BBC offers more listener control

BBC’s free iPlayer not only offers downloads of the past week of the TV network’s programs but also the listeners’ own choice of podcasts, tentatively called MyBBCRadio. Yet to come: details of how do-it-yourself scheduling will work. Meanwhile this week, the Beeb is offering downloads of BBC Philharmonic performances of Beethoven’s symphonies 6 through 9. Music lovers downloaded the first five symphonies 700,000 times. Downloads are offered for a week starting on the day after broadcast.

Ten Primetime Emmy nods for “Bleak House”

Bleak House leads PBS’s slate of programs nominated for Primetime Emmys. The Masterpiece Theatre miniseries received nominations in 10 categories and American Masters drew 9 Emmy nods. PBS fare earned a total of 34 Primetime Emmy nominations. Broadcasting and Cable runs down top nominees for the commercial nets, and the Post’s Lisa de Moraes reports on how the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences overhauled its nomination process.

The Long Tail

The New Yorker finds a few “blind spots” in The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson, the book expounding on his influential 2004 Wired magazine article. The Long Tail blog links to this and other reviews in the blogosphere.

ContentDepot rolls out this month

NPR’s Public Radio Satellite System rolls out the ContentDepot this month after almost two years of delays, reports Radio World. “ContentDepot promises to simplify operations for more than 400 satellite-interconnected stations, make program distribution more reliable and improve tracking and reporting of program carriage for producers,” writes Dan Mansergh.

Journalism as an act of patriotism

Viewer responses to Frontline’s “The Dark Side” and a botched NewsHour interview prompt PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler to expound on the patriotism of journalists.

Couric should try what NPR and PBS do

What should CBS and Katie Couric do with the Evening News? On CBS’s site, guest columnist William Powers from the National Journal suggests, among other things, taking a page from NPR and PBS’s NewsHour: “Slow down. Tell us a few important stories, slowly. Help us breathe and think.” And let Couric talk at length with guests, as Jim Lehrer and company do.