Who is Chris Jefferies?

Who is Chris Jefferies? That's the question journalists were frantically scrambling to answer yesterday, after news of an arrest in the Joanna Yeates murder inquiry broke - and the results were plastered over most of this morning's front pages.

But it's a question readers have also been asking online, and it's had a rather unexpected side-effect for one 24-year-old journalist and long-time FleetStreetBlues reader - who also happens to be called Chris Jefferies.

Since the story broke, Chris' blog has received thousands of hits from people Googling 'Chris Jefferies' - more in one day than in any previous month, in fact - and he has even been prompted to put up a helpful post pointing out that he's not that Chris Jefferies.

On which note, we'll bid farewell to 2010 and wish all our readers - whether or not they share their name with a prominent murder suspect - a very happy New Year. Normal service, (including the winner of our UK's ten best journalism blogs countdown) will resume shortly.

2 - Wannabe Hacks

A collaborative blog by a group of young journalists in London, with occasional guest contributions from further afield, writing in a punchy, engaging style about all things journalism, taking the journalism blogging world by the scruff of its neck and shaking it with a little ambition and attitude.

No, FleetStreetBlues hasn't listed itself in its rundown of the UK's ten best journalism blogs - although thankyou to the several people who suggested we should - but we like to see a little of ourselves in our list's runner-up, new kids on the block the Wannabe Hacks.

Only set up in August, when the Student, the Freelancer, the Intern, the Chancer and the Detective (since replaced by the Maverick) converged on the Big Smoke to find their fame and fortune, the Wannabe Hacks immediately stood out with a certain sense of style and swagger - and they haven't looked back.

OK, so we don't agree with everything they say - why would we? - and the occasional post is a little raw (a post about many student journalists being too proud to work for the 'Daily Fail' had many of our longer-in-the-tooth readers understandably up in arms).

But agreeing with everything isn't really the point. In what's becoming a bit of a theme for this list, the Wannabe Hacks earn maximum respect for simply doing, rather than writing about thinking about planning about how they might one day do. In a few short months they've stirred up debate, written for the New Statesman and (several times) for the Guardian, redesigned the entire blog, conjured up dozens of thoughtful and amusing posts, covered live events, published original video and even produced and run a series of podcasts. The student has quite definitely become the master. 

The question for 2011 of course is whether they can keep up the punishing pace they've set themselves, particularly as some evolve into fully-fledged hackdom and start to get to grips with full-time jobs (the Intern's already scored himself a spot on the Guardian). Here's hoping they do.

3 - Roy Greenslade

Most of those we've included so far in our festive rundown of the UK's ten best journalism blogs have reacted with pleasure and surprise, but our next entry, Roy Greenslade, could perhaps be forgiven for thinking... 'What, only number three?'

After all, just a few weeks ago we acknowledged that Mr Greenslade (again, Roy seems far too informal) is widely seen as Britain's leading media commentator, and with good reason. As well as his MediaGuardian blog, he writes a weighty weekly column for the Evening Standard on media issues, and as a hugely experienced journalist and former Fleet Street editor (the Daily Mirror, 1990-91) he certainly knows of what he writes.

But what we like best about Mr Greenslade, and what separates him out from dozens of other high profile media commentators, is that he doesn't just pontificate from on high about the Future of Big Media - he's willing to get stuck in.

Whether it's teaching the journalists of tomorrow at City University, or contributing at a decidedly grassroots level to the hyperlocal experiment, or simply updating his blog several times a day while writing as a proper blogger rather than an online columnist... well, as with previous entries in this list, Mr Greenslade earns our respect most for walking the walk as well as talking the talk. And with nothing left to prove professionally, he's able to practice journalism as it should be practised, even to the extent of offering a very sincere apology when getting some number-crunching wrong.

Ultimately, he's the closest thing we have to a journalism blog of record - if a big media story breaks, then Roy Greenslade's blog is the first place we turn to to get reliable, informed and timely reaction.

Oh, and he pays his way too - an impressive £3,000 a year on newspapers, despite the fact that we're pretty sure by now he could get them for free. A class act.

4 - Grey Cardigan

As we enter the business end of FleetStreetBlues' rundown of the UK's ten best journalism blogs, we're into the serious heavy hitters, and Grey Cardigan, chief blogger over at the Press Gazette, definitely fits the bill.

Aside from a slightly unhealthy preoccupation with Liz Jones, Mr Cardigan (Grey feels a little informal) tends to opt for short picture-led blogposts, amusing subbing fails and some pointed remarks about pay. But it's his more considered columns for the magazine which form the centrepiece of the blog - even if the Press Gazette's hardline subscriptions push means they sometimes appear in bastardised form. 

Back in May last year, we expressed some doubt as to whether Mr Cardigan would be able to credibly maintain his brand of lugubrious populism after his shock promotion to editor of the Evening Beast. We needn't have worried. He remains a journalist's journalist, and has yet to be shackled by management - if anything, his elevation to editor has given us a fresh insight into the battles our bosses fight for us on a daily basis.

Regional print journalists may be a dying breed - but in Grey Cardigan they have a fine and entirely representative chronicler.

5 - Angry People in Local Newspapers

Number five in our list of the UK's ten best journalism blogs is a slightly different kettle of fish to the others. Angry People in Local Newspapers doesn't offer any words of wisdom about the future of journalism, or any words at all really - it just does what it says on the tin, offering a series of photos each day of, er, angry people in local newspapers.

It shouldn't work, but it does. The stern faces which stare out from the pages of every local newspaper in the country are accompanied by perfectly deadpan captions, and perhaps the occasional Spotter's Badge to credit a contributor (the Independent's John Rentoul is among those to earn the prestigious award).

It's comedy gold, but it's also much more than that - it's a light-hearted yet genuine tribute to the good work that goes on at local papers every day, unremarked upon and generally unrewarded. So we have dead duck anger, parking ticket anger, sunken sofa anger, clamping anger and much, much more besides, all solid stories some badly paid journalist, photographer, sub and editor have sweated blood over to bring to the reading public. (In a twist which will be familiar to anyone who's ever worked on a short-staffed local paper, there's also the occasional repeat offender, such as the News Shopper's bus timetable anger which reappeared as surgery closure anger a mere two months later).

As the blog's simple mission statement puts it: 'I feel sorry for local news photographers. They are hugely skilled and poorly paid, and sent out to photograph miserable people pointing at dog turds. Here, we celebrate their work'. We can't think of a better way to do it.

Quote of the Day: 21 December 2010

From the irreplaceable Daily Mash, in a story headlined 'British media urged to do decent thing with revolver' - which might, just maybe, have a bit of a point:

'The Daily Telegraph is showered with awards because it offered to buy a CD-ROM with MPs expenses on it. The Guardian is currently even more pleased with itself than usual because it's publishing classified information that not a single one of its journalists helped to gather. The News of the World proclaims itself as the greatest newspaper in the world because of its rare journalistic ability to record mobile phone conversations.'

6 - Pitching the World

Back in the day, before you ever did your first door knock, wrote your first NIB or covered your first council meeting, there was probably a time when journalism seemed an impossibly glamorous career. Journalists, you imagined, would be free-spirited, independent types, with an enviable way with words, a jet-setting lifestyle, an exploitable expense account and a 'fuck you' attitude which made them exactly the kind of person you wanted to be.

It probably didn't work out like that, of course. Journalism for the most part is a bit more Paul Dacre and a little less Ernest Hemingway than most of us imagined. But for a bit of pure escapism, you can always turn to the next entry in our list of the UK's ten best journalism blogs - Pitching the World.

An anonymous, full-time freelancer, Pitching the World boasts a brilliantly eclectic bio. He's written for lots of mainstream publications, of course - the Guardian, the Independent, Square Mile - but it's the more unusual assignments he's had that lend the blog its air of slightly shambolic romance. Sample line from the opening post in September last year? 'Prior to to being stoned in Darwin, Australia I was a political speechwriter in St Kitts, the Caribbean.' Who wouldn't want to read more about that?

The supposed conceit of Pitching the World is that the author is aiming to pitch feature ideas to all 642 magazines listed in the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook. After a spirited start (Accountancy; Accountancy Age; Accounting & Business; Aeroplane Monthly; Ambit; Art Monthly) progress has slowed somewhat,  but somehow that doesn't matter. There are useful practical tips in there (a wonderfully direct way of getting the Daily Mail to pay its bills being a case in point) but ultimately it's the quality of the writing that keeps us coming back.

Lately, Pitching the World has been through a bit of a rough patch - separating from his wife, an unhappy sojurn in Bournemouth and now a prolonged bout of illness. It's still a terrific read, but it's uncomfortably raw in places too - the nomadic freelance lifestyle has some crushing lows as well as soaring highs. We wish him all the best for 2011.

Brian Hanrahan RIP

Brian Hanrahan was, as the BBC's The Editors blog reminds us, a hugely experienced journalist whose legendary career spanned three decades - yet he will forever be known for a few short immortal words. There are worse things to be remembered for.

Bright start for subbing hub

Remember the strike at the Brighton Argus in protest at the paper's subs being moved to a centralised subbing hub?

Well, as Journalism.co.uk reports (and Jon Slattery has also picked up on), today was the first day that the paper has been actually subbed from Southampton. Cue an immediate, epic 'told-you-so'...

Assistant News Editor - Independent

This is a golden opportunity for someone at the right stage of their career - the Independent is hiring an assistant news editor to help run its newsdesk.

You'll need to have 'news desk pedigree' and be 'hard-working, efficient and unflappable', with a 'flair for ideas' thrown in for good measure. You'll be drawing up newslists, commissioning, copy editing and making sure everything runs to time - most of all, you'll need to be able to work well with your new boss, news editor Oly Duff.

Full details on Gorkana, not directly linkable. Apply with CV and covering letter to managing editor Imogen Haddon at i.haddon@independent.co.uk. Deadline this Wednesday 22 December.

7 - Ed Walker

Here at FleetStreetBlues, we like to see ourselves as champions of the grassroots, patch-working, door-knocking reporters upon whom the world of journalism relies - and Ed Walker, the next entry in our list of the UK's ten best journalism blogs, fits the bill perfectly.

Ed is another young journalist walking the walk when it comes to building a new kind of journalism, having founded his own hyperlocal site Blog Preston, and now working as online communities editor with Media Wales. But he's also picking up some very traditional journalism skills along the way - how to spin a splash out of covering council meetings, how to dig up stories buried in bureaucracy and how to run a successful student paper fuelled on nothing but enthusiasm and cold pizza.

Sadly, he doesn't update as often as we'd like, and it's that more than anything which prevents him from appearing higher in this list. But it's rare to find a journalist who can put a solid day's work in as a local news reporter - print, video, online, whatever's required - who then still has something intelligent to say about journalism at the end of it all. Here's hoping we see much more from him in the future...

Guardian TV blogger... you're fired

To the Guardian website, which chose to mark this evening's final of The Apprentice with - what else? - a dedicated liveblog.

The woman in the hot seat was regular TV blogger Heidi Stephens, who's been covering each episode of the series. But just a few minutes in there were immediately signs that the Guardian's all-singing all-dancing high-tech new media hub might not be all it's cracked up to be.

8.42pm: Just an update on my technology situation - my laptop has died and my new house has no broadband, so I'm working of a mate's Mac (never used one before) in my ex-husband's house with no mains cable and about 2.5 hours of power (so it says). It is anyone's guess whether my sanity or my battery will go first.

I have standbys waiting in the wings for when I disappear into the technology void.

Which shortly afterwards she duly did, leaving sub-editor Jack Arnott to pick up the baton at the last minute. One can only imagine what Lord Siralan, Nick or Margaret would have made of it all...

8 - Adam Westbrook

As regular readers of FleetStreetBlues will know, we're sometimes less than complementary about blogs which see themselves as evangelists for 'a new journalism'. It's not that they're not right in some respects, it's just not hugely relevant to many grunt journalists' daily lives, and to be honest, when people harp on endlessly about the need for journalists to become entrepreneurs and the game-changing impact of multimeeja, we tend to zone out a bit.

But for every rule there's an exception, and so the next entry on our list of the UK's ten best journalism blogs is Adam Westbrook - a journalist so relentlessly enthusiastic about Journalism 2.0 that he's even written a book (an ebook, natch) entitled 'Next Generation Journalist'.

What makes Adam different? Well, for one, he doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk. He quit a full-time job in radio journalism to try and make it as a freelancer, and a year on, this pie-chart of his earnings suggests he really has built a 'portfolio career', earning money from lecturing, his ebook, documentaries, training, corporate films, broadcasting, print journalism and blogging.

His blog is focused and practical, avoiding for the most part grandiose statements in favour of very practical posts (his introductions to multimedia journalism, for example, are essential reading for print journalists on local papers or trade magazines looking to branch into video on the cheap).

We don't always agree with him (his recent post 'Goodbye mainstream media. It's been fun' was particularly divisive). But he's a great writer, a better video journalist, and very, very good at what he does. For anyone who wants to see where journalism's going - for better or worse - he's essential reading.


10 trends in journalism for 2010 from Adam Westbrook on Vimeo.

9 - Freelance Unbound

Part of the aim of this Christmas countdown of the UK's ten best journalism blogs is to cover all aspects of modern journalism, and perhaps to shine a light on some of the trade's less glamorous branches. And number nine in the list, Freelance Unbound, qualifies on four separate counts.

As the name suggests, Freelance Unbound is written by a freelancer, one who works mainly for B2B publications, who often works as a sub or in production, and someone who also moonlights as a journalism tutor.

As his biography shows, Freelance Unbound has enjoyed a pretty eclectic career in the more obscure sections of the trade press, beginning at a magazine called Production Engineer, which he thought might be something to do with music studios but wasn't, and taking in Gardener's World, Revolution and various Haymarket titles along the way. He now teaches at UCA Farnham, Solent University and City University.

His writing covers all of the above really, musings on the less-travelled roads of journalism and words of wisdom to those just starting out (he even wrote a short series for us: 'The Four Pillars of Freelancing'). Always readable, always interesting - and always refreshing to have a reminder that a rewarding career in journalism doesn't begin and end on Fleet Street.

10 - Jon Slattery

So first up in our list of the UK's ten best journalism blogs is... Jon Slattery.

Now a prolific freelancer, Jon is something of a legend in UK media journalism, having worked as deputy editor of Press Gazette from 1993 to 2006.

He now aims, according to his blog, to 'give an independent view on media matters', and he does that, but much more besides. Part journalist (he covers many stories straight, and even takes his own pictures), part traditional blogger, he is hugely prolific and thorough, making his blog a must-read to catch up on the day's media news.

Oh, and he often has the irritating habit of covering exactly what we want to cover. He's generally quicker than we are.

The UK's ten best journalism blogs: Introduction

So, as previously advertised, this year we'll be doing a festive countdown of the UK's ten best journalism blogs in the run-up to Christmas.

Let's first stress, this is a highly individual, idiosyncratic list. We sought nominations and we had them, far more than we expected (and even some which weren't people voting for themselves), for which we're very grateful. They've influenced our decision and introduced us to some blogs we were completely unaware of... but this is by no means a democratic exercise. It's simply a bunch of blogs we like to read when researching stuff for FleetStreetBlues, in a list format. Cos it's Christmas.

If you're a regular reader, most of the names on the list will be familiar, but we soon became aware when putting it together that there are many more great journalism blogs than will fit onto an arbitrary list of ten. Among those which we would have liked to include: the BBC's College of Journalism blog, Joseph Stashko, David Higgerson, Sarah Hartley, Andy Dickinson, Martin Belam's currybetdotnet, Charlie Beckett, Adam Tinworth, Headlines and Deadlines, Marc Reeves, Patrick Smith, Journalism.co.uk's Editors' blog and Martin Stabe.

All great blogs, well worth a read or subscription, but unfortunately we had to be ruthless and they didn't quite make the cut. Here are the ones that did...

So you want to be a journalist?

The best line on the reality of journalism jobs comes a few seconds in: 'Would you like to write about pork belly futures for a trade magazine based in Topeka, Kansas?'

For 'I want to work for the New York Times', read 'I want to work for the Guardian'. So true...

Stat of the Day: 14 December 2010

12,681,472

That's the number of daily newspapers sold in the UK each day, on average, according to Roy Greenslade - including 9,540,993 copies of the nationals, 2,085,116 English regional daily papers, 735,002 Scottish daily papers, 183,131 Welsh daily papers and 137,230 in Northern Ireland.

Business Reporter - Guardian

Guardian News and Media is recruiting a senior business reporter to work across the Guardian and the Observer.

Experience working in the same sector on a national 'or experience of a similar calibre' is essential - you'll be working a nine day fortnight with some weekend and Bank Holiday working.

Apply via the Guardian website, reference AK372. Deadline Wednesday 5 January.

The XXX Factor

Memo to any anxious parents who may have seen the Daily Mail's front page today, and want to see more online. Be careful out there.

You may, for instance, want to avoid the online version of the very same article, 'TV watchdog to act after thousands protest over 'disgusting' prime-time scenes', which features several widescreen photos of said disgusting prime-time scenes.

You'd do well to avoid columnist Jan Moir's angry diatribe against 'sex-crazed nymphs before the watershed', which helpfully includes several more close-up illustrations showing exactly what a sex-crazed nymph looks like.

And you'll probably also want to steer clear of the Mail's original coverage of Saturday night's X Factor, complete with nine large pictures and two bonus videos of Rihanna's and Christina Aguilera's frankly offensive performances. Honestly, the filth these days on the internet...

Please beware of the journalist

Remember the massive Rolling Stone scoop earlier this year which led to President Obama firing the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal?

Well, the British Embassy in Kabul do, it seems. They even have a sign.

(Spotted by Sky News defence correspondent Niall Paterson)

UPDATE: If you're struggling to squint at the picture, it reads:

'So, you pretend to be friendly and non-threatening, and over time you "build trust" which everyone involved knows is an illusion. If the time comes, if your editor calls for it, you're supposed to f**k them over'

- Michael Hastings, Journalist

(The Man Who Ruined McChrystal, 24th June 2010)

Features editor - New! Magazine

New! Magazine (strapline: 'If it's hot, it's here') is hiring an editor for its True Life section.

You'll need to have good agency contacts and 'a talent for spotting, suggesting and sourcing timely true life stories'. They're also pretty specific on the experience requirements - ideally you'll have three years' writing experience and will have been a commissioning editor for one year.

If that's you, then the full details are on Gorkana (not directly linkable), and the person to contact is acting editor Lebby Eyres at lebby.eyres@express.co.uk.

Still wanted: The UK's best ten journalism blogs

So, the plan had been to start our festive and completely subjective countdown of the UK's best ten journalism blogs tomorrow. But there's been a slight mishap - we've just discovered a whole bunch of nominations in our never-checked junk mail folder - and so we've decided to extend the deadline.

Send your nominations for the UK's must-read journalism blogs to fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk by the end of Tuesday (and yes, you can nominate yourself) - then look out for our list of winners from Wednesday through to Christmas Eve.

Quote of the Day: 12 December 2010

The Observer's Henry Porter, in a blood-and-thunder defence of the Wikileaks stories:

Never mind the self-serving politicians who waffle on about the need for diplomatic confidentiality when they themselves order the bugging of diplomats and hacking of diplomatic communications. What is astonishing is the number of journalists out there who argue that it is better not to know these things, that the world is safer if the public is kept in ignorance. In their swooning infatuation with practically any power elite that comes to hand, some writers for the Murdoch press and Telegraph titles argue in essence for the Chinese or Russian models of deceit and obscurantism. They advocate the continued infantilising of the public.

The other student fees protest photos

So AP photographer Matt Dunham's snatched shot of Camilla and Charles dominated yesterday's front pages (and you can read all about how it came about over on Roy Greenslade's blog).

But until a chance attack on royalty radically altered the day's coverage, the protest in Parliament Square itself was the focus of some spectacular photojournalism - and the Boston Globe has put together another of its widescreen photo galleries showcasing the best here.

How to get subbing shifts: a production editor tells all

The following post was written exclusively for FleetStreetBlues by a regular reader - a former freelance sub and now production editor of a national magazine...

'How do you get freelance subbing shifts?' was a question I heard a lot when I did them. It’s not rocket science: send a clear email detailing your experience, expertise and availability. If you send a CV, keep it short, relevant and clean. I’d heard that most people fail at these basics, but figured this had to be an exaggeration. Then I became a production editor. I can’t believe some of the emails I’ve had about shifts. If you’re sending one, surely you’d actually like to get some work?

So here are some tips on what works and what doesn’t because, when you get it wrong, you're wasting everyone’s time. This advice may seem obvious. It should be obvious. But the contents of my inbox suggest otherwise...

Adverts are not arbitrary
If an ad asks for, say, freelance subs with InDesign knowledge who can work in-house in Bristol throughout February, you can bet your bottom dollar they want – guess what – freelance subs with InDesign knowledge who can work in-house in Bristol throughout February.

So don’t write in if you have a full-time job, don’t know InDesign and/or live hundreds of miles away, or in another country. Don’t say you’ve never used InDesign, but you’re a quick learner/could go on a course. (How about you do that first, before trying to get shifts?) Don't say you have a full-time job but could take holiday as required, up to three or four days a month (so not 'as required' at all, then, plus that's just plain greedy). Don’t ask to work remotely if the ad says 'in-house'. Why? It’s in the ad! Plus newspaper and magazine production shifts generally involve software, files and fonts you can’t access remotely.

It’s fine to say: 'I’m not free in February, but here’s my CV in case you need more people in the future.' It’s not fine to say: 'I saw your advert. I’m free in March.' It makes you sound stupid.

Keep it relevant
If you want subbing work, try actually mentioning your production experience. Don’t bang on about your illustrious feature-writing career for three paragraphs without saying if/where you’ve subbed. Don’t send a CV entirely geared towards writing, which is of limited or no use. Would it kill you to spend ten minutes re-nosing it?

Proofread
You’d think the majority of people seeking freelance subbing work would take care over their emails and CVs, wouldn’t you? You’d be wrong. Here’s the thing: if there’s a typo in your CV, you either haven’t spotted it, or haven’t bothered to look. Either way, it's not going to win you subbing work.

Don’t insult yourself – or me
There’s no point saying: 'I’m probably not what you’re looking for.' We’ll just agree. And every production editor enjoys being told that you’re not really in the market for shifts but you suppose it could be worth it, or that their publication is a step down from the national paper you’ve been working on, or that you want to get back in with such-and-such publication – which isn’t the one they work for – or that you’re mates with this or that editor.

You want the shifts? You write the email, then
Don’t get a friend to write in for you. It’s on a par with getting your mum to call in sick on your behalf, yet it happens surprisingly often. There’s no reflected glory to be had here – it’s your experience and skills that matter, not your friend’s shiny job title (which apparently includes being your secretary).

Get to the point – quickly
The freelance subs I’ve hired or kept on file all provided clear, concise details of their experience and skills. They said how much experience they had and where they’d worked. They made it clear they’d read the ad and fit the criteria in it. They didn’t make any typos.

And they make up less than 10% of the people who’ve emailed me.


Want to write for FleetStreetBlues? Email us at fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk.

Anarchy in the UK

Once again, one picture says it all...

Picture of the Day: 9 December 2010

First there was the window-smasher, then came the rioting girls, now the student fees anger has reached royalty. Expect to see this pic on a few front pages tomorrow...

How journalists can future-proof their career

There are a million lists floating around the internet promising the secret to multimeeja success. They live on blogs and journalism websites and link-bait sites, promising a future career of fame and fortune if only you follow their five simple steps.

So why is this article - '25 things journalists can do to future-proof their careers' - any different? Well, superficially it's not. The advice is fairly straightforward - start a blog, use links, network - and the source isn't anything special - it seems to be hosted on a website called Econsultancy.com. It isn't even new - it's more than a year old, it seems, and we just spotted it yesterday. 

But if many ordinary journalists are honest, really honest, and you catch them in the pub at five to eleven and ask what scares them, what keeps them awake at night, it's the fear of becoming obsolete, of years of hard-learned reporting nous going out the window because some whizzkid is better on the computer than they are. How to future-proof your career is, far more than 'how to get the most out of social media' or even 'how to make journalism pay', the number one concern for many journalists today. And this article - aimed at normal, non-geeky journalists - explains in simple, straightforward terms how you might make a start.

That Guardian Oxbridge race bias story: the final word

We'll leave it after this, we promise, but this letter, from a reader who's a journalist on a well-known paper and has asked to remain anonymous, is worth running in full.

Dear FSB,

I just wanted to say how much I appreciated your piece on the Guardian's ridiculously unsubstantiated story about the lack of black academic staff at Cambridge - as you said, a good FoI request, but poorly researched.

As an ex-Cambridge student who was supervised by Dr Odudu, I appreciate you bringing to light that there are a proportion of staff members of non-white ethnic origins at Cambridge - which, although perhaps not high enough, is still existent, contrary to what the Guardian said.

Also, in reference to Dr Odudu himself - he has definitely not, as the Guardian education editor suggested, left the Faculty. It is true that he is currently on leave due to health problems, but he is still a member of the College and Law Faculty and has been involved in the university for many years. So you were quite right to use him as an example.

Thanks again for a great read.

Content Editor - Cambridge First

Archant weekly free title Cambridge First is recruiting a 'content editor', a job name which can cover a multitude of sins but in this case seems to mean essentially a news editor.

You'll be leading a team producing content for both Cambridge First and its website, and need experience of line management as well as 'full qualifications' and a proven track record on equivalent titles.

Apply quoting reference PR/ADV10/JD2511 to Rose Taylor at rose.taylor@archant.co.uk. Deadline Friday 17 December.

Proof at last: Americans do get irony

In comedy, timing is everything. And so it was with an extremely straight face that the US State Department - the guys who sent those cables you've been reading about so much lately - issued the following press release yesterday.

U.S. to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011

Press Statement - Philip J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, Washington, DC

December 7, 2010

The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 - May 3 in Washington, D.C. UNESCO is the only UN agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press.

Wait, it gets better...

The theme for next year’s commemoration will be 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

Julian Assange was not available for comment.

Tough day over at Press Gazette's gaff

The first rule in reporting another journalist's screw-up? Make sure you don't screw up yourself.

The Guardian's Oxbridge race claims backlash

So our piece about the Guardian's Oxbridge racism expose this morning got quite a reaction - Freelance Unbound blogged it, Paul Waugh tweeted it, the Telegraph wrote it up, and the journalist who wrote the original article, Guardian education editor Jeevan Vasagar, very decently got in touch and tried to clarify.

The Cambridge FOI data id's no black academic staff. Possible explanations : the FOI response is wrong, the academic you ID'd is one of those who refused to give info about their ethnic origin [under 300 in this category], he has left but the site has not been updated.

The article itself, however, remains unchanged - and the problem (the claim that out of 1,500 academic and lab staff at Cambridge University, not a single one is black, despite apparent evidence to the contrary) remains.

If the FOI response was wrong, the Guardian shouldn't have run it - it took us precisely thirty seconds Googling to figure out something was up... It seems unlikely that the poor Dr Odudu, who we chose very much at random, has moved on - he appears as a Cambridge staff member on both the Emmanuel College website and the Faculty of Law website, as well as various other fairly recent documents.

One other suggestion which has been mooted is that when the Guardian said 'black', it meant 'black and from the Caribbean', rather than 'black and of African origin' - though why readers should be expected to understand this is frankly baffling.

And the last excuse - that Dr Odudu is one of those who refused to give information about his ethnic origin - is the least acceptable of all. The very fact that some academics refused to give their ethnic origin immediately invalidates Mr Lammy and the Guardian's claim that 'of more than 1,500 academic and lab staff at Cambridge, none are black'. If the Guardian was aware that some academics had refused to declare an ethnicity they should have known that that sentence was immediately rendered factually inaccurate on the basis of the FOI.

Enough said. It's not churnalism, far from it. It's a thoughtful, detailed investigation - with data journalism add-ons and all - which attempts to highlight an injustice. It's still wrong.

Picture of the Day: 7 December 2010

A rather frozen-looking picket line at the Southern Daily Echo - and journalists at The Argus in Brighton are striking too.

Whether or not industrial action is going to realistically save journalism as we know it, they're fellow journalists, they're out there in the cold and they're fighting for their jobs. At the very least, they deserve a virtual toot of your horn via Twitter, @dailyechonuj and @argus_strike. Stay warm out there guys.

No black academic staff at Cambridge? What about this guy?

The Guardian has just published a pretty stunning story based on a series of Freedom of Information requests submitted by Labour MP David Lammy, the top line of which is this: Twenty-one Oxbridge colleges took no black students last year.

In the article, and an accompanying comment piece, Mr Lammy unveils devastating statistic after devastating statistic - Oxford accepted just one black Caribbean student in 2009, one Oxford college has admitted no black students for five years, white applicants are more likely to be successful than black applicants at all but one Cambridge college.

But perhaps the starkest statistic of all is this. The Guardian reports: 'The FoI data also shows that of more than 1,500 academic and lab staff at Cambridge, none are black.'

That's an astonishing claim... But also one that's very easy to check.

So we had a quick Google, and, well, it's soon clear why the Guardian chose to preface that particular claim with 'The FoI data also shows...'

For a start, there's a Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network at Cambridge University, which seems a surprisingly active group for one with no black staff members to represent.

And then, looking at various faculties' photo lists, well... there do actually seem to be some black staff members.

Not many, granted. Not enough, no doubt. But people like Dr Oke Odudu (pictured), who as far as we can Google appears to be very much still a law fellow at Emmanuel College, might beg to differ with the bald assertion that Cambridge University has no black academics. Dr Odudu was born in Blackburn to British-Nigerian parents, and as this Lancashire Telegraph article shows, has made something of a point of showing that Cambridge is not out of reach for ethnic minority students, and encouraging them to apply and defy the odds. When he reads the Guardian we're guessing he may not be thrilled...

It may be we're wrong, of course, in which case we stand ready to be speedily corrected by the Guardian. No doubt their story accurately reflects the FOI data they were given. And none of this takes away from the essential thrust of the story, which is that ethnic minorities are underrepresented at Oxbridge.

But then, we knew that already. The power of the story is in the details. And we're not entirely convinced by these details.

Trainee Reporter (x3) - Cornwall and Devon Media

Northcliffe Media local paper group Cornwall and Devon Media Ltd is advertising what we're pretty sure is three separate trainee reporter vacancies (despite confusing referring to 'either post' halfway through the ad).

It looks like they're after one trainee at their Barnstaple office, to work on the North Devon Journal, one is St Austell, to work on the Cornish Guardian, and a third in Truro, to work on the West Briton. However, you don't get to choose which vacancy to apply for - the ad states firmly 'by applying to us you are indicating that you are prepared to accept any of the positions on offer'.

It's essential that you've passed your NCTJ prelims, and be ready to get stuck in - they promise a 'heavy workload'.

Email hsaunders@northdevonjournal.co.uk for an application pack. Deadline Friday 17 December.

Wanted: The UK's best ten journalism blogs

It may only be 6 December, but Christmas will soon be upon us, and for journalists, tis nearly the season to make endless lists (although publishing a 'Best films of 2010' list on 1 December is surely a little premature by anyone's standards).

Like most journalists, FleetStreetBlues may not really enjoy end-of-year review-writing (all that time trawling the archive or Lexis Nexis could surely be better spent with a seasonal tipple...), but we don't want to be left out. So between now and Christmas we'll be publishing our very own best-of list: a definitive guide to the best journalism blogs in the UK.

The criteria is broad (a blog, about journalism, er.. in the UK) and the decisions will be arbitrary (ie, whatever we choose), but we want your suggestions. What blogs do you find yourself turning to, again and again, when you're at a computer and at a loose end? Which of the blogs listed in our blogroll at the right do you really look forward to seeing a new post from? Which best encapsulate where journalism is right now - and where it's going? And which have we missed off entirely?

Send your nominations for the UK's best journalism blogs to fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk. You can nominate yourself, you can nominate someone else, and you don't need to give any reason (although if you do, it might help sway our decision...)

Look out for the winners next Monday.

Picture Editor - Coast

Coast, the magazine 'celebrating the British coastline in all its spectacular, quirky, life-affirming glory', is recruiting a picture editor.

You'll need to be a 'confident negotiator' with an 'impressive contacts list', and you'll be responsible for liaising with photographers, commissioning shoots and working with picture agencies. Knowledge of Censhare would be an advantage although not essential.

Full details on Gorkana, not directly linkable. Apply with CV and covering letter to joe.mcintyre@natmags.co.uk.

Reptiles and proud

We're not always fans of his, but on the World Cup bid-fallout, Simon Jenkins is bang on.

The abasement of Cameron and Prince William is equalled only by the shocking behaviour of Britain's World Cup team, in rubbishing journalists investigating Fifa corruption as "unpatriotic" and "embarrassing". Who are these people, and what values do they represent? With six Fifa officials already sacked and clouds hovering over at least three of those voting in the bid race, Britain should have had no dealings with Fifa over the World Cup until it cleansed its stables. If that "damaged" a bid, more credit to Britain.

And journalists' proper role? Not so much 'feral beasts'. More crocodiles...

I have no illusions about the press. I have watched enough dirt swilling down the journalistic sewer to abandon any quest therein for responsibility, accuracy, sensitivity or humility. The great American editor Oz Elliott once lectured graduates at the Columbia School of Journalism on their sacred duty to democracy as the unofficial legislators of mankind. He asked me what I thought of it. I said it was no good to me: I was trained as a reptile lurking in the gutter whose sole job was to "get the bloody story"

He goes on:

Britain's sports administrators will doubtless accuse the Sunday Times and the BBC of wrecking their bid – though its goose was clearly cooked long ago. These are officials who tried to sweep under the carpet the bungs and kick-backs by which their sport was fuelled, and who turn a blind eye to the sources of football's Russian and Arab wealth.

They may now take consolation in finding out how they were beaten. That will come only from a free and active journalism.

Let's hope so. There's only one story all the Sundays are chasing now...

Reporter - Driffield Times

Yorkshire Regional Newspapers is recruiting a senior reporter for its Driffield office in East Yorkshire, to work on the Driffield Times but also other local titles.

You'll need to be fully qualified, and management experience and knowledge of the dreaded Atex editorial system would be an advantage as well.

Apply with CV and covering letter to ed.asquith@yrnltd.co.uk. Deadline Friday 17 December.

'Four pies left - supplies running low... it's carmageddon in Kent'

There's been, er, blanket media coverage of the snowy weather in recent days, and rightly so - but for many journalists it's been just another story, to round-up details of the unfolding chaos from within a cosy newsroom or studio.

Not so for a team of local journalists in Kent, however, who on Tuesday night found themselves very much part of the story.

Medway Messenger chief reporter Danny Boyle was one of hundreds of motorists stranded for 10 hours on the gridlocked A2, and filed this first-person account when he got back, while Kent Online news editor Leon Watson went one better - and gave by a blow-by-blow account of his adventure through Kent Online's Twitter account.

The gradual descent from normal local news feed to a slightly stir-crazy journalist talking to himself about skinning foxes makes compulsive reading. Stay safe out there today people.


# Gridlock on the A2 now. Thousands of drivers stuck bumper-to-bumper http://twitpic.com/3bpdm3
# Thousands of drivers stuck - including KentOnline news editor. We like be on the scene when news breaks...
# A2 has been at a standstill now for hours and hours. Is anyone here in the same boat?
# @CharHayward no need to gloat!
# uktr_southeast UPDATE 11 [4hrs]: Revised service between London Charing Cross & Ashford International, London Charing Cross & Hastings… http://uktra.in/se
# RT @kmfm_andy A2 by M25/Dartford area still rammed solid. I think there maybe (sadly) some nor getting in until the early hours
# RT @snoozysusie123 @kmfm_andy my neighbour left Enfield at 3pm today, still not home...
# I think, for once, it's fair to it's car-mageddon in Kent. You heard that headline here first...
# A2 UPDATE: Have broken out the mince pies. 5 left. After that I'll have to survive on roadkill
# Sux hours and counting on the A2. This is not a reasonable commute
# Kent Highway Services. Expect a call in the morning. And you Kent Police, you're not getting away with this #grrr
# RT @kent_police TRAFFIC: Aylesham and Crockham Hill roads treacherous due to ice on the roads. More news at http://bit.ly/g56MjQ.
# Coming up to 7hrs on the A2 - wowzers
# My A2 Island Discs keeping me company are Screamadelica, Super Furries and Prodigy
# There's a blizzard spirit here on the A2...
# 11pm and it's still rush hour in Kent
# RT @RobLRyan had tweet from Medway Council saying gritters out all night - the person tweeting should have been out as well cos the roads were a mess!
# RT @TonyWade SouthEastern Rail... Lawsuits incoming...My wife is suffering and there are no staff or food or water in Tunbridge Wells station. Please RT
# @kent_police any news on the A2 London-bound? It's chocca here about
# Lorry drivers having a snowfight. Probably won't join them 
# Made a snowman with mince pie foil thing for a hat. 4 pies left - supplies running low
# RT @TWRumours Hope everyone got home safely in the end. Lets hope tomorrow things are better, MrsTWRumours will be joining you
# RT @kent_police @Kent_Online Last update was A2 Cobham to Pepperhill - traffic moving, though extremely slowly with four-mile tailbacks
# RT @KentOnlineBlogs NEW POST: THE SNOWLEDGE: http://bit.ly/fd4zmi
# Got George Galloway on Talksport for company - not someone I fancy spending the night with
# Still not moving. Thinking about busting through the central reservation and turning back to office
# RT @carlsphotograph @KentOnlineBlogs Nothing there or have I missed the obvious?
# Wish I'd paid more attention to that Ray Mears chap. Knowing how to skin a fox would be handy right now
# Still in between the Gravesends
# The words humanitarian disaster come to mind. Still stuck on the A2 along with thousands of other people
# Blimey, this Twitter account has never been so busy. Thanks A2
# Big shout out to Danny Boyle who's also hanging out on the A2 tonight
# When I get out of this I'm going to look like Robinson Crueso. Hairy
# RT @kent_police TRAFFIC: New Sheppey Crossing closed both directions due to poor weather conditions. Motorists to use Kingsferry bridge instead.
# Wow. Can see next Gravesend sign. Exciting
# Think I might write an epic adventure novel about this. Either that or a nasty email to KCC
# Just pulled up outside my home, 9hrs after I left. Got to head back in in 6. Should I turn round???

Send your snow stories to fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk. 

Five live at the Guardian

They do love a liveblog over at the Guardian website - but even by their usual standards, yesterday must have been something of a record.

By mid-afternoon there were five - count 'em, five - separate liveblogs running off the home page. Wikileaks, student protests, snow and freezing weather, 'UK politics' and even the World Cup draw, which doesn't actually kick off until tomorrow, all had their own rolling news updates.

Which of course is a glowing endorsement of the Guardian's brave new approach to multimedia journalism online, its willingness to pioneer new ways of telling the story and its web journalists' ability to forge multiple strands of a breaking news event into a cohesive as-it-happened record. Either that or they're watching a lot of TV...