Journalism blog mash-up 2

[Bristol Editor] The six P’s of sourcing a social media agency

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:40:33 GMT

Whilst reviewing my Twitter account today, I noticed three additional follows from new social media agencies in Bristol within the last week. Nothing surprising in that – after all, I try to consistently post useful content, How To blog posts and leading thinking and developments daily there for social media marketing, blogging outreach, SEO copywriting,...

Read the rest of this entry...

[WannabeHacks] How to handle a group job interview

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:38:26 GMT

Recently, a wonderful thing happened. I got called up for an interview in a national newspaper. I was so shocked I didn’t know how to react, except by saying of course I would be there, no doubt about it. The

[Sans Serif] Now, NewsX says it is the ‘No.1 English channel’

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:00:04 GMT

If our TV stations cannot even put out numbers of their viewership which have a faint whiff of credibility, can they real put out news and views that news consumers can trust and believe? NewsX, the news channel which has already seen three sets of owners since its launch, is running crawlers on its screens […]

[Alison Gow] My 'interesting reads' roundup (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (Alison Gow) — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:32:00 GMT

Retwact: A Tool for Fixing Twitter's Misinformation Problem - The Atlantic

tags: journalism twitter

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

[Peter Sands] Outlining the case for shorthand

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Sands) — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:15:00 GMT

The Sun's Graham Dudman: If you apply for a job here and you don't have shorthand your CV is going in the bin.

With everything that is changing in the media, it is reassuring to know that shorthand is still regarded as an essential tool for journalists. This is not some whim of old-fashioned editors but the recognition that there are many jobs reporters simply can't do without it. The NCTJ has put together this video which has many big-hitters from the industry putting the case for shorthand. I particularly like the quote from The Sun's Graham Dudman who says if you don't have shorthand 'it's like playing football without football boots. It's not going to happen.' He also says that if you don't have your shorthand you are 'a potential liability to your paper and we don't want you in the newsroom'.

A couple of years ago I posted the article below, which makes the case for shorthand. The NCTJ video reminded me that it is just as valid today, so worth dusting down:

Two interesting snippets are doing the rounds this week that show shorthand is still thriving at journalism training centres. First there is this quite brilliant short video Why I love Teeline posted by Julie Starr on the Evolving Newsroom and brought to my attention by@danbloom1. Then there is the story of Anneka Masih, a journalism student at Staffordshire University, who has shown her devotion to her craft by having her name tattooed on her leg ... in Teeline.

Shorthand, or more specifically Teeline, has played a big part in my life. First there were my experiences, as a trainee, in Mrs Mawston's sitting room in Whitley Bay every Wednesday afternoon.
Then, when I ran courses in Hastings, gaining 100 words per minute was essential. Some trainees were told by their editors 'don't come back unless you get it.' You can imagine the pressure. The brilliant Sylvia Bennett delivered 75-minute sessions first thing every morning followed by another hour from midday to 1pm. She had a great success rate. She still does, running the shorthand on PA Training foundation course in London as does her counterpart Susan Nixon in Newcastle. It was shorthand that dominated the last days of the course as the pressure mounted. It was shorthand that caused tears and distress. No matter how good you were at bringing in stories or penning a readable feature, if you failed shorthand your editor would be unhappy. One editor asked me to pass on this message and we put it up on the noticeboard: "If you don't have shorthand you are a liability in my newsroom. I can't send you to court or council and, in a small team, you will need to slope off for extra lessons when you should be out gathering stories. My message is simple. Get your shorthand at Hastings or don't come back."
It always struck me that some good people were lost to journalism because of this. It is also unfair. National newspapers are littered with big name writers who have never been near a Pitman or Teeline class. Nevertheless, the industry insists shorthand is still an essential requirement. I interview trainees for the Daily Mail and you are unlikely to get over the first hurdle if you don't have shorthand (and a driving licence). At a student conference last year Graham Dudman, managing editor of The Sun, told delegates: “Number one is shorthand. I want to know that you can write shorthand at 100wpm.” Apart from being a required tool having shorthand also adds to your professionalism. I recall the judge who, having studied a reporter's shorthand note, advised the jury that this was not a hack but a professional man. Then there was the case of England Football manager Glenn Hoddle being interviewed by Matt Dickinson of The Times. Hoddle told Dickinson that he believed disabled people and others were being punished for their sins in a former life. In the argument that followed Dickinson's professional shorthand note was critical ... both to his reputation and Hoddle's future.
I know we can use tapes - but not always. Here's Kim Fletcher, chairman of the NCTJ, on the Today programme: “If you have a shorthand note you can find the quote very quickly. You go in with a tape recorder, or a digital recorder, and if you’ve spent an hour in there with your recorder you’ve got an hour of tape to go through, that takes quite a long time.” Journalism is changing rapidly of course and in a world of social media, video, forums, blogs, and the like - not everyone will need to write at 100wpm.
For now though, if you are studying journalism you should learn to drive, build up a stunning portfolio, pass your law exam and GET YOUR SHORTHAND.

[Alison Gow] Advice from the Green Ink Brigade

noreply@blogger.com (Alison Gow) — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:37:00 GMT

This comment on a HTFP story about the continuing Daily Post Right to Tweet campaign (of which, more here) made smile ruefully

Many of the commenters on articles about the campaign (and thanks, HTFP, for being so supportive) take the view we're wasting our time or that live tweeting is actively bringing about the End Of Newspapers.

I disagree with them (of course!) but it's not worth the time or energy to start a dialogue there - I'd rather explain to our readers why they should care.
But we should all care; it's not about press freedom, it's about personal freedom and resisting the default "no" issued way too often when the world evolves, and institutions struggle to keep pace with it.

And I have a problem with the complacent nay sayers (I'm looking at you, 'Kendo Nagasaki' and your ilk). And, although this has changed massively in the past two or three years, there are still some working in newsrooms and still acting as though industry change has been created with the sole intention of making their lives more difficult, chewing over that resentment like it's gum.

Still,the Green Ink Brigade of unknown letter writers is a part of the fabric of the newsroom. Most of them have shifted to email but there are still the treasured letters that arrive from Planets Unknown, like this (he writes to us at least once a week and appears to use a stencil):

I think if he/she ever stops writing to us, we'll be a bit worried.
And it's possible to take a lesson from the GIB. After all, if colleagues in your newsroom think you're showing GIB tendancies for wanting to do crazy things like, oh, run a story on the website before it's been in the newspaper, I'd suggest you don't let T H E B A S T A R D S get you down...

[Paul Bradshaw] Why I stopped working with print publishers (for a while)

Sat, 18 May 2013 08:13:49 GMT

Tweet This was first published on the BBC College of Journalism website: I have just spent 10 months publishing an ebook. Not ‘writing’, or ‘producing’, but 10 months publishing. Just as the internet helped flatten the news industry – making reporters into publishers and distributors – it has done the same to the book industry. The question [...]

[WannabeHacks] CVs, back-ups, and other loose ends

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:00:17 GMT

You join me at the end of a rather hectic week. My Media Law exam was on Monday and my Final Project deadline was just a couple of days later… I won’t lie. Now that the bulk of my major

[Sans Serif] How to pass IAS: read newspapers & magazines

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:31:05 GMT

It is not often these days that news consumers have something good to say about newspapers. And magazines. And TV stations. And blogs. And websites. Individual and institutional transgressions—paid news, private treaties, medianet, Radia tapes, shrieking anchors, sensationalism, jingoism, corruption, etc—have all contributed enormously to the cynicism of the media among the consuming classes. How […]

[Jon Slattery] Quotes of the Week: From nightmare interview with Ginger Baker to Fleet Street's Fergie frenzy

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Slattery) — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

Michael Hann on the Guardian's Music Blog on interviewing drummer Ginger Baker (top) in front of a live audience: "I've had peculiar interviews before. I once sat on the floor in the dressing rooms at Spurs' training ground to talk to Sol Campbell, while John Scales stood just to my right, listening in. He was naked. His penis kept dangling in and out of my eyeline at disconcertingly close range. But I've never had any interview experience quite so unsettling as half an hour with Ginger Baker in front of a couple of hundred people. It's not something I want to repeat."

Mark Ellen interviewed an irascible Ginger Baker for The Word in 2009, you can read an extract here.

Les Hinton on Twitter re-departure of Ian Katz from Guardian to edit Newsnight: Les Hinton ‏@leshinton "Do @guardian journos feel a little abandoned with the popular heir-apparent editor jumping ship just when things get rocky?"

Police Federation chairman Steve Williams, as quoted by the Daily Mail: "There’s been a sea change on the back of Leveson. Cops are very reluctant to speak to the media and say how it really is."

Simon Jenkins in the Guardian: "Giving in to terrorism has given data intrusion, "back door" surveillance and press restriction all the best tunes. The Pentagon pleads 9/11 and Whitehall pleads 7/7. Lord Justice Leveson can only plead Hugh Grant, but he is enough. They all say they want a "responsible press". But the direction of travel is the same, towards the pollution of freedom. Acts of government that would once have caused outrage are now met with a shrug."

Jeremy Clarkson in the Sunday Times [£]: "I’m constantly being hauled over the coals in the Daily Mail and the Daily Star and the Mirror for all sorts of things. Calling Gordon Brown a one-eyed Scottish idiot. Saying public sector workers should be executed. Sparking fury with fox enthusiasts. I’m portrayed as an evil, racist, homophobic misogynist who goes through life stabbing baby badgers for fun. And I’ve worked out that it makes no difference. Taxi drivers still pick me up. People still watch my television shows. My books aren’t remaindered for weeks; sometimes months. That’s because the endless criticism is just a background hum. The BBC should accept this. It should make decisions on what it thinks to be right, not on how that decision will be reviewed in the next day’s papers."

Grey Cardigan responds to a PR on TheSpinAlley: “Dear Kacey-Lee. Thank you for your interest in the well-being of myself and my family. Unfortunately I couldn’t get out in the sun to enjoy myself because I am twice-divorced and therefore don’t have enough money to even pay for a Mr Whippy. As for a barbecue, a Lidl sausage toasted over a blow-lamp is about my limit. My children won’t talk to me, my latest ex-wife is shagging an investment banker while still shafting me for every penny she can get, and I can’t go out in the sun because I have red hair and turn bright crimson if I even walk past a microwave oven. Anyway, it was rainy and foggy up here, somewhere north of Kensington, so there was no sun anyway. Oh, and my dog died, which somewhat took the gloss off the weekend…”

David Simon in The Observer: "You already have too much prior restraint of the British press. I couldn't operate under your press law, couldn't do good journalism consistently. Your ability to criticise people in public or reveal secrets that are in the public's interest are much more constrained than ours. And I find that to be unworkable in terms of democracy."

The Times [£]: "Local authorities are threatening to withdraw advertising from newspapers that publish stories they do not like, according to a survey that examined the impact of the Leveson inquiry on the local press. Nearly half of all local newspaper editors believe that the inquiry into press standards has negatively affected their titles’ relationship with readers. More than a quarter (27 per cent) had received a threat from a public body to suspend advertising as a result of journalistic activity, such as a story being published, a query being made or a reporter attending a meeting."

Brian Cathcart, the executive director of Hacked Off, in a letter to regional newspaper editors, as reported by HoldtheFrontPage: “You may be concerned that any changes to the press regulation system could make your job harder and put extra burdens on regional and local papers. That’s what the Newspaper Society has been warning. I am writing to say that what the Newspaper Society has been telling you is not correct. The Royal Charter approved by all parties in Parliament in March is good for working journalists, good for the regional and local press – and good for the public."

Private Eye on coverage of Alex Ferguson's retirement: "Perhaps the most spectacular example of Stockholm syndrome was displayed by the BBC. Having been sent to Coventry by Ferguson for a full seven years after daring to expose his son Jason's activities as a football agent - a ban which ended only in 2011 - the corporation found the perfect pundit to pay tribute to Sir Alex on Radio Five Live. Step-up long-standing Fergie friend and fellow Labour stalwart Alastair Campbell, the man whose rabid desire to 'fuck Gilligan' over the BBC's WMD story in 2003 brought the corporation as close to extinction as it has ever been."

‏@piersmorgan on Twitter: "'I've never held a grudge against the media, not my style' - Sir Alex Ferguson, who refused to speak to BBC for 5yrs."

BBC Sport Interactive editor Stuart Rowson ‏@StuartRowson on Twitter: "Led by the #MUFC and Fergie coverage, last week was the biggest ever outside of the Olympics for @bbcsport - 17.3m unique UK browsers."

SubScribe by Gameoldgirl on Press Gazette: "The Ferguson retirement killed almost as many trees as the Iron Lady's death. Every daily newspaper, bar the Express, lost touch with reality in a race to be the most obsequious...This is daft. The Knight of the Hairdryer is a football manager. He is retiring, he has not died - and even if he had, this would still be over the top."

[£] = paywall

[Jon Bernstein] What do the following websites have in common?

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:48:49 GMT

So here goes: The New York Times The Atlantic Drudge Report The Huffington Post AOL News Gawker People TMZ Vice E.Online Perez Hilton Buzzfeed The answer: the Daily Mail is gunning for them all. Or rather Mail Online US believes…

[Charlie Beckett] Guardian’s Katz to BBC Newsnight: the significance of a small splash in the London media pond

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:02:18 GMT

In the general scheme of things the move of the deputy editor of a small circulation quality broadsheet to the post of editor of a niche BBC news programme is not seismic. Even in the relatively small pond of London … Continue reading →

[WannabeHacks] Wannabe Hacks meetup 2013: why you should come along this Friday

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:30:54 GMT

So the time has come for Wannabe Hacks’ fourth meetup and I’m sure many of you are wondering whether you should come along to the Shooting Star this Friday. In case you are still in any doubt about attending here are some

[Jeff Jarvis] Selling ads by time, not space

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:28:13 GMT

I just saw some mind-bending work Chartbeat is about to release about measuring the time users spend exposed to an ad online. As background, to quote Chartbeat CEO Tony Haile: “Chartbeat monitors activity by checking in with users every second and looking for signals (mouse movement, key strokes, etc) that show they are actively consuming [...]

[Rick Waghorn] To my right, BT – splashing the cash on content; to my left, Sky with The Cloud for connection. Time we joined the connection business…

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:28:11 GMT

As many of you might be aware, I have long been a fan of Sky – in their ‘local’ guise. Or as ‘local’ as anyone of their ilk can get; so that’s local as in Sky/Tyne&Wear. To this day, you can wander round the streets of London’s Meeja-ville, and people will look at you quizically and say: [...]

[Charlie Beckett] Scouts, Kittens And Integrity: notes towards an ethical & effective strategy for communicating change

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:48:29 GMT

This collection of cliches and half-baked slogans comprises the notes from a talk I gave at the Blue State Digital London offices to a group of charity, think-tank and culture communications officers. It is based mainly on this much longer … Continue reading →

[Adam Tinworth] A last word on "citizen journalism" - hopefully

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:07:52 GMT

Like many ~~opinionated rant~~ online commentators about journalism, I get fairly regular e-mails from students asking for my comments on journalism, blogging and social media. Inspired by Jon Bernstein making his responses to one set of questions public, I've decided to do the same, if only so I can point any future student who wants to ask about this to the post. Because, really, this is probably my last word on "citizen journalism".

1) What are your thoughts on citizen journalism?

It's a horribly dated, misbegotten concept from the mid-2000s that really should have died by now. It's the bastard child of early online enthusiasts who had an axe to grind with the journalism profession, and wanted to see it wiped out, and the arrogance of journalists, who assumed that as soon as the general public had access to publishing tools, they'd start doing journalism. Instead, as we know, they mainly use these tools to publish pictures of babies, cats and inspirational quotes. That, if nothing else, is the lesson of Facebook.

There are three types of people:

Professional journalists - people who are paid to do journalism
Amateur journalists - people who do journalism for free
Ordinary people - some of whom, once in a while, will do something that might be called "citizen journalism".

Sure, the internet has allowed the rise of more amateur journalists - but they existed before. On the whole, they're either serving unprofitable niches, or, if they find a profitable one, rapidly become de facto professional journalists... The more significant elements has been the ability of eyewitnesses and participants in news events to publish material - information, photos and video - from breaking news events without going through a journalist. There is no such thing as a citizen journalist.

There are just citizens, who sometimes engage in the act of journalism.

Besides, since when does becoming a professional journalist make you no longer a citizen? I'm both a citizen and a journalist. Therefore, aren't I a citizen journalist? This concept really wasn't well thought through… And yes, I regret using the phrase "citizen journalist" in my headline on my Guardian Witness post. That was a mistake.

2) Do you think that organisations with a valued reputation such as the BBC are losing out in terms of journalistic content to amateurs that just happen to be in the right place at the right time?

No, because they're actively looking for such material, passing it through their social media verification processes and then building it into stories. "Citizen journalism" isn't competition. It's a source.

5) Do you think that citizen journalism endangers any professional aspects of news gathering and the production of news today or do you think it displays a positive effect?

I think it's a threat to lazy, inaccurate news gathering, as we've seen repeatedly. People can correct shoddy journalism publicly far more easily than they could in the past, and journalists' reputations can be destroyed. It may have a positive effect in the long term, as the media learns how to operate in the knowledge that it will almost always be second reporter on any major breaking news, as people on the groups will end up pushing it out through social media instead. There's a role for journalists in the social media chaos in the immediate aftermath of a major event - but that's fodder for another post.

[Peter Sands] More bills to make you smile ... and wince

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Sands) — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:37:00 GMT

Since my piece on the art of newspaper bill writing and its follow-ups here and here, I have been sent many more examples, some new and some old, but all worth an airing. So here's an update.

One of the best recent ideas I have come across is tweeting the bills each evening, as The Northern Echo does, to encourage readers to buy the paper and visit its website. A neat transition from old print methods to the digital ways - and a simple and effective method of reaching a new audience.

Another example of creativity comes from the Nottingham Post where the bill was given a new dimension altogether. Singer/songwriter Ronika featured in the paper and online in a Q&A on her eating habits. Rather just bill it, the paper persuaded the singer to sit alongside the poster with a plate of food. The bill as performance art - certainly a new one on me.

It reflects the enthusiasm for bills by consultant editor Alan Geere who tweeted the picture above with the comment 'Still love going out to see the #bills wot I wrote and people buying the @Nottingham_Post.'

There are some good examples of ambiguous bills kicking around and this one from the Standard deserves to join the collection. I wonder if it was deliberate.

I think my favourite of the recent bills, is this from the Bristol Post. It seems like a lenient sentence to me.

Names, particularly of famous people, will often tease people to buy so a good effort here from the South Wales Evening Post.

Animal stories sell too (just ask the Daily Mail). Here are a few worth a mention. A tortoise called Adolf? Really? Not too sure whether the animal porn story would be to many tastes - but it sounds so shocking it might just tempt someone to pick up a paper.

I can honestly say I have never seen pot-pourri used in a bill before - and in Hull of all places.

Of course the art of the bill is to tease the reader to buy. Here are a couple that might just work. The 'rub a dub dub' bill is from the Cheddar Valley Gazette. What on earth can it mean? Buy the paper to find out. That's the idea.

Sometimes bills can be so surprising and bizarre that they will turn potential readers' heads as they walk past - and that's half the battle.

That said, I'm not sure this one would shift many papers.

Sex, something we tend to hold at arm's length in regional newspapers, is a proven seller. These will certainly have aroused curiosity. The last one is from the Leicester Mercury.

The Argus in Brighton which brought us such classics as 'Window cleaner killed by giant pencil' and 'Crow steals golfer's trolley' appears to adopt a novelty approach to its bill writing. Although some of these may be old, they are still worth a look. The last one shows an interesting approach to positioning - a bill about a man choking to death on a kebab outside a kebab shop.

I am a big fan of bills. Using five words to persuade some-one who wasn't going to buy the paper (or visit the website) to change their mind is a great art. Keep them coming and I'll use them in the next instalment.

[Sans Serif] Just between You and Me, a ‘Time’ special

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:32:37 GMT

What goes around comes around in the world of magazines*. Six years ago, Time magazine hailed you, yes You, as the person of the year: “You control the information age. Welcome to your world.” In circa 2013, it bemoans the “Me, Me, Me” generation addicted to phones, tabs and notebooks: “Millennials are lazy, entitled […]

[WannabeHacks] Which newspaper subscription is the best value?

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:00:18 GMT

Readers of the most popular British tabloid, the Sun, will begin to be charged for access to its website from 1 August, in the latest of the mainstream newspaper publications to switch to a pay-wall. If, eventually, all will switch to

[Meeja Law] Law and Media Round Up – 13 May 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:47:39 GMT

Last week’s round up:

The Guardian is attempting to overturn the Attorney General’s veto of the publication of Prince Charles’ correspondence with seven Government departments. An application for judicial review was heard over two days last week by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, with Lord Justice Davis and Mr Justice Globe.

Full Law and Media Round Up – 13 May 2013 at Inforrm’s Blog.

[Paul Bradshaw] I am a coding denier

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:06 GMT

TweetThere is an exchange that sometimes takes place, perfectly described by Beth Ashton, between those who use technology, and those who don’t. It goes like this: Prospective data journalist: ‘I’d really like to learn how to do data journalism but I can’t do statistics!’ Data journalist: ‘Don’t let that put you off, I don’t know [...]

[Sans Serif] So, how many journalists cracked CAT 2012?

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:57:57 GMT

Serving warm, uplifting news first thing in the morning is an integral part of The Times of India‘s sunny credo, a point which comes up over and over in presentations made its managers, and on the pages of the paper. Today, the paper serves it up by the bucketful with the story of N. Shiva […]

[Ben Goldacre] Why is Imperial College permitting Westminster public school to sell an internship?

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:51:41 GMT

This is very odd indeed. Westminster, one of the most expensive public schools in the UK, is holding a fund-raising auction. In this auction, you can buy an internship at Imperial College’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, on the promise that this will look great on your CV. auction.westminster.org.uk/lots/one-week-internship-at-the-institute-of-biomedical-engineering-imperial-college-london-for-a-level-students “On offer is a one week internship [...]

[Jon Slattery] New survey on legal claims made against media

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Slattery) — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:28:00 GMT

A new survey hoping to establish solid data on the nature and quantity of legal claims made against the media in the UK, is being conducted by Judith Townend, who runs the Meeja Law blog.

She says: "There is very little solid data about the nature and quantity of legal claims made against the media, including small bloggers. Because the majority of libel claims, for example, are believed to be resolved out of court, there is no complete record of disputes. In short, little is known about bloggers’ and journalists’ actual legal experiences and opinions."

The questionnaire can be found here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/medialawsurvey

It is part of Judith Townend’s doctoral project at the Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism (CLJJ), City University London. The research project, which has been given ethical approval by the CLJJ, explores how journalists and online writers are affected by libel and privacy law, as well as other social and legal factors. It will draw attention to the issues faced by online writers and journalists, and help inform the development of resources in this area.

The questionnaire is open to all types of journalists and online writers who expect their readership to be predominantly based in England and/or Wales.
It should take between 10 and 30 minutes to complete, depending on your experiences and views. Some questions require an answer so you can be taken to the next relevant question.
All data will be collected anonymously with no identification of organisations or individuals.