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This is where you can find my latest updates about the programmes, personalities, business and politics of the media world
14:53 UK time, Thursday, 29 November 2012
For editors, publishers and - not least - newspaper proprietors, this is a damning report.
Lord Justice Leveson not only recommends statutory 'underpinning' for a new independent system of press regulation - rejecting the industry's own proposal for a new body as "not going nearly far enough" to demonstrate independence from publishers.
16:42 UK time, Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Torin added analysis to:
This was a marathon session, examining the whole BBC crisis, from the decision not to broadcast Newsnight's investigation into Jimmy Savile to the departure of a director general and beyond.
For well over two and a half hours, Lord Patten and the acting director general Tim Davie faced searching, sometimes aggressive, questioning from MPs.
00:45 UK time, Friday, 23 November 2012
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures - and for the BBC these are extraordinary times.
That is why BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten approached Tony Hall to be the new BBC director general without going through the normal recruitment process, and why Lord Hall of Birkenhead - to give him his proper title - accepted the offer to return to the corporation, even though he'd not applied for the job earlier in the year.
15:11 UK time, Thursday, 22 November 2012
Torin added analysis to:
Tony Hall - Lord Hall of Birkenhead - had emerged in recent days as the clear favourite for the job of stabilising the BBC and leading it out of its current crisis.
He is an outsider - as Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, said he wanted - but he also worked at the BBC for many years, latterly as director of BBC News, where he launched Radio 5 live and the BBC News Channel.
12:31 UK time, Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Torin added analysis to:
It's been a dreadful few years for the regional newspaper business. Though less glamorous than other parts of the media, it used to make a healthy living from all those pages of classified ads - for jobs, houses and cars.
In 2006, the Daily Mail & General Trust actually turned down a £1bn offer for Northcliffe Media - but that was before the full impact of the internet and the credit crunch hit home, slashing readership and advertising income.
14:03 UK time, Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Torin added analysis to:
Because the BBC Trust wants to see a complete overhaul of the BBC structure and management, Lord Patten is thought to favour an outsider. That makes sense - but there are problems with appointing someone from outside the corporation.
They may want to be paid more than is politically acceptable, given the fuss over George Entwistle's £450,000 salary and pay-off.
07:47 UK time, Sunday, 11 November 2012
Torin added analysis to:
George Entwistle said he was stepping down because as director general of the BBC he was also its editor in chief.
He said it was the honourable thing to do after a BBC Newsnight film alleged child abuse by an unnamed Conservative politician - which was proved to be unfounded.
16:49 UK time, Saturday, 10 November 2012
Torin added analysis to:
After weeks under fire for not broadcasting Newsnight's report of child abuse allegations against Jimmy Savile, the BBC has now had to apologise for a child abuse investigation it did broadcast.
This second episode is even more damaging than the first.
09:05 UK time, Wednesday, 24 October 2012
The director general of the BBC, George Entwistle, has admitted to MPs that the reputation of the BBC has been called into question by the scandal over the revelations that Jimmy Savile sexually abused young girls.
When George Entwistle first volunteered to answer questions from the Culture Media & Sport committee about the Jimmy Savile scandal, it seemed a good idea.
22:49 UK time, Monday, 22 October 2012
Torin added analysis to:
How much trouble is the BBC in?
Its world affairs editor John Simpson sparked headlines this morning when he said it was the biggest crisis he could remember in 50 years.
23:54 UK time, Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Torin added analysis to:
In announcing that an outsider will head the inquiry and that it will happen as soon as the police "give the green light" - and in his view the sooner the better - Lord Patten has gone further than the BBC director general did when he announced the inquiry on Monday.
The BBC Trust chairman said the corporation had a lot of questions to answer and whoever carried out the report would have to command the trust of the whole nation.
10:39 UK time, Tuesday, 9 October 2012
The BBC director general has apologised to the alleged victims of Sir Jimmy Savile and promised a "comprehensive investigation" once the police have completed their own inquiries.
But if George Entwistle hoped this would kick the issue into the long grass - as some have suggested - he may be out of luck.
21:01 UK time, Monday, 8 October 2012
Torin added analysis to:
George Entwistle's announcement that the BBC will address "all outstanding questions" once the police have considered the criminal allegations has been welcomed by those calling for an inquiry.
The Tory MP Rob Wilson said the issues went much wider than criminality - they were about "a pretty rotten culture".
12:36 UK time, Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Torin added analysis to:
George Entwistle wrote his first letter of complaint to the BBC at the age of 6 - when Tom and Jerry was replaced by the Budget.
Now he is tackling some of the BBC's more entrenched problems, such as too much bureaucracy and too few women presenters. He's slimming the management structure - closing the operations division and halving the size of the management board.
16:00 UK time, Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Torin added analysis to:
Jeremy Hunt may have left the Department of Culture Media and Sport but his "big idea" lives on.
For years he insisted that local television was needed in the UK, in the face of huge scepticism from the media establishment, who couldn't see how it would be paid for or who would watch.
12:16 UK time, Tuesday, 11 September 2012
The huge crowds packing the streets for the Olympic and Paralympic parade were the final endorsement - if any were needed - of the triumph of London 2012.
"Thanks a million" trumpeted both the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, reflecting estimates of the size of the crowd.
12:45 UK time, Saturday, 1 September 2012
The first weekend of the Paralympics is under way. But has it captured the public gaze in the same way as its sibling the Olympic Games?
"Thanks for the warm-up" proclaimed Channel 4 in a much-applauded advertising campaign, the day the Olympics ended. Its ads positioned Paralympic competitors as "superhumans", suggesting the achievements to come would be even more inspiring than those at the earlier Games.
15:24 UK time, Thursday, 30 August 2012
Torin added analysis to:
Diane Abbott and Michael Portillo were a great TV double-act on This Week, helping make politics more accessible to the viewer.
But the Labour MP had to give up her regular appearances when she stood for the party leadership, and later became the shadow minister for public health.
12:03 UK time, Thursday, 30 August 2012
Torin added analysis to:
Chris Blackhurst has taken a risk by speaking out - but he doesn't seem to have given details of what was in the letters, so legally he is likely to be safe.
What is not clear is why he has put his head above the parapet when his paper, the Independent, is not expected to be in Leveson's main firing line.
13:28 UK time, Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Torin added analysis to:
The success of the London Olympics has boosted interest in the Paralympics around the world, even in the United States, which for many years been accused of ignoring the games. While Channel 4 in the UK is broadcasting 150 hours of live coverage, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation 100 hours, NBC was planning just four 60-minute highlight programmes, and one 90-minute roundup after the Games were over, Associated Press reported.
Paralympic athletes, including military veterans, started online petitions urging US broadcasters to increase the coverage. Now London 2012 may signal a turning of the tide, reports the Guardian.
Torin joined the BBC as media correspondent in 1989. He has reported on the work of six BBC director generals, six BBC chairmen and a dozen cabinet ministers responsible for broadcasting and press issues.
He covered the royal family's "annus horribilis" in 1992, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the ongoing debate over press and privacy. He has reported on the birth of BSkyB and the growth of the Murdoch empire, the ITV licence auction and mergers, and more than one BBC crisis.
Before joining the BBC, he worked for the Independent Broadcasting Authority, the Times, the Economist and the Independent, and presented LBC Radio's media show.
Torin studied history at the University of Warwick and is married with three children. He was awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Year's Honours list for services to the community in Chiswick.
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