No room left for slow starters

You only get one chance to make a good first impression. It is one of those throwaway lines that litter our lives, particularly in business.
But there is certainly some truth in the cliche.
And it seems to be increasingly the case in the world of television.
TV is still a dominant force in society, but there is little doubt that [...]

Editors complain about too much choice

Having mulled over the BBC’s plans to increase its local video output online and the less than enthusiastic response of The Newspaper Society for a few days I’m still left with the same question.
Isn’t one of the big plus points of the “digital revolution” the fact that we now have more choice?
So the Society’s attitude would [...]

Still think this is fair and balanced, Mr Dacre?

I must admit I had a moment of “Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?” when Paul Dacre, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission’s Code Committee, defended press coverage of a spate of suicides in South Wales.
The editor of The Daily Mail said although coverage of the deaths had rightly sparked much public debate but that much [...]

It isn’t just the BBC that is falling short

After the non-story about presenters’ salaries, it is quite refreshing to see the much-vaunted BBC Trust actually sticking the boot in a bit.
The Beeb has been told to improve its coverage of the UK’s nations and regions in its main news bulletins and factual programmes, with the Trust accusing it of “falling short of its [...]

Social networking - friend or foe?

Nine out of ten people want specific guidelines for the media on the use of personal information published online.
According to the study carried out by the Press Complaints Commission, 89% of those questioned believe clear regulations were necessary and would help them more easily seek redress if material is wrong or intrusive.
Concerns about the amount of [...]

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 [...]

Paying the price for diving into the media pool

I have a certain amount of sympathy for the authorities in Australia who suggest two divers rescued after 18 hours lost at sea off the Great Barrier Reef should contribute to the cost of the operation.
There is a certain amount of disgruntled mumbling coming from the land down under after the couple - a British man and [...]

All fall down on The Apprentice

This week on The Apprentice it started badly and got steadily worse.
I don’t know what I found more ghastly - the sight of Michael in his boxers stumbling into the bathroom, or his sulky, petulant drawl as he explained how “up” for it he was.
Uuuurrgghhh.
At least it was balanced with the impeccable Raef getting ready for the [...]

The art of murketing

An interesting Q&A on Eyecube with Rob Walker, prolific marketing writer and commentator for the likes of the New York Times Magazine.
The man who coined the term murketing has released a new book, Buying In. 
As a cynical hack, getting older by the day, there are one or two things he says that my traditionalist journalist brain is fighting [...]

BBC in a knot over knitting

This is a story of our times.
A Dr Who fan and uber-knitter decides to publish patterns online for other fans to create knitted versions of the Ood and the programme’s other monsters.
A bit of fun? Undoubtedly.
Does the BBC share the joke? Absolutely not.
The patterns of Ood and Adipose have now been removed from her website after [...]