I thought the editor of The Times had lost his news sense when I first looked at the paper this morning. The front page carries a dreary picture of Apple boss Steve Jobs, an unremarkable looking bloke in glasses, black sweater and blue jeans, plugging his company’s latest computer. This might be good enough for the cover of a nerdish … Read More
You catch more flies with honey
Here’s a question: if the media run an inaccurate story about you do you: a. Angrily demand a grovelling apology and threaten to report the editor to his or her bosses? b. Sue them? c. Ask them gently but firmly to put the record straight? d. Point out the error and remind them semi-humorously that they now owe you a … Read More
Clueless in Clifton
Banning ITV News from an Avon & Somerset police press conference because it ran a report critical of the investigation of the Joanna Yeates murder was pointless and counter-productive. Reporter Geraint Vincent interviewed a former murder squad detective who alleged the investigation had omitted certain basic procedures. Avon & Somerset criticised the report as “unfair, naïve and irresponsible”. It may … Read More
In defence of council newspapers
“Town Hall Pravdas” are in the news and anyone would think after reading some of the coverage that every council in the country is hell-bent on destroying the local press. Politicians, lobbyists and the media have painted a misleading picture of council newspapers and magazines, implying that a handful of London Borough newspapers are typical of the rest of the … Read More
Spin Doctor Alert
Just when you thought you were safe from Peter Mandelson up he pops again. Instead of taking Ed Miliband’s hint that he should be “packed off to an old folks home” he is setting up an international lobbying agency. How alarmed we should be about this depends on how we interpret Neil Kinnock’s comment that “people who say Peter Mandelson … Read More
Multimedia Miracles
The death of local newspapers has been monotonously foretold over and over again for the past 20 years, yet thankfully most of them are still with us. This week the pundits of doom claim to have further evidence that the end is nigh with the news that Google is about to move into the local advertising market by buying Groupon … Read More
Multimedia Miracles
The death of local newspapers has been monotonously foretold for the past 20 years