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Half-price student tickets at ‘Will We Have News for You?’ event

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Broadcasting, Training

We’re informed a few tickets are still going for next Tuesday’s ‘Will We Have News for You?’ a Media Society night at the BBC; details below:

5:00pm, Tuesday 10 November 2009, BBC TV Centre Wood Lane, W12, Full price £10; students £5

  • Nick Pollard (former head of Sky News)
  • Mary Hockaday (head of multimedia newsroom, BBC)
  • Jonathan Munro (ITN)
  • Jonathan Levy (editor, General Election Sky News )
  • Stephen Cole (presenter, Al Jazeera English[tbc])

Contact: Mutesa Sithole – mutesasithole [at] googlemail.com

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Did you lose your newspaper job? Help us with our survey

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Job losses

A call to all journalists who have left newspaper jobs: Journalism.co.uk’s survey in collaboration with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) continues. We’ve had a good response so far, but we still need more data to make for a more informed study. Since we launched the project, even more UK redundancies have been announced; this week, for example, 17 were cut by Trinity Mirror (this time in Merseyside). Please help us by re-tweeting, blogging and forwarding the survey links to people you think may have been affected by the newspaper jobs cull sweeping Britain.

We want to know about your experiences of losing your job and how you have adapted in your personal and professional life since leaving the newspaper. We’re also considering the gap in knowledge and experience you have left behind.

The survey, which draws on work by colleagues in the US and the University of Kansas, is voluntary and confidential. Results cannot be attributed to a specific individual unless the individual chooses to reveal himself or herself. You also can refuse to answer any question. The survey will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

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David Cameron to give Hugo Young lecture

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Events, Newspapers

Conservative leader David Cameron is to give the sixth annual Hugo Young memorial lecture on Tuesday 10 November, the Scott Trust has announced.

The lecture remembers the late Hugo Young, the Guardian’s senior political commentator and former chairman of the Scott Trust, who died in 2003. Last year Young’s papers were published in a book, extracts of which appeared on the Guardian. ‘His columns were like icebergs. Readers saw a sunlit tip of crystal argument. They may have guessed, but they never truly knew or saw, what lay beneath,’ wrote the Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, in its foreword.

Last year’s lecture was given by Peter Mandelson and previous speakers include Gordon Brown and Jose Manuel Barroso.

“Hugo was one of the most brilliant and cherished journalists of his generation. We are delighted that the memorial lecture continues to be successful and to remind us of his enduring legacy,” said Liz Forgan, chair of the Scott Trust, in a release.

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Twenty-four great new jobs this week on Journalism.co.uk

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Ed Martin in Jobs

It’s been a busy week for us this week with the following twenty-four great new jobs all having been posted on Journalism.co.uk’s jobs board:

Communications officer
With a communications qualification, experience of working with partner organisations and dispersed groups of people and some knowledge of agriculture for the NFU’s Campaign for the Farmed Environment
Salary: £23,625 – £30,478 pro-rata
NFU
Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
>>more

Technical editor – Mountain Biking UK
We are looking for a passionate technical editor to work on Mountain Biking UK, Britain’s best-selling bike magazine.
Salary: competitive + excellent benefits
Future Publishing Ltd
Bath, England
>>more

Art editor
Would you like to work as art editor on the world’s biggest movie magazine for one of Future Plus’ biggest clients?
Salary: competitive + excellent benefits
Future Publishing Ltd
London, England
>>more

Assistant editor
Assistant editor, Family History Monthly
Salary: DoE
Diamond Publishing Ltd
West London, England
>>more

News editor
With the ability to work in a fast-moving environment with extremely tight deadlines and experience covering markets at a newswire, newspaper or specialist publication.
Salary: DoE
Dow Jones Newswires
London, England
>>more

Online editor
Become Edge’s online editor and be part of one of the most prestigious brands in gaming.
Salary: competitive + excellent benefits
Future Publishing Ltd
Bath, England
>>more

Operations editor – Official PlayStation Magazine
Do you want to sub-edit one of Future’s leading games titles? Official PlayStation Magazine is looking for an operations editor to ensure that the magazine meets all print deadlines and is super accurate.
Salary: competitive + excellent benefits
Future Publishing Ltd
Bath, England
>>more

Assistant editor (media)
Our client seeks a highly skilled B2B assistant editor to join their exceptional portfolio of market reports serving the print and packaging industries.
Salary: £20K-22K + bens.
Formula Won
South East, United Kingdom
>>more

Editorial media recruitment consultant
With experience and understanding of all aspects of editorial to join the team at top media recruitment agency Formula Won.
Salary: £25K-£30K + uncapped comm. + bonus. (OTE £60K+)
Formula Won
London (Canary Wharf), United Kingdom
>>more

Energy correspondent
A great opportunity for an experienced energy correspondent to join this prestigious portfolio of business intelligence tools, produced to the highest standard in order to support the finance sector.
Salary: On application
Formula Won
Central London, United Kingdom
>>more

Senior editor (healthcare)
Our client is a well-known healthcare communications agency with offices on both sides of the Atlantic. They are committed to quality and excellence in everything they do, creating integrated campaigns across a wide range of communication channels.
Salary: On application
Formula Won
London, United Kingdom
>>more

Financial webcast journalist
Financial/business journalist to contribute to a regular interactive webcast.
Salary: DoE
BrightTalk
London, United Kingdom
>>more

Public relations journalist/writer
Our client offers an outstanding opportunity for an exceptional, experienced journalist to play a pivotal role amongst some of the world’s biggest corporations.
Salary: £25K-£30K + exc bens.
Formula Won
London, United Kingdom
>>more

Head of press
To maximise press coverage for this independent thinktank.
Salary: DoE
Policy Exchange
London (Westminster), England
>>more

News writer
Tropical Paradise, a leading travel publishing firm in Maldives, looking for a news writer. Your main work will be to write travel and tourism related articles online. You will have chance to travel different resorts for reviews.
Salary: $850 (USD) per month + accommodation
Tropical Paradise Pvt. Ltd
Male’, Maldives, Rest of World
>>more

News and feature writer/PR executive
This small but international PR firm with global accounts for multi-billion dollar clients and a bias towards a B2B client base needs a confident, fluent and computer literate writer with great style.
Salary: Negotiable according to experience
SE10
London (central), England
>>more

Editorial assistant
The editorial assistant is responsible for providing editorial and administrative support to the site editors, and ensuring the quality and delivery of the company’s newsletters.
Salary: £16K-£18K
Progressive Digital Media
Central London, England
>>more

Senior online editor – dramas/soaps
Senior editor of drama and soaps, you will be passionate and experienced in creating multimedia content, in an online environment for a leading broadcaster. You will have a solid understanding of prime content.
Salary: £50K-£60K
PCR
London, United Kingdom
>>more

Home writers
Freelance writer –specialising in Home Services (Buildings, design, decor etc): Researching and writing content for a new website aimed at recent home movers, run and managed by Europe’s largest Lifestyle Management business on behalf of a major client.
Salary: £120-£150 per day
Ten Lifestyle Management
London, United Kingdom
>>more

Art director
With a strong graphic design-based portfolio and at least three years’ experience in a similar role to join the Dubai-based team at What’s On, the UAE’s biggest-selling monthly magazine.
Salary: DoE
Motivate Publishing
Dubai, Middle East
>>more

Editor
The Engineer, the UK’s leading magazine and website for technology and innovation is looking for a new editor.
Salary: Competitive with excellent benefits
Centaur Media plc
Central London, United Kingdom
>>more

Digital production editor
Cyclingnews.com, the biggest cycling website in the world is now looking for an online production editor to join its successful team.
Salary: Competitive with excellent benefits
Future Publishing Ltd
Bath, England
>>more

Senior reporter
Credit Today, the leading magazine for the commercial and consumer credit industries, is expanding and this is a chance to be part of our small but dynamic team.
Salary: c£23K-£25K
Athene Publishing
London, United Kingdom
>>more

Investigative journalists
Investigative journalists needed for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Salary: DoE
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
London, England
>>more

To sign up for free as a jobseeker, please go to http://www.journalism.co.uk/113/

To sign up as an advertiser, please go to http://www.journalism.co.uk/75/

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What does PCC Iain Dale ruling bode for Jan Moir case?

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Newspapers, Online Journalism

As noted a short while ago, the Press Complaints Commission ruled that it had found a Daily Mail diary piece about potential Conservative candidate Iain Dale not to be in breach of the PCC code. “I still think it was a clear breach of Section 12 [discrimination] of the PCC code.  I quite agree with what they say about the right to offend, but this was gratuitous and it was the second time it had happened,” Iain Dale told Journalism.co.uk.

“I have no idea if it affected my chances in Bracknell [constituency where Dale was competing for the Conservative candidacy], but it certainly wouldn’t have helped. It seems clear to me now that the PCC will reach the same judgment in the Jan Moir case.”

Meanwhile, Guardian blogger Roy Greenslade, who agrees with the PCC ruling on this occasion, ‘imagine[s] that the commission will take the same view about Jan Moir’s column, which was far more offensive than Ephraim’s remarks about Dale’.

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Comment: The problem with PR email

November 6th, 2009 | 5 Comments | Posted by Iain Fleming in Online Journalism, comment

As Journalism.co.uk reported earlier this year, former PR Manager and national newspaper journalist Iain Fleming decided to try and assess which PR distribution methods work and which don’t, by conducting a small survey as part of his CIPR (Chatered Institute of Public Relations Diploma) course at Queen Margaret University. He now works as the business development manager for Wirefast, which provides the Newslink story and picture wire service and is launching a new multimedia management, distribution and syndication service, called Tradeclips, on 19 November.

As the PR industry has grown – from being worth just over £106 million in 1986 to £6.5 billion in 2005 – so has the number of people working in it and inevitably producing material to send to the media. Back in 1985 fax machines were just coming in and were expensive to buy and run, and most material was still sent by post, so there was a direct financial link to distribution.

Jump forward 20 years and there has been a huge increase in media outlets. So most people in PR have to use some form of directory. If it costs an agency several thousand pounds per year to access an online database, but they are allowed to email as many addresses as they like free of charge through that database, then it is no wonder that content is literally being sprayed in a scattergun approach by many.

Now add in to the mix the growing adoption by publishers and broadcasters of websites linked to their traditional products and the need to use multimedia content, but source it for as little as possible – preferably for free from readers and viewers/listeners – and we now have a situation where an industry is rapidly shedding staff but expecting those who are left to take on more work and learn new techniques.

So it came as no surprise to me that the results of my small survey – including responses from 101 editors, section editors, journalists and IT managers – showed just how much those working on news desks disliked the PR industry – despite their growing reliance on it. So much of what is being thrown at them is completely irrelevant – if it gets to them at all.

What does get through – and 95 per cent reported problems with email of which around a quarter said it was ‘every day’ – is sent in ways which either crash their systems or can’t be opened because their employers simply cannot afford to upgrade software on 200 computers as regularly as a small PR agency of just a few people can – and does.

And that is just for ‘traditional’ text and pictures. The message that a national newspaper can happily use a picture – even across several columns – if it is only a few hundred Kb in size has not got through to the PR people, who keep sending out 10Mb files at a time.

Move on to ‘new’ media and the situation is even worse, with the same issues of incompatible file types, too large files, poor quality content and stuff that is ‘just not newsworthy’ topping the list of complaints. A senior manager within ITV told me just last week how one station struggled for several hours to get video sent by a fire brigade into a format suitable for broadcast, but ran out of time and the bulletin went out minus the footage.

This isn’t a rant about email – I don’t know how we managed to exist before it came along and I was an early adopter, although I can’t now remember my first Telecom Gold address back from 1984. It is ubiquitous and for many – probably most – people working in PR – it is all they know and is an appropriate method. It is a system which has mushroomed and in the space of five years moved from being a ‘nerdy’ plaything to universal acceptance and usage.

But there are many PR practitioners who don’t know of anything else but really should, for every day they are flying by the seat of their pants and taking an unnecessary risk, potentially with the lives of many others. They are the people working under civil contingencies legislation and have a responsibility to ‘warn and inform’ the public – they work for the ‘blue light’ services, the NHS, local authorities and the like. They are supposed to use what the legislation says is a ‘robust’ form of communication, and by no stretch of the imagination is e-mail ‘robust’.

The governments in both Westminster and Holyrood have been investing millions recently in new and secure networks and providing things like satellite phones to such organisations, and while their internal communications may be ’secure and guaranteed’, these networks don’t  – and never will – extend to the media. There are ‘robust’ services out there – of which my employer Newslink is but one – but the basic understanding of effective communication methods beyond email, mobile phones and fax by even the most senior PR practitioners is simply not there.

I met the head of comms of a major public utility – in the news that day for an issue potentially affecting the health of hundreds of thousands of his customers – at an event in London earlier this month, and tried to discuss the issue with him. The best he could come up with was that ‘he was sure’ they used methods other than email, but could not tell me what they were, nor could he see the importance of being able to guarantee delivering messages affecting public safety. We are on the cusp of a possible swine or bird flu pandemic, but for all of the planning which has been done, how much of it assumes that warning messages will actually be able to be delivered?

I know and appreciate that media distribution is the ‘back end’ of a very creative process – but what is the point of writing the best press release in the world if it never gets there?

So I believe my project has some merit, and may be of value to others. I don’t claim it to be anything other than it is, a university project to which just over 100 editors and journalists contributed and by its very nature could be seen as partial, but I believe it does reflect what is happening in the industry just now.

Findings from Iain Fleming’s research:

  • Lack of targeting, sending large attachments – often in formats which the recipient cannot access – and making ‘follow-up’ calls were just some of the main complaints by the 101 editors, section editors, journalists and IT Managers who responded to the survey.
  • The project also reveals that the practice of making ‘follow-up’ calls by PR practitioners is intensely annoying and ultimately counter-productive, while the demands made on news desk staff by media distribution companies updating their databases are also heavily criticised by journalists.
  • While the media is encouraging user generated content from readers and viewers, much of the content – like that supplied by PR professionals – is unusable because it is sent in the wrong format, is technically unsuitable or is ’simply not newsworthy’.
  • The research highlights that many public sector organisations with responsibilities under civil contingencies legislation to ‘warn and inform’ the public are relying on a communication method which is not ‘robust’ and not guaranteed to work in an emergency.
  • Due to the unreliability of email, a lot of material never gets there, and if it does, it can’t be opened. And if it can be opened, much of it is irrelevant and just wastes the time of the recipient.  Fifty-five per cent of respondents said that less than ten per cent of the material sent to them from the commercial sector was relevant and 83 per cent said they wanted less material. Only 10 per cent of respondents said they wanted more content from commercial PR operators.
  • While content from the public and non-commercial sectors (local authorities, NHS, charities etc) fared somewhat better, with 25 per cent saying they wanted more from such contributors, and 54 per cent saying they wanted less, this still indicates that a great deal of time and effort is going to waste.
  • The survey looked at the way such material is now delivered, and showed that 80 per cent is sent by e-mail and fax represents less than five per cent.
  • While email has become the dominant distribution method, the survey showed that almost 95 per cent of respondents had suffered problems with it, and almost one quarter reported this to be every day, with half reporting problems several times a week or weekly. This included delayed delivery or even outright failure of messages to arrive, corrupt characters or badly-formatted content, multiple copies and spam.

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PCC rules Daily Mail not in breach of code over Iain Dale diary piece

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Journalism, Newspapers

The Press Complaints Commission has ruled that the Daily Mail was not in breach of clause 12 (discrimination) with a diary piece that described blogger and aspiring Conservative candidate Iain Dale ‘overtly gay’.  Commenting on Dale’s bid for the parliamentary constituency of Bracknell, the piece said it was ‘charming how homosexuals rally like-minded chaps to their cause’.  Dale lodged a complaint, claiming that the references were pejorative and the article homophobic, the PCC noted.

Today the PCC reported:

“The Commission could understand why the complainant found the comments to be snide and objectionable.  However, it did not rule that there had been a breach of Clause 12 (Discrimination) of the Code.  It noted that the item had used no pejorative term for the complainant, nor had it ‘outed’ him.  In the Commission’s view, the piece was uncharitable, but – in the context of a diary column, known to poke fun at public figures – was not an arbitrary attack on him on the basis of his sexuality.

“The Commission said that: ‘where it is debatable – as in this case – about whether remarks can be regarded solely as pejorative and gratuitous, the Commission should be slow to restrict the right to express an opinion, however snippy it might be.  While people may occasionally be insulted or upset by what is said about them in newspapers, the right to freedom of expression that journalists enjoy also includes the right – within the law – to give offence.’”

In the wake of the Jan Moir episode at the end of last month, a petition to Gordon Brown was launched, questioning the impartiality of the PCC and calling for its replacement by a public body. The PCC’s deputy director (and soon-to-be director) Stephen Abell subsequently defended the position of Daily Mail editor, Paul Dacre, as head of its code committee.

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What’s Murdoch’s ‘cool new toy’ for accessing media content?

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Handy tools and technology, Online Journalism, Social media and blogging

Australian media is busy speculating over Rupert Murdoch’s new idea for content access.

Margaret Simons of the Content Makers, reports how Caroline Overington, senior writer and columnist with The Australian (part of Murdoch’s News Limited) let slip that Rupert Murdoch’s pay wall plans might include a ‘cool new toy’ for accessing media content.

Simons reports from the Media140 conference:

“Overington said that News Limited had many wonderful plans of which they were very proud, and they could not be unveiled yet, but she believed they would lead people to pay for content.

“Then in the closing stages of the session, she referred to iTunes, and how people had turned to paying for music that they could get elsewhere for free because of the entry of a ‘cool new toy’ in the iPhone.

“She added: ‘That’s kind of what we are thinking about.’

“So what is it, I wonder? Some kind of deal with Apple, soon to release its new electronic reader? A competing product? Very intriguing.”

An update, pointing to coverage of the Apple Tablet negotiations, with more speculation on the ‘iRupert’ at this link.

And Overington at Media140 courtesy of SlowTV.

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paidContent.org: GNM laying off six US employees

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Job losses, Jobs

PaidContent (owned by Guardian News & Media) reports that Guardian America is laying off six ‘production/edit’ employees: “Most of them are in Guardian’s Washington DC office, and have been given three months notice. None of the U.S. correspondents are affected by this move.”

Last month paidContent reported GNM was to axe GuardianAmerica.com.

Full post at this link…

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Reuters runs safety training course for Gaza journalists

November 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Press freedom and ethics, Training

Picture of Reuters' training in GazaReuters’ Gaza bureau ran a four-day training course this week in recognition of cameraman Fadel Shana, who was killed in the region on 16 April 2008.

Twenty Palestinian journalists received tuition in TV production, with extra training on aspects of safety and ethics in conflict zones, a release from Reuters said.

Sessions on filming and editing ran alongside first aid training, including the treatment of gunshot and blast wounds.

In April 2008, Shana was killed by a shell fired by Israeli soldiers. He was the first Reuters journalist to be killed in Gaza. The cameraman was on his way to cover an incident when his vehicle stopped. On getting out of the vehicle an explosion killed Shana and two bystanders.

A soundman travelling with Shana escaped serious injury.

In August last year the news agency said it was ‘disappointed and dissatisfied’ by an investigation by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) into Shana’s death, which said soldiers were justified in opening fire on Shana, as they believed his tripod-mounted camera might be a weapon.

Commenting on the training programme, Reuters bureau chief in Israel and Palestinian territories, Alastair Macdonald, said: “Fadel was killed doing a job to which he was dedicated and to which he brought immense talent and promise. To honour his memory and to improve opportunities for young Palestinian journalists who would wish to follow his example, we are delighted to be able to provide this training.”

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