Tag Archives: guardian

#cablegate: 7,500 cables tagged ‘PR and Correspondence’ could shed light on media relations

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According to WikiLeaks, there are more than 7,500 embassy cables due to be released as part of its latest classified documents leak that have the tag OPRC or “Public Relations and Correspondence”.

Only two with these tag have been published so far – one is a round-up of Turkish media reaction and the other a summary of media reaction to news issues in China, the US and Iran, both sent in 2009.

But it’ll be worth keeping an eye on future cables tagged OPRC for information about diplomats and country leaders’ media relations and communications.

Until the text of these cables is made public, we don’t know just what they contain and how relevant it might be to media outlets. But using the Guardian’s data store of the cables, it’s easy to find out how many cables have been sent by which embassies during the time period covered by the leak –

The US embassy in Ankara, Turkey is responsible for the largest number of cables tagged OPRC, 1,551, while the American Institute Taiwan in Taipei is behind 1,026 of them. Seventy-five embassies have sent 10 or fewer OPRC-tagged cables.

#cablegate: The Guardian on the importance of the WikiLeaks embassy cables leak

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As WikiLeaks begins publication of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables sent by US embassies around the world, the Guardian, which is one of a group of media organisations publishing a selection (a few hundred) of the cables in partnership with the whistleblowing site, has produced the video below, explaining the significance of the leak:

Video: US embassy leaks: ‘The data deluge is coming …’ | World news | guardian.co.uk.

MediaGuardian: Scotland Yard uncovers new material in phone-hacking case

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On Friday evening the Guardian reported that Scotland Yard had uncovered new material following fresh allegations of phone-hacking at the News of the World and had sent “a file of evidence” to prosecuters to decide if there is case.

The controversy presents a danger to David Cameron’s communications director, Andy Coulson, who was editor of the News of the World when a reporter and private investigator were convicted and jailed for hacking voice messages involving Princes William and Harry.

The Guardian continues to say a number of journalists have come forward to say the practice “was more widespread than the tabloid has admitted” and that they were known about by the former editor. Coulson has always denied these claims.

Greenslade: Change of direction for Guardian Media Group?

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Roy Greenslade reports on the Sunday Times’ coverage of a new direction for Guardian Media Group. According to the Times’ print edition yesterday, GMG is planning to separate its newspapers and their website from the rest of its multimedia assets.

The report follows previous claims by the paper that Andrew Miller, new GMG chief executive, is looking at a sale or stock market listing for its Trader division.

Full post on Roy Greenslade’s blog…

Guardian to relaunch iPhone app with new charges, revamps mobile site

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The Guardian has announced significant developments in its mobile plans today. The first is a new mobile site for Guardian.co.uk, with more content from the website, topic pages, bookmarking options and faster updates as some of the key new features.

Our aim is to improve the service for those of you with smartphones, who make up the majority of our growing mobile audience. At the same time we are committed to maintaining an accessible service, optimised for smaller screen sizes and slower connection speeds, for anyone using other handsets.

According to a release from the Guardian, its mobile site in September generated an average of 507,000 page impressions a day – almost double the figure for September 2009 of 217,000. More than five per cent of Guardian News and Media’s total digital page impressions now come from mobile devices.

But perhaps more significantly the publisher has announced plans for an updated version of its iPhone application. The app initially cost £2.39 –  a one-off charge since its launch in December. Critics at the time questioned the economics of introducing an app without a subscription or renewal model. The new app, which is currently awaiting approval by Apple, will charge £2.99 for six months or £3.99 for an annual subscription.

The UK app has been downloaded more than 205,000 times since its launch. A free version of the app will be launched for US customers and the Guardian says it is experimenting with different models for different markets.

Developing interaction guidelines for journalists at the Guardian

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As reported by Journalism.co.uk last Tuesday, the Guardian has introduced a new set of blogging and commenting guidelines for its journalists.

The eight guidelines offer advice on “best practice” for Guardian journalists and writers when blogging for the site or responding to comments on Guardian.co.uk.

It’s something the site has been considering for a while – but we asked the Guardian’s head of digital engagement Meg Pickard to explain how the new guidelines were developed:

For a couple of years now we’ve had a dedicated intranet site (“Really Social Media”) providing training, resources, case studies, best practices and guidelines for digital engagement (covering social media, blogging, commenting and so on), to be used by staff in conjunction with established company policies about internet use. As this is an evolving field, we regularly update the guidelines to reflect best current knowledge and to help staff navigate the changing landscape of sites/services, skills and situations.

During the summer, the editorial management team worked on the current refresh, which includes interaction guidelines, as well as legal notes and editorial best practice. When publishing the updated guidelines internally at the Guardian, we thought it would be interesting and appropriate to be transparent with readers about the advice we’re giving to staff members, so we published them on guardian.co.uk as well, as part of our extensive and recently relaunched info section.

Zeit Online: Alan Rusbridger interview – ‘I’m an economic realist’

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Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger was in Berlin this week discussing the future of journalism with Zeit Online’s editor-in-chief Wolfgang Blau.

Rusbridger covers experimentation in the newsroom, Guardian journalists use of social media, collaborative journalism and – the elephant in the room – money and funding for journalism.

Being an economic realist I think it is likely that we’re going to have to operate with a smaller staff in the future because the money is not going to be there in the medium to long term. I think what I’m describing is economic realism too because if you an get over this hurdle where we have to produce all the content and we are the only people who are the authorities and the experts and other people can go along with us on this journey, you’re harnessing a lot of people who’s primary motivation might not be money…

I think we underestimate in journalism the value of publishing and having a voice. If you don’t understand that then you miss one of the most profound things about the web and the social web.

“We’re not opposed to charging for anything,” he later says, making particular reference to apps and the Guardian’s revenue of £40 million last year from digital products.

Ever wondered what the Guardian sounds like?

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What does a newspaper sound like? A question you may never have asked, but one that will be answered on 20 November: musician and famed producer Matthew Herbert is creating a concert based around a day’s edition of the Guardian.

Called One Day, the musical score and programme notes will be based on Saturday 25 September’s Guardian

From the Guardian:

Performing Herbert’s new compositions alongside him, the London Sinfonietta’s musicians will bring a different perspective to everything contained within the newspaper, ranging from the Labour party leadership campaign to the recipe pages.

Although the score is still being written by Herbert, it is expected that the London Sinfonietta will be joined on stage by guest musicians and singers as well as sportspeople, writers, journalists, members of the public and actors. Between them, they will aim to make One Day not only a compelling evening of new music, but an engaging, interactive spectacle, with plenty of the theatrics and invention for which Herbert’s live shows have gained such a strong reputation.

Alternatively, do send us your own compositions…

Stephen Glover: The Guardian can’t go on like this

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Interesting take on the Guardian’s business model from Stephen Glover in the wake of Trader Media Group (TMG) writing off £463 million of the value of its magazine – TMG is part owned by Guardian Media Group.

Maybe GMG will be able to bankroll its national papers for ever. Personally, I wouldn’t count on it, especially if more of its investments go wrong. The trouble is that there seems to be no one in the Scott Trust or Guardian Media Group or on the papers themselves able or prepared to stand up and say what is blindingly obvious to everyone else in Fleet Street – that these newspapers are continuing to live dangerously beyond their means.

Full piece on Independent.co.uk at this link…

Update: A GMG spokesman has told Journalism.co.uk: “The write down Stephen Glover refers to is an accounting adjustment with zero impact on the overall value of TMG or its main brand Auto Trader (…) The write down reflects a transfer of value from print to digital rather than a drop in the actual value of the company. The net book loss arises simply because accounting rules don’t allow you to ‘write up’ the part of the business that has grown.”

Guardian experiments with Crowdmap for Pope’s visit

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Following BBC London’s use of open source mapping technology Crowdmap to cover the London Underground strikes earlier this month, the Guardian is using the tool to record reports of the Pope’s visit to the UK.

The map blends text, image and video reports from the Guardian’s own team with those submitted by readers and papal bystanders. There’s a certain tongue-in-cheek element to it as well, with categories for popemobile sightings and miracles alongside reports on protests and official news.

Explains the Guardian’s Paul Lewis in a blog post:

You can send anything, but we’re particularly interested in incidents, events and insights from people who find themselves at the right place at the right time, spotting something that the papal entourage of global media miss. It is important that you tell us where you are when you send your dispatch.

The majority of the updates plotted so far are from the Guardian, but it will be interesting to see how tools like this take off and how they might be further integrated into live reporting.