MGEITF Announces Speaker Lineup

LONDON, May 17: The MediaGuardian Edinburgh International
Television Festival (MGEITF) has announced some of the confirmed speakers for
this year’s Festival, which includes Ben Silverman, the executive producer of Ugly
Betty and The Office, and Janus Friis, the cofounder of the Internet TV
platform Joost.

This year’s Festival takes place from August 24 to August
26. In an earlier announcement, the MGEITF revealed that journalist and
broadcaster Jeremy Paxman, the longest serving presenter on BBC Newsnight, would
deliver the prestigious MacTaggart Lecture at this year’s Festival.

This year’s Festival will see the introduction of a new
keynote lecture, the Futureview Lecture, which will be delivered by Janus
Friis, the cofounder of Joost and of Skype. Friis will discuss the web TV
service, and examine the future of Internet TV. Ben Silverman, the CEO of
Reveille and executive producer of the award winning U.S. series The Office and Ugly Betty, will be giving an Edinburgh Masterclass. He will speak to BBC
Worldwide’s Wayne Garvie about the international success of the two shows as
well as his forthcoming projects. Journalist and Orange Prize for Fiction
winner Lionel Shriver will deliver a keynote lecture called We Need
to Talk about TV, where he will discuss
television and violence in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings.

Channel 4’s chief executive, Andy Duncan, will take part in
a major session on Channel 4 at 25,
which will include a discussion of the Big Brother controversy. Sir Jimmy Savile will take to the stage
for a Jim’ll Fix It Strikes Again
event, and Jeremy Paxman will host a one-off live edition of University
Challenge. Cat Deeley is also confirmed for
If I Can Make it There, I’ll Make it Anywhere, which will see talent and program makers talk about
making it in the U.S. Writer and executive producer Dominic Minghella will be
joined by fellow executive producer Foz Allan for a Robin Hood
Masterclass, where they will discuss the success
of the recent BBC One series and what’s next for the show.