91Èȱ¬

I'm the 91Èȱ¬'s media correspondent and this is my brief selection of what's going on in the industry.

The creator of ITV1's Midsomer Murders has been suspended after claiming in the Radio Times that the detective series is "the last bastion of Englishness" because it has no black faces. The Mr True-May gave the interview to promote the 14th series of the show, which has been sold to 231 territories around the world.

The 91Èȱ¬ is reconsidering plans to close digital station the Asian Network. A 91Èȱ¬ spokesperson said the corporation was "exploring whether the Asian Network should remain on the national DAB", the digital radio network: "No decisions have been made and any proposals will be subject to approval by the 91Èȱ¬ Trust." In December, the 91Èȱ¬ Trust said management's plans to close the station could go ahead.

The the 91Èȱ¬ has reversed its decision to close the Asian Network digital radio station - but will look to cut its budget in half. It says "the corporation's critics will view it as its second embarrassing U-turn, a year after the 91Èȱ¬ Trust rebuffed management plans to close its sister digital station, 6 Music".

Physicist Professor Brian Cox has said the 91Èȱ¬ made a mistake by agreeing to turn down the music volume for his scientific series Wonders of the Universe. The 91Èȱ¬ agreed to lower the sound after receiving 118 complaints about the background music on the first episode being too loud and/or intrusive. The 91Èȱ¬ reports that Mr Cox said on Radio 4's Start the Week he thought it was an error.

The Controller of 91Èȱ¬ One Danny Cohen blogs on the issue of background music. The 91Èȱ¬ has published the findings of an extensive study. 91Èȱ¬ Vision's Audibility project found a combination of factors could really create problems - for example a mumbling actor, recorded in a noisy environment with added music. Mr Cohen says many of the problems could be resolved long before a single frame is shot if more emphasis was placed on planning for clear sound.

Major changes to Britain's defamation laws will be outlined by ministers today with the publication of a bill to provide greater protection for free speech and an end to "libel tourism". The the draft Defamation Bill will propose a new defence of "honest opinion", which will protect academics from being sued by companies and special-interest groups for damaging their reputations.

The 91Èȱ¬'s newspaper review says many of the headlines make grim reading as Japan's nuclear emergency shows no sign of abating. "Nuclear meltdown alert" says the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian's headline is "race to save the reactors". "Japan prepares for the worst", says the Independent; the Mirror says "48 Hours To Stop A Nuke Disaster".