Rona Fairhead, who became chair of BBC governing body the BBC Trust in August 2014, has opted not to stand for re-appointment. Until today, she wouldn’t have had to. And, it’s complicated. The former Financial Times Group chief executive was due to remain in her post for a full four years, sequeing from the BBC Trust…

The BBC’s embattled general director Tony Hall warned today that planned changes to the public broadcaster’s structure represent a threat to its independence. In a speech to the Enders media conference, Hall said the BBC "needs new safeguards for independence, not yet more erosion". His speech comes days after an…

The Church of England has come out swinging against major UK cinema chains and Digital Cinema Media, which handles most of the country's movie advertising. At issue: The church says it had planned to buy screen time for a 60-second commercial to run ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens beginning December 18 in UK…

BBC director general Tony Hall said today that the public broadcaster will be cutting more than 1,000 jobs as part of a restructure caused by a $234 million gap in license-fee income for 2016-2017. The shortfall in revenues has been blamed on more people using iPlayer, mobiles and online catch-up, leading to an…

David Cameron will remain the UK’s Prime Minister after securing a surprisingly decisive victory in the country’s general election with a result that has left media commentators with plenty of egg on their faces. With the final tally of votes still being counted as of Friday morning, Cameron and his Conservative Party…

The British General Election campaign gets into full swing this evening with the first televised live debate between Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. The event, which will be aired on Channel 4 and Sky News, comes after months of tortuous negotiations about what format the debates, if…

An estimated 1.3 million people are still marching through the streets of Paris this evening in a show of unity that follows last week's devastating terrorist attacks. International news networks today continued their blanket coverage, which began Wednesday with the initial deadly assault on the offices of the Charlie…

UPDATE, 7:30 AM: Speaking at the House of Commons, Prime Minister David Cameron said he accepts the “principles” of recommendations made by the Leveson Inquiry into UK press reform. But, he said he has “some serious concerns and misgivings” on supporting legislation to underpin an independent self-regulatory body to…

This week UK attention will turn back to the phone-hacking scandal as it morphs into a wider discussion about freedom of the press. On Thursday, Lord Justice Brian Leveson will unveil the long-awaited findings of his inquiry into UK media ethics and make his recommendations on how to regulate the industry. It's…

Joe Utichi contributes to Deadline’s UK coverage The ongoing crisis in the British media has drawn in a new player. As the BBC continues to sift through the scandals in its news division, rival broadcaster ITV is facing scrutiny from regulator Ofcom over one of its own news programs. ITV’s Today-style This Morning…

Joe Utichi contributes to Deadline’s UK coverage It may not be all bad news for former BBC director general George Entwistle. The executive, who resigned on Saturday amid ongoing turmoil at the broadcaster, will reportedly receive a lump sum equivalent to his annual £450,000 ($714,000) salary on top of a pension pot…

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney Rupert Murdoch said he was sorry twice within 24 hours on Thursday while also demanding an apology from the Australian Broadcasting Corp. – all over a series of tweets from earlier in the week. Last Saturday, Murdoch tweeted: “Told UK’s Cameron receiving scumbag…