MEDIA: BRIEFS

Hilton gets Standard City job

Evening Standard managing director Tony Hilton is to replace Ian

Griffiths as City editor. Griffiths is leaving the newspaper at the end

of the year. The change sees Hilton returning to the same job he held

before taking the MD’s role.

Hastings has a Berry New Year

Max Hastings, who takes over as editor of the Evening Standard from

Stewart Stevens in the New Year, has hired Don Berry, who was his former

deputy editor for news at the Daily Telegraph.

Moore builds his team

Charles Moore, who has replaced Hastings as editor of the Daily

Telegraph has brought back Robert Shrimsley as chief political

correspondent from the Financial Times. Former Independent columnist

Sandra Barwick and Evening Standard columnist Craig Brown are also

joining the paper.

UK News gets ready for take off

National news agency UK News will replace its rival the Press

Association as the sole national news agency serving the 11 Express

Newspapers and Mirror Group titles from 1 January.

Telephones overtake television

Telephone lines installed by cable operators have exceeded the number of

cable connections for the first time according to the Independent

Television Commission. The figures show a 113 per cent increase in cable

telephone lines over the last year, and a 45 per cent increase in homes

subscribing to cable television.

BBC loses the Cup to ITV

The BBC has lost the FA Cup Final to ITV under a new deal reached by the

ITV in partnership with Sky Television and the Football Association. The

deal covers a four year period from the 1997/98 season.

John Smith’s comedy capers

Brewer John Smith is to sponsor six programmes of the Saturday night

television show Jack Dee’s Saturday Night from 9 December. Because of

Independent Television Commission regulations, the brewer will be unable

to show its Jack Dee ads or refer to the comedian in its sponsorship

credits.