The Media Club · 14 June 2024 · 46 min

Manifestos & The (Lack Of) Vision For UK Media

With Jake Kanter, Adam Sherwin, Matt Saywood

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• UK General Election 2024 Media Policy
• BBC Funding and Impartiality
• Evening Standard Weekly Print
• Paramount-Skydance Deal Collapse
• GB News Election Coverage
• Baby Reindeer Legal Issues
• Strictly Come Dancing Controversy
• Podcast Industry Investment

In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by Jake Kanter from Deadline and Adam Sherwin from the i paper to discuss the week's media news. They analyse the UK general election manifestos, noting the lack of bold media policy commitments, and debate the implications for the BBC's funding and the future of GB News. The conversation also covers the Evening Standard's move to a weekly print edition, the collapse of the Paramount-Skydance deal, and the ongoing controversy surrounding Clive Myrie's speaking engagements. The episode includes an interview with Matt Saywood, co-founder of Platform Media, about their recent acquisition by PodX, and a media quiz segment.

Key takeaways

• The UK election manifestos lacked bold media policy commitments, with Labour avoiding specifics on the BBC licence fee.
• The Evening Standard is moving to a weekly print edition, with about two-thirds of editorial staff expected to leave.
• The Paramount-Skydance merger collapsed, leaving Paramount seeking a new buyer.
• GB News has seen reduced influence during the election due to the absence of key presenters like Nigel Farage.
• Platform Media was acquired by PodX, with co-founder Matt Saywood discussing the benefits and challenges.

In this episode

• News Round-up0:00 · Tributes to Michael Mosley, Channel 4 investigation, and Paul Foot Award.
• Clive Myrie Investigation2:00 · Discussion on Clive Myrie's speaking engagements and impartiality.
• Evening Standard Going Weekly8:00 · Analysis of the Evening Standard's decision to go weekly.
• Election Coverage and Manifestos15:00 · Review of election coverage and manifestos' media policies.
• Paramount-Skydance25:00 · Discussion on the collapse of the Paramount-Skydance deal.
• Interview with Matt Saywood30:00 · Interview with Platform Media co-founder about PodX acquisition.
• Baby Reindeer and Strictly40:00 · Legal issues around Baby Reindeer and Strictly controversy.
• Media Quiz50:00 · Quiz segment 'Off the Record'.

Notable quotes

“It's a great big hot mess.”

Jake Kanter · 0:00

“It's kind of like the dog that didn't bark, isn't it?”

Adam Sherwin · 0:00

“I literally can't remember the last time I picked up a copy of the Evening Standard, even though it's presented to me at train stations.”

Jake Kanter · 0:00

“I'm going to do a labour and maintain some constructive ambiguity.”

Jake Kanter · 0:00

Discussed

BBC · Netflix · Paramount · Evening Standard · GB News · Platform Media · PodX

Also mentioned: Clive Myrie · Michael Mosley · Evgeny Lebedev · Shari Redstone · Giovanni Pernice · Amanda Abbington · Will Lewis · Nigel Farage · Jacob Rees-Mogg · Keir Starmer · Rishi Sunak · Richard Gadd · Fiona Harvey · Tim Davie · Naga Munchetty · Matthew Sherry · James Haskell · Mike Tindall · Alex Payne · Simon Jordan · Ed Davey · Jeff Bezos · Huw Edwards · Dick Strawbridge

Mentioned or recommended

• Baby Reindeer · tv show · Richard Gadd
• Strictly Come Dancing · tv show · BBC
• The Crown · tv show · Peter Morgan
• In the Footsteps of Killers · tv show · Channel 4
• Good Bad Rugby · podcast · Platform Media
• Up Front with Simon Jordan · podcast · Platform Media
• Three Up Front · podcast · Platform Media
• The One Show · tv show · BBC
• Good Morning Britain · tv show · ITV
• This Morning · tv show · ITV
• SAS: Who Dares Wins · tv show · Channel 4
• Unscripted · book · James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams
• People Person · tv show · James Acaster
• The Media Podcast · podcast · Rethink Audio