Sir Terry Pratchett's assisted suicide film denounced
This round-up of today's main media stories includes debate about the BBC's decision to show Sir Terry Pratchett's documentary about assisted suicide.
Charities and religious groups have condemned the BBC for broadcasting the final moments of a man's 'assisted death' on screen, reports the Daily Mail. It says many viewers took to social networks and online message boards last night, to debate the BBC2 documentary, Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die. They accused the programme makers of 'romanticising' and 'normalising' assisted death and warning it would lead to copycat suicides.
Author Sir Terry Pratchett has defended his BBC Two TV documentary about assisted suicide, amid criticism from anti-euthanasia groups. The BBC reports that In the film, the 63-year-old - who has Alzheimer's disease - went to Switzerland to see a British man with motor neurone disease dying. In a Newsnight debate after the film, Liz Carr, a disability campaigner, said it was pro-suicide propaganda and she was surprised the BBC had made it. The BBC denied the screening could lead to copycat suicides and said it would enable viewers to make up their own minds on the subject.
The BBC plans to leave "no stone unturned" in seeking a buyer for Television Centre, which could attract offers in excess of £300m, reports the Guardian. Confirming plans for the sale, first proposed in 2007, the corporation said options following the sale include housing, a "hub for creative business" and even a BBC museum. The BBC is looking to cut its property holdings by 30%. Parts of TV Centre have Grade 2 listed status, which will complicate any deal.
The Independent says the BBC presenter Danny Baker launched a tirade of invective against his employers as it was announced that the Television Centre building in west London was being put up for sale. Baker, who recently returned to the radio airwaves after seven months of treatment for cancer, accused the BBC's management of being "soulless crumbs" for selling the studios where programmes such as I Claudius and Monty Python's Flying Circus were made.
Sir Bruce Forsyth, Michael Palin, Tony Blackburn and Dame Joan Bakewell share their memories of Television Centre on the BBC News website.
The number of people using Facebook has dropped in the UK for the second month in a row, mirroring similar falls in the US, Canada and Norway, reports the Guardian. It's a sign that the social network's popularity may be waning in the west, though the website continued to grow worldwide, hitting an all-time high of 687 million users. Growth in Facebook use seems to peak in any country once the site is used by roughly half of those who have internet connections.
The Lovely Bones was the most complained-about film of the past year, reports the Daily Telegraph. The British Board of Film Classification said some cinema-goers were unhappy it was rated suitable for audiences aged 12 and upwards, when they thought it should be restricted to adults. In its annual report the BBFC said there were no complaints about the digital film submission of the 1970 classic The Railway Children - "despite several scenes showing child characters in danger while on or around railway lines."
The Daily Telegraph leads with a warning by the head of the Navy that Britain cannot sustain its operations in Libya for another three months without making cuts elsewhere. The Guardian focuses on the coalition's plans for the NHS in England, saying they face a "repackaging" exercise, as reported in the BBC's newspapers review.