Sometimes it's hard to know who to believe in times of economic woe. Let's compare the Metro and The Independent today. In the latter, we hear: "Retailers still hope for late rush as shoppers stay home". But in the Metro: "Last-minute shoppers come to stores' rescue". Two contrasting reports that left me completely confused on the way into work this morning. The Metro based its report on national footfall going up 7.1% year-on-year, whereas we hear from the Independent that footfall is down 8.4%. Surely these footfall results are coming from different companies, and doesn't that just show how you should never believe statistics? How can two newspapers get such different results, and who is right? There are lies, damn lies and then there's statistics. Winston Churchill was right all along...
It's that time of year again. Christmas Day is upon us this Thursday, and it's an extra special day for me as it's my birthday too. So let's clear a few things up: I do NOT get one set of presents and it's NOT annoying! In fact, I have a half-birthday on June 25th when I get presents and I suppose I've got used to having a birthday on December 25th, as I've done it for 19 years already. And it's actually really good, an excellent party piece to drop into conversation every now and again! Happy Christmas, by the way - and Happy Birthday to anyone who shares their birthday with me, like Jesus! Apart from the fact he was actually born sometime in September, but not to worry...
By the way, I'm currently working back at Premier Christian Radio in Westminster after getting back from a good term in Sheffield. I'm also going to be at The Week magazine for six days next month, which will be fun too! Looks like it's going to be a busy Christmas...
Monday, 22 December 2008
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
NICE TO SEE YOU, TO SEE YOU NICE
It's been a weekend of drama on Strictly Come Dancing, in another typical overreaction from the BBC and the great British public. First there was Ross and Brand, which despite being unethical and vulgar in content, was actually seen as quite funny by most of its t
arget audience - I don't like either of them but lots of people I know think they're hilarious. Now we have a voting 'scandal' on Strictly, because the production team were not prepared for a tie between two candidates from the judges' scoring. Whilst this should have been forseen and avoided in planning meetings, these "exceptional circumstances" are certainly not "unforgivable", as the BBC's Jon Beazley said today. Unfortunately every time there is a slight issue at the BBC it's blown into a full-scale disaster and Mark Thompson is rolled out to give a public apology. The BBC needs to delegate power more efficiently and keep things in proportion.
PICTURE: BBC Entertainment
The departure of newspaper groups Mecom, Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror from the FTSE 250 underlines the concerns for media organisations during the economic crisis. Shareholders in Johnston and Mecom have been concerned about their debts for some t
ime, but Trinity Mirror's crash out is just as surprising as ITV falling from the FTSE 100 in September. Trinity (which owns many regional papers and nationals such as the Daily Mirror and The People) has traditionally been a market-leader under the direction of Sly Bailey [pictured], but falling circulation and advertising revenues are starting to take their toll on the business. It's ironic that at a time when there is such a huge interest in news - specifically financial and business - so many newspaper groups are in big trouble. How long until the market turns round? Who knows. (Disclosure of Interest: I hold shares in Mecom and have previously worked for Trinity Mirror).
PICTURE: The Guardian
There's was a great story in today's Daily Mail about how romantic comedies can have an adverse effect on your love life. They give people "unrealistic – and potentially unhealthy – expectations about real-life relationships", say researchers. Well it wouldn't be a good film otherwise though, would it?! Imagine watching Love Actually and everyone falling out with each other some insignificant issue like what to have on their toast... at least Romeo and Juliet didn't quite go to plan.
arget audience - I don't like either of them but lots of people I know think they're hilarious. Now we have a voting 'scandal' on Strictly, because the production team were not prepared for a tie between two candidates from the judges' scoring. Whilst this should have been forseen and avoided in planning meetings, these "exceptional circumstances" are certainly not "unforgivable", as the BBC's Jon Beazley said today. Unfortunately every time there is a slight issue at the BBC it's blown into a full-scale disaster and Mark Thompson is rolled out to give a public apology. The BBC needs to delegate power more efficiently and keep things in proportion.PICTURE: BBC Entertainment
The departure of newspaper groups Mecom, Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror from the FTSE 250 underlines the concerns for media organisations during the economic crisis. Shareholders in Johnston and Mecom have been concerned about their debts for some t
ime, but Trinity Mirror's crash out is just as surprising as ITV falling from the FTSE 100 in September. Trinity (which owns many regional papers and nationals such as the Daily Mirror and The People) has traditionally been a market-leader under the direction of Sly Bailey [pictured], but falling circulation and advertising revenues are starting to take their toll on the business. It's ironic that at a time when there is such a huge interest in news - specifically financial and business - so many newspaper groups are in big trouble. How long until the market turns round? Who knows. (Disclosure of Interest: I hold shares in Mecom and have previously worked for Trinity Mirror).PICTURE: The Guardian
There's was a great story in today's Daily Mail about how romantic comedies can have an adverse effect on your love life. They give people "unrealistic – and potentially unhealthy – expectations about real-life relationships", say researchers. Well it wouldn't be a good film otherwise though, would it?! Imagine watching Love Actually and everyone falling out with each other some insignificant issue like what to have on their toast... at least Romeo and Juliet didn't quite go to plan.
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
IN THE NORTHERN SLUMS
Karen Matthews isn't exactly the tabloid's most favourite character at the moment, and this story does highlight some interesting questions about areas like Dewsbury. I've got nothing against northerners - it's not their fault they were born above Watford [as noted by the Policy Exchange think tank during the summer] - but some of these slum estates are rightly said to "form a picture of a broken-down Britian propped up on benefits" (The Guardian, 8/12/2008). The viscious circle of crime and poverty that engulfs some parts of Yorkshire isn't helped by pictures of local residents standing outside their houses drinking cans of Carling - not very impressive when seen by the average Briton. This town has been called "a small pocket of working-class life that politicians and the chattering classes know exists but prefer to ignore" (Daily Mirror, 19/3/2008), and that's spot on. But should politicians care? Aren't these sort of areas always going to be like that? I knew the tale of Shannon was a chav story right from the start - and look what's happened. The poor girl would never get a chance in life, simply because of where she is brought up - and her mother's inability to be a parent. People like Karen Matthews need to sharpen up and get a job, as it's not fair on everyone who earns an honest living. She's received a lot of criticism from the media recently - and I think they're right.
Before I get slated by my northern friends [who, for the record, are all very nice people, and not in any way like Karen Matthews], I'll move onto a more happy note. There was a hilarious
financial article in today's Daily Telegraph which I must share with you: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3683059/Care-worker-offered-84-million-overdraft-by-bank.html. A woman who wanted to extend her overdraft from £200 to £250 ended up getting an overdraft of £84,480,090. That's certainly one way to beat the credit crunch! I liked the way an Alliance and Leicester spokesperson said: "We apologise for any inconvenience or upset caused" - as if you would be distressed by getting £84 million more than you asked for...
PICTURE: SWNS
Best wishes to Bobby Robson, who received the Freeman of Durham yesterday, on his road to recovery from cancer. He is a footballing legend, and a great man off the pitch too. In his own words: "I'm eating, sleeping and going to football — I'm trying to get as much enjoyment out of life as I can." And he's managed to find the time to raise over £1 million for charity too!
Before I get slated by my northern friends [who, for the record, are all very nice people, and not in any way like Karen Matthews], I'll move onto a more happy note. There was a hilarious
financial article in today's Daily Telegraph which I must share with you: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3683059/Care-worker-offered-84-million-overdraft-by-bank.html. A woman who wanted to extend her overdraft from £200 to £250 ended up getting an overdraft of £84,480,090. That's certainly one way to beat the credit crunch! I liked the way an Alliance and Leicester spokesperson said: "We apologise for any inconvenience or upset caused" - as if you would be distressed by getting £84 million more than you asked for...PICTURE: SWNS
Best wishes to Bobby Robson, who received the Freeman of Durham yesterday, on his road to recovery from cancer. He is a footballing legend, and a great man off the pitch too. In his own words: "I'm eating, sleeping and going to football — I'm trying to get as much enjoyment out of life as I can." And he's managed to find the time to raise over £1 million for charity too!
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
ALL RISE
I've had a bit of a manic week since I started court reporting on my course, but it's been very interesting and great fun. In Sheffield, we've got a Crown Court, Coroner's Court and Magistrates Court, so there's plenty going on. Over the past few days, I've heard about a 38-stone alcholic woman who died from scalding because she couldn't get out of the bath; a Kurdish man who rammed into another car and was traced because he left behind his numberplate on the road; and a man who sprays graffitti wherever God tells him to. Fascinating. Court reporting is very undervalued in local and regional newspapers today due to cost cutbacks, but I still think it's a superb source of stories - even though there is a minefield of legal restrictions on reports.
Student papers are an interesting phenomenon. The Guardian have recently held their Student Media Awards 2008, and the best newspaper gong went to Felix (Imperial College London). Their ex-editor, Tom Roberts, described the operation as 24/7 before prin
t deadlines - and it was him doing the 24/7 bit... This reminds me somewhat of our own operation in Sheffield, called Forge Press - and I speak from experience, as I am the news editor! It involves around 32 hours a fortnight, and this is all voluntary. Why do I do it, and why does the team do it? Quite simply, we love journalism - and it's great to work with people like me, in that way.
Many thanks to Trevor and Ray for picking out Chelsea v Southend United in The FA Cup third round draw. That is going to be one heck of a game, and I can't wait - the atmosphere will be tremendous with 7,000 Shrimpers planning to make the journey from Essex in early January. I'm off to Leicester City this weekend, which is a fitting stadium to be the 30th ground I have visited out of the 92 in the Football League. I've also got trips to planned to MK Dons and Leyton Orient over Christmas - alongside the small matter of a visit to Stamford Bridge...yes, I know we will probably get hit for six, but let me enjoy the excitement and anticipation for the moment!
Student papers are an interesting phenomenon. The Guardian have recently held their Student Media Awards 2008, and the best newspaper gong went to Felix (Imperial College London). Their ex-editor, Tom Roberts, described the operation as 24/7 before prin
t deadlines - and it was him doing the 24/7 bit... This reminds me somewhat of our own operation in Sheffield, called Forge Press - and I speak from experience, as I am the news editor! It involves around 32 hours a fortnight, and this is all voluntary. Why do I do it, and why does the team do it? Quite simply, we love journalism - and it's great to work with people like me, in that way.PICTURE: Teri Pengilley, The Guardian
Many thanks to Trevor and Ray for picking out Chelsea v Southend United in The FA Cup third round draw. That is going to be one heck of a game, and I can't wait - the atmosphere will be tremendous with 7,000 Shrimpers planning to make the journey from Essex in early January. I'm off to Leicester City this weekend, which is a fitting stadium to be the 30th ground I have visited out of the 92 in the Football League. I've also got trips to planned to MK Dons and Leyton Orient over Christmas - alongside the small matter of a visit to Stamford Bridge...yes, I know we will probably get hit for six, but let me enjoy the excitement and anticipation for the moment!
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
100 NOT OUT
Many congratulations to The Journalist, magazine of the National Union of Journalists, which has just released a centenary issue. It's been standing up for hacks over 100 years, and does so in the current issue with an interesting insight into the Press Association's Yorkshire base in Howden. A former worker describes a "battery hen atmosphere" with "the air of alienation and control freakery", which is highly amusing seeing as I recently spoke to Margaret Hicks, PA Head of Production, who said her organisation is "fast, fair and accurate" and that Howden is a great place to work. Don't think I want to end up there, then, but stranger things have happened...
Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist murdered in 2006, is a benchmark professional for her trade. The judge ordered the court to be closed to press and public for the trial over her death, but now it has reopened again and we hear a Russian politician was behind the assassination, according to a defence lawyer quoted in The Guardian today. If this is true, we have a prime example of how censorship can get out of hand - yes, military D-Notices are a pretty good idea so as to protect tactics and weather forecasts from the enemy, but look at how many countries still rely on the BBC World Service for their news, as they know it's impartial. If it weren't for investigative journalists like Politkovskaya, we'd never get to find out what goes on behind closed doors. She has had a fair amount of publicity since her death, but deserves even more.
And finally, there's a bunch of young lads and lasses in my very own Sheffield who are upset because they've been handed Acceptable Behaviour Contracts for playing football in the street. But their parents have refused to sign the contracts because they claim their children were doing nothing wrong. Look at the kids in this picture, they would never step outside the law - it's not as if they come from a council estate in South Yorkshire or anything.
Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist murdered in 2006, is a benchmark professional for her trade. The judge ordered the court to be closed to press and public for the trial over her death, but now it has reopened again and we hear a Russian politician was behind the assassination, according to a defence lawyer quoted in The Guardian today. If this is true, we have a prime example of how censorship can get out of hand - yes, military D-Notices are a pretty good idea so as to protect tactics and weather forecasts from the enemy, but look at how many countries still rely on the BBC World Service for their news, as they know it's impartial. If it weren't for investigative journalists like Politkovskaya, we'd never get to find out what goes on behind closed doors. She has had a fair amount of publicity since her death, but deserves even more.
And finally, there's a bunch of young lads and lasses in my very own Sheffield who are upset because they've been handed Acceptable Behaviour Contracts for playing football in the street. But their parents have refused to sign the contracts because they claim their children were doing nothing wrong. Look at the kids in this picture, they would never step outside the law - it's not as if they come from a council estate in South Yorkshire or anything.PICTURE: Dean Atkins (The Star)
Monday, 17 November 2008
THE FACE OF JOURNALISM
Last Thursday I got paid £20 for a 40-minute prospectus photoshoot, so I am going to be the next 'face of journalism' at the University of Sheffield! The department got some good news this week too, as The Times have said it's the best place to study journalism in the country. My 200 mile trip up here was worth it after all... Meanwhile, I've finally finished an essay on alternative media for a course module, which I was quite relieved about in the end. I'm certainly enjoying broadcast work much more than theory this year, as we've already had the chance to go out and interview people - and camera work starts next Friday, which will be good fun!
The case of Baby P is shocking, and the News of the World did some good investigative work yesterday with a good witness interview. But why can we see the baby's photo and not their name? Surely the picture identifies it, and you're allowed to identify a baby/child in the media once they're dead anyway. But I couldn't believe the Haringey council leader showing the media 'performance graphs' at a press conference to show how well they'd done - what a joke!
Am I too young to get some business cards? Well I finally gave into the temptation of buying 250 "free" from VistaPrint, despite the fact that after all the extra costs it actually came to £4.78, but not to worry. I only hope I didn't make a spelling mistake and have to correct them all with a marker pen.
It's back home for the weekend this Friday to see (the family and) Southend United v Oldham Athletic - a good chance to pick up three points, and remind Lee Hughes that he should still be in jail...
The case of Baby P is shocking, and the News of the World did some good investigative work yesterday with a good witness interview. But why can we see the baby's photo and not their name? Surely the picture identifies it, and you're allowed to identify a baby/child in the media once they're dead anyway. But I couldn't believe the Haringey council leader showing the media 'performance graphs' at a press conference to show how well they'd done - what a joke!
Am I too young to get some business cards? Well I finally gave into the temptation of buying 250 "free" from VistaPrint, despite the fact that after all the extra costs it actually came to £4.78, but not to worry. I only hope I didn't make a spelling mistake and have to correct them all with a marker pen.
It's back home for the weekend this Friday to see (the family and) Southend United v Oldham Athletic - a good chance to pick up three points, and remind Lee Hughes that he should still be in jail...
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
THE WEEK THAT WAS (according to China)
I've just returned happily unsoaked from a great week at Soul Survivor Momentum, held at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet. I say 'happily unsoaked' because last year was so wet that I never wanted to go back again - but after a bit of persuasion from friends I was back under canvas. I really hate camping, but I suppose it's a suitable sacrifice for a great Christian student conference. Loads of teaching, worship and single women desperate for a nice Christian husband - what could possibly be a better way to spend a bank holiday weekend?
The Olympics have got nothing but praise in the national press, and although Team GB's achievements were pretty good, there's no doubt that it highlighted some serious flaws in China. There was the allegedly underage female gymnast, the etiquette sheet on how to clap and cheer, the free tickets given to students in order to fill up stadiums which clearly hadn't sold out, the computer-generated fake fireworks - and, of course, the singing little girl who wasn't. Now whilst I don't think it's right we impose our own right-wing system on this country, I think the Olympics have shown how far behind China still is. But then again, you've got the great media facilities, fantastic stadiums and tight security that show it wasn't all bad. And I just want to celebrate Britain finally succeeding in the majority of sports that we invented anyway.
Whilst the Olympics have dominated the papers because it's been a bank holiday weekend and there's no other news anyway, I would like to draw your attention to an article in the Daily Mirror on Saturday, about the most violent cities in the UK. You can view it here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/08/23/the-most-dangerous-places-in-england-115875-20708340/
I go to university in Sheffield (which is the second most violent) and work in Westminster (which is the fourth). So this report certainly got my attention! I feel safe in both areas to be honest, but that's perhaps because I frequent the nice parts at the right times. Still, it wasn't the most reassuring thing to read over the weekend, and I my mother doesn't know about it. Yet.
The Olympics have got nothing but praise in the national press, and although Team GB's achievements were pretty good, there's no doubt that it highlighted some serious flaws in China. There was the allegedly underage female gymnast, the etiquette sheet on how to clap and cheer, the free tickets given to students in order to fill up stadiums which clearly hadn't sold out, the computer-generated fake fireworks - and, of course, the singing little girl who wasn't. Now whilst I don't think it's right we impose our own right-wing system on this country, I think the Olympics have shown how far behind China still is. But then again, you've got the great media facilities, fantastic stadiums and tight security that show it wasn't all bad. And I just want to celebrate Britain finally succeeding in the majority of sports that we invented anyway.
Whilst the Olympics have dominated the papers because it's been a bank holiday weekend and there's no other news anyway, I would like to draw your attention to an article in the Daily Mirror on Saturday, about the most violent cities in the UK. You can view it here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/08/23/the-most-dangerous-places-in-england-115875-20708340/
I go to university in Sheffield (which is the second most violent) and work in Westminster (which is the fourth). So this report certainly got my attention! I feel safe in both areas to be honest, but that's perhaps because I frequent the nice parts at the right times. Still, it wasn't the most reassuring thing to read over the weekend, and I my mother doesn't know about it. Yet.
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