Freelance Unbound

The view from my desk on this sunny Wednesday afternoon…

Via the ever-dependable Soilman comes news that an Oxford academic has set up a prize for the most inaccurate reporting of a piece of academic work. It sounds like a one-off joke – but the nominations process is outlined comprehensively enough, so it might take off. The project is the brainchild of Dorothy Bishop, a […]

In association with the Martin Cloake blog So far we’ve covered a wealth of ground on editorial skills, the audience for journalism (and its shortcomings), the need for narrative in human experience and, most important of all, why sub-editors are the backbone of the media. Today, my blogging colleague Martin Cloake rightly takes me to […]

In association with the Martin Cloake blog If journalism is about telling stories to make sense of human experience, my blogging colleague Martin Cloake argues that our most pressing task is to tell them better and “not fall into the trap of disregarding the accumulated knowledge of the trade”. Our key task is to focus […]

Via @KarlSchneider comes the news that venerable HR/personnel trade publication Personnel Today is to ditch its print edition. As a result, 12 print jobs are to go – though in part compensation there will be four – count them – new online positions. This is a trend we’ll see much more of, especially in the […]

In association with the Martin Cloake blog So far, we’ve covered the need for a coherent set of standards for journalism, the question of whether the audience actually cares, or appreciates those standards, and the difference between literacy and communication skills. And, crucially, why sub-editors are the cornerstone of the media. Now I’d like to […]

In association with the Martin Cloake blog Yesterday, media blogger Martin Cloake argued for a definition of standards to separate “journalism” from simply sounding off. My view is that it’s all very well going on about the importance of quality in journalism practice, but the audience (arguably the most important component of the media process) […]

Lots of excitement about today’s report that using plain water in your car’s windscreen washing system could expose you to deadly Legionnaires’ Disease. Key reminder: Correlation is not causality This has been a public service announcement…

In association with the Martin Cloake blog Following last Friday’s Value of Journalism event by the BBC College of Journalism and Polis, media blogger Martin Cloake and I have kicked off our own debate on that very question. In the first of our exchange, Martin asks “is there still such a thing as journalism, and if […]

To celebrate today’s Value of Journalism event and my upcoming debate with Martin Cloake on that very topic, via Soilman comes a grab from the Google News reader with a feed of headlines from UK national newspapers. How many of these stories are really “news”? Not that many it would seem…