Edinburgh International Television Festival
Encyclopedia
The Edinburgh International Television Festival, founded in 1976, is held annually over the British August bank holiday weekend at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre
.
Featuring prominent television industry voices and sessions covering pertinent issues facing the future of broadcasting, the festival is best known for its keynote address: the James MacTaggart
Memorial Lecture. This was named in honour of the writer, producer and director who died in 1974. The lecture features prescient speeches from controversial and powerful media figures that reads like a who's who of British TV over the last couple of decades. In recent years this has included Greg Dyke
, John Birt, Mark Thompson
, Tony Ball
, John Humphrys
and in 1989, Rupert Murdoch
. One of the best remembered speeches was given in 1993 by an ill Dennis Potter
, who attacked the chairman and director general of the BBC of the day by saying: "you cannot make a pair of croak-voiced Dalek
s appear benevolent even if you dress one of them in an Armani suit and call the other Marmaduke."
John Birt
, one of Potter's targets, returned to give the lecture in 2005. The ex-ITV plc
Chief Executive Charles Allen gave the 2006 lecture. Jeremy Paxman
gave the 2007 lecture, using it to criticise what he saw as a loss of purpose and moral direction in the industry. The media commentator Maggie Brown has criticised the event for featuring only three women as speakers (Christine Ockrent
, Verity Lambert
and Janet Street-Porter
) in the course of its history.
Current major sponsors are MediaGuardian - Title Sponsor, BBC
, Blitz
, Channel 4
, The Farm
, Glow Labs, ITV
, Sky
and YouGov
.
Edinburgh International Conference Centre
The Edinburgh International Conference Centre, or EICC for short, is the principal convention and conference centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.-Location:...
.
Featuring prominent television industry voices and sessions covering pertinent issues facing the future of broadcasting, the festival is best known for its keynote address: the James MacTaggart
James MacTaggart
James MacTaggart was a Scottish born television producer, director and writer.After an initial career as an actor, MacTaggart worked for BBC Radio in Scotland before moving into television, relocating to London around 1961...
Memorial Lecture. This was named in honour of the writer, producer and director who died in 1974. The lecture features prescient speeches from controversial and powerful media figures that reads like a who's who of British TV over the last couple of decades. In recent years this has included Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
, John Birt, Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson
Mark John Thompson is Director-General of the BBC, a post he has held since 2004, and a former chief executive of Channel 4...
, Tony Ball
Tony Ball
Tony Ball is a British television executive, chairman of Kabel Deutschland and former CEO of BSkyB.-Career:Ball joined Thames Television on graduation as a broadcasting engineer. he was later a founding director of Champion TV, which launched the UK's first dedicated sports channel, The Sports...
, John Humphrys
John Humphrys
Desmond John Humphrys , is a Welsh-born British author, journalist and presenter of radio and television, who has won many national broadcasting awards...
and in 1989, Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. One of the best remembered speeches was given in 1993 by an ill Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
, who attacked the chairman and director general of the BBC of the day by saying: "you cannot make a pair of croak-voiced Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s appear benevolent even if you dress one of them in an Armani suit and call the other Marmaduke."
John Birt
John Birt, Baron Birt
John Birt, Baron Birt is a former Director-General of the BBC who was in the post from 1992 to 2000.After a successful career in commercial television, first at Granada and then at LWT, Birt was brought in as deputy director-general of the BBC in 1987 for his current affairs expertise...
, one of Potter's targets, returned to give the lecture in 2005. The ex-ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
Chief Executive Charles Allen gave the 2006 lecture. Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
gave the 2007 lecture, using it to criticise what he saw as a loss of purpose and moral direction in the industry. The media commentator Maggie Brown has criticised the event for featuring only three women as speakers (Christine Ockrent
Christine Ockrent
Christine Ockrent is a Belgian journalist whose career has principally centered on French television.Daughter of Belgian diplomat Charles Ockrent, she was born in Brussels, Belgium. She graduated from Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris in 1965. She worked for American television and...
, Verity Lambert
Verity Lambert
Verity Ann Lambert, OBE was an English television and film producer. She is best known as the founding producer of the science-fiction series Doctor Who, a programme which has become a part of British popular culture, and for her association with Thames Television...
and Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002...
) in the course of its history.
Current major sponsors are MediaGuardian - Title Sponsor, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Blitz
Blitz Games
Blitz Games is a division of Blitz Games Studios and is responsible for producing its family titles, which are often licensed games based on well known IP. It is located in Warwickshire, England...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, The Farm
The Farm (UK TV series)
The Farm is Five's version of the international TV format The Farm, produced by Strix. It had a number of celebrities appearing on it.-Series one:Series one aired in 2004 and was presented and narrated by Ed Hall...
, Glow Labs, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, Sky
Sky
The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...
and YouGov
YouGov
YouGov, formerly known as PollingPoint in the United States, is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare, now Chief Executive Officer, and Nadhim Zahawi...
.