Author Archives: Alice Vincent

#followjourn: @andegregson – Ande Gregson/founder of media140 Worldwide

Who? Ande Gregson, “Founder of #media140 Worldwide. Motorcyclist and scuba diver. Ran the 25th Marathon Des Sables and now running across the Atacama desert 2012.”

Where? Professionally dealing with media140.com, an independent organisation dealing with the connections between social technologies and media communications. However, Gregson’s active lifestyle and fan-ship of extreme sports causes his location to be dubbed ‘lots of places’.

Twitter? @AndeGregson

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.

The Cutline: Steve Jobs to join Murdoch on stage for unveiling of new iPad publication

According to Yahoo blog the Cutline, Rupert Murdoch will be joined on stage by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs later this month for the launch of News Corp’s new iPad publication, the Daily.

Known as The Daily, Murdoch’s iPad publication has been the talk of the media world over the past couple months, and the News Corp. chief has even dubbed it his “No. 1 most exciting project.” The hush-hush project has been taking shape at the company’s Manhattan headquarters, but it will also have staffers in Los Angeles.

But while news of the editorial hires has steadily leaked out, The Daily’s brass have remained tight-lipped about the launch.

The Cutline’s full report can be found here.

Related Content:

Guardian: Murdoch and Jobs teaming up for iPad newspaper

Radio 4: Max Mosley outlines ‘really very simple’ privacy claim prior to Strasbourg hearing

In an interview on this morning’s Radio 4 Today show, Max Mosley outlined the reasons behind his attempt to change privacy laws in Strasbourg today.

The former FIA chairman outlined the ruling as a “really very simple thing” in which newspapers alert public figures if information “they know [public figures] should like to keep private” was to be published.

Claiming the figure was based on information from the PCC Rule Committee, Mosley said: “In 99 out of 100 cases if [the press] are going to write something of any interest about someone they will approach the person first.”

He argued that the MPs involved in the expenses scandal were approached before their information was printed and that it was only when “newspapers are concealing from you something they know is illegal and then printing it, knowing that you can’t put it right” that the new rules would apply. Mosley said that this was “a very narrow point [he’s] in Strasbourg on”.

As the Guardian reported this morning, members of the press are contesting Mosley’s proposed changes to the law:

The case is being vigorously contested by a number of media organisations, which argue that the change would create opportunities for injunctions, delaying publication and violating the media’s right to freedom of expression.

“[Mosley] is a wealthy international public figure with a penchant for satisfying sexual desires by beating women, and being beaten by them,” said Geoffrey Robertson QC, representing media organisations who have intervened in the case. “He pays prostitutes to engage with him in mildly sadomasochistic orgies, and campaigns for a law that will enable the truth about such ‘private’ conduct to remain secret. The vast scope of the new law which is contended for … is so vague as to be unworkable.”

You can hear Mosley’s interview on Radio 4 here.

Joseph Stashko: Why 2011 ‘should’ be a great year for young journalists

Student journalist Joseph Stashko has posted this morning on why, if you’re under 25 and an aspirational journalist, now should be easier than ever to get a job in the media. He argues that the technological shifts that have affected traditional print journalism have caused the route into the industry to change, and those who are happy to embrace the multi-media, web-savvy skills necessary for today’s journalism should be welcomed into the industry.

Of course you need traditional journalistic values in a 21st century newsroom, but for once the people being recruited at entry level know about how to adapt to the news landscape just as well as the people above them.

I’d even go as far in arguing that graduates are capable of knowing far more than their employer when it comes to how to approach modern news distribution. They don’t have the stigma and knowledge of the old way of doing things; this is a generation that has almost grown up entirely in the social culture of news and is glad of it. They’re selfless about their work, they want to listen to and engage their readers and produce exciting content.

Read the full post at this link.

The Guardian: Met asks News of the World for new phone-hacking evidence

The Metropolitan Police has asked the News of the World for fresh evidence as part of the phone-hacking investigation, the Guardian has reported.

The Met wrote a letter to the newspaper on Friday “requesting any new material they may have in relation to alleged phone-hacking following the suspension of a member of their staff.”

The News of the World responded in a statement, saying: “We have received a letter from the Metropolitan police and will co-operate fully.”

Later this week the Met is expected to hand over previously undisclosed documents to the lawyers of sports agent Skylet Andrew, who represents cricketer James Anderson and footballer Sol Campbell, among others. Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator paid by the News Corp publication, pleaded guilty to intercepting telephone messages in 2006.

Full story at this link.

Stephen Glover: ‘Attack Google too, if you value privacy’

In an article for the Independent this morning, Stephen Glover critiques the Murdoch backlash championed, he claims, by the Guardian and suggests that those opposing the BSkyB bid should consider how Google affects privacy.

there is a more powerful organisation that may pose a far greater threat than Rupert Murdoch, and yet it is barely criticised by right-thinking people. Its name is Google.

Glover looks at the role Google plays in daily life through features such as Google Maps and Google Mail as well as comparing the company’s Conservative political sway with that of Rupert Murdoch.

I know which organisation worries me more. I should say in his defence that my old friend Henry Porter has attacked Google in the past, describing it as “an amoral menace”. I am sure he would agree with me that, for all his sins, Mr Murdoch publishes some very good newspapers and produces some good programming. Google may provide an invaluable service but it actually produces nothing much of value while taking billions of pounds of advertising from newspapers and television.

You can read Glover’s opinion piece in full here.

After Twitter revelation, WikiLeaks suspects US of pressuring Google and Facebook

WikiLeaks suspects that Google and Facebook may be under pressure from the US Government to reveal information relating to the whistleblower’s site or its members.

The claim follows a court order issued by the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in December and published by Salon.com [PDF], which ordered micro-blogging site Twitter to hand over information about five accounts associated with WikiLeaks, including one belonging to Julian Assange.

WikiLeaks tweeted on Saturday:

Note that we can assume Google & Facebook also have secret US government subpeonas. They make no comment. Did they fold?

The subpeona issed to Twitter claims that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the site had information “relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation”. This information included IP addresses, contact information, private messages and the addresses used to access the accounts, allowing investigators to establish potential connections between users.

Despite being ordered to the contrary, Twitter notified those targeted by the subpoena, WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange, Dutch hacker Rop Gonggrijp, Bradley Manning and Icelandic collaborator and MP Birgitta Jónsdóttir. It is over the request for Jónsdóttir’s information in particular that Iceland has requested an explanation from US authorities.

Assange’s lawyer, Mark Stephens, said in an interview with Channel 4 News that the U.S Department of Justice is seeking to target not just WikiLeaks’ main collaborators but also the organisation’s 634,000 followers on Twitter in an “intimidatory” act.

Yesterday, The Telegraph’s Shane Richmond commented that the news of this subpoena may change the way people react to social networking sites:

There’s also a risk that cases like this one will deter people from using social networks to express controversial opinions.

What has come out of this weekend’s events is the contrast in the types of information and their availability and use. As both Richmond and Stephens note, WikiLeaks’ publishing of classified government information reflects the reporting journalists have done “for years”. The American DOJ’s demand of personal details, however, may impact upon how individuals share information in future. Richmond highlights the warning Columbia students were given regarding public online discussion of WikiLeaks, but could similar discussion soon hold risks for journalists?

10,000 words: Deadline for international photography competition approaching

Photojournalism competition Pictures of the Year international closes next Friday, 14th January, reports 10,000 words.

The competition is open to professional and student photographers who can submit entries in over 40 categories, including subcategories for last year’s major news events.

The competition winners will be announced after two weeks’ of live and public judging at the Missouri journalism school’s campus next month.

For more details on the competition and how to enter, see 10,000 words

lostremote: Newspaper pulls viral ‘homeless voice’ clip from YouTube

The latest online viral video of Ted Williams – the homeless man with the ‘golden voice’ – has been pulled from YouTube today “due to a copyright claim by The Dispatch”.

However, as lostremote.com comments, the original Dispatch-filmed video may not have received such attention had it not reached YouTube:

What’s fascinating about this story is the role YouTube played in making this story viral in the first place. Nearly all of the social media links pointed to the YouTube clip, not to Dispatch.com, and YouTube’s own social community helped amplify the volume. While the content was compelling, the social distribution made it explode. Without it, we wonder if Ted Williams would still be roaming the roadside.

Today Ted Williams was re-united with his 90 year-old mother, The Dispatch reports.

Watch the original video on The Dispatch here.

Read the full post from lostremote.com here.

#followjourn: @philipjohn – director of thelichfieldblog.co.uk

Who? Philip John, “Lichfield lad, WordPress geek for hire, director of @LichfieldBlog, hyperlocal fan, @Journal_Local founder, lover of curry, tea & cider.”

Where? As well as tweeting avidly and keeping his own website, John shares his knowledge of hyperlocal journalism on journallocal.co.uk and love of Lichfield on thelichfieldblog.co.uk

Twitter? @philipjohn

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.