This splash on the latest stop-motion animation short from the UK’s favourite Oscar-winning, Bristol-based animation studio manages to spell the company’s name wrong not just once, but all three times it is mentioned. Oh well, it was at least consistent. And it wasn’t in the headline or standfirst. Just for the record, it’s Aardman with […]
This week’s HE news is that graduation rates have slumped, pushing us to 15th place in the OECD rankings. It’s a disaster that is threatening our economic recovery, warn university vice-chancellors (no special interest there, then) and university unions (likewise). It’s an odd counterpoint to the summer’s news that unemployment among graduates has risen a […]
Readers may remember the run-in I had with the Clinique press office a little while ago, and the flood of visitors that were drawn here by a repost at US journalism college web site the Poynter Institute. It was very exciting – my readership spiked tenfold, and I had loads of comments. So – I’m on […]
…I’ve had to spend quite a bit of time training up my new editorial assistant. She’s certainly got a nose for news, and will sniff out ineptitude and inaccuracy in the media with relentless tenacity. She also loves traditional news media – it’s very comfortable. Don’t worry though – Freelance Unbound is not about to […]
Regular readers of Freelance Unbound will know some of the problems a journalism lecturer faces when it comes to assessing student work. But aside from the relentless inaccuracies in spelling, grammar, punctuation and argument, one of the most notable qualities of student writing is its self-indulgence. “I” dominates the writing of students. It’s not long […]
Further exploration of my exciting new Open University Exploring Science course material reveals its true pedigree. Its progenitor is the wonderful Ladybird Junior Science series, which used to edify and entertain the youth of yesteryear, before they discovered Miaow Miaow and Asbos. The pack contains an intriguing box of small rocks and a magnifying glass, which […]
Regular readers will be aware that Freelance Unbound has a habit of taking the modern media to task for being, basically, scientifically and statistically illiterate. Clearly though, the blog risks ending up a hostage to fortune, as I inevitably make the same mathematical and scientific errors that I castigate others for. For this reason, I […]
Entertainment headline on Yahoo News: Mitch Winehouse has gallstones (Though, to be honest, I’m more intrigued by the news that “Paris Hilton is being sued for allegedly wearing someone else’s hair.” What is the world coming to?)
Via Soilman comes an example of a news item from the Telegraph that fails to tell the reader almost everything they need to know in order to make sense of the story. It’s impossible to pull out any extracts from the story that make any real sense. Go and have a look and see if […]
Freelance Unbound has spent the past few weeks moving house – a hellish experience that I will never, ever go through again. You’ll have to take me out of here in a box (I have loads, so that’s OK). The compensation is the new view from my online editor’s office – welcome to the sunny […]