all the facts, on their phones.”

READ MORE

After 5 minutes on Twitter yesterday evening, I can confirm Tom speaks for us all…

Footnotes:

After last week’s confession about my addiction to microphone-strewn Iranian pressers, I’m grateful to an eagle-eyed reader for emailing this excellent offering…

In election ratings news…

Female audiences are bearing the brunt of the cuts made by the BBC to the World Service, its outgoing director has warned. READ MORE (fw)

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Coffee? Inside Edge is in London and Brighton this week.

On this day: British Prime Minister John Major launched his Citizen’s Charter to improve public services on this day in 1991.

Weather: Highs of 23 degrees in Derby today and 21 in Bangor.

Mutts: The obligatory dog photo. Leo as a pup…

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge

“That road you want to remain on for as much of the interview as possible has to be an interesting place to live. It needs characters at numbers 32 and 67, it needs life, it needs relevance…”

Visualisation is a really useful technique when it comes to good interview prep. In this latest episode of Year Of The Expert we explore what form it might take.

LISTEN HERE

Good morning. It’s Monday 15th July 2024.

Monday: The Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee – dominated by fallout from the assassination attempt on Donald Trump

Tuesday: Real Madrid unveil Kylian Mbappe at Santiago Bernabeu

Wednesday: State Opening of Parliament

Thursday: Trump speech at the Republican Convention

European Political leaders meet in Oxfordshire

UK Covid-19 inquiry set to publish the first of its reports.

Friday: Jo Swinson and Maya Greene at Post Office Horizon Inquiry

Start of the BBC Proms

Saturday: Pride Glasgow

Sunday: DNC Committee meet to discuss Biden nomination process

Final stage of the Tour De France

“Cocaine smuggled in bananas was intriguing, but the shotgun licence appeal was more sellable…”

A wonderful long read from Sophie Elmhirst on the dying breed of the court reporter. 

READ MORE

“The Queen Of Newsnight”

In all my time at the BBC I never heard a single bad word said against Kirsty Wark. For a presenter who has been in the job for 30 years that is some achievement.

Newsnight’s farewell montage to mark her last programme is superb.

“Turning a great news organization (sic) towards the future is not a one-day affair. It happens in stages and over time.”

We promised to keep you up to date with former BBC DG/New York Times boss Mark Thompson’s efforts to transform CNN.

Well he’s up and running with a set of sweeping changes.

READ MORE

Excellent work (as ever) from Private Eye…

Footnotes:

I’m obsessed with the number of microphones placed in front of Iranian big-hitters at news conferences. This week’s offering…

_____

Farewell to Martha Kearney who presents her final Today Programme on Thursday. Enjoy not setting that 3:30 alarm, Martha.

_____

On this day: Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot dead on the steps of his Miami mansion on this day in 1997.

Weather: Highs of 19 degrees in Brighton today and 21 in Liverpool.

Mutts: The obligatory dog photo. The boys’ lovely mate Holly…

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge

Good morning. It’s Monday 8th July 2024

“It’s the Taylor Swift, the Serena Williams, the Simon Rattle of pre-interview questions. You simply have to ask it.”

For this chapter of Year Of The Expert you can watch as well as listen as we get into the detail of Part 3 – Interview Preparation.

This week…

If you ask one question before saying yes to an interview request, make it this one…

The week ahead:

Monday: Narendra Modi heads to Russia on Monday (July 8) for talks with Vladimir Putin 

Tuesday: Sir Keir’s first week in office sees him off to Washington DC for the NATO Summit

Planned launch of Ariane 6 rocket

Wednesday: England v West Indies first test 

Thursday: Monthly estimate of GDP 

Friday: M25 partial weekend closure 

Wireless Festival 

Sunday: Final of the men’s Euro Championships

Emmanuel Macron attends Bastille Day ceremony in Paris 

Olympic Flame arrives in Paris

Footnotes:

Ronald Biggs – serving a 30-year prison sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery escaped from Wandsworth prison on this day in 1965.

Highs of 21 degrees in Leeds today and 17 in Southampton.

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge

“The lines are so blurred now between media formats.”

For the next two chapters of YOTE you can watch as well as listen as we get into the detail of Part 3 – Interview Preparation.

First up…

What are the crucial questions a producer needs to answer before you agree to undertake the interview? 

Good morning. It’s Monday 1st July 2024. Election Week.

Monday: Day 1 of Wimbledon

Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union

Tuesday: Court hearing in Nigel Farage milkshake case

BMA junior doctor strikes end

Wednesday: First ever Esports World Cup begins

Thursday: General Election

Nathan’s 4th of July hotdog eating contest

Friday: Church of England General Synod



Saturday: First year-long stay ends for NASA’s Mars habitat

Sunday: The all-important second round of France’s snap elections

Footnotes:

The Radio Times asked Rishi Sunak about the TV he enjoys.

This was his reply…

“l’ve recently enjoyed watching Bridgerton with Akshata. I’m always in awe at the talent that we have in this country, and fantastic period dramas like this showcase why this country stands as a creative industries superpower.”

Politicians’ persistent inability to give an answer sounding like something a normal human being would say never ceases to amaze me. 

(Imagine sitting in the pub and coming out with that line.)

___

Hong Kong was handed back to the Chinese authorities – ending more than 150 years of British control on this day in 1997.

Highs of 16 degrees in Scarborough today and 17 in Sunderland.

And finally just time for the obligatory dog photo. Stans seeks some shade…

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge