It's inevitable with breaking stories that the media is going to call some things wrong, what's more concerning is that it tends to do this in ways that are revealing of deeper problems. Immediately after the attacks in Norway the commentariat's initial reaction was to blame it on Islamic terrorism, which is understandable because...
Read more →As the last fees post explored, my reading of the Browne report is that they found it's the responsibility of the state to ensure a decent level of funding for education but also that the government decision making process can't be trusted to carry this out - requiring a system in which money is compelled out...
Read more →It's tough being a tabloid newspaper sub-editor. Generally, it's agreed that articles are easier to read if they have a picture, but it's too expensive to send a photographer to get an original photograph for every story. So, to fill the gap, stock photo companies, such as Alamy, build massive databases of weird and...
Read more →Note: I started writing this piece back in January, the recent (and completely predictable) announcements that everyone who can get away with it will be charging the maximum spurred me to go back and finish it off. I saw Aaron Porter on the 10 o’clock the other week (note: now many, many months ago)...
Read more →You cannot hope to bribe or twist, thank God! the British journalist. But, seeing what the man will do unbribed, there's no occasion to. Humbert Wolfe (1885-1940)
Read more →A rather amusing leader piece from a 2009 edition of the News of the World has come to light today as the NOTW releases its final issue. LAST week the News of the World was the subject of some ferocious and, at times, hysterical attacks on its credibility, integrity and journalistic standards. The onslaught...
Read more →To break away a bit from our 'ALL PHONE HACKING ALL THE TIME' postings, let's kick off part one of a million part series where we explore how the West Wing relates to everything in life. The (now a litttle old) story that Scalia holds the 14th Amendment doesn't apply to women reminds me...
Read more →I wrote my initial blog post regarding the phone hacking affair just hours after the story about Millie Dowler broke on Monday night. The post was partly fuelled by disbelief and shock, but still tried to make a few predictions about how the whole thing may pan out and what the ultimate effect would...
Read more →While new revelations on the saga are pouring in by the hour, The Magistrate's Blog points out that there's a fair amount of repeat revelation as Wade admitted to paying police officers for information years ago. In other news, Michael White is busy brandishing his insider credentials and reminds us that the NOTW isn't all bad as some of...
Read more →One of the things I'm interesting in at the moment is how through the internet we're seeing a form of activist emerge, looking to change the world through fairly untraditional means. As some of the most high profile and interesting examples, I'm going to look at Wikileaks and Facebook. My starting point is the idea...
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