In 1999, Burger King UK announced the launch of the new left-handed Whopper designed to fit more comfortably in the left hand, resulting in fewer ‘spills’. In 1994, PC Computing blew the lid on legislative efforts to ban the use of the Internet while drunk. In 1985, George Plimpton pulled off one of the biggest…
Monthly Archives: March 2007
All the booze that’s fit to drink
H.L. Mencken‘s motto was clear: “I’ve made it a rule to never drink by daylight and never refuse a drink after dark.” Ambrose Bierce said, it is “a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure (of a drink).” When an editor asked columnist Murray Kempton, “How much more?” the Pulitzer…
How close can journalists get to their sources?
Britain’s premier interviewer Jeremy Paxman, in conversation with Michael White, the Guardian‘s political editor, and blogger Paul Staines alias Guido Fawkes, who argues that the proximity of political journalists short-changes readers, listeners, and viewers. White’s response: Are we all lackeys or very naive? Isn’t it true of sports journalists, too? Link via Martin Stabe
Does journalism have any power any longer?
As the eyes and ears of the paying public, the media digs, probes, investigates, asks questions, writes stinging editorials, and does all the hard work that we should do and we are expected to do. But does it amount to anything at all? It’s an uncomfortable question but somebody’s got to ask it, and Brian…
What every budding TV journo needs to do
Every bright kid now wants to do television journalism. But what are the demands of television news? How are stories edited? How are news programmes made? Britain’s Channel 4 has just launched a fantastic interactive programme called “Breaking the News” that every aspiring television journalist might like to make use of. The site allows you…
Sauce for the goose isn’t sauce for the gander
One of the most successful publicity stunts employed by an media house is Time magazine’s “Man/Woman/Person/Product of the Year” gig. What is essentially just another cover story, with all the subjectivity and biases of its editors and reporters, is packaged and sold to the world as if it is gospel truth. And every media outlet …
Wanted: Researchers for global citizen journalism
Oh My News, the pioneering South Korean citizen journalism initiative, has launched a collaborative, open source research into independent citizen journalism web sites around the world. It wants international citizen reporters to conduct interviews with founders of such sites, some of whom will be invited to the 3rd International Citizen Reporters’ Forum to be held…
The five principles of citizen journalism
Dan Gillmor‘s Center for Citizen Media has just outlined the five Principles of Citizen Journalism. It’s an attempt, as it says, to “detail the bedrock foundations of journalism to help citizen reporters grasp the fundamentals of the craft in a networked age.” The principles are: Accuracy, Thoroughness, Fairness, Transparency and Independence. “We’re not saying that…
And the biggest drunk in journalism is…
Like it or lump it, the most hilarious stories in journalism with a capital J are built around alcohol. Pete Hamill, the legendary New York columnist, in fact called his memoirs A Drinking Life with remarkable candour. “The culture of drink endures because it offers so many rewards: confidence for the shy, clarity for the…
Forget newspapers, what about letter-writing?
G.N. MOHAN forwards an advertisement for Australia Post, reproduced courtesy http://kuteev.livejournal.com that harks back to a not-so-long-ago past and exhorts people to put pen to paper rather than mouse to pad. Owners, publishers, editors, journalists everywhere are wondering how long newspapers will survive in the digital age. But is letter writing as an art form…
What employers (should) look for in fresh recruits
This is the time of the year when journalism students start packing up, start interning, start applying for jobs, and start praying. In the days and weeks to come, they will meet an unknown, unfathomable monster called “HR”. What do employers look for from fresh recruits? A neat CV, nice references, good clippings will help,…
Here it goes: The most creative video of 2006
YouTube has announced the winners of the 2006 video awards, and this user-generated attempt by OKGo has been declared the most creative video of the year gone by.
85% newspaper editors hopeful of the future
The vast majority of newspaper editors world-wide are optimistic about the future of their newspapers, according to a new global survey released today that provides an insider’s view to newsroom attitudes and strategies. The “Newsroom Barometer,” conducted by Zogby International for the Paris-based World Editors Forum and Reuters, found that 85 per cent of editors…
Wanted: Contributions on Anything & Everything
JAVIER MARTI writes: Trendirama.com is a community of amateur writers writing about The Future of Everything. Join us and write an article on anything you are passionate about. Perhaps even “The Future of Newspapers”, if you are a journalist, student journalist or citizen journalist! If you own a blog or a site, you can get…
The guest shouldn’t be god in the newsroom
“Guest editing” is catching on like a virus in Indian media in the name of making journalism more exciting and reader-friendly. One day, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is dropping his pearls of wisdom in the editor’s chamber. Another day, actress Ramya is giving newsrooms an oomphy look. And on a third, actor Vishnuvardhan is going…
The shifting ground beneath our laden feet
The old media in India has still to come to terms with participatory media, user-generated content, newsroom blogs, etcetera. But in the US of A, where falling circulations and plunging reader interest have resulted in introspection of the obscene kind, the traditional media is wrestling with the new world that we never thought would dawn…
‘Silence is the most overrated virtue’
For decades she has had the honour of asking the first question at White House press conferences. Now, Helen Thomas, the grand old dame of Washington journalism, answers the Proust Questionnaire in this month’s Vanity Fair. What is your motto? Know when you are happy. Know yourself. Know your enemy. Ask not for whom the…
The exceptional beauty among the beasts
The stereotypical image of the journalist—at least the male Indian one—is of a paunchy beast bred on cheap liquor, with dark lines under the eyes, stained teeth, nasal hairs (!), who may or not have a scraggy beard, with no dress sense or social graces. (Yes, there are exceptions but they quickly shift to television,…
‘The future of newspapers isn’t in print’
Robert Scoble has seen the future and he says it isn’t in print. His son, he says, will neither subscribe to, nor read, a newspaper. “The industry has NOT invested in its future. It is reaping the rewards of that. How many future journalists are being trained for the online world? I can tell you…
Why can’t All India Radio be like this?
The first thing that strikes you as you read ‘Listening to America’, a 1995 compilation of pieces carried by America’s National Public Radio on its wonderful programme, All Things Considered, is the yawning gap between public broadcasting there and here. Just what is it, you wonder, that enables tax payers’ money to be used so…
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