KHOODEELAAR! contextual action commentary on the crass stupidity as exhibited by the London Daily Telegraph, typifying crassness and ignorance ...

1225 Hrs GMT London Thursday 23 April 2009

KHOODEELAAR! contextual action commentary on the crass stupidity as exhibited by the London Daily Telegraph, typifying the crassness and ignorance of the rest of the ‘British’ ‘mainstream’ ‘media’ about democracy and accountability via, about and in the ‘British’ ‘Parliament’-1


This commentary is about John Whittingdale.
And about Michael Grade
And about ITV
and about the status each has been given in a piece today by the London daily telegraph.

First and foremost is the role ascribed to John Whittingdale. His most ‘glorious’; achievement is linked with his role as one of the political bag carriers for Maggie Thatcher before he got into Parliament following her departure from the address in Downing Street.

Whittingdale has held all the Right wing bag carrier positions that could be found in the occupation camps set up during Thatcher's years in office. The one we are focussing on is a comparatively minor one. Yet it should have been the more important in truth. But truth and objective far less universal criteria do not apply either to the UK Parliament or to the media. Hence the lack of accountability. And the absence of democracy. And the zero presence of justice or fairness.

Whittingdale features in a piece devoted to the further promotion of the image of Michael Grade in the Telegraph.

Whittingdale appears in that reference to have been a fan of Michael Grade’s.

That would not be surprising, given that he has been a fan of anyone with any exhibited authoritarian streak and holding any position of power.



He is reported as follows by the TELEGRAPH today:

“
"It is an extraordinary blow," said John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons Culture Committee, at the time.”


The allegedly extraordinary blow was about Michael Grade’s leaving his then latest BBC post in favour of the ITV company.

How was it a blow at all?

The Telegraph does not say.



[To be continued]


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/5206668/Michael-Grade-at-ITV-it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time.html

Michael Grade at ITV: it seemed like a good idea at the time
When Michael Grade returned to his roots at ITV two years ago, it was widely seen as a coup for the commercial broadcaster to have stolen such a charismatic and powerful force from the BBC.

By Rowena Mason
Last Updated: 11:34AM BST 23 Apr 2009

ITV executive chairman Michael Grade
"It is an extraordinary blow," said John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons Culture Committee, at the time.
But even this veteran media executive has struggled to turn around the sick man of broadcasting, ITV. He may have successfully brought big shows with big audiences such as X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, as well as developing the company's

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However, the broadcaster has been bogged down with colossal debts and a burdensome pension fund deficit, leading many to question whether the Mr Grade – a programming man at heart – has made bold enough business decisions.
The industry expected him to work miracles when he arrived at ITV in January 2007, as arguably the most experienced television executive and brilliant editorial director in the country.
He was born in London in 1943, the son of the Jewish theatrical agent Leslie Grade – a booker of stars such as Bob Hope and Doris Day – and a nephew of the great impresarios Lew Grade and Bernard Delfont.
It was clear that Mr Grade was destined for a life in the entertainment business, but on leaving Stowe School, he opted instead to train as a journalist, becoming a sports reporter on the Daily Mirror in 1964.
A decade later, Mr Grade became deputy controller of entertainment at London Weekend Television, where he developed his trademark eccentricities: big cigars, red socks, fluorescent braces. He also became friends with John Birt and Greg Dyke, both later to become BBC director-general and fellow high-flyers with whom he later fell out.
As director of programmes, Mr Grade commissioned the series Mind Your Language, The Professionals and the long-running arts programme The South Bank Show.
After a stint at the BBC, first as controller of BBC1 and then director of programmes in the heyday of Doctor Who and Blackadder, he returned to commercial television with a move to Channel 4 as chief executive in 1988.
There he cemented his reputation as a razzle-dazzle entertainment man, building the new station's audience and earning a name for broadcasting low-brow shows.
He made a surprise move to the BBC in 2004, in the wake of the Hutton inquiry, taking his "dream job" as the chairman of the board of governors.
Two years later, he shocked his employers by making a return to ITV as both chairman and chief executive, replacing Sir Peter Burt and Charles Allen, with the aim of restoring some of the commercial channel's faded entertainment glory.
The title of Mr Grade's autobiography, It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, has never seemed more appropriate for his tough tenure at the helm of ITV.

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