WikiLeaks director to write column for Swedish tabloid

WikiLeaks director Julian Assange will start writing a monthly column for a Swedish tabloid newspaper, according to a report by Daily Tech.

Based on what claims to be a translated interview from the publication – Aftonbladet – this weekend by Mathaba.net, Assange is said to confirm he will be writing the column to raise “press issues” and that there “might be some scoops”.

But Daily Tech added that there may also be other reasons that the whistleblower would want to become a columnist for the paper.

There’s a couple of potential reasons why Assange might pick to write for Aftonbladet other than merely a love for tabloid journalism. WikiLeaks operates a number of servers in Sweden and is currently seeking a license to get full journalistic protections.  An official column in Aftonbladet could help its case.

Also, WikiLeaks is reportedly very cash strapped and Assange’s payments could offset his costly lifestyle, which features a great deal of travel.

See their full report here…

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Metamedia: On passing NCE news practice with flying colours

NCE award-winner and regional newspaper journalist Mary Hamilton shares her tips for passing the news practice element of the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ) senior qualification, the National Certificate Examination.

Full post on Metamedia at this link…

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#followjourn: @rogerhighfield – Roger Highfield/editor

#followjourn: Roger Highfield

Who? Roger Highfield, editor of New Scientist and former Telegraph science editor.

Where? On the New Scientist site, as well as Roger’s personal site, Boffin, which has an archive of his articles for New Scientist and others. He continues to write for the Telegraph and those articles can be found collected at this link.

Contact? @rogerhighfield

Just as we like to supply you with fresh and innovative tips every day, we’re recommending journalists to follow online too. They might be from any sector of the industry: please send suggestions (you can nominate yourself) to laura at journalism.co.uk; or to @journalismnews.

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Telegraph: Footballer wins high court injunction against tabloid story

The Sunday Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk reports that a Premier League footballer has won a high court injunction preventing publication of claims about him in a Sunday tabloid.

The ruling was obtained from Mr Justice Nicol, says the paper, and adds to recent debate about UK privacy laws, freedom of the press and injunctions, as raised by the cases of Max Mosley and John Terry.

Full story on the Telegraph website at this link…

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – the best WordPress plugins for journalists

Blogging: reportr.net has a great list of plugins for blogging platform WordPress to help you create a social-media savvy and multimedia blog. Tipster: Laura Oliver.

To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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Resources for journalists covering the floods in Pakistan

As the extent of the devastation caused by recent flooding in Pakistan continues to emerge, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s service AlertNet has some fantastic resources for journalists covering the disaster.

Firstly, there’s a directory of contacts telling journalists which aid agencies are working in the region. This directory is available for other humanitarian and crisis situations too.

On top of this you can use the site’s agency news feed, which carries the latest press releases issued by the groups working on the ground.

Related reading: Read how citizen journalism sites in Pakistan have sourced on-the-ground coverage for mainstream news organisations.

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Headlines and Deadlines: Why TBD is an inspiration for hyperlocal news

UK digital journalist Alison Gow takes a look at the news site for Washington TBD.com, launched earlier this week, and says the site provides much inspiration for hyperlocal news ventures elsewhere.

Says Gow:

I like it as a journalist because:

• It’s seriously packed with news, features and information
• It’s packed with news (truly  - the homepage splash changed every time I reloaded the page)
• It updates constantly
• It has loads of sources of information – both from TBD staffers, mainstream media, social networks, bloggers and users
• It’s an active site – doesn’t rely on feeds/UGC
• It “gets” hyperlocal
• It does live fact-checking

Full post on Headlines and Deadlines at this link…

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Business Insider: NY Times app platform for publishers could charge $50,000

According to Business Insider, the New York Times latest money-making venture Press Engine could be charging clients up to $50,000 for its services.

Press Engine was launched earlier this month and will charge a one-off licensing fee and monthly maintenance charge to clients, who will use the system to develop iPhone and iPad applications using technology and templates developed by the Times.

Full story on Business Insider at this link…

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#followjourn: @neilchandler – Neil Chandler/chief reporter

#followjourn: Neil Chandler

Who? Neil Chandler

Where? Neil is the Daily Star Sunday chief reporter. Articles for the post are aggregated at this link. He also has a Twitter page.

Contact? @neilchandler.

Just as we like to supply you with fresh and innovative tips every day, we’re recommending journalists to follow online too. They might be from any sector of the industry: please send suggestions (you can nominate yourself) to laura at journalism.co.uk; or to @journalismnews.

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Making journalism safer – print your own labels…

Something to raise a smile on a Friday afternoon, these excellent labels from “geek comedian” Tom Scott for you to print out and use when in the presence of “sloppy journalism and other questionable content”:

Get your own from Tom’s website…

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