So, the ongoing battle between the fiercer of the celebrity PRs and the bolder of the gossip journalists went public last week when the Daily Mirror's 3am.co.uk gossip team decided that Peter Andre's people had gone just too far with their demands while offering the tabloid five minutes with their man to talk about his latest celebrity endorsement deal, as the face of Costa Coffee's latest hot, caffeinated drink.

On Andre's big coffee day the Mirror hacks write: "Do you know where we're supposed to be right now? At a central London coffee shop, waiting for five glorious minutes with Peter Andre. However, instead we're going to tell you exactly why we won't be obediently trotting along to meet him".

Was it because coffee is a lovely drink but a tedious topic of conversation? Yes. And because Andre's management, Can Associates, had apparently insisted on a contract being signed beforehand ensuring that there would be no talk of anything else but the reality TV star's sudden passion for the caffeine drink.

And while they were at it, they demanded that no pictures of Katie Price come anywhere near the finished article, that all photo captions would be positive, and that Can and Andre would be allowed to approve the whole thing before it went online.

The Mirror continued: "We've all seen contracts like this before, particularly those of us who've worked on celebrity magazines, but nobody is more controlling than Can, who might want to look into changing their name to Can't".

So, 3am returned an email informing Can that "we're simply not prepared to agree to such ridiculously strict terms ... we wouldn't agree to these insanely restrictive terms for Britney or Brad, so we're hardly going to for Peter".

The result? Can are now refusing to allow 3am access to any of their clients ever again. 3am, meanwhile, are informing all their readers to go to Starbucks.

One from the radio courts rather than the pop courts now. Former TalkSport presenter Jon Gaunt has been told he has an "arguable case" to fight an OfCom ruling against him on human rights grounds.

As previously reported, media regulator OfCom ruled Gaunt had breached broadcasting codes when, during a heated interview on the national talk station, he called the Head Of Children's Services at Redbridge Council, one Michael Stark, a "nazi", a "health nazi" and an "ignorant pig" over plans to ban smokers from fostering children. TalkSport had already fired Gaunt over the incident ten days after the interview, they having received numerous listener complaints in addition to the 53 formal complaints made to OfCom. 

Gaunt, now working on The Sun's online radio service, claims that calling a council official a "nazi" or "ignorant pig" is not in itself offensive enough to be deemed contravening broadcasting decency codes. His legal rep Gavin Millar QC says: "In the 21st century, in a heated debate with a politician, to call them an ignorant pig is not the stuff of an intervention by a regulator. It's not offensive material of the sort".

OfCom argued that the Human Rights Act was not relevant in this case, in which the government agency was just exercising its duty to enforce broadcasting rules. But a judge yesterday ruled there was an argument that OfCom had breached Gaunt's right to freedom of expression, and that OfCom's ruling could therefore be given a full judicial review.

Gaunt is presumably pursuing this action in a bid to cut the regulator down to size. TalkSport had fired him before the regulator had even ruled on the incident, and the presenter is now seemingly happy with his new job at SunTalk which, as an internet service, is not regulated by OfCom. Commenting on this case, Gaunt told reporters: "We don't need OfCom, we have got an off switch. We have a draconian, unelected, expensive-to-run quango of do-gooders who can stand there and say 'this is good taste and decency'. We don't need them".

The previously reported new weekly freesheet for London, the London Weekly, which hopes to capitalise on the hole left by the demise of both of the capital's daily free papers, thelondonpaper and London Lite, will launch on 5 Feb. It's website went live last month.

According to the Guardian, the new title, owned by start up Global Publishing Group, will initially distribute 250,000 copies each Friday and Saturday.

The Advertising Standards Authority has criticised the NME for running an ad for fashion house Fly53, which featured a man gripping another guy by the throat and pointing a gun to his head. The cartoony ad was based around Fly53's ongoing shtick of "confessing your fashion crimes".

The brand and the mag denied the ad glamorised gun crime, saying it was aimed at an "educated, creative and intelligent young market" who wouldn't infer any sinister messages from the artwork (NME readers educated, creative and intelligent? Yes, of course they are, you doubters you).

But the ASA said the ad was "aggressive and threatening" and had a "menacing atmosphere" and should never have been published in the music weekly.

Former Sony Music chief Tommy Mottola - probably best known to the general public as the former Mr Mariah Carey or the record label man Michael Jackson accused of racism (when the king of pop's album didn't do so well) - could be the next big name in the telly talent show domain.

Word has it that bosses of 'American Idol' are talking to Mottola about him replacing Simon Cowell on the pop contest franchise, but that Cowell is also hoping to recruit the former Sony man for the US version of 'X-Factor' the launch of which is necessitating Cowell's departure from 'Idol' in the first place.

Other record industry big wigs being talked about as possible Cowell replacements on 'Idol' include Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine and Madonna's business man Guy Oseary.

Jazz FM is launching a new one-hour programme for City types, which possibly tells you something about the jazz genre’s target demographic (it’s possibly also worth noting that jazz is also the only genre to have its only committee in parliament). The new weekly show will be hosted by Andy Brough from City firm Schroders and Paul Kavanagh from stockbrokers Killik and Co, who will talk big business while playing some jazz numbers. Other City types will guest.

Confirming the new show, Jazz FM chief Richard Wheatly said this: "Jazz has always been one of the great remedies for the stresses of life. With our new Jazz In The City series we look forward to finding out which wonderful music helped many of the Capital’s famous figures cope with some of the most challenging moments in their careers".

Terribly named online on-demand TV service SeeSaw, which will include programmes from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five, is set to launch in March.

With parallels to the BBC's iPlayer, SeeSaw was originally a joint venture between the broadcasters that will contribute content to it, but said JV was deemed anti-competitive by the UK Competition Commission. The technology and concept was subsequently bought last summer by telecoms and broadcasting services company Arqiva.

An invite-only beta trial of the service went live earlier this week. Once properly launched SeeSaw users will be able to access some content for free, it being ad-funded, while other content, including a lot of US TV shows, will only be available to paying subscribers.

Andrew Collins and Richard Herring have been announced as the next guest presenters to cover Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish's Saturday morning slot on BBC 6music while they take time off to concentrate on other projects. The pair take over from Danny Wallace, who has been filling in since Christmas, with the first of their five shows broadcasting this weekend.

Says Andrew Collins: "Richard and I have been childishly jealous of Adam and Joe's success and immaculate speaking voices for many years. Now they have gone to Hollywood on the flimsy pretext of having some 'other work' to do for a bit, we are only too pleased to jump into their shoes and play with their loyal listeners for the next five weeks. We cannot promise any pets in the studio, but we will be drawing upon the unbalanced enthusiasm of the Saturday morning audience and hoping to create a genial, jumper-wearing 'Swap Shop' atmosphere, like Saturday mornings used to be, in other words. Also, we guarantee never to record a song. You have our word on that".

Collings and Herring will have to tone down a bit from the content that fills their weekly podcast. The stuff about having sex with tortoise shells should be fine, though.

Melvyn Bragg has received a special award at the last ever South Bank Show Awards (unless they decide at some point in the future to bring back 'The South Bank Show', and the awards). The Outstanding Achievement Award - in recognition of the broadcaster's 32 years of work on the cancelled show - was presented by Richard Attenborough, and tributes from the likes of Victoria Wood, Beryl Bainbridge and Prince Charles were screened.  

In his tribute, Prince Charles criticised ITV's decision to axe 'The South Bank Show'. He said in the pre-recorded message: "A long time ago it rightly became an important contribution to the vibrancy of the country’s culture... Now oblivion is not the place for the arts and I cannot say I am encouraged as mainstream television abandons such a unique and special commitment. Civilisation needs all the help it can get, more so today than ever before, but now it loses one of its greatest champions. It is a sad loss".

Bragg, who says he's "baffled" by the decision to end the arts programme said after the ceremony: "I managed to fight back the tears... but it was a close run thing at the very end after David Attenborough said the things he said. It was a great afternoon, and I hadn't expected that kind of warmth and that kind of praise. I come from a background where you don't get praise, but it was amazing, it really was".

Other winners included Florence and The Machine, who took the pop gong, The Donmar's production of 'A Streetcar Named Desire', which took the theatre award, and 'The Thick Of It', which triumphed in the comedy category.

The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards have taken place at London's Prince Of Wales theatre, and The Royal Court has taken four out of the nine gongs awarded. Jez Butterworth's 'Jerusalem' got Best New Play, Mark Rylance got Best Actor for his performance in the play, the Most Promising Playwright honour went to Alia Bano for 'Shades', and Rupert Goold won the directing gong for 'Enron'.

The Donmar Warehouse also had multiple wins, taking three awards: Rachel Weisz was named Best Actress for her role in 'A Streetcar Named Desire', Christopher Oram took the Best Designer award for his work on 'Red', and Jude Law received the The John and Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance for his turn as Hamlet in the Donmar's production staged at the Wyndham's Theatre.

The Lyric Hammersmith triumphed in remaining two categories, with The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical going to 'Spring Awakening' and The Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer (other than a playwright) being awarded to actor Tom Sturridge for 'Punk Rock'.

Online festivals publication This Festival Feeling relaunched its website ready for the 2010 festival season this morning, and has also confirmed the appointment of Bearded magazine founder Gareth Main as editor of its interactive monthly digital magazine, which sits at the heart of the site providing magazine-style feature content about all things music festivals. The first of those magazines for 2010 will be published online in March, and will feature an interview with Festival Republic big cheese Melvin Benn and Radio 1 DJ and Swn festival organiser Huw Stephens.

Commenting on Main's appointment as editor, This Festival Feeling publisher Leon Wingham told CMU: "Gareth's attitude, contacts book and skillset set him apart from the crowd. His devotion to old and new media, to the independent music sector and his understanding and knowledge of all parts of the musical landscape worldwide, as well as his determination and guile to grow a publication from the ground up, made him a perfect addition to take TFF by the horns and make us the best festival publication in the world".

Main notes that today's launch of Apple's iTablet - which some reckon will kick start the long mooted growth of bigger-but-still-portable all-genre-encompassing digital content devices - will make the delivery of content through digital magazine style set ups, rather than traditional websites, all the more attractive.

He told CMU: "This is an amazing challenge for me. Given the sudden surge in interest in the digital magazine market, and Apple's iTablet announcement this week, the prospect of taking such a forward-thinking publication headfirst into this exciting world is too good to pass up. With my heart firmly in print, the sheer possibilities of how a digital magazine can change music journalism for the better are simply endless, not to mention salivating".

More at www.thisfestivalfeeling.com

Not content with poisoning UK screens, 'The Jeremy Kyle Show' is heading for the US in 2011. Given that America created this kind of 'confrontation TV' I'm not sure we should be sending them yet more of this rubbish, but unfortunately, nobody consulted me on the issue.

Kyle says this: "I am particularly looking forward to meeting ordinary American people and hearing about their extraordinary lives. This show isn't about me; it is about their issues and problems and how we can face them together - with complete honesty and openness - in front of US audiences".

Yes, of course it's not about him. Anyway, ITV Studios are to collaborate with US company Debmar Mercury on the project, which will get a test run later in the year. The American company's co-president Mort Marcus explained: "ITV Studios' creative vision convinced us that Jeremy Kyle can conquer another continent. We believe American viewers, stations and advertisers will wholeheartedly embrace Jeremy Kyle, who is such a great talent and brings his unique sensibility to a proven format".

Benedict Nightingale has announced that he's leaving his role as chief theatre critic for The Times this summer. The writer, who joined the paper in 1990, will be replaced by Libby Purves. He's not gone altogether, however, as he'll continue as a contributor.

Times editor James Harding says this: "Benedict has been the leading theatre critic of his generation and has written for The Times for 20 years, setting the standard by which the great performances and productions are judged. People onstage, backstage and in the audience have come to trust his every observation and judgement delivered with style, humour and passion. Benedict has ensured that Times readers have the best writing on what has been a golden age for British theatre and he will remain a contributor to the paper".

Nightingale, explained that he had mixed feelings about his departure, and insisted that he will continue to write. He added: "I wrote my first review in 1957 - a production by the Hawkenbury Players that led to a complaint to the editor of the Kent and Sussex Courier and Tunbridge Wells Advertiser - and will find the habit of going regularly to the theatre and writing about it hard to give up. However, I did tell the Times at the beginning of 2008 that I wished to stop chief-criticking at the end of 2009, and it will be terrific not to have to rush out of the theatre to do quick-fire reviews for the next morning's paper, sometimes so rapidly that I end up doing them in the half-light in my car".

Channel 4 finally has a new top man. The broadcaster announced on Friday that it was hiring David Abraham, currently the boss of digital channel network UKTV, to take over from Andy Duncan, who stood down as C4 CEO last November.

C4 Chairman Terry Burns, himself new to the job, told reporters: "The board spoke to a number of other candidates and considered many more as part of a very thorough process and we're convinced that, in David, we have identified a creative manager of the highest quality. He has a track record of success as a chief executive and the right mix of skills to get all parts of Channel 4 working together to unlock our full creative and commercial potential and complete our transition into digital".

Abraham had been tipped as a stronger contender for the C4 top job, though his appointment has been met with a mixed reception. The state owned Channel 4, of course, is faced with an uncertain future as it tries to continue to provide public service television in the face of falling advertising revenues. A closer alliance with the BBC's commercial division BBC Worldwide seems likely, which is possibly why Abraham is well qualified for the job, UKTV being half owned by Worldwide.

Now, I never went to radio school, but I'm pretty sure that, if I had, I'd have been taught at some point that when Howard Stern starts saying one of your on-air stunts went "too far", then you've definitely crossed some sort of acceptability line.

The US shock jock last week discussed Steve Penk's previously reported playing of Van Halen's 'Jump' on his Manchester-based Revolution Radio station on the morning that the biggest local news story was the delays on the M60 where a suicidal woman was threatening to throw herself off a bridge. A listener had requested the song, but it was Penk himself who chose to play it.

When someone speculated that the woman, who did indeed jump (albeit, only incurring minor injuries in the process), might have done so after hearing Penk's show on a passing car stereo, the DJ responded thus: "If, as has been suggested, the woman jumped because she heard it from a passing car radio that's unfortunate. But I don't regret playing it for a minute".

As one UK mental health charity, Mind, said it would complain about the incident to media regulator OfCom, Stern discussed the stunt on his Sirius XM radio show last week. Stern, of course, is no stranger to controversial on-air antics and media/listener/regulator outrage.

It would be wrong to say that Stern and co-host Robin Quivers are especially judgemental about the 'Jump' incident, and at times they seem sympathetic towards a fellow radio DJ in trouble for his on-air antics (especially given that they seem to think Penk had been fired, which, of course, he has not, him owning Revolution Radio). But Stern did also imply some sympathy for the mental health charities who have criticised Penk, concluding that the stunt was "kinda lame really".

The American music industry's main trade magazine Billboard, recently acquired by new owners, have announced the appointment of a new editor. Craig Marks is being brought in to oversee the development of both the print magazine and the US trade mag's online operation, which its new owners see as having much potential for growth as sales of print-based B2B titles continue to decline.

Marks was founding editor of Blender magazine, which he continued to oversee until 2008, and has also had editorial roles at various other US music titles, including Spin, CMJ and Rolling Stone. He has more recently worked as Editor-In-Chief of music for CNET. His appointment follows the acquisition of the US record industry weekly by media start up E5 Global Media last month.

BSkyB have again been ordered to sell their stake in ITV.

As previously reported, Sky bought a 17.9% stake in ITV in 2006. Virgin Media (NTL as it was) cried foulplay, because they were toying with proposing a merger with ITV at the time and claimed Sky bought the shares simply to scupper any such proposals.

UK media ownership rules did not stop Sky buying that sort of stake in Sky, but complaints were raised on competition grounds. The Competition Commission subsequently ruled against the share purchase, and in 2007 ordered Sky to reduce its stake in ITV to 7.5%. Sky have been appealing that ruling ever since, aware that selling any of their stake at this time will result in them making a considerable loss on their original investment.

But today the Court Of Appeal gave its backing to the Commission's original ruling. Sky have a month to decide whether to take the matter to the UK Supreme Court.

The New York Times has announced it will start charging readers for access to its online content from next year, adopting the subscription model used by the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal whereby a limited number of articles can be viewed for free, after which users must register and pay.

It's the first mainstream daily newspaper to confirm when a virtual pay wall will be constructed around its website, though, as previously reported, we know that Rupert Murdoch's UK newspapers - The Sun and The Times - are currently working towards making their respective websites subscription-based.

The newspaper industry is dabbling with the subscription model in the online domain once again as they continue to struggle to turn the massive amounts of traffic their websites receive into tangible income. Most newspapers' online advertising sales remain insufficient to fund their operations long term, mainly because the likes of Google have capitalised such a big portion of the online ads market.

NY Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr said this week: "This announcement allows us to begin the thought process that's going to answer so many of the questions that we all care about. We can't get this halfway right or three-quarters of the way right. We have to get this really, really right".

In related news, The Guardian - despite being the UK newspaper least keen on charging for its online content - has admitted it is considering charging for access to its digital media news site PaidContent, although such considerations are seemingly part of a wider review about the future development of the US-based service. The Guardian recently revealed if paid £4 million to buy PaidContent last year, quite a lot less than what had been rumoured when the acquisition took place in 2008.

The makers of 'Rock Band' - MTV Games, Electronic Arts and Harmonix - have launched the Rock Band Network Store, which will sell pretend-to-play tracks by artists who have uploaded their content to the Rock Band Network.

Launched last year, the Network was set up to enable any band to make their music available to - and therefore earn a royalty from - players of the 'Rock Band' game. Not that, even with the Network in place, that's an especially simple thing to do. Songs must be split into a number of specially formatted audio files, while lyrics, tablatures and instructions for camera angles, lighting and choreography need to be provided.

The Network aims to link unsigned bands with grass roots developers who might be able to help with that process. I don't know how well that bit of the proposition is going. Unless you can find a bedroom geek willing to do it for fun, then getting your music Rock-Band-ified can be expensive. Going rates seem to go up to £300 per minute of music. Bands can then charge between 99 cents and $2.99 for their pretend-to-play tracks, of which you they get a 30% cut. So it would take some time to recoup the investment on a three minute song.

Which is perhaps why this programme has been embraced more by established bands and labels than the unsigned acts the Rock Band team initially expected to get involved. An MTV gaming spokesman told the Wall Street Journal: "We expected this to be an initiative that would appeal to unsigned artists. What was surprising to us was how many artists with hit records have offered themselves up".

Rock Banders hoping that the Network might result in them getting less mainstream music to play along to may be pleased to hear that US indie Sub Pop is using the platform and new Rock Band store to make a greatest hits package available to the game's users, which will feature songs from the likes of The Shins and Mudhoney.

But even they admit the Rock Band Network isn't especially attractive to totally new alternative talent, partly because of the set up costs, and partly because no one expects Rock Band players to be using the new Network Store to take a punt on totally unheard of acts. Sub Pop Head Of A&R Tony Kiewel: "At three dollars apiece nobody's looking to 'Rock Band' as a discovery tool. That's not going to happen".

As you may be aware, the National TV Awards took place in London last night and Stephen Fry and Ant and Dec did especially well, taking two awards each.

Fry, receiving the Special Recognition award, told the audience: "I really am completely staggered by this, I had no idea this was going to happen I have the highest possible belief in television at its best. I think of it as the nation's fireplace, about which we can gather together and be lit by its light and warmed by its heat. It can make us feel better about each other. And it can make us feel better about ourselves." Fry, whose 'In America' programme received a documentary award, broke a recent Twitter silence for the occasion.

Ant and Dec, meanwhile, were awarded the Best Popular Entertainment Presenter gong for the ninth year running, and their 'Saturday Night Takeaway' show was given the Best Entertainment Programme award. Ant said: "In the car on the way here we said the winning streak's got to end soon and thought it would be tonight, we really did”, and Dec added: "We're just so pleased, so honoured and so touched that you still think we're worthy of receiving this award".

Elsewhere, 'The X Factor' was named Most Popular TV Talent show,  'Gavin and Stacey' got Most Popular Comedy Programme and 'Dr Who' was judged Best Drama whilst its outgoing star David Tennant was honoured with  the award for Best Drama Performance.