Inquiry launched after biggest ever credit card heist - from TK Maxx customers (31st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2047193,00.html
Internet:
A great article on advertising's move onto the internet and its implications for newspapers and TV (31st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2047099,00.html
Internet:
'Cheddarvision' webcam becomes internet hit (29th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2044935,00.html
Music:
stars compose new ways to use music... (29th March): http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/story/0,,2044714,00.html
Internet/Print:
Online advertising share overtakes newspapers (28th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2044199,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Ofcom cuts charges for making calls to mobile phones (28th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2044291,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Teens to get free calls ... if they agree to watch ads and leave feedback (26th March):http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2042684,00.html
Mobile Phones:
'Fans sweep away the boundaries': an article on how English cricket fans using mobile phones filmed Freddie Flintoff's misbehaviour in the cricket world cup (26th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2042551,00.html
Internet/Print:
An article on how newspapers and advertisisers are waking up to the power of web video (26th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2042554,00.html
Internet:
Youtube as 'the hustings of the 21st Century'? On the political uses of the site (25th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2042049,00.html
Internet:
Wiki Wars - on Wikipedia cybervandals (25th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2042423,00.html
Internet:
Father of two commits suicide 'live' online in a chatroom (24th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2041700,00.html
Internet:
Singer Tila Tequila attacks Myspace after it forces her to remove elements from her page allowing fans to buy her music (24th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2041728,00.html
Television:
In February-March the UK television industry was hit by a series of revelations about their use of phone lines. Complaints had been rising for a while about the cost of calling the evening interactive quiz channels; about the charges for dialling regardless of whether callers got on; about the channel's apparent claims that they were waiting for callers, and about their bizarre choice of answers to questions that led to increased calls. The phone-in crisis was triggered, however, by revelations that callers to a quiz on the popular 'Richard and Judy' show were being cheated. What follows is a selection of the stories detailing the major developments.
- Channel 4 and Icstis (a telephone watchdog) announce they are investigating the 'Richard and Judy Show' for accepting calls after their competition had closed (17th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2016334,00.html ITV and other companies had turned to premium-rate phone-ins as a means to offset falling ad revenues (8th Aug 2006): http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,,1839218,00.html
- Other stories about the 'Richard and Judy Show' emerge (22nd Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2019143,00.html
- ITV admits it overcharged X Factor fans by £200 000 phoning in to vote in the show (1st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2023614,00.html
- 'Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Take-Away' becomes the latest show to be investigated for phone-in fraud for encouraging calls after the competition had closed (5th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2027159,00.html
- ITV halts phone-in shows for charges review, taking its interactive channel 'ITV Play' off-air and suspending all its premium-rate interactive services (6th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2027454,00.html
- Channel Five follows ITV in pulling all viewer quizzes after reports it had conned viewers. A lunch-time programme made by Endemol subsidiary, Cheetah Television, called 'Brainteaser' admitted the names of some winners were faked and that it had sent on a member of the production team to pose as a winning contestant (9th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2029900,00.html
- 'Phone TV to face tough controls as crisis deepens' article (10th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2030683,00.html
- 'The dark side of TV' article (12th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2031472,00.html
- Channel 4 suspends its racing phone-ins after discovering a 'minor technical problem' led to 100 calls being received after a copmpetition had closed (13th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2032770,00.html
- ITV wins some respite on the same day (13th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2032250,00.html though it announces the end of 'ITV Play' the next day (14th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2033164,00.html
- The BBC's 'Blue Peter' becomes the next to admit wrong-doing, owning up to asking a studio visitor to pose as a phone-in winner after a technical problem lost the calls (15th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2034477,00.html
- Vodafone admits errors for the phone-in voting on ITV's 'Dancing on Ice' show (20th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2038605,00.html
- Ofcom announces an inquiry into premium rate phone-in TV (22nd March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2040293,00.html
- Ofcom turns up the heat on phone quizes after more complaints about quiz show answers ... (27th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2043546,00.html
Internet:
NBC Universal and Murdoch's News Corp (two of the US's leading film and TV companies) announce a new joint venture to create an online video service to rival Youtube. They would use their own content to attract new revenue as advertising moves from film and Tv to the net. In 2006 $410m was spent on online video advertising (23rd March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2040928,00.html
Internet:
An article by Mike Scott of the Waterboys about his failed attempt to correct errors about himself on Wikipedia (23rd March): http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2040025,00.html
DVDs:
An article about public confusion over the next generation DVD formats (22nd March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2040206,00.html
Music:
An article on the music industry's ideas concerning P2P networks and the possibility of making money out of them (22nd March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2040201,00.html
Television:
Ofcom announces a review of the pay-TV market, following the Virgin-Sky row (21st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2038749,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Google joins Apple in race to launch mobile phones in Europe. Both companies are trying to break into the European market, Apple with an 'iphone' and Google with a 'Gphone' (21st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2038761,00.html
Television:
Cumbrian homes prepare to become the first in the UK to have their analogue TV signal switched off (16th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2035588,00.html
New Technology:
A new survey on the digital divide in the UK (16th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2035272,00.html
Mobile Phones:
Forthcoming EU deal to cut mobile phone roaming fees by up to 70% (16th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2035352,00.html
Music:
Fans put up money for band's first album. The band 'Second Person' used the website 'Sellaband.com' to raise £26000 for their first recording (anyone interested in this should look up Marillion's pioneering use of an internet fan base too, though they had a fanbase prior to turning to the net) (15th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2034014,00.html
Internet:
The BBC announces it is ending its £150m online learning service, 'BBC Jam', following complaints from commercial rivals (15th March): http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2034229,00.html
Internet:
Google announces they will erase information on billions of internet searches to secure the privacy of their users (15th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2034172,00.html
Security:
An article on the success of phishing fraudsters using fake bank websites, with losses from online banking fraud up 44% to reach £33.5m in the Uk last year (14th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2033243,00.html
Internet:
Youtube faces $1bn lawsuit from MTV's owner Viacom for alleged breach of copyright (14th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2033297,00.html
Television:
Al Gore brings his user-generated-content 'Current TV' to the UK (13th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2032528,00.html
Internet:
A report on Google's plans to digitise books and put them online (10th March): http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2030832,00.html
New Technology:
Satnav sent driver on the wrong track - A woman who drove on to a railway line after following directions from her satellite navigation system will not face prosecution, British Transport police said yesterday. The unnamed 52-year-old, from Dorking, Surrey, was waiting at a level crossing at Norman's Bay, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, on January 16 when the device told her to turn left. She drove her Ford Fiesta on to the track, blocking train services between Brighton and Hastings. The BTP said a prosecution would not be in the public interest as the woman had made an honest mistake (9th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2029686,00.html
Internet:
Court blocks YouTube access over Ataturk posts - A Turkish court ordered access to YouTube's website to be blocked yesterday, because of videos allegedly insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Over the past week, Turkish media highlighted what some called a "virtual war" between Greeks and Turks on YouTube, with people from both sides posting videos to belittle and berate the other. The newspaper Hurriyet said thousands of people had written to YouTube and that the Ataturk videos had been removed from the site. Insulting Ataturk or "Turkishness" is a crime in Turkey punishable by prison (8th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2028702,00.html
Mobile Phones:
A critical article on mobile phones and their use (8th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2028752,00.html
Internet:
An article on students plagiarising websites for their University applications (8th March): http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2028972,00.html
Internet / Television:
The BBC make a deal with Youtube to make clips of its programmes available and set up branded channels on the site (3rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2025651,00.html
Internet:
The State of Victoria bans Youtube to counter cyber-bullying (2nd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2024696,00.html
