Tag Archives: Channel 4

Site changes at Sky News and Channel 4 sites

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This week has seen some changes over on the Sky News and Channel 4 sites (follow links below to see the changes):

Sky news blog pages:

  • A facelift on the blog home and other pages.
  • Two new buttons on the blogs page: ‘Our Blogs’ and ‘Your Blogs’.
  • Tags so you can display all the blogs on the same subject.
  • A section in ‘Your Blogs’ where Sky News suggests subjects that users might want to blog about it (e.g Obama and the recession) which users don’t have to obey, but if they do, they will get more chance of being linked from the main page of the website.

Channel 4:

Guardian: Channel 4 ponders move into regional news

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Channel 4 is mulling over the a possible move into the gap in regional news broadcasting left by the retreat of ITV services.

The broadcaster is in discussion with Ofcom and ITV about investing funds in regional news services and infrastructure – a move which could strengthen its public service broadcasting hand.

ITN to provide archive video footage for Al Jazeera

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ITN Source has signed a ‘six figure’ deal with Al Jazeera to make 800,000 hours of archived video content available to the broadcaster, a press release has said.

The network and production companies making programmes for Al Jazeera will have access to footage from Channel 4, Reuters, Granada and ITN as part of the deal.

The agreement covers both transmission on the Al Jazeera Network and through online outlets, including its YouTube channel, for five years.

PA : Dispatches reporter Sean Langan released by Taliban

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Sean Langan, a freelance journalist kidnapped by the Taliban three months ago, has been freed.

Langan, who was working on a Channel 4 Dispatches programme, was taken on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He was released on Saturday night.

Channel 4 News to liveblog terror debate

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Channel 4 News is set to use liveblogging service CoveritLive to report on today’s House of Commons debate on the proposed 42-day pre-charge detention period for terrorism suspects.

Terror Blog Live! will cover the debate, which will begin after Prime Minister’s questions, and continue the coverage during the show’s 7pm bulletin after the plans have been voted on.

Questions submitted by readers through CoveritLive will then be put to the programme’s studio guests.

Channel 4 News embeds video in news stories

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Channel 4 has overhauled its online video offering by embedding clips from its programming in news articles across the site.

Clips and interviews from the evening news programme, News at Noon show and More 4 News will be embedded and available in a separate pop-up window. And, even better, the code for the footage is available so it can be embedded elsewhere.

As part of the changes to video on the site, a new seven-day catch-up service for Channel 4’s news programming has also been launched. The Watch It Again player is hosted by Brightcove.

PPA Magazines 2008: Channel 4’s Big Art Mob

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Adam Gee, commisioning editor for Channel 4‘s new media factual division, has explained the broadcaster’s Big Art Mob project to delegates at the PPA’s annual conference.

According to Gee the project is the first catalogue of public artworks ever collated and the first use of moblogging on this scale by a broadcaster in the UK.

The project asks users to submit photos of public artworks. These, alongside art projects from the Big Art Mob, are mapped (see below).

Screenshot of Channel 4’s Big Art Map

The site also pulls together bloggers from the mob and galleries of the artworks and has its own mobile site.

The map and feed showing live updates from the site’s users allow Channel 4 to see where and what they’re community are talking about, says Gee.

The site is entirely self-moderated, says Gee, and in the past 12 months has had only two ‘dodgy’ postings.

Channel 4 news using Twitter for behind-the-scenes coverage

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The Channel 4 news team is making good use of microblogging service Twitter setting up two accounts: one for news about the programme as it goes to air; the other filled with titbits by the newsroom’s blogger.

Screenshot of a tweet from the Channel 4 newsroom blogger

I’m yet to test how responsive they are to followers, but still this is a good example of using Twitter for more than pushing out your news feeds. By having two accounts the newsroom can better distinguish the kind of content they will publish on each, which is good for those following too.

UPDATE – good thing: @channel4news isn’t a one-way street and will happily respond to followers.

Bad thing: Between cowbite.org and us, we may have outed them… don’t let the tweets stop.

Screenshot of Twitter response from @channel4news to @lauraoliver

MediaGuardian Radio Reborn 2008: What’s the future for Channel 4’s digital radio?

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The future of Channel 4‘s digital radio prospect was on the table at today’s Radio Reborn conference, prompting some cagey answers from Natalie Schwarz, chair of the 4 Digital group over their ongoing discussions with Ofcom.

In the clip below Matt Wells, head of audio at the Guardian, challenges Schwarz’s comments:

[audio:http://www.journalism.co.uk/sounds/dab.mp3]

Speaking from the audience, Ofcom’s director of radio and multimedia Peter Davies did concede that Channel 4 had not asked for an extension to the launch date of Channel 4 Digital.