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The case for anonymity
“To hell with the web, it’s got no responsibility.” Robert Fisk After the once anonymous blogger Nightjack worked his way back into the news this week as part of the hacking scandal, it reminded me of a post I’d been meaning to write for a while about anonymity. Anonymous comments on Kent Online have always been a love-hate relationship. Yes, dealing with readers ringing in and complaining about specific comments does get tedious, but thanks to them we got great tip offs and extra leads for stories, as well as interactivity. But then it was decided that in future any comments would have to be linked to a registered account. I see the idea behind the new policy as...
Read MoreJon Snow delivers the Bob Friend Memorial Lecture
“This is a true coalition,” jokes Jon Snow whilst standing next to Rob Kirk of Sky News just before he delivered the annual Bob Friend Memorial Lecture. This year’s lecture was titled: From Film to Twitter – the Media Revolution: Is the Golden Age of Journalism Come or Gone? I gave myself the night off and for once didn’t take notes, but upon realising that no one from the Centre for Journalism will post the video until Monday, I thought I’d mention a few things from memory. Let’s get this out of the way first, shall we? Jon Snow’s tie – yes, it was as bright as ever, and in case you were wondering why they’re always so loud, Snow said when they...
Read MoreBaroness Worthington and her unpaid intern blunder
Yesterday the Daily Mail picked up on Bryony Worthington’s advertisement for an unpaid intern: “For some reason, however, Baroness Worthington — Bryony to friends — states that the aide will ideally ‘like children’. Can it be that she’s looking for a free babysitter? Some who saw her ad on a House of Commons website thought so. And lo and behold, within a week, the ad was gone — with colleagues suspecting Labour apparatchiks ordered her to take it down. Says Bryony, 38: ‘It’s been implied I’m trying to get away without paying someone. But since my Lords role doesn’t have a salary, I can’t be expected to provide payment for an assistant....
Read MoreProjects update: interns exploited and Southeastern trains
So my plan to blog more failed. Instead I’ve been focusing on my work and projects. Right now I’m half way through a project on the exploitation of interns. It’s both a radio piece and a multimedia project, so I’ll link to it once it’s finished. Some of the stories I’ve heard during my investigation are beyond shocking. So it will be worth a listen when it’s finished (I hope). Similarly, if you’re an intern and have worked for free, get in contact. Here is a tiny bit of my multimedia project – mapping MPs and constituencies who are advertising for unpaid interns. Intern Anonymous blogged about it here, although the word ‘fantastic’ is a bit of an...
Read MoreAnne Reevell’s advice for journalism students
Anne Reevell addressing the Centre for Journalism today said if you walk into a work experience placement without knowing about the organisation and the work they do then you will face “instant death”. She said: “When you send out your CVs make sure that you have watched something that the production company has produced.” “What does surprise me with people who come and work with us is that they don’t watch TV enough and they’re not reading newspapers enough. People should be reading op/ed pages, they should know what is going on in the news and be fluent in world affairs.” “People will be interviewing you who are actually obsessive about news and...
Read MoreNUJ Students’ Conference 2010 – Investigative Journalism
You need to be an “obsessive geek” and realise that “almost everyone hates you”. That is the life of an investigative journalist, according to the panel at the NUJ Students’ Conference held yesterday. Shiv Malik, investigative reporter and co-author of Jilted Generation – How Britain has bankrupted its youth, talked about the dislike towards investigative journalists as you are trying to find out things people want to keep quiet. He said your notes are “absolutely vital and essential” and that the “Police are like vampires… If you have something (i.e. notes) don’t let them in.” He offered the advice of joining the union “because they were the...
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