Tag Archives: United Kingdom

MediaGuardian: Commons committee hears from Mosley and McCann

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“Formula one boss Max Mosley today attacked the Press Complaints Commission and the newspaper industry’s system of self-regulation while criticising the Daily Mail editor, Paul Dacre, chairman of the PCC editors’ code committee,” reports MediaGuardian here.

During the same hearing of the culture, media and sport committee currently looking into UK press regulation and media law, Gerry McCann “called for more stringent regulation of the press and slammed coverage surrounding the disappearance of his daughter in Portugal in 2007, calling it some of the most ‘irresponsible and damaging’ in press history,” MediaGuardian also reports here.

Who is an investigative programme for? ‘The people in it, or the man presenting it?’ asks Roger Cook

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This week, Roger Cook was the latest journalist to publicly bemoan the state of television investigations in the UK.

Speaking at Coventry University on Thursday, as part of the ‘Coventry Conversations’ line-up, Cook expressed anxiety for the future of investigative journalism, the craft which made his name.

“Many investigative programmes can’t afford it now, the management and the commissioners seem to think that it is too much like hard work, and that it takes a lot of backing up.”

Asked about current investigative reporters, and the approach they commonly use, Cook answered

 “I think audiences aren’t stupid, and they very quickly recognise who a programme is being done for.”

“

Is it for the people in it, or the man presenting it?” he asked.

“We are going up into the ether where there are no regulations, so you will have to believe less and less of what you see,” he said, in relation to potential issues arising from making internet-based documentaries.

Cook also expressed his disapproval at this week’s cost-cuts and recent editorial direction at ITV. “In my view they are doing the wrong thing” he stated. 

”Take money out of programmes and fewer people watch it, compounding the downward cycle.”

Cook, who has been a journalist for over forty years, remembers a time when ITV would invest vast amounts of money into factual programmes, such as his very own Cook Report.

“It was once a great institution,” he said. 

”There was very high quality production in every area, but factual just about disappeared; the last remaining regular factual programme was mine.”

ITV should ‘spend more money on programmes and less on personalities,’ he said.

“
How many programmes could you make if you didn’t employ Simon Cowell or Ant and Dec?” he asked.

PhotoAttorney: UK rejects copyright law amendments as result of UGC / mash-ups

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Following up on Out-Law.com’s reports, PhotoAttorney.com looks at the UK government’s decision not to revise its copyright law ‘after reviewing research results in a consultation paper (…) published by the European Commission (EC) on copyright reform’.

“In sum, the EC paper considered the possibility of creating new use exemptions to address the increased creation of ‘user-created content’ (UGC), also known as ‘mashups’, made easier by technological innovations.”

Full post at this link…

It’s Hyperlocal™, says HelloMetro.com

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As part of a release announcing the recruitment of 17 content editors across its network of local news and information site, HelloMetro.com has also declared that it has trademarked Hyperlocal™.

“With this new distinction, the company continues its quest to provide the most up-to-date local and Hyperlocal™ information for its users,” the release states.

In the UK a trademarked should not, according to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), are not registrable if they:

  • describe your goods or services or any characteristics of them, for example, marks which show the quality, quantity, purpose, value or geographical origin of your goods or services;
  • have become customary in your line of trade;
  • are not distinctive

Things may be different in the US (am still looking for a definitive, easy-to-read guide of TMs), but surely the UK criteria of not being ‘customary in your line of trade’ should come in here? Hyperlocal has passed into common media parlance – see this morning’s news of the New York Times’ local project. Infrared Optics and Related Technologies for Advanced Applications

Plus – is the phrase already trademarked in the US? and what’s the point?

FT results: FT.com paid-for subscriptions up 9%

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According to parent company Pearson’s preliminary financial results for 2008, released today, the Financial Times’ website saw a 9 per cent growth in paid-for subscribers to 109,609.

Register users – the free-part of the access model – increased from approximately 150,000 at the end of 2007 to 966,000 by the end of last year.

In September last year, FT.com managing director Rob Grimshaw told Journalism.co.uk that the financial crisis had caused an explosion in registrations and subscriptions to the site.

Advertising revenues for FT Publishing as a group fell by 4 per cent, but overall profits for 2008 rose by 13 per cent to £195 million.

“[G]rowth of digital and subscription businesses and strong demand for premium content exceed decline in advertising revenues,” said a release from Pearson.

“At the FT Group, we anticipate continued strong demand for high-quality analysis of global business, finance, politics and economics; a tough year for advertising; strong renewal rates in our subscription businesses; and continued growth at Interactive Data.”

The group’s publishing division posted a 9 per cent increase in sales to £74m (£56m in 2007).

Pearson itself recorded an adjusted operating profit rise of 11 per cent to £762 million in 2008.

Microsoft’s Photosynth as a storytelling tool

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Speaking at yesterday’s Association of Online Publisher’s (AOP) editorial technologies event, Microsoft executive producer Peter Bale extolled the virtues of Photosynth as a new visual storytelling tool.

The experimental, but publicly available tool, was used by CNN in its coverage of the Obama inauguration to thread 100s of photos together. These create a scenic panorama but can also be drilled into using additional feature Deep Zoom:

Screenshot of CNN's inauguration website

Within MSN its being used five or six times a week and the team are learning more about its capabilities with each use, Bale told Journalism.co.uk.

The product is being deployed commercially e.g for motoring sections to show car interiors in high detail. MSN also used PhotoSynth to display professional and user-contributed images during the recent heavy snowfall in the UK.

“What we’d like to do a lot more of is multiple crowd-contributed pictures where you can get several hundred or thousand people contributing a picture of a similar event, stitched together in a communal panorama,” he explained. https://bmmagazine.co.uk/business/us-government-asks-max-polyakov-to-sell-firefly-shares-for-safety-concerns/

Photosynth works in combination with Microsoft’s alternative to Flash, Silverlight, which Bale says is ideally set up to enable map mash-ups and overlaying other content onto the threaded images.

Live ‘Twinterview’ with Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy (kicks off 3pm)

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It’s coming up to 3pm, @krishgm will soon be ready and waiting – it’s time to put some questions to him via Twitter through our live coverage account @journalism_live. Feel free to throw in your own too, just Tweet @krishgm with the tag ‘#ch4’.

A bit of background: Krishnan Guru-Murthy is one of Channel 4 News’s presenters, based in the UK. You can find his full biography here on the Channel 4 site. Here’s an interview with commissioning editor Vicky Taylor on the channel’s web strategies. He has been Twittering since early February this year (first Tweet here). Channel 4 News has had a presence on Twitter for longer.

We live-tracked it here but we’re now reproducing the questions and answers from the Twinterview with @krishgm here. Mainly questions from us with a few from the crowd (order of Tweets altered or split slightly to make it clear). Enjoy!

journalism_live: @krishgm hello there! all set? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live #ch4 yep – here and ready

journalism_live: @krishgm great! here comes your first Q then… #ch4 journalism_live: @krishgm Were you reluctant to start Twittering? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live i wasn’t reluctant at all – just a bit bemused. but people on twitter really help you – it is a very warm experience #ch4

journalism_live:@krishgm Was it your idea? #ch4
krishgm:@journalism_live yes i just wanted to see what the fuss was about so gave it a go, and within a week or so i really got it. #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm How has your use of it changed now you’ve been going at it since early feb? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live I also use it for random personal stuff about me and my life – i find myself opening up a bit! #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live but i can see myself and the programme using it more and more to contact people about stories #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live i think the most exciting thing is the way networks overlap – so people you are not following end up talking to you

journalism_live: @krishgm who does the Twittering for @channel4news – is that you as well? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live no not me – i do actually have a job too. identity is a state secret. like the banker on ‘deal or no deal’ #ch4

journalism_live:4 @krishgm ooo… mystery. Are you thinking as ‘presenter of channel 4 news’ when you submit a Tweet via @krishgm? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live sometimes i tweet purely with work in mind…but there’s a fair amount of personal stuff too. I wonder if it jars…? #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm #ch4 is Twitter beating Channel 4 to breaking news stories and is this something @krishgm is more aware of now? (@lauraoliver)
krishgm: @journalism_live i think it offers something totally different and not competing. we don’t do 24 hr news. we want to be best not first #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live i must clarify ‘best not first’ comment. we do also like to be first where we can (i.e. scoops) but we not 24 hr news #ch4

Britt_W: @krishgm #ch4 Does Twitter in any way ‘slow down’ people at work do you think? Or is it inspiring and makes them more productive instead?
krishgm: @Britt_W yes! it does slow us down when we twittering rubbish! #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm and are there drawbacks of journalists sourcing via Twitter? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live you have to verify all information – so the same rules apply. i think there are potential man-traps – such as liars. #ch4
journalism_live: @krishgm Yes, you recently Tweeted it’s ‘just a new medium’ for finding people – Or could you ever call people’s Tweets ‘journalism’?#ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live You can tell an accurate story in 140 characters so yes in theory it can be journalism. But mostly, no! #ch4

programx: @krishgm You and @channel4news have asked for user ideas/opinion on prog content. How does mgt see this? Infringing on their domain? #ch4
krishgm: @ProgramX well we have three meetings a day between C4 News and News at Noon where mgt are there and we discuss it all #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm #ch4 is quite conversational via its use of @channel4news – was that a deliberate strategy?
krishgm: @journalism_live @channel4news is a sort of window on the newsroom and all the bonkers stuff said in here so yes #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live we think its a mistake to tweet lots of ‘breaking news’ updates that are really just driving traffic to websites. #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm 140chs must be a constraint for conversation: any plans to develop a fuller blog for yourself? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live not right now. I think i’m better suited to twitter! a blog is hard work – and i write a daily email when on #ch4

TGRWorzel:@krishgm I think it is a good way for audience to suggest questions, if we know who you are going to interview
krishgm: @TGRWorzel i really love all the suggested questions for interviews. please send more #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm someone asked earlier if Ch4’s ‘freer’ tone was because didn’t have constraints of BBC licence fee? (@buffsrawlinson) #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live wouldn’t overstate it but yes i think that is a factor. plus we smaller, less bureaucratic, fewer bosses, etc #ch4
journalism_live: @krishgm yes were surprised how small! http://is.gd/l6F5
krishgm: @journalism_live that article obviously didn’t mention the 100 odd people making C4 News on the telly #ch4
journalism_live: @krishgm of course! to clarify that’s just the website #ch4

journalism_live: You just mentioned that you now incorporate viewer suggestions into interviews?#ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live I don’t promise to incorporate (I don’t quote) – but they inform me when I’m deciding what to ask and what is ‘big’ #ch4
journalism_live: @krishgm but again with being aware that people might have an agenda? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live yes of course – you wouldn’t just use a tweet as uncorroborated source. there’s all sort of bonkers types out here! #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm do you think inc. more informal tone and method will influence TV prog. content? #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live i think tv tone naturally changes with the times and often becomes more informal and more direct. it is one influence #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live i think there’s still so much confusion about what twitter is, and what its for in general population #ch4
krishgm: @journalism_live you keep hearing ‘we’re on twitter’ on tv/radio without it always being an interesting use of twitter that adds value #ch4

Britt_W: @krishgm #ch4 Another question: Are you divided in your views regarding using Twitter or are you all for it? Does it cause a problem?
krishgm @Britt_W nobody is against it, but lots just don’t understand yet why anyone would botherbeing on twitter. they will #ch4
Britt_W: @krishgm #ch4 Sorry, didn’t express myself properly. Meant: Is C4 STAFF (not just you) divided in their views ie some for – some against?

programx: @krishgm You’ve tweeted while on air, something @declancurry also does. Is there scope 4 making C4News even more interactive this way? #ch4
krishgm @ProgramX ssshhhhh! the boss wouldnt approve! I’m supposed to be concentrating solely on the show! but its fun. #ch4
krishgm @ProgramX as before – really like getting feedback/suggestions live on air #ch4

journalism_live: @krishgm and has there been any mention of Ofcom? Of course it’s a very grey area what they do and don’t police #ch4
krishgm @journalism_live never heard anything about ofcom – but our reputation is at stake on all media so we have to be careful. #ch4
krishgm @journalism_live and twitter is not overseen by an editor – so there are potential problems. blogs are checked before publication #ch4
krishgm @journalism_live god, i’ve just thrown up a massive issue there about overseeing output…#ch4
journalism_live @krishgm Vicky Taylor said journs are ‘prof journalists – they’re aware of what they can and can’t write’ so it’s not a ‘major prob’ #ch4
krishgm @journalism_live well that’s good and a great and supportive position from the Channel – until somebody screws up! #ch4

journalism_live @krishgm will pursue that one with more than 140 chs… Q from @gemmanewby – will twitter threaten journo/researcher/photographer jobs?#ch4
krishgm @journalism_live i can’t see why it threatens anything at all. it enhances. #ch4

krishgm @journalism_live last q….am going to have to go do some work soon! #ch4
journalism_live @krishgm yes, us too. a silly Q from @thespyglass Does Krishnan ever consciously compete with Jon on the tie front?! #ch4
krishgm @journalism_live well i love ties too and have about 300 on a wall at home, so maybe a bit. we have v diff styles. me flowers/insects #ch4
journalism_live @krishgm great – a v impt Q and insight to end on. Cheers Krishnan. Apologies to his fllwrs for hogging the chat. #ch4

krishgm @journalism_live a pleasure – lets do it again sometime. #ch4
journalism_live: @krishgm see you around. Bye for now! #ch4

Royal Television Society journalism award winners in full

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As Tony Burman predicted, the ‘news channel of the year’ award at last night’s Royal Television Society awards didn’t go to Al Jazeera. Instead, it went to the BBC – who did rather well on the night in several categories. Here’s the full list, with the judges’ comments:

Young Journalist of the year: Hannah Thomas-Peter – Sky News
“A combination of fantastic access and great insight has enabled our winner to help transform health coverage on Sky News.”
Nominees: Joe Crowley – Inside Out BBC South / Kate Taunton – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News

Nations and Regions Current Affairs: The Story of Michael Barnett – Inside Out BBC Yorkshire
“A powerful programme with a sure touch…with the confidence to let the story tell itself.”
Nominees: A Friend in Need – Focus ITV Meridian / Meat Hygiene – Week In Week Out Special BBC Wales

Nations and Regions News Coverage: Weston Pier Fire – The West Tonight ITV West for ITV1
“… comprehensive, engaging and professionally presented.  It had outstanding pictures and a real sense of an event which affected the whole community.”
Nominees: Boris’s Deputy – Ray Lewis Investigation BBC London News / The Darwin Trial North East Tonight for ITV1

Scoop of the Year: HBOS/Lloyds TSB Merger BBC News Channel
“… indeed ‘an extraordinary exclusive’ which heralded the extraordinary changes in the British banking system.”
Nominees: China – The Moment the Earth Shook ITV News / Canoe Man – Gerard Tubb Sky News

Presenter of the Year: Jon Snow – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
“…yet another superb year, whether it was in the studio – interrogating politicians and bankers – or out in the field – from the Middle East to the United States. One jury member said ‘he’s just brilliant. There’s nothing more to say.'”
Nominees: Kay Burley – Sky News Sky News / Andrew Neil – BBC News

News Coverage – Home: The British Banking Crisis BBC News
“The winning entry started with a scoop of the first order and followed it with reportage and explanation of the highest quality. It was without doubt the story of the year and showed BBC News at its very best.”
Nominees: Ipswich – Guilty ITV News / Heathrow Crash BBC News

News Coverage – International: Congo Crisis ITN for Channel 4 News
“Top class coverage of a consistently high standard… It was totally comprehensive, enterprising and managed brilliantly to use small individual stories to explain the bigger picture.”
Nominees: China – The Earthquake ITV News / Conflict in the Caucasus – Newsnight BBC Newsnight for BBC Two

News Channel of the Year: BBC News Channel
“The winning news channeldelivered a fantastic series of scoops on the story of the year. It was a channel you had to watch to keep abreast of the breaking economic news.”
Nominees: Al Jazeera English News Al Jazeera English News / Sky News Sky News

Current Affairs – Home: Primark: On the Rack – Panorama BBC for BBC One
“… not only an engaging watch but… thorough and also went the extra mile to lay bare the whole chain from refugee camp to the High Street rail.”
Nominees: Omagh: What The Police Were Never Told – Panorama BBC for BBC One / The Secret Peacemaker BBC for BBC Two

Current Affairs – International: Undercover in Tibet – Dispatches True Vision for Channel 4 Television
“…a truly great current affairs film that sheds light on the future. Filmed just months before Tibet erupted into rioting, this extraordinarily brave programme, made at great personal risk and with much hardship, illuminated the tensions and troubles of the country, with powerful testimony and pictures.”
Nominees: Britain’s Most Wanted – This World Mentorn Media for BBC for BBC Two / Iraq’s Lost Generation – Dispatches Hardcash for Channel 4 Television

Innovative News: 10 Days to War – Newsnight BBC Newsnight for BBC Two
“The winning series harnessed everything from drama documentary to a special website to re-examine events leading to the Iraq war in 2003. The jury saw this as a brave and successful venture to capture a new and younger audience.”
Nominees: Unplugged Sky News / On The Frontline – Afghan Headcams ITV News

Specialist Journalist of the Year: Robert Peston – BBC News
“One journalist dominated this year’s specialist category.  [He] owned the story of the Credit Crunch and its impact on the whole economy.”
Nominees: Faisal Islam – Channel 4 News/ Channel 4 News at Noon ITN for Channel 4 News / Jason Farrell – Five News Sky News for Five News

News Programme of the Year: BBC News at Ten BBC News for BBC One
“In a vintage year for news output, this programme shone through. The jury felt it had led the way on a wide range of major stories and the experience and quality of its leading correspondents had simply been unmatched anywhere else. It had triumphed on the big story of the year but had supported that with first-class reporting throughout.”
Nominees: Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky Sky News for Five News / News at Ten ITV News

Camera Operator of the Year: Garwen McLuckie – Sky News Sky News
“The winner’s work in Africa was fearless and showed a remarkable empathy for the problems faced by people across the continent. His story-telling was impressive and his work demonstrated immense personal bravery and the highest technical skills.”
Nominees: Raul Gallego Abellan – Associated Press Television News Associated Press Television News / Stuart Webb – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News

Television Journalist of the Year: Robert Peston – BBC News
“The winning correspondent produced probably the most sustained run of scoops and exclusives in the history of broadcast news in the UK… It would not be an exaggeration to say that a large part of the nation hung on the winner’s words every night – he personally revived appointment-to-view.”
Nominees: Martin Geissler – Africa Correspondent ITV News / Emma Hurd – Sky News Sky News

Lifetime Achievement Award: Peter Wilkinson
“This year’s winner is, for the first time, a cameraman.  He is not a household name – but you will all recognise his work. Many of the defining moments of our era have been captured through his lens, and he is one of the true pioneers of his trade.”

Judges Awards: Zimbabwe News Teams
“[This year’s Judges’ Award] recognises and salutes the work of a disparate collection of journalists, cameramen, producers and others who work under the radar, who have helped the outside world to report and understand a major international story that would otherwise have remained largely hidden from view.”

Gold Medal: Stewart Purvis
“[The Gold Medal goes] to someone whose name may not be widely known by the public but who has influenced, directly or indirectly, virtually everything we’ve seen on screen tonight. He is, without doubt, one of the makers of modern television news.

RBI staff vote against further industrial action

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National Union of Journalist (NUJ) members at Reed Business Information (RBI) have voted against further industrial action following a strike ballot at the publisher.

In the Wednesday ballot, 111 voted against further action being taken in response to proposed merger of production desks at Flight International, ICIS and Contract Journal and issues of compulsory redundancies.

According to an internal memo seen by Journalism.co.uk, the NUJ chapel will meet with the company again on March 4 to discuss new offers to staff, with separate meetings to be held for members at New Scientist and Estates Gazette.

In the ballot, 64 NUJ members voted in favour of taking industrial action.

Last month the group announced 35 staff redundancies in the UK, citing ‘long-term structural needs’ and the new challenges of the economic downturn.

Parent company Reed Elsevier recently extended loan arrangements for its $2 billion debt.

In December Reed terminated the sale of magazine arm RBI, as a result of ‘the recent deterioration in macro-economic outlook and poor credit market conditions’.

Guardian mobile; Daily Mail targets US audience on Kindle

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Guardian.co.uk will be available as a new mobile site from March, a release from the publisher has confirmed.

Specific versions of m.guardian.co.uk will be available for iPhone and Blackberry handsets will be released. The decision to launch a dedicated mobile site follows growing mobile traffic to the Guardian, Adam Freeman, commercial director, said in the statement.

Distribution deals for mobile content have been signed with 3 and Vodafone. The site itself will be ad-supported.

Meanwhile the Daily Mail is planning to make its content available on the US version of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader, according to a report from NMA – part of a push to capitalise on the Mail’s growing US audience. The site previously told Journalism.co.uk that its commercial focus remains on the UK, but perhaps this marks the beginnings of an overseas push.