Media Centre Round-Up #1 (week ending Fri 11 Jan 2013)

Welcome to the first in a new series of weekly blog posts in which I round up some of the things we’ve announced on the BBC Media Centre website in the preceding week.

For those who’ve not come across the site before, it’s the place where we announce details of all the Corporation’s output and activities – think of it as a news site specifically about the BBC.

The site’s audience of journalists and media commentators has expanded in recent years to include many of those with a general interest in the programmes we make and the things we do.

One of the best things about my job as editor of the site is that I end up working across the entire breadth of the BBC’s output, which certainly keeps me busy! Whether it’s a new educational initiative from BBC Learning, a series of concerts by one of our orchestras, a new drama commission on BBC One, or a new current affairs strand on Radio 5 live, it really is amazing to see just how much the BBC offers.

And, because what we announce is, by definition, about what’s coming up, I hope these posts will serve as a guide (albeit a partial one) to some of the things people can expect to see on the BBC in the near future.

So, what’s been happening over the last week? On Monday 7 January we launched the new BBC Sport mobile app, which, as a keen football and cricket fan, I downloaded straight away. The editable ‘Quick Links’ button is a great feature, which provides super speedy access to all the latest sports news, results and fixtures. There’s also a handy video on using the app at the link above.

BBC Radio 6 Music is asking listeners to nominate their favourite song over the last 10 years (the station’s lifetime). Voting closes on 25 January and on Friday 1 February Shaun Keaveny will kick off the top 100, which will continue throughout the day, and culminate in the top spot being announced by Steve Lamacq on his evening show.

Sticking with radio, on Thursday BBC Radio 2 outlined plans to enhance their specialist music offering (that’s jazz, blues, folk, country etc), including Mark Radcliffe’s new folk show which will feature future sessions by the likes of Karine Polwart, Chris Wood, Fairport Convention, and, especially exciting for yours truly, the phenomenal guitarist, Richard Thompson.

Moving on to telly, it’s great to see the return of Bernard Cribbins to our screens soon; he will be starring in a new storytelling programme for children called Old Jack’s Boat; this will run across the week on CBeebies and starts on Monday 21 January at 5.40pm. There are video interviews with Bernard, the rest of the cast and one of the writers, Russell T Davies, here. For those, like me, with fond memories of Jackanory, this will be welcome news indeed!

Finally, we’ve also just announced the Genius Of Invention season on BBC Two. This features a host of forthcoming programmes that explore the inventions that have shaped modern society. Documentaries on Isaac Newton, JMW Turner and Josiah Wedgwood, sit alongside Dan Snow’s history of the railways and a new series hosted by Professor Brian Cox that uncovers some of Britain’s scientific heroes.

Ben Murray is Editor of the BBC Media Centre.

Follow @BBCPress on Twitter.