London: PM Media
Many good project managers are good communicators - in written,
spoken and graphical forms. They select the medium to suit the
circumstances.
London has been a media capital for the world over many centuries;
and up to the present day. In this module there are brief explanations
of some of this media which may be of interest to those looking
for directions on projects and project management in London.
Internet and Social Media
London is highly featured and searchable on the internet. All
the referenced institutions, education establishments, places,
locations and events in this and other modules in dash round London
have websites, articles, videos and reference material on the
internet. For just one example there is the whole artistic collection
at the Tate available at Tate Online including material on display
and in storage.
Books Media
If one searches for "books on London" on the internet there
will be over 60,000 responses. These cover: guides as travel,
tourist, visitor guides - for all aspects, walks, things to do,
secret and hidden aspects; fiction and novels; maps and atlases
including by Ordnance Survey; entertainment guides; with many
on history of matters such as architecture, theatre, arts and
culture, personalities, etc.. Books on projects in London and
how they are managed are available in bookshops, in libraries
and over the internet.
Particular authors and publications include:
- Peter Ackroyd - who has written extensively and with
critical acclaim on London including London the Biography (at
over 800 pages), on the River Thames and many other themes.
- Paul Nash - who writes about Architectural aspects.
- Hugh Pearman - Architectural critic, author and editor.
- Sir Nikolaus Pevsner - Architectural historian and
critic who assembled books covering the whole of UK including
in five volumes just for London which continue to be revised,
edited and published.
- Charles Dickens is an obvious London author - from
19th century. Most of his books have London connections and
illustrations.
- Up to date Buildings are featured in the annual RIBA listing
of Awards in London.
- A particular volume that might appeal to project managers
is "The Information Capital" by Cheshire and Ubert.
- "The Tunnel Through Time - a new route for an old London
Journey" by Gillian Tindall - taking the East-West axis right
up to Crossrail.
- "London - as it might have been" by F. Baker and R.
Hyde - explains some of the projects that never happened.
Book shops are a speciality of London; with large chains; specialists;
niche topics; and those on Charing Cross Road.
Libraries in London include -
British Library; the London Library; municipal libraries; professional
institutions - such as RIBA Library, Drawings and Manuscripts,
W1H; National Library of the Blind; knowledge collections. The
APM Knowledge Collection is located at Princes Risborough.
Cartography or map making is usually expressed in books - although
there are other means of charts and artefacts. London has a special
history of cartography with early illustrations, the effects of
the Fire of London in 1666, Ordnance Survey, Booth's Poverty Maps,
atlases, A to Z street guides and more - plus modern electronic
means. For project managers interested in diagrams and graphics
London maps can be particularly interesting - from bookshops,
British Library, Public Records Office, etc. and within 'the Information
Capital' by Cheshire and Ubert as noted elsewhere.
Print Media
The UK is well served in project management terms by Project
Magazine published by APM and by PM Today (www.pmtoday.co.uk).
In London the days of print media being the prime source of
information are long over as are the concentration of newspaper
activities in Fleet Street. However for sources of up-to-date
London information of PM type interest the following may prove
useful:
- Metro and London Evening Standard - available
for free at transport interchanges in mornings and afternoons
respectively on week days.
- Time Out - weekly London edition for over fifty years
- available at newsagents and for free, with schedules and diaries
of events.
- Big Issue - available from vendors for donations -
with homelessness links.
- Certain periodicals will carry information about topical
aspects of finance, the economy and politics centred on London
- such as Economist, Newsweek, daily and Sunday newspapers.
- Also National Geographic occasionally has something on London
or of interest to Londoners and visitors.
National Newspapers which are available in print or digital formats
and have editorial bases in London include: Daily Express; Daily
Mail; Daily Mirror; Daily Telegraph; Financial Times; Guardian;
Independent; Observer; Sun; Sunday Times; Times.
Film Media
London has been a film hub for many years from the earliest movies
including film production facilities at places such as Ealing,
Elstree, Gainsborough Studios - Islington, Pinewood, Shepherds
Bush, Twickenham - some have changed hands, some have closed or
changed functions. This is as well as the streets and buildings
of London appearing in films from many production houses.
For those who want to see London on film there are examples
from silent movies right up to James Bond saving the capital,
the nation and the world. Other recent films include: Lock, Stock
and Two Smoking Barrels; Secrets and Lies; Sliding Doors; Notting
Hill; and more. These demonstrate iconic buildings but also show
how much has been swept away and upgraded - through projects.
Time Out magazine has published a list of their top films featuring
London in many ways.
Television
UK television is strongly based in London with headquarters,
production facilities and studios in the London area. Television
started broadcasting in London; and from Alexander Palace. National
bodies include such as parts of BBC, ITV, ITN News, Channel Four
and many production companies.
Programmes, including news, orientated to London in particular
are broadcast on BBC, London Live and ITN usually just after or
before the national and international news.
A television licence is required to receive terrestrial channels
on any number of TVs in a home as well as a TV at a second home
in the UK.
Radio
Within 200 commercial UK channels there are over forty radio
channels with conventional, satellite and internet broadcasting
with a London outlook. The BBC has six national radio channels
with over fifty local channels including London and surrounding
cities, towns and counties. Radio covers news, sports, diverse
music, traffic and weather, discussions, interviews and phone-ins.
There are some foreign language broadcasters for example in
Greek 103.3, Turkish 1584 and French.
These are as well as the English speaking channels which are
useful for learning English and picking up on cultures in London.
These include for example: BBC Radio London 94.9; Capital London
95.8; Heart London 106.2; Smooth London 102.2; LBC 97.3; Gold
London 1545; and others.
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