L.A. Welcome U.K.’s Colonialists Tinseltown honored its British population during the last week of April, with its annual Brit Week celebration. For the second year in a row, the festival paid tribute to the contributions of Hollywood transplants from the U.K. Sponsored mainly by U.K.-based Virgin Megastores, the event featured screenings of a variety of films showcasing the immense influence of Britain on American cinema. Anglophiles got their fill of Britishdirected classics at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Egyptian Theater and the Aero Theater, where, among other films, Lawrence of Arabia, City Lights and The Man Who Wasn’t There , were shown. Other festivities included a British comedy festival, a celebrity soccer match hosted by David Beckham’s Galaxy soccer team, and an appearance by rock group Duran Duran. Special “U.K. maps” highlighting Hollywood’s British enclaves and U.K.-owned shops were distributed to tourists. The event organizers hoped the festival served as a reminder of the importance of British creatives in the American entertainment industry. British producers and directors have an impressive history in AmericanTV, with recent credits spanning such hits as Survivor , The Apprentice , Dancing With the Starsand American Idol . Regulators to Bow to Murdoch? As he nears the completion of a deal to acquire Newsday from the Tribune Company, Rupert Murdoch seems poised to pose the first challenge to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recently adopted media ownership rule. Even before the Newsday deal, Murdoch had been in the process of seeking waivers that would allow him to continue to control two newspapers ( The New York Postand The Wall Street Journal ) and two TV stations (WNYW and WWOR) in New York. While those requests are still pending at the FCC, the Newsdaydeal would mean that Murdoch would now have to apply for a waiver to own two stations and three papers — all in the same market. The new rule, which was passed in December of last year, allows a firm to own just one paper and one TV station in the same city in the top 20 markets so long as there are at least eight other independent sources of news and the station is not in the top four. The stations currently under Murdoch’s thumb are the fourth- and sixth-largest in New York. The new deal comes to light at the same time that Congress is taking up a measure that could restore the old ownership rule, which barred companies from owning both a newspaper and a TV station in the same city — unless granted a waiver from the FCC. Under the old rule, Murdoch managed to control two local TV stations through one permanent and one temporary waiver. The renewal of both stations’ licenses has been under review since 2006 and has oft been challenged by groups who oppose the consolidation of media. Murdoch’s News Corp has already joined a host of broadcasters and newspaper companies in a lawsuit that challenges the ownership restrictions as a violation of their First Amendment rights. Industry lobbyists have said that Murdoch would most likely say that his ownership of multiple papers and TV stations would pose no problem in New York since it’s the most diverse media market in the world. But critics say that should News Corp be permitted to control two stations and three newspapers in the same market, it would render the rule meaningless. JU N E 2 0 0 8 Bavaria Media Television is a corporate member of german united distributors Programmvertrieb GmbH. www.bavaria-media.tv THE STORM RAGES ON MEET US AT DISCOP SUITE NO. 326 (Continued from Page 6) Letters to the Editor I enjoyed your article “Arrested Development” at MIP-TV. Excellent reading! Andrew Berman TMS Entertainment, Encino, CA I’ve been hoping to run into something similar to your magazine for years; detailed and professionally written and focusing on the business of film. I don’t get that in Video Business . I feel like I’m reading press releases, which I sort of am. I love the video market and have written about it a bit in the past. I’m currently writing a book on the directto-video industry during the video age, and I’m sure those back issues you have up are going to be a huge help. Greg Conley YourVideoStoreShelf.com, Medford, N.J. Famous Quotes “The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary.” Vidal Sassoon “TV has brought murder back into the home where it belongs.” Alfred Hitchcock
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