Media Brief

I'm the BBC's media correspondent and this is my brief selection of what's going on.

Dan Sabbagh at Beehive City reports that the Business Secretary Vince Cable has been sent a private memo by media analyst Clare Enders. He publishes extracts from a leaked copy which argues that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation should not be allowed to take full ownership of Sky TV, even though it already has effective control. The memo says, among other things, that the removal of independent directors would put Sky News' independence at risk.

Will Hutton says in the Observer that the government should review News Corporation's bid to take full ownership of BSkyB.

Alasdair Palmer says in the Sunday Telegraph that the government should protect the BBC World Service. He says it is "far more effectively, and much less extravagantly, managed" than the rest of the BBC.

The Guardian reports a treasure trove of BBC and ITV drama from the 'golden age of television' has been discovered in the Library of Congress. The library and the public service TV station WNET are allowing the British Film Institute to showcase the highlights in November.

After Lord Sainbury's £25m donation to the British Museum, the culture secretary Jeremy Hunt urges other wealthy people to follow his lead, the Guardian reports.

The Telegraph says Ann Widdecombe's pairing with Anton du Beke on Strictly Come Dancing has provoked an outcry from his army of devoted fans.

The latest newspaper sales figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations are bad news for publishers, says the Guardian.

The Evening Standard reports that the 116th season of BBC Proms saw audiences break the 300,000 barrier for the first time and a 46% increase in viewers for broadcasts on BBC Four. Attendances were up 5% from 297,500 to 313,000. 4,000 people a night packed the Royal Albert Hall, an average 92% attendance.

Warnings by trade union leaders that they intend to fight the public spending cuts with a campaign of co-ordinated action lead many newspapers as shown in the BBC newspaper review.

Links in full

• Dan Sabbagh | Beehive City | Why Rupert Murdoch's bid for Sky should be blocked
• Guardian | Rupert Murdoch and the future of British media
• Alasdair Palmer | Telegraph | Take an axe to the BBC, but save the World Service
• Vanessa Thorpe | Guardian | Lost tapes of classic British television found in the US
• Guardian | Wealthy urged to follow Lord Sainsbury's philanthropic lead
• Anita Singh | Telegraph | Strictly Come Dancing: Ann Widdecombe targeted by Anton du Beke fans
• Peter Robins | Guardian | Newspaper ABCs are grim all round
• Louise Jury | Evening Standard | Rule Britannia! Proms audience breaks 300,000 for first time
• BBC | Newspaper review

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