In this film upsetting. Hello and welcome to this review of the media year in 2019, and what a year it has been. One dominated, of course, by the californian tech giants that both manipulate us and find themselves being manipulated by friends and foes of decency and democracy. Injanuary, ian russell tried to understand why his teenage daughter molly took her own life after seeing pictures of self harm on instagram. My colleagues Angus Crawford and tony smith broke the story. This is the story of molly russell. Molly was the youngest of three sisters. At the time she seemed to be a very ordinary teenager. She was 14. She was enthusiastic. She handed her homework in that night, she packed her bags and was preparing to go to school the next day, and then when we woke up the next morning, she was dead. Molly was one of around 200 children who take their own lives every year. Since her death, we have been able to look back and just scratch the surface of some of the social media accounts that she had been following. I remember this one, that picture. This world is so cruel, i dont want to see it any more. There are accounts from people who are depressed or self harming, and some of that content seems to be quite positive, perhaps groups of people who were trying to help each other out, but some of that content is shocking in that it encourages self harm. It links self harm to suicide and i have no doubt that instagram helped kill my daughter. These are some of the posts molly had liked. Dark, hopeless, relentless, and there is much, much more. Certain hashtags and search terms monitored by instagram do trigger an automatic warning with links to help, but users can simply ignore it. I think it is clear that we are not yet where we need to be on the issues of self harm and suicide. In effect, instagram, in the words of Molly Russells father, has been monetising misery. We are not looking to monetise misery. We look to connect people with their friends and the interests that they love and care about. We think that we create a lot of good in the world, and we were not as focused as we should have been on the risks that came along with connecting so many people, but moving forward, actually, we are going to change our policy to not allow any graphic images of self harm, whether or not it is admission or promotion. So youre going to take all self harm images off of instagram . Graphic self harm images, yes. So i might have an image of a scar where i say, i am 30 days clean, and that is an important way for me to share my story. That kind of content can still live on the site, but the next change is it will not show up in any recommendation services, so it will be harder to find, it will not be in search, it will not be in hashtags, it will not be in recommendations. She left some notes. She tried to explain how she felt. I am sorry. I did this because of me. For her family, though, there are still too many Unanswered Questions about mollys death. Bless you, molly. She had so much to offer, and that has gone with the help of the internet and social media. Instagram, along with whatsapp, is owned by facebook. Its new director for policy and communications, sir nick clegg, gave me his first interview in post. Good to see. Very good to see you. Please come in. Nice for you to be back in brussels, i imagine. Yeah. Why are there are thousands of images glorifying self harm on instagram . Well, there should not be, and it is as distressing to me as anyone, really, to have heard about the awful, tragic cases of teenagers taking their lives in the way that has come to light in recent days. Slit wrists. Smeared blood. You have got three children. Would you let them anywhere near that . No, of course not. I have seen a lot of these images. That stuff would still be on instagram if the bbc had not found it. Yes. And Molly Russells father says it is images like that that led her to take her own life, or played a role, i should say. Yeah, but what we have to do, of course, is, as i say, look at this from top to bottom without any prejudice, we will do whatever it takes to try and make this environment safer online, particularly for youngsters. Matt hancock, the health secretary, said yesterday that we may need new legislation. Yeah, i think there is actually a case, as society accommodates itself to the great freedoms, but with freedom comes risk. But that would be a new position for facebook to take. Yes. I would not have joined facebook if i did not believe it was a company that wanted to and is going to change. Later in the year, the boss of instagram insisted things were changing. We do remove more than twice as much content related to self harm and suicide as we did before we made these changes. We find roughly three quarters of it gets taken down proactively before anybody reports it, but there is very clearly still work to do. This work never ends. That is one side of the picture. I think there is another side which is possibly equally disturbing, the dark, the sad, the depressing, the endlessly, relentlessly miserable material. What we announced in february was content that was graphic images of self harm were no longer allowed. We have expanded that to include images of methods and materials used in self harm. That is a significant step forward. Facebook turned 15 this year and its critics accuse it of behaving like a stroppy teenager. Those critics include local newspapers, who say that facebook and google are destroying their Business Model by stealing advertisers and stealing readers. Dame Frances Cairncross spent several months looking into the future of local news. Her report was frank and pragmatic, and again, she gave me herfirst broadcast interview. In here is our treasured armistice edition. Based in leeds, the Yorkshire Post is yorkshires national paper. As editor, you become acutely aware that you are merely a custodian. 100 years ago, people got their news from the local paper. Today, many of us get our news online while the internet has destroyed the market in classified advertising. According to the press gazette, 216 local newspapers have shut since 2005 alone. There is a charm to newspapers, dont you think . The rustle and crinkle of newsprint, that faint pong as you leaf through the pages, and the irresistible whiff of proper reporting and the craft of clever curation. Best of all, there are no weird adverts for nappies or marmalade based on your most recent online search. The trouble is, in news, convenience is king, and for a generation used to getting free stuff direct to their smartphones, newsprint just cannot compete. So what we have is essentially a Business Model that is acutely challenged by declining revenues, but the dichotomy of more people demanding our content than ever before. Innovation is key. The Manchester Evening News launched a sunday edition. And a new generation of entrepreneurs is delivering fresh hope. Andy vallis has been a journalist for 30 years. The third time he was made redundant from his job as a subeditor at his local paper in somerset, he set up wells voice, a free monthly. Funded by advertising, its circulation is rising, and it has doubled in size. The young local Voice Network shows that local or hyper local publications are thriving and can be very successful. I think the appetite for news has never gone away. Local papers have been asking government for help, particularly from what they see as the predatory behaviour of Technology Firms like google and facebook. The government response was to ask dame Frances Cairncross to publish a review on the future of high quality news. It suggests a regulator to oversee the quality of news on online platforms, tax relief to encourage online subscription models, and that 0fcom investigate the size of bbc news and its impact on the commercial sector. I asked dame frances why she resisted lobbying from the industry to classify tech platforms as publishers and make them pay for news content. There is no way that the platforms are going to pay for content. I think they would rather stop carrying news directly and that would do no good to any newspaper. They are the main route by which people reach newspaper websites. I do not think that American Companies get rich by stealing content from local papers. I think they get rich by stealing advertising from local papers, and that is a different matter. The relationship between local news and Global Technology platforms is complex, as the boss of one of britains biggest regional publishers acknowledges. We were too reliant on facebook, and we have readjusted our business so that we are much less reliant, however, people spend their time on facebook and i want our news to be there. There is, as dame frances says, no silver bullet, but while the presses are rolling, there is cause for hope, so long as people are willing to pay for news. As ever, the bbc made headlines aplenty this year. In june, it annoucned that only those people who are over 75 and receive pension credit will continue to get a free tv licence next year. Stop in the name of love. The bbc has always tried to reflect britain, and today the affection with which it is regarded reflects our generational divide. Very broadly, the older you are, the more you love the bbc. My television is on from when i come downstairs until i go to bed at night. Mine is the same. 6 oclock in the morning. It is on all day, is it . Yeah. What are you watching all day . Well, i dont watch it. It is company. I am on a very low income. And it means a lot to me. For these pensioners in the harborne area of birmingham, television is a constant companion. Now in their 80s, they treasure their free tv licence. I watch the news and eastenders and all them. And if i had to pay the licence, i would have to give television up because i couldnt afford it because i only get a state pension and a bit of private pension. Whos going to go first . In front of a lords select committee, the bbcs chairman and director general strongly criticised the nature of the negotiation which led to the bbc taking on the cost in the first place. As lord hall will say, we think the manner in which the 2010 and 2015 settlements were done were poor. They were done behind closed doors. Very little input from the bbc. None at all from the public, notwithstanding the fact the bbc is there to serve the public. Welcome and good morning, everybody. 0ne petition demanding the government pay for the benefit in full has achieved over 634,000 signatures. The West MidlandsPensioners Convention have strong feelings on the matter. This should not be the responsibility of the bbc. This is the responsibility of national government, so to be penny pinching for £154 a year for an over 75 year old sitting at home, lonely and isolated, is an absolute scandal. The bbc faces two enormous structural challenges. First, there is the hyperinflation in the cost of entertainment, and then there is the flight of younger audiences to alternative platforms. But being a Public Service broadcaster, it has got to ride both horses, it has got to appeal to young people whilst also respecting the wishes of loyal, older audiences who have paid their licence fee for so long, and all while staying true to the values of its founder, lord reith. The planned changes to the licence fee for over 75s are due to come into effect in the middle of 2020 when the government stops picking up the cost. Of course, for the bbc this year, personnel issues were always close to the surface. I am more proud than i can say that you have put up with me for so long. John humphrys retired from today after 32 years presenting the video presenting the radio 4 flagship programme. Every time i have been told, as a women of colour, to go home, to go back to where i came from. And the director general intervened to reverse the ruling that found bbc breakfasts Naga Munchetty had breached editorial guidelines. Itv had its own problems. TheJeremy Kyle Show was cancelled after a contributor to one show that never aired took his own life. TheJeremy Kyle Show was described by its bosses as conflict resolution. Critics say it was all conflict and no resolution. Lying, cheating, horrible. The show is no more. Steve dymond was found dead in his flatjust a few days after appearing on an episode that was never broadcast. Dymond had failed a lie detector test, one of the pillars of the show. I was telling the truth. The test says you are a liar. Executives responsible for the show admitted they did not know how accurate the tests were. You cannot define what a high level of accuracy is. Not 100 , but 50 is not 100 . I am not a lie detector expert so what we would do is. No, but you are responsible. You are responsible for this programme. We have now cancelled the show, as you know, and i will say that we will not commission a show in the future in this way, in this format, using lie detector tests, for the very reason you have just highlighted, which is the ranges, it depends on who you talk to. I find your answer slightly puzzling, actually, because on one hand youre saying they have done nothing wrong, but on the other hand youre saying, we are never going to do that again. Itv say the Jeremy Kyle Show observed a proper duty of care, helped hundreds of people and was loved by many thousands more. But the radical implication of their decision to end the show is that even for a commercial broadcaster, mere popularity is never enough. What i would say is that if anyone raises an issue or a concern or a complaint that is not satisfactorily resolved, they are referred to 0fcom. Thats not what bob gregory, a former guest, says. He was expecting to meet his son for the first time but says he was treated with contempt. I, countless times, complained to them about the whole show, the aspect of it, the way it was introduced. There was a banner at the bottom of the show which was completely wrong. Everything. And their aftercare was absolutely nil. It did not exist. Never once was i told to contact 0fcom, never once. Whilst theJeremy Kyle Show has gone, itvs huge reality tv hit love island has survived. It has a massive following among those elusive younger viewers. In a culture where everything is on display, all broadcasters are now reassessing their duty of care. Perhaps the biggest media story of this year was a massive escalation in the streaming wars. Apple, disney and several American Networks all launched new services. British broadcasters came together to give a big push to britbox and to put it all into context, i interviewed bob iger, the ceo of disney and perhaps the most powerful man in global media outside of big tech. Earlier this year, the Avengers Endgame from Marvel Entertainment became the biggest grossing movie in history. 0k, who here hasnt been to space . Marvel is part of a bigger media giant, the walt disney company, known as disney. Over the past 15 years, its been on an acquisitions spree under the leadership of bob iger. Mr iger, who considered a run for the us presidency, bought pixar animation off steve jobs, lucasfilm off star wars creator george lucas, and last year, in one of the biggest deals in media history, 21st century fox from Rupert Murdoch. Why do you think Rupert Murdoch wanted to sell . Well, i think the primary reason is that he looked at what was going on in the world of media and all the disruption and he didnt believe that the hand that they had was as strong as it needed to be. Its that simple. And he didnt have a solution. But what are the underlying trends reshaping the Media Industry which make those mega acquisitions necessary . Well, i think if you look at todays media landscape, whether you are in the uk or the United States or in many other places in the world, first of all it starts with content. Content is king. Quality stands really tall in a sea of choice. And then secondly, get content that is so valuable, so important, so loved by consumers, that theyll access it or buy it almost any way they possibly can. It was rival netflix that pioneered streaming which allows you to watch what you want when you want. In the time ive been on the throne, what have i actually achieved . The times they are a changing. Apple tv plus launched in london with hollywood starsjennifer aniston and Reese Witherspoon promoting its biggest production. This winter several Technology Giants are launching their own streaming services. Disneys own Service Disney plus launches here next spring. I think netflix is a volume play with a lot of quality in it and they created the market and the direct to consumer space with video. We come in with a different play. Its much more branded, less volume, and theres plenty of room for us to occupy space as well. It may to some extent be at their expense but not necessarily. There may be room for people to have more than one subscription. Now is the winter of our disney content and that means a Creative Boom in tv production here in the uk. Everyone knows the best place for a clandestine meeting in london is and always has been st james park. Good 0mens, based on the book by neil gaiman, is one of amazon primes biggest ever productions and it was made in britain. Crowley and aziraphale have been meeting here for quite some time. Co produced by bbc studios, the series is an example of how a few american web giants are transforming global television. As if armageddon were a cinematographic show you wish to sell in as many countries as possible. How has amazons entry to the uk market changed things for a uk director like you . In simple terms, theres more money to make things on a bigger scale. Good 0mens being made as a six and a half hour comedy with a standard uk budget, we couldnt get it moving. Weve now got the resources to make a world that is credible to the audience and that engages with the story completely and isnt just a pared down adaptation. Of course its notjust amazon. There is a Creative Boom going on in britain driven by svod, or subscription video on demand. Christs sake take the photo. Over the past ten years theres been an exponential growth in the value of the film and tv industry in the uk. And its growth has significantly outpaced that of the uk economy. Tv today is marrying the best of the old with the best of the new. Shepperton studios, owned by pinewood, is where countless legendary movies were shot and netflix is moving in. They believe that by investing in local studio space and hiring local staff, they can neutralise concerns about american dominance of the industry. The new netflix production hub will include 1a sound stages in a total of 435,000 square feet. No one in the history of film or television has caused so much disruption so quickly as netflix. The truth is theyre just getting started. The company is pivoting from an american distributor to a Global Production powerhouse deeply embedded in local economies. Rivals might grumble about the dominance of an over mighty californian giant, but viewers arent complaining, and anyway thats showbiz. Thats why we invest so heavily here. Thats why our original production in the uk is so big. Theres a 2. 7 billion business for the Television Market in the uk that we hope to be a bigger and bigger part of. So our productions have generated about 25,000 jobs already. There is a revolution going on in britains Creative Industries and this one will be televised. We mustnt forget that in 2019, journalists around the world were persecuted just for doing theirjob and at the same time democracies everywhere are waking up to the gulf between Digital Technology and the regulation that governs that Digital Technology. From targeted political ads to disinformation, social media is now the front line politics. 0ne marketer who is not directly involved in uk politics explained how we can be targeted. Every single action that people take online almost is tracked as a data point that we can use to inform our targeting. Thats whether theyve taken a certain amount of time dwelling on a page, whether theyve expressed interest in something, liked something, joined a group, almost purchased something but not purchased something, purchased something. Every single one of these is a signal. How narrowly can you focus your target . Youll be blown away by how specific we can be in terms of targeting individual people. We could, for example, within newcastle under lyme, choose a nurse whos recently qualified within a certain income bracket who is interested in fitness and wellness and then under behaviours has recently returned from travel within the last one or two weeks. Thats how specific we can get. This year for the first time the uks teenagers are watching over an hour of youtube videos every single day. That will probably grow. One of the most popular reports we did this year concerns a youtube phenomenon called auto sensory meridian response, better known as asmr. Whispers lets all experience something together. Nearly 17 Million People have seen this ad on youtube since it was first played during the us super bowl injanuary. Its the marketing world tapping into the biggest internet phenomenon you might not have heard of. Its called asmr. Asmr stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and its a tingling sensation that generally starts at the top of the head and moves back down the neck and across the shoulders. Dr tom 0stler is one of a small number of academics researching the intense and calming effect certain intimate sounds have on many of us. There are over 10 million asmr videos on youtube alone. Along with so called satisfying videos such as this one. So we asked members of a Dance Academy to explain the appeal. Very tingly. Very, like, ah. I think itjust relaxes me. Like, im able to watch it. Ive been given a massage in my brain. Theres too much stress so when you find some free time you just like to listen to some calming and relaxing sounds. For some, asmr is a career. Emma smith, known as whispersred, makes asmr videos for a living in what she calls her tingle shed. What are you setting out to do . Calm the viewer. I am definitely an asmr experiencer. Because that was like there was a waterfall in my head. Asmr has entered popular culture. This Year American teenager Billie Eilish topped the uk charts. As 60 magazine put it, get your pop and asmr fix all in one place. Sensual rather than sexual. Intimate rather than erotic. Asmr could revolutionise advertising because these videos are a zone in which you are relaxed, focused and highly receptive to what you see and hear. Through asmr, the internet provides a soothing antidote to the age of overload. The distinction between the online and off line worlds is collapsing one whisper at a time. I feel better now. Tingly but better. Next year watch out for new rules around digital advertising, another ocean of quality information and content from the digital streamers, and a growing and gnawing sense that now that data is the most powerful commodity on earth, you and i should know a bit more about whats happening to ours. If you are affected by anything in that programme you can find details of organisations that offer advice and support at bbc. Co. Uk online. Or you can call for free any time to hear recorded information. Some showers around over the next few days. It doesnt look as wet as it has been, mind you. A lot of flood warnings on rivers in england in particular, over 70 earlier on today, and the number should drop over the next few days. Some rain earlier on today and eastern parts of england has moved out into the north sea, which has allowed a dry end to the day. Towards the north west of the showers are pushing further inland and it should be a generally dry and to the day for Northern Ireland and eastern parts of scotla nd Northern Ireland and eastern parts of scotland where it is a bit chillier. For this evening the whens macro pick up especially towards the south west of england but they will blow any more showers for western parts of the uk. Not too many showers for eastern parts of the uk but a bit of a breeze prevents temperatures falling below four. While we have light winds in north and east scotland, first as likely and it will be a cold day as well. The central focus of the showers will be scotland and Northern Ireland and Northern England. The odd shower further south perhaps but not very many. It will be dry out with some much needed dry weather and sunshine and quite mild as well with temperatures ten or 11. In the south west towards the evening we have a weather front bringing in rain. That will slide across england and wales with another one coming in behind. Not completely dry on tuesday. A lot of cloud around with patchy rain. Most of it on the light side with nothing to Northern England and it will become drier through the afternoon. Some showers in the north west. But much of scotla nd in the north west. But much of scotland and Northern Ireland should be dry with sunshine. Always cold in the northern half of the uk with temperatures of six or 7 degrees. As we head towards Christmas Day, the big day, it turns chillier with showers tending to move away because we have this ridge of High Pressure moving on, perhaps only briefly, mind you. A chilly start with some mist and fog patches but on the whole a dry day with sunshine around. It will cloud over across wales and the south west of england especially in the afternoon. Ahead of that the temperatures may be a bit lower across the uk, typically six to 9 degrees. Some cloud and rain arrives in the south west by the end of the day. That is on this next by the system which has a bit more about it. It is a deeper area of low pressure pushing in these weather fronts as well. It will bring mostly rain which could be on the heavier side for a while but we mightfind the heavier side for a while but we might find some snow falling for a while ever Higher Ground and the pennines and the southern uplands, and the whens macro will bring in more showers for wales and the south west of england. Gradually through the afternoon it doesnt look quite as wet. A different look to the weather for boxing day compared with Christmas Day itself. Mild in the south and a little chilly in the north. N0 sound tesco suspends Christmas Card production at a chinese factory after a six Year Old Girl in london finds a message claiming that prisoners are being forced to pack them. The home secretary meets the family of harry dunn, the teenager killed in a Road Accident in northamptonshire in august. Australias Prime Minister apologises for holidaying in hawaii