NEW ARTS ONLINE SERVICE SET TO LAUNCH

BBC News Online are creating a new arts, entertainment and showbiz platform for up to the minute news, views, analysis and in depth reporting on film, music, theatre, television and radio, games and new media.
The new service will run as a fully integrated part of the BBC News Online, the multi-award winning internet news service of the BBC, but will include an expanded index of pages covering the whole gamut of arts, entertainment and show business.
The expanded section will be launched on March 25 to coincide with the Oscars ceremony and will include live coverage from the world’s most prestigious film awards as well as the famous Oscars party circuit.
Among the features on the new site will be regular interactive forums, in depth reports on key issues like arts funding and the future of broadcasting, and extensive coverage of the arts scene with weekly snap votes on burning issues.
Mike Smart, Editor-in-Chief of New Media said demand for up to the minute news about show business and the arts is huge: “As with the rest of the BBC News Online, our aim will be to bring users news as it happens and support it with detailed analysis and background information.”
There will also be a lively reviews section with correspondents and guest writers reviewing the best and most newsworthy music, films, DVDs, videos, books, plays, exhibitions and websites. (AMcE)