This blog post was originally published by the AHRC.   After The Fast Show, how does one present jazz on television?

Last year I had the opportunity to spend time researching the women involved in the development of early BBC television, from the experimental years of 1936-1939 and from the relaunch of the service following the end of the war, to the professionalization of the service by the 1950s.

British television re-started after the Second World War on 7 June 1946, with programmes that included adaptations of theatre dramas, and relays of public ceremonies and sporting events. It relied heavily of remediation, Jay Bolter and Richard Grusin’s (1999) concept of remaking or repurposing meanings from one text into another but also the extension of a text across multiple mediums and platforms.

I said it wouldn’t work, didn’t I? Yes, friends, after less than two years in operation, the BBC Store is shutting up shop, having admitted defeat ‘in the face of streaming service rivals’. Way back in November 2015 I blogged about the Store’s launch (I like to keep things current), when Auntie Beeb was proudly trumpeting the fact that over 7,000 hours of content, old and new, would be made available to purchase and view via

In a recent Sight and Sound article (March 3 2017) Nick James made an interesting observation about BBC1’s latest historical/period drama, Taboo (BBC1, 2017, Scott, Hardy et al). Likening its look and characters to an Alan Moore graphic novel (“ From Hell ”), Taboo , according to James, has a “peculiar iconography” that “yearns to be linked…with the shadows…only graphic novelists care

As this goes to press (can we say that about online materials?), series four of Line of Duty is about to commence transmission in its new Sunday evening slot. I must admit I was slow coming to this particular party; when I saw the first series being advertised in a Radio Times feature back in 2012 my response was along the lines of ‘Crivens!

On January 13th 2017, the Greek Council of State published its decision which found that the law on which the Greek government auction for the television licenses was based contravenes Greece’s Constitution. According to the decision, the law, brought by former State Minister Nikos Pappas, was against Article 15 of the Constitution.

The latest season of Sherlock concluded on January 15th in its unfortunately characteristic vein of ill-conceived pyrotechnics, scarcely-credible plot lines and levels of reality that test the patience of its viewers.

Who wants to be Chair of the BBC? As it happens, nobody really. Who wants to be a director of Channel 4? As it happens, Ofcom recommended Althea Efunshile, former deputy chief executive of the Arts Council and a BAME woman.

You are cordially invited to participate in a one-day symposium ‘The Future of Public Service Media in Europe: Freedom, Independence and Media Relations with the State’ , organised by the LSE Department of Media and Communications and supported by the Programme on Modern Poland, Collegium Civitas, the LSE Media Policy Project and Polis.