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links for 2009-07-15 July 15, 2009

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Robert Peston’s Singular Failure July 14, 2009

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Has Arsenal borrowed too much? asks the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston on his Peston Picks blog today.

It’s not his economic analysis that’s the problem, or rather his ability to read someone else’s analysis and précis it elegantly.

It’s not even the fact that he paints a gloomy picture for supporters of the greatest football club in N5.

No, his real sin is the use of the singular when describing a football team.

“Arsenal has”? It’s “Arsenal have”, Robert. Check out how every other UK media outlet does it, including your colleagues on BBC Sport. In fact, there’s a teaser, as I look, linking to your post with the heading: ‘Do Arsenal have too much debt?’  

Does it really matter? Hell, yes.

I know it goes against the grain given nearly all other organisations are referred to as single entities.

Indeed, “companies are singular” became a mantra in one newsroom I worked in. A repeat offender of this basic style rule had those words plastered on to his monitor to warn against future transgression.

But when it comes to sports, the team is everything. Hence the plural. It even applies to countries taking part in sport, so “England save the first test”, not “England saves the first test”. 

Rules is rules.

links for 2009-07-14 July 14, 2009

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Hyperboring? In Defence Of Hyperlocal, Pt 1 July 14, 2009

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An appearance on Radio 4′s The Media Show last week helped focus the mind. Critics, lining up against hyperlocal as a form of reporting, have four broad lines of attack.

Namely:

  1. Hyperlocal is hyperboring
  2. It can’t be trusted (Read>>)
  3. It won’t make you any money
  4. Nobody is doing it well

Over the next week or so I’m going to address each in turn, starting with:

1. Hyperlocal is hyperboring
Yes it can be. There are plenty of examples of self-indulgent navel gazing. But that’s true of traditional media. If you want self-indulgent and navel gazing, try most Sunday colour supplements.

The mistake here is to blame the platform for the message. (more…)

The Week’s Most Read Posts (6-12 July 2009) July 13, 2009

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Putting The Guardian Into The MediaGuardian 100 July 13, 2009

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So to the annual MediaGuardian 100. I guess the clue is in the name. The paper likes to slice and dice entrants in its power list – under 40s, top 10 fallers, top 10 women, you know the kind of thing.

How’s this for size?

1. Carolyn McCall, chief executive, Guardian Media Group
2. Alan Rushbridger, editor, the Guardian
3. Stephen Fry, presenter, writer, actor (and former Guardian Weekend magazine columnist)
4. David Mitchell, actor, writer, presenter (and current Observer columnist)
5. Armando Iannucci, writer, director, producer, performer (and former Observer columnist)
6. Emily Bell, director of digital content, Guardian News & Media

At least they had the good grace to put Will Lewis, editor-in-chief of the paper responsible for the biggest newspaper story of the year, at number 10, a full 25 places above Carolyn McCall.

Elsewhere, here’s one for the digerati – the Top 10 Purely Digital:

1. Sergei Brin and Larry Page, Google
2. Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive, Apple
3. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft
4. Evan Williams, Twitter
5. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
6. Jason Kilar, Hulu
7. Daniel Ek, Spotify
8. Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post
9. Paul Staines, Guido Fawkes blog
10. Richard Moross, moo.com

links for 2009-07-11 July 11, 2009

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Fox News Anchor To Rupert Murdoch: ‘Mr Chairman Sir, Why Are You So Great?’ July 10, 2009

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Rupert Murdoch, chair and CEO of News Corp, emerged from his bunker yesterday to face the media.

Well, one media outlet at least – Fox News (proprietor: Mr R. Murdoch).

A good opportunity, then, to quiz the great man about the goings-on in another part of his empire, namely News International’s News of the World.

This is how that particular exchange played out:

Fox Anchor: “Mr Chairman sir, thanks very much for joining us. We appreciate it.”

Rupert Murdoch: “Fine, good afternoon.”

Fox Anchor: “The story that’s really buzzing all around the country and certainly here in New York is that the News of the World, a News Corporation newspaper in Britain used…”

Rupert Murdoch: “I’m not talking about that issue at all today. Sorry.”

Fox Anchor: “Okay. No worries Mr Chairman, that’s fine with me.”

And the great inquest was over.

Fox News – fair and balanced. And awfully nice to the boss.

 

Related:
– The Guardian, News Of The World And The Other Side Of Scoops
– What if the business model for news ain’t broke?
– Free is just another cover price

(Pretty) funny:
– One Of The Best Photo Captions Ever
– Is This The Best Use of Post-It Notes Ever?

links for 2009-07-10 July 10, 2009

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Scarcity, Abundance And The Misapprehension Of Online Advertising July 10, 2009

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In the latest offering to the gods and goddesses of Journalism.co.uk I pose the following question: What if the business model for news ain’t broke?

My chosen text is Free: The Future of a Radical Price, in which author Chris Anderson makes a strong case for “freeconomics”. Indeed he argues that an ad-funded model can be a profitable business for newspapers – and other non-media firms – online. This despite what the newspaper groups are saying themselves.

This is the crux of the piece:

Offline – in newspapers, magazines, billboards, TV and radio – advertising is predicated on scarcity not abundance. Ad sales people trade on ’space’ and the less there is the higher the yield.

So when there is infinite space online, their greatest selling tool disappears.

Right? Wrong.

Click here to find out why it’s wrong.

By the way, there are some good comments at the bottom of the piece which are worth staying on for. Not least from Paul Lomax who makes a strong case for brand advertising online, something I’d rather dismissed in my original piece.

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