July

Television:
An article on Setanta Sports which is battling Sky Sports for viewers (31st July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2138301,00.html . The fact that it has aligned itself with Virgin Media is also significant, being made available free to Virgin’s top cable subscribers as an important asset in their struggle against Sky TV.


Internet:
How food manufacturers are targeting children on the internet after regulator’s clamp-down on TV advertising (31st July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2138123,00.html see also the related story (31st July): http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2138213,00.html


Music:
A survey finds illegal music downloading is at an all-time high (30th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2137465,00.html


Internet / Music:
An article on the availability of rare music footage on Youtube (29th July): http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/story/0,,2137027,00.html


Internet:
Teachers call for Youtube ban over cyber-bullying. A new row breaks out over footage on Youtube showing children fighting … (29th July): http://education.guardian.co.uk/pupilbehaviour/story/0,,2137763,00.html see also this story – ‘Three pupils have been suspended after mobile phone footage of two girls fighting at a school was placed on the YouTube website. A teenage boy is understood to have recorded the incident at Hayling College, Hayling Island, Hampshire, which involved two year 10 girls, and posted it on the website. Headteacher Max Bullough said he was unhappy that YouTube had allowed the footage, which was viewed by more than 1,000 people before it was taken off by the site's regulators. A YouTube spokeswoman said it would remove any inappropriate video that would incite violence' (21st July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2131545,00.html


Internet:
‘The web goes wild’ for the latest Youtube video craze – Philippine jailhouse fitness routines … (28th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2136595,00.html


Television / Video Games:
BSkyB links with Sony to offer a TV download service for PSP users (28th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2136645,00.html


Internet:
BT tightens its grip on the UK broadband market, rising to 3.8m users (27th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2135961,00.html


Video Games:
Why do we have to die in games? (26th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/26/games.guardianweeklytechnologysection


Internet:
Myspace bars thousands of sex offenders found among its members (26th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/26/news.usnews1


Future Technology:
Scientists use imaging technology to capture the formation of a memory in the brain … bringing downloading a step closer? (25th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/jul/25/uknews


Television:
The phone-in scandals continue to affect television. Ofcom criticises broadcasters for their operation of phone lines, on the same day that the BBC admits a series of deceptions in high-profile programmes (19th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2129618,00.html
GMTV’s Managing Director also resigns on the 25th July ‘after admitting viewers had been swindled out of millions of pounds’ (26th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2134645,00.html


Television:
Apart from the phone-in scandals another crisis hits TV as its fakery comes under scrutiny. The crisis was sparked by promotional footage for a new documentary, A Year With the Queen, that had been edited non-chronologically to apparently show the Queen angry about her treatment by photographer Annie Liebovitz and storming out of the shoot. On Wednesday 11th July the BBC 1 Controller Peter Fincham introduced a screening of forthcoming channel highlights that included the footage showing, he said, the Queen ‘in a huff’. By the evening the story had been carried by news channels and Buckingham Palace was forced to respond to the claims about the Queen’s behaviour. The next day the BBC apologised for the editing errors and their own comments, blaming the independent production company RDF that had supplied the tape. See (12th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,2124786,00.html , (13th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2125553,00.html , (14th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,2126166,00.html and (15th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,2126827,00.html .RDF was forced to apologise (16th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,2127800,00.html and the BBC ordered an inquiry into the events (14th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,2126151,00.html See also (21st July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,,2131628,00.html , (20th July) http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2130733,00.html , and (21st July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2131633,00.html

By the end of the month the BBC was also apologising to the Treasury over it’s editing of Newsnight footage (25th July) whilst ITV came under pressure for its editing of an Alzheimer’s documentary apparently ending with the death of the subject (1st August): http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2138932,00.html

More broadly the episode led to much discussion of the practices of fakery on TV and the changes in television culture. Articles on the crisis include ‘In the Dock’ (23rd July) which places the events into the context of the revolution in TV over the last 25 years: http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2132269,00.html whilst others put it into the broader context of TV fakery (23rd July): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2132273,00.html , (17th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2127934,00.html and 21st July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/saturday/story/0,,2131532,00.html


Mobile Phones / Security:
Security researchers claim to have hacked into Apple’s iphone (24th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2133154,00.html see also (26th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/26/guardianweeklytechnologysection.apple


Internet:
‘How Madison Avenue is wasting millions on a deserted Second Life’ – on Second Life’s loss of population? (24th July): http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-08/ff_sheep


Theory/Fiction:
A quick interview with William Gibson in advance of his new book, Spook Country (24th July): http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/15-08/pl_print


Mobile Phones / Music:
An article on Orange and Sony Ericsson’s plans to let mobile phone users download tracks from competing bands in a talent search competition and vote for their favourite (24th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2133116,00.html


Newspapers / Music:
Debate about Prince’s decision to give-away his new CD in The Mail on Sunday. The newspaper’s circulation rose by 600 000 to 2.8m but the real gain was Prince’s. An album that would have struggled to reach a few hundred thousand people in the music market is now in the hands of 2.8m people leading to an elevation of his ‘brand’ for merchandising and touring purposes… A good article on the subject can be found at (23rd July): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2132340,00.html


Internet:
An article about ‘Islamic Rage Boy’ – the Islamic protestor turned into an internet phenomenon by right-wing American bloggers (23rd July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,2132598,00.html


Internet:
An article about the joint CNN-Youtube US Presidential campaign debate to be held that day (23rd July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2132388,00.html . See also Jeff Jarvis’s comments on the debate (30th July): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2137336,00.html and the aftermath (25th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2133895,00.html


Internet:
Microsoft take the lead in promoting a new online privacy code (23rd July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/23/news.microsoft


Internet:
An article on the law-suit against Facebook’s creators and claims they stole their ideas from three fellow Harvard students. The article also includes background information on the development of Facebook (22nd July):
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2132114,00.html


Internet:
Broadband suppliers are now offering laptops to seduce customers away from rivals (20th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2130579,00.html


Internet:
Chinese actor writes the world’s top blog, recording its 100 millionth hit last week (20th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/20/news.newmedia


Future Technology:
A mixed month for A.I. A computer program takes the draughts crown (20th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/20/news.uknews whilst a poker playing computer (23rd July):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2132389,00.html loses to a human (27th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/27/gambling


Radio:
How small web radio stations faces a serious problem after changes in the way royalties are calculated (19th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2129125,00.html


Television/Future Technology:
On developments in 3D TV and its future applications (though the ‘future’ here is also the past, taking us back to peepshows and stereoscopes…) (19th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/19/newmedia.guardianweeklytechnologysection


Surveillance:
A story about how police may be allowed access to traffic camera data recording the movements of each vehicle across the UK (18th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,,2128875,00.html see also the story about police using helmet cameras to record public order incidents (12th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2124282,00.html


Mobile Phones:
02 drops the i-mode mobile internet service in Britain due to low take up and a lack of attractive handsets. 02 spent £10m to advertise the service which only attracted 260 000 active members (17th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2127895,00.html


Internet:
A story about how Facebook pictures led to the blackmail of a US beauty queen, raising fears of teenage internet privacy (16th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2127390,00.html


Music:
An article on the revival of vinyl records (16th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2127345,00.html


Television/Internet:
A report suggests computers and TV are breeding a generation of ‘screen kids’ (16th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/16/news.childrensservices


Internet:
An article on businesses looking for new ways to reach consumers and their own workers through virtual worlds (14th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/14/news.business


Cinema:
Cinema loses audiences to the internet (14th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/14/news.film


Internet:
Spending on internet advertising ‘to double’ over the next 5 years to make up 1/5th of total media budgets by 2012 according to a US research group (13th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/13/news.newmedia


Television:
Sky has attracted 90 000 new customers over the last three months in its battle with Virgin media, raising its subscriber base to 8.58m customers (with estimates of 10m by 2010) (12th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2124093,00.html


Video Games:
On technological problems with the Xbox 360 (12th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/12/businesscomment.games


Music:
After a ruling in Belgium holding an ISP responsible for illegally shared music the question is asked whether ISPs will begin to filter their networks for copyrighted material (12th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/12/guardianweeklytechnologysection.intellectualproperty


Internet:
An article on splogging (see 17th Nov 2005 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/nov/17/newmedia.media ) and attempts to stop it (12th July): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/12/guardianweeklytechnologysection.it


Television / Internet:
Why TV on demand on the net insists you use its chosen browser (12th July): http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2123937,00.html


Security:
The shambles over cyber-crime and poor enforcement of the law online (5th July): http://money.guardian.co.uk/scamsandfraud/story/0,,2118172,00.html


Mobile Phones:
02 expected to clinch deal to distribute iphones in Britain (5th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2118778,00.html


Television:
A short piece about Michael Grade’s attempts to bring about a recovery at ITV (5th July): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2118776,00.html