The Media Show

DMI project; Royal pictures; media ownership; journalists in Egypt

Feb 5, 2014

Former BBC director general Mark Thompson discusses the failed Digital Media Initiative project worth £100m. The ethics of publishing royal pictures in Hello! magazine are debated. The House of Lords proposes Ofcom to handle media ownership decisions. The podcast also touches on journalist arrests in Egypt.

28:14

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Episode guests

Mark Thompson

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Proper governance is crucial in preventing costly failures in technology projects like the BBC's Digital Media Initiative.

Balancing public interest and privacy rights remains a challenge in determining the boundaries for publishing royal family photographs.

Deep dives

Digital Media Initiative: BBC's Costly Failure

The podcast delves into the ill-fated Digital Media Initiative by the BBC, a project written off at a substantial cost to license payers. Senior executives expressed regret and apologized for the shocking waste of money, with public accounts committee chair Margaret Hodge criticizing the bureaucracy and lack of accountability surrounding the project. The discussion highlighted the challenges of technology integration and the need for proper governance to prevent such costly failures.

Introduction

2min

Discussion on the BBC's Failed Digital Media Initiative and Apologies from Executives

2min

Navigating Bureaucratic Challenges in a Complex Project

3min

Media Ownership and Ethical Dilemmas

19min

Detention and Charges in Egypt for Spreading False Reports and Collusion with Terrorists

3min

Former BBC director general Mark Thompson apologised to MPs this week for the failure of the £100m Digital Media Initiative. The project, that was meant to allow BBC staff to create, share and store content in a new digital system, was suspended in 2012. The DMI project is one of a series of controversies at the BBC that has prompted parliamentarians to grill former and current bosses. Steve Hewlett talks to the chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee Margaret Hodge on why she hopes this is the last saga she'll have to investigate at the BBC.

Long lens photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge getting off a plane en route to Mustique with Prince George have appeared on the cover of Hello! magazine. Some say the publication of the photos appears to be at odds with past objections to "private" photographs of members of the royal family taken in public places. So, under what circumstances can pictures of the Royals be published? Steve Hewlett discusses the issue with Max Cisotti, who runs the agency which sold the pictures to Hello!, royal correspondent Robert Jobson, and former palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter.

Communications watchdog Ofcom should have the final say on issues of media ownership rather than the culture secretary. The House of Lords Communications Committee says the watchdog should also carry out regular reviews of the media landscape that would "set the context" for any future decisions. Lord Inglewood, the chair of the committee, joins Steve Hewlett to discuss the findings.

And as protests in take place in Nairobi in support of detained Al-Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste, we speak to the broadcaster's head of newsgathering about the dangers now facing journalists in Egypt.

Producer: Katy Takatsuki.

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The Media Show

DMI project; Royal pictures; media ownership; journalists in Egypt

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Digital Media Initiative: BBC's Costly Failure

Prince George Paparazzi Controversy

Media Plurality and BBC's Role

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts