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The Media Show

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

This is the programme about a revolution in media.

Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.

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The Media Show: 08/06/2011

08/06/2011

BBC Radio 4 - The Media Show, 08/06/2011

C4 images 'too gruesome' to broadcast; paying for Local TV; Caryn Mandabach on comedy.

Channel 4 screens what it calls 'probably the most horrific images it has ever shown'; Jeremy Hunt's Local TV plans struggle for funding; comedy producer Caryn Mandabach.

Channel 4 is to screen what it calls "probably the most horrific images it has ever shown" and which, last year, it said were too gruesome to transmit. They are part of a documentary on the final days of the Sri Lankan army's battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, shown last week at the UN Human Rights Council. The UN special rapporteur says the images are prima facie evidence of war crimes, something the Sri Lankan government strongly refutes, saying the videos are not authentic. C4's head of news and current affairs, Dorothy Byrne, explains the decision to broadcast and, with Prof Richard Tait of Cardiff University, discusses the value and risks of showing death on screen.

The Financial Times reports that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt's plans for Local TV may be facing a further setback, with claims that commercial TV companies have rebuffed his requests for funding. The FT's Ben Fenton joins Steve Hewlett in the studio with an update on this and on the NewsCorp BSkyB bid.

Caryn Mandabach was one of the key people behind a string of comedy hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "Roseanne", "The Cosby Show" and "3rd Rock from the Sun". Tonight, she's launching "In with the Flynns" on BBC1, a UK version of one of another of her US shows, "Grounded for Life". How confident can she be that a US comedy format can work in the UK?

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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