Comedy awards boss calls for more Fringe coverage

Edinburgh Comedy Awards producer Nica Burns has called on newspaper editors to support the arts, as in-depth coverage of the Fringe shrinks.

She said that the situation was ‘getting worse’ with editorial budgets being under ‘more pressure than ever’. But she added:  ‘Editors have to realise how important proper erudite reviews are – and it’s especially critical at the Fringe, where we’re breaking new talent. Readers trust their critics.’

‘Who told editors culture doesn’t sell newspapers? Britain is good at the creative industries, and ten per cent of people work in those industries in some way.’

She added that as a West End producer and theatre owner, she also spent a lot of money advertising in the national press, so it made financial sense for them to continue reporting on the arts.  ‘I buy a lot of adverts,’ she told the agents, producers, publicists and journalists at a lunch marking the start of the festival. ‘And I'll continue to do so while they have great critics.’

In a similar vein, she bemoaned the closure of Time Out's comedy section and praised the four ‘good, knowledgeable comedy editors’ who had been its custodians over the decades, including Malcolm Hay, Tim Arthur and Ben Williams

Echoing her comments last year about the decision to move BBC Three online, Burns again called on the corporation to better promote the service where new talent can be found.

‘We all have to learn how to harness the might of the internet,’ she said. ‘And who better to be the pioneer that than the broadcaster we all own. I call on [director-general] Tony Hall to really sell BBC Three online, to promote it better on other media. Use the might of the BBC and viewers will embrace your new baby.’

Harnessing the power of the internet was also a theme as she welcomed the award’s new sponsors lastminute.com, and vowed to work with them to try to expand the comedy audience across the UK and sell more tickets online.

Burns also called on the Fringe Society to protect the waiver programme that allows foreign performers to work at the Fringe without the need for a visa in the wake of the Brexit vote.

‘Talent has no borders,’ she said, pointing out that three of the past four best newcomers were from abroad: Sofie Hagen (2015)  from Denmark,  Alex Edelman (2014)  from America and Daniel Simonsen (2012) from Norway.

Published: 7 Aug 2016