Media

Shields up…new govt IT campaign launched

Bernie Russell Media
Shields up…new govt IT campaign launched
Ex-internet entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox has been made British Digital Champion, charged with getting the UK’s estimated ten million internet refuseniks online.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/12/digital-inclusion-martha-lane-fox
She has a new Digital Inclusion Task Force to run the campaign, and a posh office in Soho to run it from.
Sounds familiar…
I wonder – is this anything like the campaign announced in April 2008 at the National Digital Inclusion Conference in London?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7373970.stm
Martha wasn’t champion then, but there was a minister for digital inclusion – some Labour type called Paul Murphy.
Murphy’s bore
He said that a government strategy to bring the last third of offline UK citizens into the digital age could be in place by summer.
He wasn’t the most convincing digital advocate –  he admitted, he’s “not a technical person”
But he had been studying what was involved in the role since prime minister Gordon Brown appointed him in January 2008.
And he said: “The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I didn’t need to be technical at all”.
Fair point, I suppose.
You say inclusion, I say exclusion
The BBC reported at the time that  delegates “welcomed the appointment of the first cabinet minister to have responsibility for digital exclusion”.
The report didn’t say whether that was the same minister as the minister for digital inclusion. It wouldn’t surprise me if it wasn’t.
Been there, not done that
The thing is, I was just wondering if Martha’s 2009 wheeze will be as successful as Murphy’s 2008 wheeze was.
It’s certainly got off to a great start.
It has a web site where people who aren’t online can … er …
http://raceonline2012.org/

Ex-internet entrepreneur Martha Lane-Fox has been made British Digital Champion, charged with getting the UK’s estimated ten million internet refuseniks online. Continue reading →

AP app appears

Bernie Russell Media
AP app appears
The Associated Press has released an iPhone app of its style guide.
http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pressreleases/pr_092809a.html
It’s pricey, though – £17.99 – and the first reviews aren’t exactly complimentary.
No thanks
So I won’t be buying it myself.
I only wrote it up because I liked my headline.

The Associated Press has released an iPhone app of its style guide.

It’s pricey, though – £17.99 – and the first reviews aren’t exactly complimentary.

No thanks
So I won’t be buying it myself.

I only wrote it up because I liked my headline.

Could universities host local news?

Bernie Russell Media
Could universities host local news?
Good question from BJTC secretary Jim Latham at the  Westminster Media Forum on October 14 (from jourbalism.co.uk):
http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors/2009/10/15/wmf-could-unversities-provide-facilities-for-new-local-news-networks/
Could journalism schools at UK universities offer equipment, facilities and trainee reporters in the form of students to local media groups and proposed independently funded news consortia (IFNC)?
What’s an IFNC?
That’s another good question. They are meant to be the “long-term replacement to ITV regional news”. They were proposed by Ofcom in September 2008, and are explained in slightly more detail in this Ofcom statement.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/speeches/2009/apr/consortia
Who’s in charge?
There are three suggestions about who would award the contracts:
the BBC Trust (Gawd ‘elp us…)
Ofcom’s Content Board (odd role for a regulator?)
a new body (another quango … excellent)
separate regional or national bodies (no idea. See above)
Who pays?
Where is the ‘independent’ funding (the consortia could cost about £100m) to come from? The statement sets out a few options.
From the taxpayer? “A very, very difficult case to make”, says Ofcom. Nicely put…
From an industry levy? “Nor is an industry levy likely to be an attractive proposition in the middle of a recession.” Spot on again.
The licence fee switchover surplus? The strongest candidate, though lots of  people have their eyes on this pot of gold. (Of course, this also came from the taxpayers, who might just like it back…)
All these seem to stretching the meaning of the word, ‘independent’ to breaking point.
And no-one seems to have considered that the consortia could be paid for by investors willing to fund news outlets that will provide content people want at a price they’re prepared to pay; and that the state and its hangers-on should stop trying to find people to chuck our money at.
I mean, there is a recession on.

Good question from BJTC secretary Jim Latham at the  Westminster Media Forum on October 14 (reported by journalism.co.uk):

Could journalism schools at UK universities offer equipment, facilities and trainee reporters in the form of students to local media groups and proposed independently funded news consortia (IFNC)? Continue reading →

Protest in Havana

Bernie Russell Media
Protest in Havana
A protest group called the Ladies in White marched through the Cuban capital, Havana today (October 14) calling for the release of dissidents jailed by the Castro regime.
http://www.demotix.com/news/damas-de-blanco-conmemoran-aniversario-del-inicio-de-las-guerras-de-independencia-de-cuba-con-una-ma
The group is made up of female relatives of 75 Cuban political prisoners, seized in March 2003.
Those arrested included human rights activists, journalists, and librarians. They were given jail sentences of up to 28 years.
Never heard of them
The Ladies in White go to Mass each Sunday wearing white dresses and then walk silently through the streets carrying flowers and pictures of their loved ones.
They don’t get that much coverage over here.
Can’t think why…

A protest group called the Ladies in White (Las Damas de Blanco) marched through the Cuban capital, Havana today (October 14) calling for the release of dissidents jailed by the Castro regime.

The group is made up of female relatives of 75 Cuban political prisoners seized in March 2003.

Those arrested included human rights activists, journalists, and librarians. They were given jail sentences of up to 28 years.

Never heard of them
The Ladies in White go to Mass each Sunday wearing white dresses and then walk silently through the streets carrying flowers and pictures of their loved ones.

They don’t get that much coverage over here.

Can’t think why…

Lincoln University to launch John Pilger archive

Bernie Russell Media
University of Lincoln to launch John Pilger digital archive
The University of Lincoln is launching a digital archive of the work of journalist John Pilger, reports journalism.co.uk.
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/536125.php
The project will develop a ‘permanent, definitive public and scholarly digital archive of his work’ said Ian Snowley, director of Library & Learning Resources at the University.
(Thanks to LSJ graduate Hayley Cook for the RT)

The University of Lincoln is launching a digital archive of the work of journalist John Pilger, reports journalism.co.uk.

(Thanks to LSJ graduate Hayley Cook for the RT)

And now the news…from Facebook

Bernie Russell Media
And now the news…from Facebook
Is facebook getting ito the news business? Well, yes it might be, according to this post from Econsultancy.
http://econsultancy.com/blog/4771-why-facebook-could-be-the-next-big-news-publisher
It’s interesting. The author pushes the (surely correct?) argument if the people won’t come to the news, the news has to go the people. And a lot of the people are on Facebook
No pay…no play?
But, as the post also points out, Facebook has just gone into profit.
No mean feat on the web – but it’s still operating in an enviuronment where people expect everything to be free at the point of use.
Is there enough money in news?

Is Facebook getting into the news business? Well, yes it might be, according to this post from digital marketing firm Econsultancy.

The author pushes the (surely correct?) argument if the people won’t come to the news, the news has to go the people. And a lot of the people are on Facebook.

No pay…no play?
But, as the post also points out, Facebook has just gone into profit.

No mean feat on the web – but it’s still operating in an environment where people expect everything to be free at the point of use.

So is there enough money in news?

Free (well, cheap) press
There is one theme running through many of these speculative posts on the future of new news outlets: the assumption that there are lots of out-of-work journos out there to staff them on the cheap; and the assumption that there’ll be some kind of relationship between community reporters on the ground (for want of a better description), and the pro journalists filtering their stories.

The Guardian seems to have something along these lines in mind; and there’s this scheme up and running at the Northern Echo.

Interestingly, it seems very nebulous except in the case of the Echo …

Sue, Grabbit, Runne and Hyde…

Bernie Russell Media
Sue, Grabbit, Runne and Hyde…
The UK’s highly restrictive legal system is trying to wrap its gag around Parliament.
The Guardian is to challenge a ban by lawyers Carter-Ruck on reporting a question submitted by an MP.
http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors/2009/10/13/firms-like-carter-ruck-have-become-expert-at-pressing-certain-legal-buttons-says-david-leigh/
Mind your own business
The newspaper isn’t allowed to identify the MP who has asked the question, say what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found.
Your bill…
Who’ll the legal bill for all this? What do you think?
From Paul Stainthorp via Twitter.
twitter.com/pstainthorp

The UK’s highly restrictive legal system is trying to wrap its gag around Parliament.

The Guardian is to challenge a ban by lawyers Carter-Ruck on reporting a question submitted by an MP.

Mind your own business
The newspaper isn’t allowed to identify the MP who has asked the question, say what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found.

From Paul Stainthorp via Twitter.

Joining the JET set

Bernie Russell Media
Joining the JET set
LSJ graduate Daniel James Bentham [2009] is aiming to join the 2010 Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme as an assistant language teacher.
http://www.jetprogramme.org/
Kanpai…
JET, a scheme set up by the Japanese Government to improve foreign language teaching in schools and promote international understanding, is in its 22nd year of graduate exchange and will be accepting applications for next year’s positions between October and November.
If he gets onto the programme, Daniel will be fulfilling a life-long dream of living and working in Japan.

LSJ graduate Daniel James Bentham [2009] is aiming to join the 2010 Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme as an assistant language teacher.

Kanpai…
JET, a scheme set up by the Japanese Government to improve foreign language teaching in schools and promote international understanding, is in its 22nd year.

It will be accepting applications for next year’s positions between October and November.