Great British Bake Off proves ratings winner for Channel 4

The Great British Bake Off attracted about 6.5 million viewers on Tuesday night, giving Channel 4 its biggest ratings success since the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games.  The show’s average of 6.5 million viewers in its 8pm slot gave it a 30.4% audience share. It peaked at 7.7 million and a 34.6% share. While the figure immediately makes it Channel 4’s most popular programme, it is significantly down on its BBC1 audience, which averaged more than 10 million.  The episode was the first to be shown on Channel 4 since it paid £75m to take the show away from the BBC, which aired the first seven series.
The Guardian, 30/8/2017
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Hate crimes: Online abuse ‘as serious as face-to-face’

Online hate crimes should be treated as seriously as abuse committed face-to-face, prosecutors in England and Wales have been told.  Revising its guidance for prosecutors, the Crown Prosecution Service said the impact of tweeting abuse can be as “equally devastating” as shouting it.  The guidance includes offences against bisexual people for the first time.  Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said online abuse can fuel “dangerous hostility”.  A hate crime is an offence motivated by a “hostility or prejudice”, including racism, sexism or homophobia.
BBC News, 21/8/17
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‘I quit TV because it was too trashy’ says former Big Brother and Gladiators star Ulrika Jonsson

Ulrika Jonsson says she took a step back from TV presenting because there were too many “trashy shows” on the box.  And she reckons that “everyone on social media” thought they could do her job.  The presenter – who appeared on programmes such as TV-am, Gladiators, Shooting Stars and Celebrity Big Brother in the past – decided to ditch telly to become a stay-at-home mum.  Jonsson, 50, told Hello! magazine: “I didn’t understand it any more and wasn’t sure I wanted to be part of it.
The Daily Record (21/8/17)
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Data Protection Bill: How will the new laws affect you?

The Government has announced new laws that will grant people more control over how others use their personal data.  The new Data Protection Bill is designed to sign European privacy rules into British law, as well as update the existing Data Protection Act which has not changed since 1998.  Included in the reforms are a “right to be forgotten” that will allow individuals to ask companies including social media firms for their data to be erased.
The Telegraph, 7/8/2017
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Children consuming online time ‘like junk food’

Parents must intervene to stop their children overusing social media and consuming time online “like junk food”, the children’s commissioner has said.  In an interview with the Observer, Anne Longfield criticised the ways social media giants use to draw children into spending more time.  She said parents should be proactive in stopping their children from bingeing on the internet in the summer holidays.  Ms Longfield has launched a campaign to help parents with the issue.
BBCOnline, 6/8/2017
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End of families gathering round the TV as binge watching grows

Gathering around the living room television to watch the latest hit show has been a family pastime for decades. But that gathering is increasingly becoming a myth as viewers binge-watch strings of episodes. 

New research from Ofcom has found that 45% of people now watch a programme or film alone every day while nine in 10 watch alone every week. The media watchdog says that a third of Britons say members of their household sit together in the same room watching different programmes on different devices.
Guardian 3/8/2017
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‘Box set Britain’: Millions skip sleep to binge-watch TV

About 10 million Britons have skipped sleep or made themselves tired the next day because they were binge-watching TV, new research suggests. More than half of British adults watch more than one episode of the same show back-to-back at least once a month. Of those, a third - almost 10 million - admit they have missed sleep or become tired as a result, while a quarter say they have neglected household chores. Media watchdog Ofcom did the research into what it called “box set Britain”.
BBCOnline 3/8/2017
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Posting children’s photos on social media divides nation

Parents are divided about whether it is right to post photos of one’s children to social media, according to a study by the UK’s communications watchdog. Ofcom reported that just over half of parents it surveyed said they avoided what it termed “sharenting” altogether. A desire to protect the privacy of under-18s was the most commonly given reason, it said.
BBCOnline 3/8/2017
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UK urges tech giants to do more to prevent spread of extremism

Amber Rudd will urge social media companies to do more to remove online terrorist content during a series of meetings with tech giants including Twitter and Facebook, after a sharp increase in the number of plots foiled in the UK.
Guardian 1/8/2017
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