Nadia Knows... | Nadia Saint

Topman, T-shirts and the daily Twitter-go-round

2011-09-15T03:27:00.000-07:00

I’m endlessly fascinated by the news agenda that Twitter creates. No readers’ digest or news search could effectively recreate the contradictory values that coexist at any moment in time on Twitter. No debate could mimic the melting pot of opinions that spew forth in real time, in brief and breathless miniature sentences.

More often than not, Twitter-led stories follow a familiar arc. Yesterday, when two Topman T-shirts (delightfully displayed, above) gained Twitter prominence for their offensive slogans, the news arc started with a disgruntled tweet, which precipitated calls to action to @TopmanUK, which inspired blog posts, Facebook complaints, emails and so on.

This maelstrom caused Topman to trend on Twitter, forced the company to release an official statement withdrawing the shirts, and fuelled a reasonable amount of national news coverage. It was the same with Kenneth Cole. And Habitat. And, although to a lesser extent, Jan Moir’s infamous Stephen Gately article.

Taking a wider look at Twitter, though, the moral outrage did seem slightly
schizophrenic when trending alongside Scarlett Johansson’s bum and hashtags that may or may not have been #threewordsaftersex, #UknowYourHungryWhen and/or #justsayin.

It’s the outraged, the ridiculous, and everything in between. And that’s what makes the Twitter-go-round.

Naughtie, Naughtie: Subeditors, go home

2010-12-06T01:39:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

More Daily Mail nonsense polls!

2010-11-25T04:25:00.001-08:00

Following the exceptional popularity of yesterday's yes/no Daily Mail poll (with a little help from Ben Goldacre, Chris Addison and Dr Evan Harris, not that I'm name-dropping), I've managed to dig out some other Mail polls*:

* In case anyone was fooled by my cutting-edge, award-winning design skills, these didn't in fact appear on the Mail site. Be good if they did, though.

Daily Mail: My irony-o-meter's about to blow

2010-11-24T08:03:00.001-08:00

UPDATE: Here's my response to the poll question! (Speakers up.)

Blah, blah, blah, objectification of women only acceptable when we do it, says the Mail.

But in answer to your question (above): YES! I mean, NO! Or... NEITHER!

What?

WHEELIE BINS ARE BACK!

2010-09-22T03:42:00.000-07:00

And this time they're devaluing homes, the absolute horrors.

I love the phrase 'kerb appeal', though.

In all seriousness, though, I am going to do something more than posting silly pictures soon. Some of my blogging friends and I have had an idea that will not only piss off the some of the more misleading elements of the press, but also raise money for a good cause.

Perfect! More info to follow.

David Miliband channels Gok Wan

2010-08-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

"Girls with big bazookas - stay AWAY from those frills!"

WARNING: Explicitly Bad Journalism

2010-08-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

I just came across these warning stickers, created by Tom Scott, that allow you to consign crap journalism into categories including:

THIS ARTICLE IS A PRESS RELEASE, COPIED AND PASTED
JOURNALIST HIDING THEIR OWN OPINIONS USING PHRASES LIKE “SOME PEOPLE CLAIM”
WARNING: INCLUDES CONTENT BY RICHARD LITTLEJOHN

Unfortunately, these stickers render my blog obsolete. But it was anyway, so please enjoy.

What's that smell?

2010-08-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

There's some sort of funny smell outside, according to the Manchester Evening News. The article reports:

"The cause of the stench - likened to the smell of manure or sewage - was not clear... Greater Manchester Police and the fire brigade both said there no incidents which may have been linked to the smell."

That clears that up, then. (Investigative journalism's not dead; it just... Smells funny?)

He was stung by... what, now?

2010-08-10T03:19:00.001-07:00

Daily Mail pictures North/South divide

2010-07-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

It’s wearying to see how some London-centric national media depicts the North – and more specifically, the North/South divide.

Take this example from today’s Daily Mail: a report about the BBC’s partial relocation from London to Salford Quays. The rather misleading pictures (above, with a small addition from me), implicitly contrast a BBC exec’s plush Twickenham home with a scratty looking Salford shopping centre.

Except, of course, the Salford picture doesn’t show the regenerated Salford Quays, where the BBC will be based and which actually look like this. Maximum impact, minimum fact.

It’s not the first time the Mail’s picture desk has played fast and loose when depicting the North/South divide. This article from 2008 juxtaposes the dreaming spires of Oxford with some derelict terraced houses in Liverpool. This skewed logic could easily be reversed had they chosen to show the Yorkshire Dales and a council estate in Dagenham.

Pictures aside, today's article includes a sneering table to contrast the two locations - entitled 'THE GREAT NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE' in case you couldn't guess. I was particularly amused by this rank snobbery:

Ooh a reet proper fish supper up t'North! UnLOL.

(Thanks to Dan Street for the tip.)

Twitter legend Ivy Bean, 104, has died

2010-07-28T02:34:00.000-07:00

According to her Twitter feed, Ivy Bean - thought to be Twitter's oldest member - died this morning.

Ivy joined Twitter at the age of 102. Since then, she has posted frequent updates about her life. She also gained significant notoriety, attracting more than 55,000 followers and a visit from Peter Andre (as displayed in her avatar).

Fittingly, she's now appearing in top UK Twitter trends. AND she was from Bradford. RIP Ivy.

UPDATE: Previous to the tweets announcing Ivy's death is a more cryptic one, in response to Twitter user @thejackinjew: "I hope that one day some one who you love croaks Why would you want to follow her just piss off".

The user had @ messaged Ivy's account, asking: "So did she croak or wat?" He's now receiving numerous abusive public messages, varying from "you are an arsehole" to "unbelievable insensitive twat".

Emmerdale 'sorry' about jam rags and pile cream

2010-07-27T04:56:00.000-07:00

ITV1 soap Emmerdale has apologised after Mediawatch censured its use of "jam rags" and "pile cream" on a shopping list in one of its scenes.

According to The Press Association, a Mediawatch spokesperson branded the use of 'jam rags' as "vulgar", "inappropriate" and "unnecessary" - but Ofcom received no complaints about the episode.

This didn't stop the Daily Mail from reporting this "OUTRAGE", which "shocked many viewers when it was shown on Friday night's show".

[Image: I tried to get a still from ITV Player but it was taking forever - so I 'borrowed' this from the Mail Online. I was, however, amused to see a number of Bodyform adverts punctuating some of the episodes.]

This post also appears on TheMediaBlog.co.uk.

Ten top tricks for lazy hacks

2010-07-27T02:28:00.000-07:00

I've had some excellent fun with media quotation generators, notably Daily Mail-o-matic and the TPA quote parody from the Other TaxPayers' Alliance.*

However, I'm not sure I've seen a complehensive list of journalistic short cuts anywhere, mainly because I haven't looked for one, so I thought I'd consolidate them into a single post:

1. Rentagob. You can't really use online quotation generators; they're not real! But what about this list of rent-a-quote candidates (compiled by Anton Vowl) to back up your story? Otherwise, there's always the real TPA, while the Express should keep MigrationWatch on speed dial.

2. Twitter. While Twitter has been a powerful force in promoting free speech and crowdsourcing information and all that, it's also great for idle hacks. You can get pictures and everything.

3. Press releases. When receiving news releases, why not copy and paste them wholesale? Correcting typos is optional.

4. Spurious celebrity angles. Bored of your yun-of-the-mill teenage death story? Are you sure there wasn't someone more famous there?

5. Click-harvesting controversies. If you're really pushed for ideas, invent a controversy that doesn't exist. Like the comparethemarket meerkat being a racist.

Sorry. I can't be bothered to think of the other five.

(*Thanks to TheMediaBlog.co.uk for flagging.)

Gillian McKeith: The aftermath

2010-07-15T02:45:00.000-07:00

(This is my last post about Gillian McKeith, I promise. Unless more lunacy ensues - in which case: HAVE COMPUTER, WILL SCREENSHOT.) Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to sift through the remnants of the last few days.*

The Streisand effect - when an effort to censor or deal with an online issue succeeds only in making it viral - is nothing new (see Trafigura, Ralph Lauren, and so on). McKeith is just the latest in this line; here's a graph of her online coverage stats for the last week:

However, it's the scale of McKeith's misjudgement that deserves further comment. Let's not forget, this began with an oblique tweet about McKeith's debated doctorate by someone with 50 Twitter followers. 50! And because of this, she:

- Became number 1 in UK Twitter trends
- Received criticism in national, mainstream news (Guardian and Telegraph)
- Caused Ben Goldacre to re-publicise his claims about her
- Sparked further controversy through potentially libellous comments about Goldacre

And just in case anyone argues along the all-publicity-is-good-publicity line, here's a conversation cloud created from online conversation about her in the past week:

The coverage is overwhelmingly negative, and much of this conversation questions the quality of her saleable products (books, food supplements, etc.)

Like all Twitterstorms, this one might have taken place in a teacup. It's already been suggested that Twitter can be an echo chamber for these matters: people who would never buy her stuff tweeting to the likeminded. But for the moment, and from McKeith's point of view, all this must be quite worrying - and essentially, entirely unnecessary.

So to sum up, I'll leave you with this (thanks to Malcolm Coles):

*Sorry

Q: Is this Gillian McKeith's real Twitter? A: Yes!

2010-07-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Gillian McKeith's Twitter account appears to be denying all offical links with her. It has lost its bio, and now asks:

I have screenshots taken earlier that link her official website with the feed, together with an alternate Twitter feed that also links back. (Thanks to @woolensheep.)

As Ben Goldacre says: "Sigh @gillianmckeith is the GM account linked to from gillianmckeith.info this is now a full scale newsworthy PR fail."

Gillian McKeith responds on Twitter!

2010-07-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

But this time, 'she' tweets in the third person:

UPDATE: The original tweets have disappeared!

Gillian McKeith: Tweet at haste, delete at leisure

2010-07-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

From Trafigura and Jan Moir through to Nestlé's Facebook drama, we've seen again and again how personal and brand disasters can spread online. But I think we've also come to appreciate the permanence of online content; an off-hand comment can be immortalised in a second by a screenshot.

This time it's controversial TV nutritionist Gillian McKeith in the eye of the Twitterstorm. The background is here, but in summary: a Twitter user with a very minor following alluded (in a roundabout way) to the controversy surrounding McKeith's discredited PhD: "So excited about the next chapter of Bad Science - It's the one on Gillian McKeith. (not Phd)"

McKeith responded with a series of vitriolic @ messages to the user, accusing her of bigotry:

(Screenshot taken from here. Click to enlarge.)

Why did McKeith pick a fight here? The dicreditation of her doctorate is seriously old news; she allegedly 'chose' to drop the 'Dr' in her title before the ASA could force her to. (This was back in 2007, and hardly something she'd want to remind the people who buy her books and bags of seeds and whatnot.)

And aside from the disproportionately caustic nature of McKeith's tweets, the Twitter user who irked her had just 50 followers at the time of tweeting - hardly a case for knee-jerk crisis management.

Most significantly, the offending tweets have now disappeared from McKeith's Twitter stream, along with a later one calling attacks on her "chav-like". An admission of wrongdoing, maybe. But more likely, it's an attempt to clear up the mess.

It scarcely matters anyway, because by the time anything gets important enough to delete, its original provenance is fairly irrelevant. A screenshot here and a retweet there, and these comments could last forever - or at least as long as people care.

(Follow #gillianmckeithhasnophd for this week's dose of schadenfreude!)

An edited version of this post appears on TheMediaBlog.

No room for the Daily Star (or Express, for that matter)

2010-07-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Daily Star's take on two gay asylum seekers (right) needs little commentary.

To quote Refugee Action: "The Daily Star thinks their headline 'No room for gays' is acceptable in 21st century Britain. We think not."

Meanwhile, here's today's Express front page, with the subhead "They must be free to go to Kylie concerts and drink multi-coloured cocktails, says judge" and requisite quotation from MigrationWatchUK.

(Currently, 'Express' is at number 7 in Twitter's London trends - although that does include some irrelevance - with most people understandably appalled at its selection of words. Discussion around the Star, including the tweet from Refugee Action, is gaining momentum.)

The Mirror: Insert press release here

2010-06-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not deliberately having a go at the Mirror this week - although let's face it, it probably makes a refreshing change from this blog's gratuitous Mail bashing.

Anyway, I don't think I've seen such an obvious copy-and-paste press release job as this story. Here's the checklist:

- Client name (which is quite obscure for a mainstream audience) in headline
- Nice little company tagline ("one of the world's top producers of cleaning tools")
- Those five cleaning tips at the end... Definitely press-release filler.

Dec out of Ant and Dec 'misses something on the telly'

2010-06-24T01:25:00.001-07:00

In a story that really ought to have made front-page news, Declan 'Dec' Donnelly (out of cheeky TV twosome 'Ant and Dec') missed England's goal against Slovenia yesterday.

This startling revelation shows poor Dec was one of the unlucky victims of a West London power-cut during yesterday's match.

It's just astonishing that the Mirror felt it appropriate to relegate this life-changing scandal to its celeb pages.

(This post also appears on TheMediaBlog.)

Gays at McDonald's? What next: Al-Qaeda?

2010-06-04T02:15:00.000-07:00

Bill O'Reilly, of the famously conservative Fox News, asks "Do they have an Al-Qaeda ad?" during a discussion of a French McDonald's advert that features a gay man.

It's not the first time O'Reilly has courted controversy with his crude 'minority' equations. (Click here for a baffling tirade about transgender people and Ewoks.)

This post also appears over at TheMediaBlog.

Look on the bright side, eh?

2010-06-01T01:22:00.000-07:00

(From a Mail story about job dissatisfaction.)

Outraged at the outrage over Tesco ID tale

2010-05-25T05:34:00.001-07:00

Tesco banned a 33-year-old from buying alcohol in one of its stores, because he failed to produce the relevant ID. And this story has made national - yes, national - news.

Now, perhaps I'm just at an age when 33 doens't seem so ridiculously aged as to make this refusal ludicrous. It's wishful thinking, perhaps, that when I reach 33 some sympathetic soul will consider me under 25. Similarly, I'm aware that 33 is a full 15 years older than the legal age to drink.

But the level of outrage displayed by some readers is... well, fairly outrageous. It's not always easy to tell someone's age by looking at them. As many of my parents' generation might say: "Anyone under 40 looks pretty young to me."

Furthermore, as the Mail generously explains, vendors "face a £10,000 fine and licence suspension" for selling booze to a minor. Legal and financial repercussions in the US mean many bars employ a blanket ID policy: show it, or go away.

But of course, it's elf 'n' safety gone mad for the readers of the Mail. The top-rated comment under the article is this slightly deranged suggestion, courtesy of 'grumpy old man':

"Should have dumped your trolley and contents at the checkout (before paying) and walked out... Must me more than one supermarket in the area."

Seriously? Sounds like Broken Britain to me.

Cosmo Landesman 'doesn't post his thoughts online'

2010-05-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

Except, of course, he does. Regularly. In columns like this one.

Today, he lambasts the people of "New, Narcissistic Britain" in the Mail: those who reveal "every tedious detail of their lives" and "blog and bleat and tweet and text you all the time". (There's also some shoehorned argument about Facebook privacy thrown in for bad measure.)

So it's ok for columnists to spew forth about their lives - and get paid for the privilege - but when lay people choose to share, it's somehow narcissistic nonsense. (The Mail's own Liz Jones publicises intimate details of her life through her column: her failed marriage, her eating disorder and, more recently, her money woes.)

It's another irony failure for the Mail - but as Cosmo says: "I don't have Google alerts that tell me every time my name turns up on the internet." He won't have to read my mundane, embarrassing drivel, then.

Cheryl Cole: 100% of this story is false*

2010-05-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

"Cheryl Cole fans would boycott her music if she takes Ashley back," says a Mirror headline from last week. But the rest of the headline is ", says survey", so we know at that point there's little value reading on.

I think most of us are used to seeing PR puff wafting its way across the press - particularly as padding for online news. But occasionally, one such piece of opportunism sticks out above the rest.

Let's break this story down into its constituent parts:

1. Some people on a website said Cheryl Cole shouldn't get back with her ex
2. Some other people think that her ex will cheat on her again, should she take him back
3. Some people think she should date some other people

No numbers, aside from percentages, make it into the write-up. Call me cynical, but that makes me think that not that many people were surveyed - certainly not the 1,000 we'd usually need for a cross-sectional poll. And that's pushing aside the fact that someone saying something isn't really news - especially when it's people we don't know talking about someone they've never even met.

I know it's just a light-hearted piece, and good on the PR people for selling in such a soft 'news' story. But even the celebrity pages of our nationals ought to have some semblance of quality control. (What next? 75% of my male friends think Cheryl should be dating them, and 100% of this story is rubbish?)

* Not an actual statistic

Sun front page: SuperCam goes coalistic; Gordon was atrocious?

2010-05-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

No? Well that's just lazy.

Ann Summers hopes for 'well-hung' parliament

2010-05-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

I spotted this sponsored Google link in a search for "Gordon Brown" - and it's not the first time Ann Summers has hijacked the news agenda through Google AdWords.

Last year, the brand also purchased keywords around the BA strikes, so panicked travellers and commentators searching for the topic would be presented with the following message: "The planes may be grounded, but you can still join the mile-high club!"

It's nice to see a quirky and irreverent brand using AdWords beyond basic industry or competitor keywords. Then again, I giggled at Ann Summers' 'Bonk Holiday' campaign, so perhaps it's just me.

Great - now I'm being Nadia-spammed

2010-04-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

See, what I'm gonna do, yeah, is just follow everyone I can find on Twitter called Nadia...

*Block*

Foursquare goes mainstream in Metro?

2010-04-15T09:16:00.001-07:00

I spotted coverage of the North Pole's first Foursquare check-in on Page 12 of the Metro today. It's a nice story, which understandably received attention on tech blogs and elsewhere.

But I was surprised to see it reported (with no real explanation) in such a mainstream context - particularly as so few of my non-media-geek friends have ever even heard of it.

Sex and the City fansite fail

2010-04-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

Scroll it and see! (Thanks to @robbwhiteman.)

List spam is latest Twitter scam

2010-03-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

Anyone who relies heavily on Twitter will likely be au fait with its myriad spam scams:

- DM spam from hacked accounts ("Is your IQ higher than mine??!1!!1" Probably.)

- Anything featuring a Britney Spears lookalike in a compromising position

- Automated DMs (Yes, I do count these as spam unless they're from newsfeeds: "Thanks for da follow!!11 Check out my site!!" *Unfollows*)

- "See who's just looked at your page!" / "Who's your biggest stalker?" (OK, so these are more prevalent on Facebook, but THEY DON'T WORK.)

- Random corporate followers (here's looking at you, Rentokil)

And now, the once useful Twitter list function is becoming overrun by spam. Unless I'm mistaken, there doesn't seem to be any way to opt out of people's lists, so when I click on mine, this is what I get:

I suppose the point of Twitter lists is that anyone can put anyone in whatever list they want. (And I particularly enjoyed @popjustice's innovative way to insult a non-celebrity - putting X Factor reject Danyl Johnson in a list of all of his own.)

Similarly, @misskatieprice might baulk at some of the list she's featured in - including one very optimistic one called 'My Friends'. (I assume since this guy has only one follower that he isn't one of Jordan's actual mates.)

But still. Adding me to dozens of lists for no reason, with slightly porny names like "cammel-totes" and "lather-puss"? Why?!

Scenes from space: Now THESE are photos worth tweeting

2010-03-26T02:52:00.001-07:00

Twitter is often accused of giving ephemera a voice. A brief glance at worldwide and local trending topics at most times does little to dispel that prejudice, with a glut of hashtags dominating more meaningful trends.

But the fact is, tweeters will tweet what they're thinking and doing. And unfortunately, most of us don't have a job that allows us to post Twitpics like this:

(Astronaut Soichi Noguchi has posted a series of pictures taken from the International Space Station. Click here to marvel at the rest.)

Daily Mail's Weekend: "Nothing too young, please"

2010-03-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Daily Mail's traditional focus falls fairly wide of the yoof demographic. And over at TheMediaBlog.co.uk, we've had a few digs at the Mail's tendency towards Ludditehood, and its hysterical scepticism of anything to do with the web.

However, we've also seen parts of the Mail - particularly the website - not only cater for much younger tastes, but also demonstrate an impressively web-savvy approach. (A quick look at today's homepage shows a host of names unlikely to excite the grandparents: Mel B, Cheryl Cole, Alexandra Burke and so on.)

So it's interesting to see the print parts of the paper go further in the opposite direction. A Response Source enquiry this week stated:

You may have noticed that Weekend has changed in the last four or five months. There's less of a focus on TV celebs and progammes and more focus on real people with heartwarming tales to tell...
Anything from the two world wars, or the forties, fifites or sixties will be welcomed, which will really appeal to readers who are in their fifties, sixties and beyond. Nothing too young please.

The differing readerships of print and online news might seem obvious. But the gulf between the Mail's attitudes towards the web and its actual strategy continues to widen. While its print supplements may hanker for a simpler, gentler time, celebrity names and adundant keywords continue to click harvest on the web.

And while the evil internet will still receive a beating, its dark arts will undoubtedly prevail.

(This post also appears on TheMediaBlog.co.uk.)

iKey opens vault of sneering Mail Luddites

2010-03-09T01:28:00.001-08:00

The Daily Mail's attitude towards technology has long left it open to parody. The Media Blog has already discussed a recent Harry Mount article calling for computers in schools to be banned - a faux nostalgic trip down lack-of-memory lane, written by Beano lover who probably thinks phones are 'new-fangled'.

(A search for the author's name tells me all I need to know, with his most recent effort entitled 'Save Dennis from the Menace of PC softies!' Groan.)

Anyway, at least Mount's article was an opinion piece - with the requisite first-person narrative and overt subjectivity. What's interesting, however, is how the Mail's news articles also bait readers into sneering Luddite-hood. Take this news piece, about a mobile app that could activate your front door.

It's actually fairly subtle by Mail standards. It doesn't rave hysterically about security, and cancer isn't mentioned once. But it does push its readers into baseless disdain about some technology they'll never buy:

"Inevitably dubbed the iKey..." (How iSilly!! Etc.)

"The latest in a series of applications - or 'apps' as they are known by users"

And, brilliantly, "If... the iKey takes off, then one of the few things the phone won't be good for is as a handkerchief." (To wave at fair maidens? What?)

And sure enough:

"Inevitably, codes will be cloned, and thieves will enter." (A Disgruntled Elector, Blighted Blighty)

"These iPhone apps are getting ridiculous can I suggest another... The off switch!" (Mark S, Leeds)

Booze + Foursquare = ???

2010-03-04T03:56:00.001-08:00

I've no idea what BAPE is - but I'm (almost) positive I wasn't there last night.

Social media and the election: "If you have a Twitter strategy, it's probably shit"

2010-02-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

Krishnan Guru-Murthy spoke out against 'making Twitter the story' during a talk about social media's role in the UK election yesterday evening.

The Frontline Club's 'Digital Election' panel - which featured Guru-Murthy, Paul Staines (Guido Fawkes), PA's Chris Condron, Tweetminster's Alberto Nardelli and Sky News political correspondent Niall Paterson as compere - also predicted significant differences in social media's impact when compared with the US election.

Barack Obama's victory was widely seen as a milestone in social media campaigning because of his team's prolific use of online channels like Twitter. But the speakers agreed we were unlikely to see an equivalent here in the UK - mainly because Obama's team 'simply had a better product'.

So in PR terms, Obama's campaign is a classic 'product first, strategy later' example. He was significantly different from his competitors, so his campaigning could be too. Sadly, few would say the same for Cameron, Clegg or Brown.

(See the full event report here, or follow the #frontlineclub discussion on Twitter. This post also appears on TheMediaBlog.co.uk.)

Easyjet staffer makes media quip

2010-02-10T01:17:00.001-08:00

Flying with Easyjet is hardly a luxurious experience - but this quip from a staffer at the end of my flight last week ensured them some repeat business (from me at least):

"Please make sure you take all of your belongings with you.

However, if you do leave anything of value behind - such as an iPod or a camera - please wait a few days and check for it on eBay. We'd be happy to offer you a discount.

And to all the Daily Mail readers on board: Yes, I'm joking."

(This post also appears over at TheMediaBlog.co.uk)

Daily Mail vs BBC - now on ITV

2010-02-09T02:37:00.000-08:00

Apart from this clip, Dancing on Ice is a bit of a LOL-free zone. However, shows like this do tend to attract strange reactions from media outlets and their readers.

In particular, this comment from a confused Sean in Wales proves nothing puts a Mail reader off a licence-fee gripe - even if the show in question is aired on, erm, ITV:

BBC World and the "Anti-Islamic hos"

2010-01-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

I believe the technical term is "sex workers".

(From @bbcworld.)

Seeking "quirky" story of abuse. LOL.

2010-01-25T06:13:00.001-08:00

People who wish to share their experiences of abuse in the workplace should crave both accuracy and sensitivity in the ensuing story. But the opening line of this journalist request is unlikely to allay their fears on that score:

This is a really quirky one and may just be a case of 'if you know someone'.

Trying to find a former teacher who left the profession because she... was assaulted by a pupil...

I'm assuming the journalist means quirky as in peculiar, but still. What next? A lighthearted tale of domestic abuse? A wacky exposé of redundancy? LOL!

(This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

Daily Mail fuels CBB's "Z-list" PR machine

2010-01-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

...And they were pretty successful, too - on the Mail Online, at least. But there's very little point calling out publicity-seeking "Z-list" nobodies and their predictable drunken behaviour whilst:

1. Writing about them;
2. Printing pictures of them (c/o Big Pictures, naturally); and
3. Ending with:

The rapper was dropped by record labels Def Jam and Island at the end of the 2008 and now runs her own independent outlet entitled Midget Records.

She is currently working on her third album, due to be released later this year.

Pretty comprehensive coverage – despite the snarky tone.

(This post also appears on the Media Blog.)

Heather Mills: Media ice unlikely to thaw

2010-01-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

Heather Mills' appearance on this year's Dancing on Ice has invited a predictable media onslaught that reinforces the subjectivity of reportage. As we've seen before, it seems it's all right for the papers to level abuse at certain people - simply because they don't like them.

Heather Mills has long been one of those people. Whilst many would skate around the issue of disability (sorry), grasping at euphemisms to describe it, Mills is simply "one-legged Heather" (the Sun) and "a plucky, one-legged contestant" (Jan Moir at the Mail).

I'm all for plain speech and everything - and "one-legged" doesn't particularly offend me - but I've struggled to find other amputees referred to in this way in the national press. This suggests it's another exception made to a general rule: "Of course we wouldn't usually say this about a disabled person... But this is Heather Mills!"

Somewhat pointlessly, one of the Mail's other reports on the show starts: "Heather Mills may have become one of the most hated women in Britain after divorcing a Beatle, but she found plenty of fans on Dancing on Ice last night..." It's not uncommon for a news report to start with such conjecture, and this generalisation is depressing at best.

Whatever we think about people, the media's penchant for 'national hate figures' endangers our sense of perspective. And despite all the columns dedicated to Heather Mills, we have to ask: does it really matter?

(This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

My top 5 fictional Twitter feeds

2009-12-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t going to join the blogging hordes in compiling an end-of-year/decade list, but then I ~~ran out of other ideas~~ changed my mind.

Anyway, with Twitter firmly in the 2009 spotlight (it’s even replaced journalistic research in certain cases) it seemed fitting to look at some of my favourite feeds. In particular, I’ve enjoyed some of the more inventive characters to emerge on Twitter this year:

Cheryl Kerl. In word-perfect Geordie – and with more than 7,000 followers – Cheryl’s insight probes issues that range from the X Factor to Gordon Brown’s fiscal policy.
Big Ben. Every hour on the hour, London's most famous bell bongs for nearly 35,000 people. (For those on the Continent, @coucou_suisse chirps an hour ahead in CET.)
God. There are quite a few heavenly tweeters but @almightygod is my favourite: very acerbic and wonderfully irreverent.
Aleksandr Orlov. The wildly successful comparethemeerkat.com ad character has also been a hit on Twitter, netting more than 32,000 followers.
Mrs Stephen Fry, "Stephen's poor, down-trodden wife and mother of his six kids", broadcasts her thoughts to more than 25,000 people.

Movember man gets cutting-edge PR from Hugh Grant

2009-12-21T06:15:00.001-08:00

See how Leap Anywhere's founder gave his mo - and the Movember cause - the red-carpet treatment last week:

(Thanks to @prgeek for the tip.)

'Common sense' is nonsensical in Daily Mail

2009-12-16T06:32:00.001-08:00

It isn't unusual for the press to use the nebulous 'public interest' argument to justify their reporting of certain stories. From the Max Mosley 'sick Nazi orgy' to the ongoing coverage of Tiger Woods' 'transgressions', it's an argument that's growing wearyingly thin. (For a nice deconstruction of the Tiger Woods circus, see here.)

The Daily Mail, however, tends to see itself as an arbiter of another important virtue: common sense. It's this dubious common sense that appears to underpin its more vicious coverage of immigration and so on. A search for "common sense" on the Mail Online yields 3531 results - and the headlines usually involve it being urged over some PC agenda.

The Mail's common sense is, of course, characteristically skewed. Unsurprisingly, it's the subject of cultural sensitivity around which the Mail's common sense framework becomes most subjective.

Today, it was reported that registrar Lillian Ladele - who refused to conduct civil ceremonies for gay couples - was unsuccessful in her appeal against Islington Council. Now this, to me, seems like common sense. Registrars are employed to fulfil their duties, not to arbitrate. Not to decide who is or isn't entitled to a partnership based on personal ideals.

But the Mail pushes its reader in another direction: "The right to express a strong Christian faith must take second place to the rights of homosexuals under Labour's equality laws, they [the Appeal Court judges] said." They didn't actually say this. They said the law took precedence over personal religion, which it does.

"Whatever happened to common sense?" asks one commenter. "If she did not want to do it they should have got someone else to fill her place for the so called marriage." (I suspect many people would like to be selective in their basic work duties, but sadly most of us still get up on a Monday morning.)

It may be drearily predictable to compare this to another instance of religion versus regulation in the Daily Mail, but here goes. In June, a Mail headline reported: "Catholic school bars Muslim teacher who refused to remove face veil so staff could identify her." A niquab-wearing teacher in a Roman Catholic school? Not so. The woman worked in an Islamic school, but attended an open day at the Catholic one. Not much mention of personal freedom - and Amie from Southampton, who trumpets "Common sense at last!", is rewarded with 1101 recommendations.

Like the concept of offence, common sense will continue to be used to push the Mail's editorial agenda. In fact, the Mail likes common sense so much it even reports it as news. "Hard-working members of staff resent staff who make less effort for the same money," it says in an article today. You never! Now that's common sense.

Twitterstorms: Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

2009-12-11T04:46:00.000-08:00

Jan Moir (remember her?) opens her column this week with: “Sometimes, in the dark of night, a fearful question clutches the heart.”

That’s right, Jan. It’s this one:

Anyway, since the Mail columnist shot to infamy with her Stephen Gately diatribe, things have gone strangely quiet on the Twitterstorm front.

Let’s not forget, Moir’s article broke the record for PCC complaints, was discussed on BBC’s Question Time and led her to write an (albeit halfhearted) apology.

The Moir furore can be spotted through a search for her name on Google Trends – but the nosedive is equally significant. Search volumes in November and December are negligible, and Moir continues to write her column.

Back in October, Moirgate and the Trafigura Guardian gag saga made Twitter the protest tool of choice. But for Moir in particular, it’ll be interesting to note the longevity – and long-term effects – of protest tales on Twitter.

War Child UK uses Twitter for AIDS Day

2009-12-01T03:57:00.000-08:00

War Child UK is using Twitter to demonstrate the global AIDS death toll in near real time. In support of World AIDS Day, the charity is tweeting updates of child AIDS fatalities – each just two minutes apart.

Follow War Child UK on Twitter here.

Pot of gold shines down on Parliament

2009-11-26T06:21:00.001-08:00

A double arc, no less. (One for constituency cottage, one for London pad?)

Will Daily Mail be 'dyeing for vanity'?

2009-11-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

A Daily Mail journalist has sent a request (via Response Source) for experts to talk about allergies to hair dye.

I’m sure it’s for a very balanced and informative piece about what to do in the unlikely event of hair-dye allergy.

So I imagine the feature won’t look anything like this:

(Disclaimer: This is not a real screenshot. It could be, though, right?)

Guardian's super subs stick it to John Crace

2009-11-25T04:59:00.000-08:00

I know every blogger and his dog has linked to this today, but it's too beautiful to resist. Giles Coren may have little sympathy for the subeditor's lot - but I suspect most people will cheer the Guardian subs that stuck it to John Crace.

"Down with the interwebs!" says Daily Mail reader

2009-11-18T03:52:00.000-08:00

At least four people think it's a bit silly.

‘Ugly Brits’: Spurious science, backfiring PR?

2009-11-12T05:10:00.000-08:00

A ‘Brits are among the world’s ugliest’ story has done the rounds today, with coverage on the Telegraph, Reuters and CNN. It’s based on some statistics from a dating site that accepts only ‘beautiful people’. (Look ma, no link!)

As ever, the science behind the statistic is spurious (even if we disregard subjectivity), and the headlines are predictably reductive and designed for click-harvesting.

The story simply calculates the percentage of accepted people against the number of applicants. This doesn’t take into account the number of applicants per country – so if 100% of Brazilian women were deemed gorgeous, but only three of them joined up, the outlook is rather different.

Similarly, there is barely any mention of context. It’s the users on the site that make the final decision about applicants. But who are they? The service was founded in Denmark. Scandinavians top the beauty table. It’s those people who decided the future user base, etc etc.

This is a rare example of both questionable journalism and unusual PR. Reading this, would any British single dare to run this dating gauntlet? Or is this site so ‘elite’ even its accountants don’t care?

All I want for Christmas is... media integrity

2009-11-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

Brilliantly, a journalist query for REAL People Magazine:

QUERY: hi - i'm looking for women who've fallen for a Santa.

have you found love at santa's grotto? fallen in love with a man in a santa
costume? got the pics of him in costume?

let me know!

Hmm. I did get perved up by an elf once. Is there a fee?

(Thanks to @claire_foss for the tip. If anyone else spots any atrocious requests, please let me know either here or on Twitter.)

Eggs are well good, says British Lion Eggs

2009-11-10T01:27:00.000-08:00

And the 'Well They Would Say That, Wouldn't They?' Award goes to...

(Eggy research in today's Telegraph. For another award nominee, see Tabloid Watch.)

BBC both better and worse than Daily Mail’s dig at Demos

2009-11-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

Think-tank Demos’ Building Character study – presented to the press with a snappy ‘tough love’ tag – has achieved widespread coverage today and over the weekend. And media outlets have embraced its tag, with titles including the Guardian, Telegraph, Mirror and Daily Mail using ‘tough love’ in their headlines.

Typically opposed to ‘merely reporting the facts’, the Mail’s headline reads ‘Parental warmth AND discipline produces best adults, admits Left-wing think-tank’. The use of ‘admits’ implies Demos’ PR success is in some way a grudging concession to right-wing disciplinarians. Those sitar-strumming, spliff-smoking lefties have finally seen the light!

Then again, if the subs spent less time pushing an agenda and more time ensuring accuracy, we’d have missed out on this incredible typo:

But anyway, by far the most baffling coverage can be credited to the BBC. Of its three pieces that cover the story, one starts:

Unborn babies whose mothers suffer stress or illness or use drugs or alcohol can be more susceptible to both good and bad parenting, a study claims.

Depending on the care they get, says the study, these children can do better or worse than their peers in developing skills such as application and empathy.

Eh? For a moment, I thought I was reading News Arse.

Katy Perry and Russell Brand: What’s the point of printing this ‘s***’?

2009-11-05T06:15:00.000-08:00

The papers’ irritating habit of starring out swearwords has already been discussed on The Media Blog. There’s something slightly juvenile about swearing whilst obfuscating words. It's like a stroppy teenager flicking his teacher the V-sign, but only when her back's turned.

Here’s a particularly gratuitous example from the Mail Online. The article carries a picture of Katy Perry wearing a slogan on her T-shirt. The words (which I think we can assume are ‘shit’) are blurred out three times on her shirt – and pointlessly, starred out three times in the caption. That’s six rounds of ‘s***’, for no particular reason.

Body hang-ups? Get shot for the Mail

2009-11-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

I haven’t posted about Response Source for a while. In a quest to expose the most ridiculous requests, suddenly so many seemed boringly sensible. But luckily – or unluckily – I spotted this today:

MEDIA OUTLET: Daily Mail (personal case study)

QUERY: On the back of a news story that girls as young as 10 are worried about their weight and half of teenagers (under 16) would consider surgery in the future to change their appearance I'm looking for girls aged 10-14 who would be willing to share their own extreme worries about their weight and appearance in a telephone interview and also be photographed at home for a feature on the subject. We will require parental consent for both interview and photos and both will need to be done no later than tomorrow night, Thursday 5 November.

It seems unlikely for someone plagued by “extreme” body hang-ups to want to be photographed for a national newspaper. And while readers will always be more sympathetic towards children, it’s doubtful too many parents would throw their children on the mercy of the Mail either.

Back in July, the Mail Online ran a story about four women with body dysmorphic disorder and self-esteem problems. Amongst the usual “but they’re so beautiful!!” comments were a few Mail gems.

“I’m so thin and I think I am fat, well boo hoo! Get a grip!” trilled Gayle from Liverpool. “It's just pure vanity if you ask me, pure vanity!!!” agreed Leslie from South Africa.

And David Johnson from Cambridge really made it his mission to improve the girls’ self-confidence:

“Well I don't think Rebecca or Cassi look beautiful. Perhaps not as bad as the 'ugly' photographs, but they're certainly nowhere near as good looking as the other two.”

In fact, the Mail has a pretty poor track record when it comes to reporting on issues like weight and appearance, especially in female celebrities. Its bizarre preoccupation with “yo-yo dieter” Natalie Cassidy, for example, has been well documented here.

It’s unclear whether this story is intended to go online. But either way, won’t someone think of the children?

Sun bemoans young girls having sex, conveniently forgets Page 3

2009-11-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

“Why are girls having sex so young?” Jane Moore demands in today’s print edition of the Sun. Her article is inspired by the number of 14-year-old girls having abortions – which has increased from 135 to 166 over two years. (On a side note, that’s an increase of 31 girls and may have something to do with rising population.)

However the statistics are interpreted, no one would argue that 14-year-olds having abortions isn’t worrying. But the way Moore discusses the issue shows a disregard for the context in which she writes:

“A spokesman for the Department of Health said extra funds had been invested in contraceptive services… It’s not the bloody point.

The issue here is self esteem… the early sexualisation of young girls.”

This of course is the paper where 18-year-old Rosie (right) from Middlesex can happily strip off on Page 3. I’m not familiar with Rosie’s work, but one might guess this high-profile shoot isn’t her first. But she’s 18 now. So that’s OK.

Inconsistencies in the Sun are nothing new. But they do raise the question of context and its importance to individual journalists. During the Jan Moir scandal, the Fleet Street Blues blog argued:

“The Daily Mail's line isn't one its journalists always personally believe in, but they're pros, and how many of us can honestly say we've never written a story with an angle we didn't personally support? Journalists are mercenaries, after all.”

While we can’t expect every single columnist to support every view of their given paper, you’d expect them to avoid such jarring contradictions. Namely, bemoaning the sexualisation of women and girls – in a paper so famous for doing just that.

(This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

A.N. Wilson, Professor Nutt and Adolf Hitler: the next Twitterstorm?

2009-11-03T06:21:00.001-08:00

So far, it’s been an interesting week for the scientific community – and for its coverage in the media. The fall-out from Professor Nutt’s dismissal continues, and as The Media Blog reported earlier today, his views have given fuel to the media’s obsession with drug abuse.

One particularly noteworthy article, however, comes from the Mail's A N Wilson. In a typically inflammatory Mail headline, Wilson calls scientists “arrogant gods” whose running of the country would be “hell on earth” (preceded by the bizarre caveat excepting those who “do much good”).

And in an article full of religious semantics, he also references "mad scientists" from history – including Hitler’s Dr Mengele and his “revolting experiments… on human beings and animals”:

I am not suggesting that any British scientists are currently conducting experiments comparable to those which were allowed in Nazi Germany or in Soviet Russia.

But I see the same habit of mind at work in Professor Nutt and his colleagues as made those mad scientists of the 20th century think they were above the moral law which governs the rest of us mortals.

Already, there is outrage on Twitter at any link – whatever the caveats – between discussion around Professor Nutt and the Hitler regime. And aside from this, the article contains plenty of elements that might precipitate a Twitterstorm on the scale of Moirgate:

Wilson manages a sly dig at evolution (“that very fallible genius Charles Darwin”)
There's a quotation from Margaret Thatcher (“‘Advisers advise and ministers decide.’”)
There's an explicit preference of religion over science (“The trouble with a 'scientific' argument, of course, is that it is not made in the real world, but in a laboratory by an unimaginative academic relying solely on empirical facts.”)

Overall, this has been a pretty good week for bad science – with journalists looking to scandalise mobile phones and radiation, as well as capitalising on the Nutt story. And while Wilson has yet to trend on Twitter, the Daily Mail is in there at number ten (at the time of writing). Will A N Wilson emulate Jan Moir?

(This post also appears over at The Media Blog.)

Walking by the ball-ustrade

2009-11-03T03:32:00.001-08:00

Upon Westminster Bridge - perhaps this is what inspired William Wordsworth to opine: "Earth has not anything to show more fair"...

Giant seagull in the Sky (News)

2009-10-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

With all this talk of the BNP on BBC, let's not forget this other dangerous presence on our TV screens.

Watch the video here.

Windows 7: Abso... WHAT?!

2009-10-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

Final draft?

UPDATE: What does she say? 'Fucking', 'fricking', 'frigging'? Please vote over at Sturgeon's Law!

Jan Moir: Opening the flood '-gates'

2009-10-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy time for social media activism. And arguably, established initiatives like Blog Action Day were overshadowed – in the UK at least – by online reactions to the Trafigura / Carter-Ruck gagging fiasco and columnist Jan Moir’s article about Stephen Gately.

Thanks to an explosion of outraged tweets, blogs and Facebook groups, Moir’s article has received a record number of PCC complaints: more than 21,000 and rising. Moir’s defence is a complaint of "a heavily orchestrated Internet campaign” which “is mischievous in the extreme” [continues].

Unfortunately, the Daily Mail is notoriously bad at understanding irony. As The Media Blog’s Will Sturgeon has pointed out, the Mail itself excels at orchestrating scandal. He points to the Mail’s creation of Sachsgate – taking a radio show that attracted a handful of complaints, and creating a headline-hogging scandal worthy of its ‘-gate’ suffix.

Now on the receiving end, the Mail is not so keen. But there are some significant differences between the two ‘-gates’. Sachsgate followed the traditional media model: newspaper tells people to complain; people do. Moirgate, on the other hand, was dialogic: people saw the article, forwarded it on, wrote about it and shared their feelings.

Furthermore, Sachsgate was politicised. The Mail’s feelings about the BBC (and more specifically, its licence fee model) are well known. While Moirgate was an outcry against homophobia and insensitivity, there was no consistent political or business objective.

Finally, offence is so highly subjective it can be impossible to regulate. Removing it from the equation, Sachsgate and Moirgate demonstrate another significant difference. Justifiable or not, Russell Brand’s comments about Georgina Baillie were actually true. Asserting there was ‘nothing natural’ about Gately’s death was not.

What irks Jan Moir, it seems, is that she is now the scandal. So when will it be Littlejohn’s go? Then again…

The proof: Trafigura's Streisand effect

2009-10-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a Google Trends graph of news mentions for Trafigura, showing a huge leap after their attempted gagging of the Guardian earlier this week :

(Thanks to @scolvey for pointing this out.)

Ralph Lauren reinvents anatomy (Part 2)

2009-10-15T03:26:00.001-07:00

Photoshop Disasters has unearthed some more digital meddling on the part of Ralph Lauren.

After the company's DMCA stunt so spectacularly backfired, it'll be interesting to see how Ralph Lauren deals with this one.

And while the last farcically svelte model provoked the comment "Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis", surely this makes one wonder: Mate, where would her organs go?!

Christmas sex headline winner announced

2009-10-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

The winner of my Christmas / STI headline search is this gem from @TheRealJoeCox: THE HOLLY AND THE HIV.

Watch out for the following Response Source update:

Still looking for a woman under 33 who caught an STI at Xmas. However, the case study can no longer be anonymous: she must be called Holly, and the STI in question must be HIV.

Sorry to be so specific but I have a well good headline I need to use.

Thx!!!111!

O come all ye painful! (Alternative Christmas sex headlines)

2009-10-14T04:16:00.000-07:00

Rather disappointed at my Christmas / STI headline, I requested some assistance on Twitter:

@dansweet Crappy Xmas (warts all over)
@jordanstone Is your South Pole starting to itch?
@ndwillis Been pudding it about over Christmas?
@EbA They do say it's the season of giving
@paulmccormick Down the chimney Santa goes, right into the soot [Not sure I understand this one!]
@prgeek O come, all ye painful
Tingle Balls
Syphilis is coming to town
@willsturgeon
We itch you a merry Christmas, and a herpes New Year
Scratch your balls with boughs of holly... Falalalalaaaaargh
Thrushing through the snow... [Or rashing?]
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Rudolph the red-raw reindeer

And a couple of my own:

All I want for Christmas is GU (infection)
We three kings of Orient... ARGH!
Good King Wence's rash got out

Keep them, er, coming!

Christmas time, STIs and wine...

2009-10-14T03:16:00.000-07:00

With the festive season fast approaching, this Response Source really warms the cockles:

Any takers? You get a BEAUTY BAG in return!

Carter-Ruck and Trafigura are gagging for Streisand effect

2009-10-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I blogged about Ralph Lauren fashioning its own PR crisis by trying to gag the blogosphere. By applying traditional methods to non-traditional media, the company became an unwitting subject of the Streisand effect.

But this week has seen a much more significant news story when it comes to freedom of information. The Guardian was prevented from reporting a question tabled by an MP this week, despite it being published in Commons order papers. Instead of keeping quiet, the Guardian argued this “Kafkaesque” approach “appear[ed] to call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1688 Bill of Rights”.

What the Guardian could say, however, was that “the case involves the London solicitors Carter-Ruck, who specialise in suing the media for clients, who include individuals or global corporations.”

Now look at the Wikipedia entry for Swiss company Trafigura:

On October 12, 2009 The Guardian newspaper reported that it had been prevented from covering remarks made in Parliament, it complied with this injunction and did not name the questioner or question.However the Guido Fawkes political blog identified the blocked question as likely to be linked to the Trafigura waste dumping case.

And perhaps the question itself on Guido Fawkes’ blog:

And the top three trending topics on Twitter:

I wonder how many people had even heard of these two companies before today.

Ralph Lauren fashions digital-era PR crisis

2009-10-12T02:53:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, the Photoshop Disasters blog printed this Ralph Lauren advert (far right), ridiculing the model’s digital manipulation with the quip: “Dude, her head’s bigger than her pelvis.”

The issue became a revealing exercise in Ralph Lauren’s crisis management. In short, it’s an example of how big business should not take on the blogosphere – and raises some important questions about intellectual property in the digital age.

Ralph Lauren issued Photoshop Disasters with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice in protest of its use of the image. The blog’s platform Blogger automatically removed the post. However, the DCMA deals with copyright infringement, and Photoshop Disasters merely used the image to illustrate its point.

On a blog so reliant on visuals, both bloggers and commenters have interpreted this as a challenge to their freedom of speech. It’s a classic David-and-Goliath debate, and the use of DMCA is definitely a dubious defence.

Since then, thanks to blogger solidarity and the assistance of Boing Boing, the saga went viral – making news on the Huffington Post, The Register and ABC. Now the news has broken the UK mainstream media too, including the Daily Express, Daily Mail and the Times.

Photoshop Disasters likens this to the Streisand Effect, the social media equivalent of making a mountain out of a molehill.

So what should Ralph Lauren have done instead? Perhaps it could have explained to the blog how the image came about – whether by accident or by oversight. Or perhaps a pledge to outlaw further dodgy Photoshop work to make women unrealistically skinny might have saved its reputation.

Either way, Ralph Lauren did itself no favours by trying to hide behind DMCA. Shutting down one blog post is simple enough – but taking on the whole blogosphere? You’re going to need a bigger notice.

(In the interests of not getting shut down, the picture is reproduced from Saturday’s Daily Express. This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

God rest ye lazy journalists

2009-10-07T04:49:00.000-07:00

Most instances of Response Source madness are shamelessly opportunistic. Many of them seek ‘real-life’ case studies with astonishing specificity. Others forget that stories should actually exist before they’re written about.

Occasionally, however, indolence reigns over opportunism:

At least the journalist specifies a ‘Christmas’ theme. That’s everything from now until January, then.

(This post also appears over at The Media Blog.)

iMacBeth, or Anthony & CleAPPatra?*

2009-10-06T02:08:00.000-07:00

Just downloaded the complete works of Shakespeare onto my iPhone – absolutely free courtesy of Play Shakespeare – combining two types of geekery.

*I need help.

NOT looking alright for Byte Night

2009-10-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight, some of my colleagues will be sleeping outdoors in Potters Field (London) for Byte Night – raising money to help Action For Children fight youth homelessness.

As part of the fundraising efforts, it's the annual (dreaded) 'PJ Day' here in the office. PJ Day gives an unwanted, terrifying insight into how one's co-workers dress for bed. (Extra points awarded for PJ-clad commuters, with a £10 penalty for 'non-compliance'.) The matchy-matchy creative team and the full-on cow costume are two of the most distressing sights on offer.

Last year, I was one of the (un)lucky ones taking part – facing the coldest EVER October evening ANYWHERE. It's really not as easy as it sounds, so any donations would be gratefully received here. Last year, around half a million pounds was raised in total.

(But if anyone else calls me Del Boy, someone's computer will be hurtling through the window. OK!?)

Is this the tightest deadline EVER?

2009-09-29T03:20:00.000-07:00

Outrageous optimism from a Daily Mail journalist today:

Email sent at:

I know deadlines are tight, but this is ridiculous...

No one (from Thresher's) messes with the Spenceley

2009-09-29T01:26:00.001-07:00

This is the angelic but borderline murderous face of 23-year-old Ellen Spenceley (right). After having her ID questioned in Thresher's - and shown around to other bemused customers - Spenceley got her revenge in This is Bristol:

"He was being very rude and asking other customers whether they would have served me... I won't be going to that Thresher's again."

Nice to see my Bristol-based colleague doing what she does best. Get thee to a Wine Rack!

72Point: From Twinjury to ‘Britain’s biggest burger’

2009-09-28T04:43:00.001-07:00

Back in June, I spotted a story in The Telegraph that immediately roused my interest. Not because of its subject matter (jogger becomes the “first man in Britain to suffer a 'twinjury' – an injury sustained while using Twitter”), but because of the unlikelihood of such a story coming to light in the press.

It all seemed too contrived: from the assertion it was ‘Britain’s first’ (how could anyone know?) through to the ‘twinjury’ name and the PR-friendly quotation (“I guess you could say I feel a right Twit.”) Similarly, the description of the jogger as an “office worker” was unnecessarily vague.

A quick Google search revealed the ‘twinjury’ victim worked at PR and news agency 72Point. This definitely casts doubt on the story’s credibility – although that’s not to argue it wasn’t true. My point at the time (implied in a seemingly innocuous blog post) was that even the most rudimentary research by the journalist would have given this a different perspective.

(Unfortunately, my post culminated in a number of angry comments and even a strongly-worded phone rant from 72Point, directed at my office.)

So today, upon reading about a burger “dubbed Britain’s largest and most fattening”, I had a feeling I’d seen this structure somewhere before. Sure enough, the restaurant is based in Bristol, also home of a 72Point division. (They also showcase the coverage on their site.)

72Point has clearly tapped into a certain hunger in the media. They understand the value of a highly visual and quirky 'stranger than fiction' story – especially asserting the ‘country’s first’ in something, however dubious that might be.

But what’s in it for them? Do they get payment for the copy, or perhaps copyright on the photo? Or is it just for the free chips? It’d be interesting to know what business model exists behind the formula, before I can spot the next example.

(And if anyone from 72Point calls for me this afternoon, please tell them I’m dead. Thanks!)

(This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

Netlog tag cloud

2009-09-28T03:32:00.000-07:00

I wasn't expecting too much intellectual discussion on Netlog's blog pages, but this tag cloud has both cheered me up and profoundly depressed me this morning.

Spotted Dick’s revenge: when made-up stories get real

2009-09-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, a Daily Mail story got commenters all sweaty-palmed over Spotted Dick. Implying a local council had banned the ‘offensive’ phrase, it invited a woefully predictable chorus of ‘PC’ complaints. Except – and as I argued at the time – it wasn’t actually true.

It was such a Mail cliché that Richard Littlejohn’s byline was the only glaring omission. But sure enough, Littlejohn guffawed at his Spotted namesake just a few days later. (And as Richard means Dick which means dick, and Richard in rhyming slang is shit, I’ll let some other people point out this sweet irony.)

So all in all, it was a non-story about some catering staff changing the name of Spotted Dick, likely bored of incessant and unfunny 'dick' jokes. Nothing to do with council policy, nothing to do with political correctness, and certainly nothing of national interest. But now?

According to the BBC:

Council chiefs have reversed a decision to rename the pudding Spotted Dick after receiving "abusive letters" and accusations of political correctness.

Who’s betting that some of these letters were a direct result of the Mail article, complaining about something that wasn’t real? It’s a fairly stark example of a non-story becoming a real story, and having a real-life effect – even if it is only pudding.

(This post also appears on the Media Blog.)

Umm, I know I have an iPhone pic somewhere...

2009-09-23T03:04:00.000-07:00

Reporter: We've got a story about a university launching an iPhone app to help freshers settle in during their first week. Got any pics?

Picture editor: Umm... What about this one?

R: But... It's a picture of someone bleeding to death next to a urinal!

PE: Whatevs. Just say they're playing Doom in lectures, or summat.

Mail readers in pointless recommendations shocker

2009-09-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Rubbish grammar aside, it's not clear what Nicola from Lancashire did to irk a solitary Mail reader today. Inexplicably, her Liverpool counterpart - equally confused over pronouns - fares a lot better:

Will you actually WRITE this, though?

2009-09-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

Wonderfully crap attention to detail in this Response Source today:

I think having this guy write about clumsy and literacy-challenged children is like pot’s calling kettle’s black.

(This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

Belly fat and bingo wings ‘defining image of 2009’

2009-09-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

The tedious skinny vs ‘real’ women debate has been played out ad nauseum in the press. It’s a spurious compromise between celebrity worship and the self-esteem problems it seems to promote. It’s the basis for publishing ‘shocking skinny pics!’ on one page, and giggling and pointing at someone’s cellulite on the next.

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that images of reality or imperfection can provoke unabashed hysteria. A three-inch version of this photo (right) appeared in Glamour – inviting hundreds of thousands of comments and letters, variously extolling the ‘reality’ of her belly fat. (Although it’s arguable that readers so attracted to authenticity might want to avoid the airbrushing army at Glamour.)

In her foreword to yesterday’s Sunday Times Style supplement, Shane Watson gushed:

At last we have the defining image of the year… We’ve been predicting the return of the real figure for months… If all goes to plan, this time next year we will be comfortable with our rolls and feel sexier for it.

It’s easy to mock the gusto with which this image was received. But perhaps it really will change our perception of beauty – ushering in a new dawn for the fashion world, in which style magazines promote reality, rolls and all. I’ll leave you with Watson’s postscript:

Watch the bingo wings though. There’s sexy fat and there’s flab, and wings are never coming back.

Ah.

(This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

Specific, much?

2009-09-11T01:28:00.000-07:00

Great journalist request received today:

You know, you could always just make it up... Oh.

Sachsgate versus 'Cocaine Kate'

2009-09-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

It’s interesting to look at Mail readers’ reactions to offence when the story’s about someone they hate.

The article in question is admittedly tame: Kate Moss storms out of some awards ceremony after host James Nesbitt quips: “Kate Moss has still got it… I gave it to her just before she came on stage.”

However, the comments – and more importantly their ratings – are more telling. Among the top rated are:

Not much here about the story. Just an opportunity to vent against Kate Moss, 'Cocaine Kate' no less, and clearly someone who offends Mail sensibilities. Among the worst rated, on the other hand, are posts that actually discuss what was said:

Let’s compare this with the flurry of hype created by Sachsgate. While Nesbitt's one-liner in no way competes with the Brand-and-Ross prank, when is it ok to make seedy comments about someone? The answer in this case seems to be:

(a) When the victim’s a model you don’t like;
(b) Even better, when that person was involved in a drugs scandal;
(c) When the comments are made by someone not on the BBC's payroll; and
(d) When the comments made are actually (or most probably) not based on any fact.

(This post also appears on The Media Blog.)

Spotted Dick gets just desserts from 'PC Brigade'

2009-09-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

“Council turns ‘offensive’ Spotted Dick into Spotted Richard to spare blushes of diners”, sniggers a Daily Mail headline today. The subtext (in case we were ever in doubt) is signified through inverted commas. It’s not ‘offensive’; it’s a pudding, fools! More from the NuLieBore™ brigade!

It’s a familiar Mail scenario: ludicrous Elf ‘n’ Safety rules cooked up by PC lefties in the government. First Christmas, now Spotted Dick. Unsurprisingly, some commenters take the custardy bait:

How much longer is this stupid and insidious political correctness going to continue? When will common sense be restored to this country?
Why are there such idiots on some of these councils?
- Raymond cox, Halesowen, England,

Well they would, wouldn't they, they are all barking mad.
- Tom Bowden, Perth, Australia

But hold on:

"This was not a policy decision, canteen staff simply acted as they thought best to put an end to unwelcome and childish comments, albeit from a very small number of customers."

So not the council, in fact. More like a couple of dinner ladies in the canteen. Hardly a government initiative à la Winterval, is it?

(This post also appears over at The Media Blog.)

Even I wouldn't eat this

2009-09-09T02:08:00.001-07:00

Not even if I was PROPERLY hungover. Or pissed. Or... Ah whatever, I'd give it a go.

Ingredients: Four cheeseburgers, a double cheesesteak, a chicken cheesesteak, gyro meat, grilled chicken, bacon, sausage, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, chicken nuggets, mac n’ cheese bites, fried mushrooms, jalapeño poppers, pizza bites, onion rings, hash browns, American cheese, mayo, and ketchup on two rolls.

(Via thisiswhyyourefat.)

Wanted dead or alive (but PREFERABLY alive)

2009-09-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

There’s something sinister about a Response Source promising to ‘deal sensitively’ with a real-life case study. Surely any feature concerning serious illness, bereavement or abuse should be sensitive as a matter of course? In fact, this glib guarantee proves the level of distortion taken for granted throughout the media.

Here's a Now magazine enquiry looking for anorexics. Somehow, it fails to convince me of its sensitivity:

QUERY: Hi there

In light of recent statistics showing that anorexia is increasingly prevalent in girls in their early teens, I am looking for a case study in her late teens, early 20s who suffered from anorexia.

Preferably they will have recovered now and her mother would also be willing to talk about her daughter's illness.

This would be sensitively dealt with and the case study would receive a full read back of the finished article prior to publication.

If you or anyone you know is interested in finding out more about this feature then please get in touch.

It’s sensitive of the journalist to ‘prefer’ a subject no longer suffering from a deadly disease. And realistically, how much of a ‘read back’ can the case study expect before this gets to the subs’ desk? Before a sensitive headline like “‘I blame Posh & Co’ says mother of girl killed by anorexia” is added? Or before a jaunty, sensitive portmanteau like ‘manorexia’ is coined?

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