Journoblog

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!

2010-02-19T15:43:00.000+00:00

Please go to the fabulous new Journoblog.com to continue following this blog. Thanks for your continued support! Best wishes, Andrew Giddings

MI5 was aware of torture, but should you be aware?

2010-02-12T13:03:00.000+00:00

No one was really surprised to find out that MI5 was aware of the torture of Binyam Mohamed, but being unsurprised does not mean being unconcerned. Governments, along with their security and intelligence agencies, have always kept secrets from the public. Usually with good reason, one would hope, but this issue is difficult to gauge. Most people are saddened by the news that MI5 knew about about

White House Spokesman Taunts Sarah Palin

2010-02-10T14:36:00.001+00:00

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs mimicked one of Sarah Palin's many embarrassing moments on Saturday: He wrote his notes on his hand for his daily White House briefing to journalists. During a speech on Saturday, Sarah Palin showed her Tennessee audience (and the rest of the world) that she hasn't lost her touch when it comes to humiliating herself; a glimpse of her hand revealed that she had

Luxury Items: Why people think you're crazy

2010-02-08T00:28:00.000+00:00

Every now and then, we’ll hear or read about a handbag or telephone priced so highly that we wonder who in the world would be silly enough buy one. But perhaps it is better to stop and think before mocking those who do blow their cash on luxury items- you may be just as crazy. The term ‘luxury item’ can describe anything which costs more than normal people would usually pay for such a thing. Some

School Students Murdered by Gunmen

2010-02-02T00:54:00.001+00:00

Thomson Reuters has reported the killing of 14 high school students by gunmen in Mexico on Sunday. Reporter Julian Cardona described the scene at Ciudad Juarez as a massacre, saying: "Gunmen jumped out of sport utility vehicles and fired at the students... in a house in the city across the border from El Paso, Texas... Bodies lay on the street outside and pools of blood collected by nearby

Recession is over, but it's too early to celebrate

2010-01-26T22:29:00.000+00:00

After 18 months of economic shrinkage, The Labour Party have finally been given a lifeline in time for the general election. But that lifeline may be rather slippery- the last nation in the European Union to escape recession has done so by just 0.1 percent. This figure is significant as far as politics is concerned, but is unlikely to affect the lives of those struggling to find work or

Obama's Guantanamo Plan Caught on Barbed Wire

2010-01-25T08:23:00.000+00:00

Barack Obama is struggling to keep his promise to close down Guantanamo Bay, and all because of 47 difficult prisoners. But these prisoners aren't difficult in the way that one might expect. The problem they're causing isn't due to attempted escapes or hunger strikes. What makes them difficult is this: Officials don't know what to do with them. According to ABC News, "They are reportedly

Are GSK mending their ways?

2010-01-20T12:03:00.006+00:00

Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline appears to have gone all warm and fuzzy and put thousands of potential malaria curing compounds. This means that any other pharma company can use them to create new drugs. If this doesn't come as a surprise, it's probably because you haven't heard much about GSK. To be fair, all drugs manufacturers are in a difficult position: We want them around

Disaster reporting and Philosophy

2010-01-17T23:30:00.001+00:00

The reporting pattern for natural disasters seems to be as follows: 1: Report nature and location of disaster. 2: Report death toll as it develops. 3: Report shambolic aid efforts. The coverage of the earthquake in Haiti seems to be following this pattern. Sadly, the aid efforts are more disorganised than ever. According to The Times, the UN are trying to pass on as much responsibility for the

An apology and a small realisation.

2010-01-16T15:27:00.001+00:00

Apologies for the lack of a recent post. It does make me realise how quickly things can slip if I leave them or allow myself to become distracted by things such as Christmas and New Year. It strikes me how easy it is to use the end of the year as an excuse not to do anything. It's a deadly combination; the temptation to say "I won't think about that now, it's Christmas", followed by "I'll start

I deserve the Nobel Peace Prize more than Barack Obama

2009-12-11T14:34:00.004+00:00

As Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Price on the grounds that he is not George W. Bush, I feel obliged to point out to the world that I am also not George W. Bush. Plus, Mr Obama has recently sent 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. I have sent fewer troops to Afghanistan than this. To date, I have sent approximately zero troops into Afghanistan. That's a difference of about 30,000. I

Winchester Student Saves Life

2009-12-11T11:48:00.003+00:00

A Winchester student entered a burning building to save the life of an elderly man on Monday night. Using a ladder to reach the top floor window, Edward Herbert, 20, climbed inside the Stanmore house and pulled the 84-year old man to the window while the kitchen below was ablaze. Edward stayed with the man and waited for emergency services to arrive. “I just wanted to get him out,” Edward said

Media Law - Freedom of Information

2009-12-05T15:48:00.001+00:00

The Freedom of Information Act makes it mandatory for a public authority to disclose whether or not it has the information requested of it. The same is also required of privatised bodies (such as utilities companies), police and fire authorities and quangos. Exciting piece of information: Quango is an acronym for "QUasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation." There are some exemptions,

Another press release exercise

2009-12-04T12:06:00.001+00:00

Operations at St. Mary’s Hospital are cancelled as norovirus takes hold of the community. Hosptial bosses have decided to postpone all non-urgent surgery in an effort to reduce cases of the virus entering the facility via infected patients. As well as people waiting for procedures, families of patients will feel the effects of the outbreak as hospital visiting times are

Sholing Flasher Still At Large

2009-12-03T12:05:00.005+00:00

Police in Southampton have failed to end The Sholing Flasher’s four-month reign of terror. Hampshire Police have been searching for the serial flasher since the first incident in Sholing Valley, Southampton, on 28th of August. A 23-year-old woman reported a man on a bench staring at her while exposing himself and performing an indecent act at 3.20pm. In November he exposed himself to a

The Times and BBC Radio 5 Live

2009-11-30T10:59:00.002+00:00

An analysis For this project I was asked to study The Times and BBC Radio 5 Live. When asked to describe a book, you would say that it’s for children or for fans of horror, science fiction, romance etc. Identifying the reader is the best way of defining the book itself. The same is true with all media including news sources. The Times The Times is aimed at the ABC1 market sectors. This is

Rousseau - The Social Contract

2009-11-24T14:39:00.001+00:00

Rousseau felt that the best and most pure existence that man has enjoyed took place in a state of nature- before society formed and oppressed us. Or, perhaps more accurately, we oppressed ourselves. He understands that we cannot go back to this easily, and so suggests ways of bringing ourselves closer to the state of nature without dismantling everything completely. The basic idea is that

2009-11-24T00:59:00.002+00:00

In our Media Studies lecture today, we were discussing the Internet. In my opinion, the net is one of the best things ever. I love the idea of this kind of world within our world. It exists in its own dimension and can expand forever as long as people continue to contribute. I think the day is coming where everyone will have personal website (probably a customisable template supplied by Google);

Seminar Notes - Joseph Addison

2009-11-19T17:19:00.001+00:00

Apologies for the delay. Here are the notes from which I delivered the Joseph Addison seminar: Seminar Notes- Joseph Addison Joseph Addison was a pamphleteer, a man of letters, and possibly the first man who today would be called a journalist. Before Joseph Addison, published writings usually had motives such as religion or art behind them. Addison was among the first to write purely for money.

Investigative Journalism

2009-11-15T18:11:00.003+00:00

Investigative journalism is my biggest interest, and so I really enjoyed the lecture on Tuesday. I've always felt that investigative journalism, as well is being exciting, is an opportunity for a someone to change things or expose corruption. The story of Veronica Guerin is frightening but inspiring. I can only imagine someone would put themselves in such danger if it was for something which

Who knows what they're celebrating?

2009-11-09T23:01:00.006+00:00

The fall of the Berlin Wall, of course! But how many people know why it was there, what it meant for the people trapped by it, what the world behind the wall was like and why it fell? Not enough, in my opinion. Although you'd have probably brushed on it if you took GCSE History (I wish I did), there is a shortage of education on this subject, and not just in schools. I say self-educate

A Good Copyright Story

2009-11-08T09:44:00.002+00:00

Here is a good example of a copyright case, and as it's very recent (at the time of writing) the precedent set is unlikely to have been superseded. The web page outlines the case in which a photographer's work was reproduced by the Mirror Group without permission. It's interesting as it involves use of the photographer's work in back issues made available online, but the really good part is

Media Law - Copyright

2009-11-04T23:17:00.002+00:00

Journalism is the profession of turning information into money. Copyright law protects this by preventing work from being stolen. A journalist has the right to their work. It is by selling this right that a journalist can earn money. But 'information' is not valuable, since there is no copyright in mere information. The journalist must turn this information into news before it is something which

The Journalism Committee

2009-11-02T01:10:00.000+00:00

This is a post to make everyone aware of the Journalism Committee. As journalism students we are fortunate enough to have faculty around us who have taken the trouble to set up a committee dedicated to improving the course. It is composed of both staff and students from each year who each offer input such as ways in which the facilities can be improved, course content can be developed and how any

Northcliffe, Rothermere and the 30s Circulation War

2009-10-29T11:05:00.013+00:00

Please click here to read this article. Sources: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BUharmsworth.htm">http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BUharmsworth.htm http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Daily_Mirror http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/exhibition/extraextra/DailyHeraldHistory.pdf http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Lord_Rothermere http://