Maggie Brown



Profile:


Full name: Maggie Brown

Area of interest: Media and Business (esp. Broadcasting)

Journals: The Guardian

Email: [mailto:maggie.brown@guardian.co.uk maggie.brown@guardian.co.uk]

Website: Guardian.co / Maggie Brown

Blog: Comment is free...

Agent: Andrew Lownie literary agency

Networks: LinkedIn



Biography:
Education: Colston's Girls' School, Bristol; Bristol University: BA (Hons) History with German; University of Cardiff: MA Journalism

Career: Birmingham Post & Mail: graduate trainee; worked for Reuters Economic Service; helped found Financial Weekly (now defunct); The Guardian: Business journalist, 1980/1986; The Independent: (founder, starting its media section) Media editor, 1986/95; The Guardian: Media writer, 1996-present

Current position/role: writer and commentator


 * also writes/has written for: The Stage (fortnightly column); PR Week and Media Week; contributes to The Evening Standard media section

Other roles:

Other activities: Trustee of the Sandford St Martin Trust; regular jury member at the BAFTA awards (special interest in children¹s programming) and also the Royal Television Society

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:

TV/Radio:

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours:

Other: Advised the Price Waterhouse media practice, 1995/96; wrote a policy paper on the creation of Ofcom for the European Media Forum, 2001 

Books & Debate:

 * Wrote a book for the Radio Authority (who are now under Ofcom)

Latest work: A Licence to Be Different: The Story of Channel 4 OCLC 163337530, 2007

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: 

The Guardian:
Column remit: Media, broadcasting, media business

Section: Media section

Role: Comentator

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:maggie.brown@guardian.co.uk maggie.brown@guardian.co.uk]

Website: Guardian.co / Maggie Brown

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Monday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length:


 * also contributes to: comment is free... and organgrinder media blog



Articles:

 * has Lord Burns done for Channel 4, one year on?'' - Jay Hunt is set to take the helm at a leaner, tougher channel - 6th December 2010
 * Crozier joins ITV today but how will he tackle its challenges?'' - Broadcaster may have returned to profit but serious structural and competition issues remain - 26th April 2010
 * BBC draft review offers its own manifesto for change'' - Internal review presented to the BBC Trust cuts services and readies corporation for political change - 1st March 2010
 * can David Abraham bring to Channel 4?'' - David Abraham rebranded UKTV but he faces even bigger challenges as the new chief executive of Channel 4 - 25th January 2010 (with Jane Martinson)
 * chair Lord Burns means business at Channel 4'' - Newly crowned as chairman of Channel 4, Lord Burns faces many challenges if he is to retain his reputation as Teflon Terry - 9th November 2009 (with Jane Martinson)
 * will save ITV?'' - Britain's largest commercial broadcaster lies battered and bleeding. It needs to be rescued from the ravages of the City - 13th October 2009
 * Trust under siege – but what is the alternative?'' - Politicians, rival broadcasters, BBC staff and viewers have all attacked the trust in recent months - 28th September 2009
 * reform is mired in muddle'' - The corporation's responses to James Murdoch's attack reveal an organisation struggling with its uncertain future - 11th September 2009
 * dating returns with Dating in the Dark'' - Blind Date once had an audience of 14 million – how can Dating in the Dark fail? - 7th September 2009
 * chill wind'' - James Murdoch's hard-hitting speech, unsurprisingly, took aim at the BBC - just when the corporation could least afford it. But how much did he reflect industry concerns? - 31st August (with James Robinson)
 * still jam in Jerusalem'' - City dwellers think celebrations of rural life, like post offices, have disappeared. But across Britain, country shows are thriving - 23rd August 2009
 * is not the answer'' - The new culture secretary's support for proposals to top-slice the BBC's licence fee is misguided – and unlikely to succeed - 15th July 2009
 * day'' - Lavish shows may have dominated the listings but behind the cameras there was a producer revolution - 18th May 2009
 * on television: a lost art?'' - The South Bank Show is set to disappear from screens. So is there still a place for serious arts programming on mass-appeal television - or could digital channels provide an alternative? - 11th May 2009
 * to make the Grade'' - Michael Grade was feted on his arrival at ITV, yet the announcement that he is stepping down has been welcomed. Where did he go wrong? - 27th April 2009
 * Britain: the response'' - Lord Carter's wide-ranging report aims to provide a blueprint for the future. Here, we ask leading industry figures for their opinion - 2nd February 2009
 * Tanya Byron's role in Digital Britain - 28th January 2009
 * Time for a change at the top of Channel 4 in the wake of Ofcom PSB report - After Ofcom's PSB report it is time for the broadcaster's chief executive, Andy Duncan, to make way to allow some fresh thinking - 21st January 2009
 * The forecast for Channel 4 - Issuing dark warnings about its future, Channel 4 is making a pitch for a share of the BBC's funding. Is it in crisis or crying wolf? - 11th December 2009
 * Why the economic crisis could lead to a privatised Channel 4 - In a straitened financial climate, the case for Channel 4 subsidies is harder to make - so could it end up being sold off? - 3rd December 2009
 * Horrid Henry's lead'' - Currently less than 1% of new kids TV is UK made. What can be done to encourage production? - 24th November 2008
 * end of an era'' - BBC2 launches a major new WW2 history series tonight. A move to presenter-led, timely shows means it may be the last of its kind - 10th November 2008
 * it means for talent'' - Stars will still come to the BBC despite the fallout from Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand's phone prank - 3rd November 2008
 * minister'' - Stephen Carter's new government role gives him influence over two key departments. So what is at the top of his in-tray? - 13th October 2008
 * BBC is increasingly under attack - what should the corporation's priority be?'' - 6th October 2008
 * questions for Newsnight'' - The flagship current affairs show has come under fire, not least from one of its own presenters. So what kind of programme will the new editor inherit? - 29th September 2008
 * of the guard'' - Next month Jocelyn Hay steps down as chair of the VLV leaving her successor, Richard Lindley, to decide how the consumer body will adapt to challenging times ahead - 15th September 2008
 * country'' - Shock horror, an English civil war drama was filmed in South Africa. But film-makers need to save money too - Guardian.co.uk - 27th August 2008
 * bugged'' - Bill Bryson is right: Britain is filthy. He may be an American, but on the evidence of a recent trip there, they understand clean - Guardian.co.uk - 13th August 2008
 * 11 o'clock shadow - The 11 O'Clock Show discovered lots of new talent but it wasn't exactly a runaway success. So why is Channel 4 recreating the nightly format - 28th July 2008
 * The chairman's challenge - As Ofcom boss David Currie prepares to step down, the focus is on who could take over the role - another economist, someone able to cope with political flux? - 21st July 2008
 * 'It has to be right on the edge'  - Has Love Productions' new show, marrying disability and fashion, taken the reality genre a step too far? -30th June 2008
 * Is a £4m fine for ITV enough of a sanction? - 5th May 2008
 * Surprise, surprise - Tapdancing grannies, breakdancing toddlers ... Who would have thought an old-school talent show could be such a hit for ITV? - 14th April 2008
 * "Cautiously optimistic" over once-ambitious plans - Channel 4's ambitious plans to move into digital radio were largely ignored last week at its glitzy presentation - 17th March 2008

