Newspapers need to invest in people too

Some depressing, but not totally unsurprising, news from TrinityMirror.
Fresh from much-trumpeted investment in new technology across the group, particularly in its regional papers such as The Birmingham Post, comes warnings of further “efficiency savings” after it revealed profits would be down 10pc this year.
Such efficiency savings have become regular occurrences for TM titles in recent years.
But [...]

Blogging in newspapers - the 3Cs still apply

One of my old editors kept banging on about the 3Cs - credibility, credibility, credibility.
If there was one basic mistake in a front-page exclusive splash then that story was ruined in his eyes.
His attitude irritated the hell out of me when I was a reporter because I felt he couldn’t see the bigger picture - [...]

Abandon all hope for journalism

The public’s trust in journalists has dropped significantly in recent years.
Is anyone surprised?
Today has seen a classic example of why the profession is suffering such a bad image.
The Sun splashes a “world exclusive” about twin baby girls abandoned by their ageing parents ”because they were the wrong sex” at a Midlands hospital after being conceived through [...]

Controversial, ME? Whatever could you mean?

Of course, the thing about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is that it is such a controversial disease. Isn’t it?
I hate starting articles with direct quotes, so that little indirect observation is a very slight paraphrase of something a fellow journalist said to me a few weeks ago.
I just about resisted the temptation to respond by paraphrasing Joe [...]

Blogging in “our” newspapers

No blinding flash of revelation here, just a decision to write down what has been in my head for quite some time regarding journalism, newspapers and blogging.
It has been brought into sharper focus in recent days by the storm in a check-out queue created by one of The Birmingham Post’s guest bloggers.
I wondered on my [...]

Journalists standing in the way of justice

A useful article on holdthefrontpage.co.uk from a leading media lawyer on the possible implications of some coverage of the Shannon Matthews case on future trials.
Can those charged in relation to the child’s alleged abduction expect a fair trial given some of the stories that have already appeared?
We have seen similar concerns raised before in other [...]

Twitter uncovered

An interesting and informative article by Paul Bradshaw on Twitter for journalists.
I’m starting to see the light.
So there is more to it than telling people what you’re having for dinner.
Its happening. They’re dragging us kicking, screaming and grumbling into the brave new world.

“Churnalism” has a familiar ring

A new book claims that national newspapers mainly recycle newswire copy and PR puff for their home news sections.
Describing this trend as “churnalism”, the book’s author says research shows that around 80 per cent of news stories in the quality UK national newspapers is not original copy generated by in-house journalists.
Nick Davies, a journalist with [...]