FleetStreetBlues

MailOnline photo caption hits Stephen Hester where it hurts

2012-01-28T12:00:00.000Z

The Daily Mail's front page this morning had a simple message: 'Hand back that £1m, Mr Hester'. And as Royal Bank of Scotland chief Stephen Hester attracts criticism from all sides, the Mail's website picked up the theme beautifully with the following photo.

The caption, if you can't see it, reads as follows:

The notoriously thin-skinned Stephen Hester remains annoyed whenever any newspaper prints the much-published photograph of him astride a horse dressed in full hunting regalia

Pity that...

Subhead boob at the Farnham Herald

2012-01-28T10:00:00.000Z

We haven't had a really good subbing fail in a while, so thanks to the reader who sent this in from earlier this week. Clearly the subs at the Farnham Herald have only one thing on their minds....

Facebook demands journalists sign non-disclosure agreement before press conference

2012-01-27T15:00:00.002Z

Here's an irony: you're one of the world's biggest new media companies with a slight PR problem around the issue of other people's privacy, and you invite a bunch of a journalists to a press conference at your offices. What's the stupidest thing you can do?

KPLU News in Seattle reports:

After announcing that Facebook and the State Attorney General’s office would announce a “joint legal strategy" this morning, the AG’s office followed up with an email requiring journos sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Dan Sytman, the AG’s Deputy Communications Director, wrote in an email sent out to news agencies at 8:10 a.m.:

“Facebook asked me to pass this on to you. They require it of all visitors to their facilities. It only applies to things that you might accidentally stumble upon while you are there and covers nothing discussed during our news conference. Please either bring a signed copy or be ready to sign upon arrival.”

We've all been subject to ridiculous requests from PRs, of course - but somehow this seemed a request too far. Eventually, two hours later, the penny dropped and the request was withdrawn.

Sadly, KPLU News says, it seems the incriminating plans for world domination were smuggled out of sight in the meantime.

We didn't see anything. Our reporter said they let her and the others in the front door and the press conference was directly on their right. Other than that, nothing to see, she said. No diagrams outlining Facebook's future growth plans, no employees ... just the officials.

Features journalist - Cavendish Press

2012-01-27T12:00:00.000Z

Manchester-based press agency Cavendish Press is recruiting a features writer.

You'll need to be NCTJ-qualified, have newsroom and preferably agency experience, a full, clean driving licence and your own car. You'll also need to be hungry - the ad sternly warns that 'workshy, shrinking violets and clock-watchers need not apply'.

Apply with CV, covering letter and examples of/ideas for human interest stories to managing editor Jon Harris at jon@cavendish-press.co.uk. Deadline Thursday 23 February.

Do you read the paper you work for?

2012-01-27T08:30:00.002Z

Here's an interesting question posed by John Robinson and then Adam Tinworth. Why don't reporters read the paper they work for?

Obviously, every journalist is quick to read one part of the paper - the bit they wrote.

But once you've finished admiring your own byline, what about the rest of it? Other reporters' stories, comment pieces, the sports section, even the supplements?

Adam Tinworth writes:

Sadly, that's been the case in pretty much every big magazine I've worked on. News reporters are particularly notorious for never bothering to read the features, in my experience, leading to the occasional embarrassment when they run something in news that was published in a feature a month before…

It's worth pointing out, of course, that reading the rest of the paper isn't always possible for those who have fifty calls to make and five stories to file before lunch. One Fleet Street Sunday newspaper editor used to be famous for reading every word in the entire paper each week - which given the size of the paper's supplements, must have taken him most of each week.

But what about nowadays? Should reporters be making the effort to at least skim through the rest of their paper? It is largely a waste of time given other pressures? Or is the whole question redundant in the world of online anyway? Let us know what you think in the comments, by email and in the poll on the right.

Attack of the chocolate oranges

2012-01-26T22:30:00.001Z

FleetStreetBlues doesn't do politics - but even to the casual newspaper reader it's been obvious that since Christmas, according to received wisdom in the Westminster bubble at least, Ed Miliband is in Big Trouble.

Somehow, though, we can't help feeling that the difficulties the Labour leader now faces are summed up best not by the acres of worthy broadsheet comment churned out on the subject, but instead by the headline on this story which has just popped up on the po-faced BBC website:

Not the kind of headline befitting a Prime Minister-in-waiting, surely?

Reporter - Local Government Chronicle

2012-01-24T16:00:00.000Z

The Local Government Chronicle - an Emap social policy magazine, which is much more exciting than it sounds - is hiring a reporter.

You'll need to a be a 'top-notch story finder' who's willing to both crunch data and build contacts, and while the ad's not explicit, it sounds like some experience at least would be helpful.

Apply with CV, covering letter and salary expectations to jobs@emap.com. There's no closing date on the ad, so best to apply asap.

Blue sky thinking in Nova Scotia

2012-01-24T08:30:00.000Z

What if journalists built the internet?

The great paywall debate aside, there's a presumption these days that we know more or less what the future of online journalism looks like. There were be social media. There will be copious data analysis. There will be content aggregation, more links than you can shake a stick at and some whizzy interactive tools we haven't even dreamed up yet. (Computer games to tell news stories. Really?)

But a fascinating article over at the Nieman Journalism Lab looks at one news organisation which is breaking all the 'rules' and yet still proving a real success. AllNovaScotia.com, a website now 10 years old, is tightly paywalled, has no multimeeja content to speak of, doesn't bother with social media and even publishes all its pages on Flash as the ultimate anti-copying and pasting device.

Instead of relying on advertising, it charges a $30 monthly subscription to a small but loyal audience of 5,950 readers, who tend to be 'opinion-formers' - bigwigs in local politics or business. A team of 14 - including 11 reporters - then focus on finding and writing must-read stories, described as a 'mixture of hard news and betcha-didn’t-know information about the province’s movers and shakers'.

It's the ultimate niche publication - but it works:

Ask 10 people on the street about AllNovaScotia and it’s likely eight will say they’ve never heard of it.

“I think it might be nine people,” says Parker Donham, a former journalist for the now-defunct Halifax Daily News, communications consultant, and blogger. “But the one who did would be an assistant deputy minister or a regional manager. Between people paying for it and a limited amount of advertising, they’ve got a business model that seems to work.”

“On the whole, I think they are the paper of record now,” adds Donham. “I don’t think there are many serious business or political people who don’t see that every morning.”

Starting with content people want to read, then delivering it to them in the simplest way possible which ensures they have to pay for it. It shouldn't be revolutionary, but it is.

And while the AllNovaScotia.com model clearly won't work everywhere, and probably couldn't be scaled up for a national publication, it would be nice to see more examples of journalists genuinely exploring new options, and publishers worrying less about the bells and whistles on the delivery system and more about what they're actually delivering.

'Content is king', is the favourite mantra of the future-of-journalism types. They're right - and AllNovaScotia.com proves they should start acting like they believe it.

Reporter x 2 - Edinburgh Evening News

2012-01-23T12:00:00.001Z

The Edinburgh Evening News is recruiting two reporters for its Holyrood offices.

One position is to cover the city council, the other seems to be a general news reporter vacancy. The requirements are short and to the point - you'll need a proven track record on a daily newspaper and 'a good local knowledge'.

Send your letter of application and CV to hr@scotsman.com. Deadline this Friday 27 January.

Telegraph subs heading for a fall

2012-01-23T09:00:00.003Z

Telegraph subs beware. Northern Irish jockey-turned-newspaper columnist Tony McCoy has seen the way you headlined his column on Saturday - and it's fair to say he was not impressed.

What a stupid headline in my telegraph column today "I can't bear the thought of another fall" What a load of s..t as I never saidSat Jan 21 09:51:12 via Twitter for iPhoneAP McCoy
AP_McCoy

Really not impressed...

I never said anything like that in the article obviously some other bright spark writes the headlinesSat Jan 21 09:55:27 via Twitter for iPhoneAP McCoy
AP_McCoy

Online, it's been replaced already, with the far-from-catchy 'Thursday return may be a bit too soon', but if there hasn't been one already, a phone call and word of apology is probably in order. Maybe you could give him some advice on how to ride horses while you're on...

Hari quits

2012-01-21T11:00:00.000Z

It's taken 207 days since he first admitted copying and pasting interview quotes, but yesterday Johann Hari finally quit.

I’d like to thank the Independent for the privilege of working for them over the past nine years, and for offering me my job back, starting in a few weeks. But after nearly six months living in New York City, and plenty of time to reflect, I’ve decided to not take them up on their kind offer.

There are two reasons. I’m willing to take the flack for my errors myself: when you screw up, you should pay a price. But I’m not willing to see other people, who are played no part in those errors and are unimpeachably decent people, take the flack too. It’s not fair on them. The Independent has been great to me, and we need its principles in the public arena without distractions.

Secondly, while doing some journalistic retraining in the US, I’ve started working on a book on a subject I believe is important and requires urgent action. To be done properly it needs international travel and the kind of in depth focus that’s not possible when you are writing a heavily researched column at the same time. So, while I’ll be writing occasional articles elsewhere, I’ll be mainly delving deeply into this one subject for now.

Fair play to him for falling on his sword, and he can now get on with the rest of his life. But for the Independent, which was indeed 'great' to him, one question remains. Just what does one of your journalists have to do to get fired?

More cruise ship clangers

2012-01-20T16:00:00.002Z

We're not entirely sure what it is, but something about the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster earlier this week seems to have prompted a rash of unwise juxtapositions among every kind of journalist.

First there was the Guardian's headline/picture combo. Then the Belfast Telegraph's unfortunate ad placement.

Now a reader sends in this, from The Star in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Worst of all, though, is this - much close to home, and as the reader who pointed it out said, it's really an unfortunate ad placement within an unfortunate ad placement.

What we can we say? It happens to the best of us. Bloody Google ads...

Reporter - Health Service Journal and Nursing Times

2012-01-20T12:00:00.000Z

Top health trade titles Health Service Journal and Nursing Times are recruiting a reporter to work across both titles.

You'll need at least two years' reporting experience and a track record of breaking exclusive stories - knowledge of the NHS and data journalism expertise is preferred but not essential.

Health Service Journal and Nursing Times are Emap titles and are based at Mornington Crescent tube in central London.

Apply with CV and covering letter to news editor Nick Golding at nick.golding@emap.com. Deadline Thursday 2 February.

Win an all-expenses paid trip... with our preferred stationery supplier: The worst staff competition in newspaper history?

2012-01-20T08:30:00.001Z

In the age of widespread job losses and plummeting circulations, it's reassuring that some publishers are still finding the time to treat their employees.

But journalists at Johnston Press have been somewhat underwhelmed by the latest competition in the company's weekly internal newsletter 'The Word', which boasts that the lucky winners of a FREE TRIP TO SEE A PAPER MILL will be revealed next week.

Admittedly, said paper mill is in Portugal - but the whole thing has the definite ring of a corporate freebie.

No we haven't forgotten, promise!

The winners of the competition to win a free trip to visit a paper mill in Portugal will be announced next week.

Two members of staff will join other delegates on a three-day all-expenses-paid trip in March or April courtesty of Commercial, our preferred stationery supplier.

The trip will include a visit to Commercial’s offices and a flight to Portugal on the first day, a visit to the paper mill on the second day, and a flight home on the third day. Time off will be provided so the winners do not need to take any of their holiday entitlement.

Watch for the announcement and winners' pictures next week.

Seriously, asks our man inside Johnston Press, is this the worst staff competition in newspaper history? Oh no, we're sure FleetStreetBlues readers can do better...

Quote of the Day: 19 January 2011

2012-01-19T21:30:00.001Z

Well, quote-from-earlier-this-week actually, but this is one worth saving for posterity. Yesterday saw Heat, OK! and Hello! magazines give evidence to the Leveson inquiry, and while they're all obviously happy to do their thing and the readers seem to like it... well, it's fair to say they didn't cover themselves in journalistic glory.

Hello and OK! said that 70% and 80% of copy respectively is pre-agreed, and the following - from Hello! editor Rosie Nixon - pretty much summed it up:

'If somebody doesn't want us to run something, we don't run it.'

The ridiculous stock photos you will never, ever use

2012-01-19T08:30:00.001Z

Every production journalist knows the importance of stock photos - you have an obscure feature to illustrate, no photos commissioned, and then hey presto, turns out Getty Images does have the perfect snap of a chess-playing mother of four who lives in Timbuktu, works as a dairy farmer and is struggling to cope while her husband's in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

But with the pressure on photo libraries to cover every eventuality, what about the photos which just never make the cut? Well, BuzzFeed has helpfully pulled together 60 completely unusable stock photos for your viewing please - and there's some classics in there.

View the full set here. Now come up with the features to use them with.

More yachting churnalism

2012-01-18T13:00:00.001Z

MailOnline's right-hand column of celebrity stories is like crack, or pickled-onion flavour Monster Munch. You know it's bad for you, it certainly isn't nutritious, and yet... But is the daily diet of tanned soap stars flaunting their beach bodies really worth attempting to fact-check?

Well, Stewart Campbell, deputy editor of Motor Boat & Yachting and the FleetStreetBlues reader who blew a hole in the side of the churnalistic stories about the '£3bn superyacht' - also featured on MailOnline, natch - did just that. And the story he's been looking at is this.

It's a classic of the genre - some photos of a Z-list celebrity doing whatever it is Z-list celebrities get up to, a single tweet ('At the boatshow... Put a deposit down on a sunseeker ;) bring on summer!) and there's your story. Fact-checking never entered the equation.

So Stewart Campbell put in a call:

Me to Sunseeker marketing department: Is this true?

Sunseeker marketing department: No.

Not sure why the Daily Mail couldn't do that.

If we've learnt anything at the Leveson inquiry this week, of course, it's that a PR's denial doesn't mean that a story isn't true. But this wasn't the celeb's agent, this was the company's PR department, and it soon transpired there was another simple explanation.

I have not bought a sunseeker yacht.... But I have put a deposit down to charter one for the summer... I do well but not that well hahaha!Mon Jan 16 10:24:16 via Twitter for iPhoneMario Falcone
Mario_Falcone

Does it matter? There are those who'll say it's a trivial story about an unimportant celeb, it's not libelling anyone and it's pickled-onion Monster Munch anyway so no-one expects it to be factually correct.

But here's the thing: MailOnline now knows it's untrue. There are comments on the article pointing it out, there's Mario's tweet, there's the denial from Sunseeker and there's now this post. And yet just as with the £3bn superyacht that never was, the completely false story will remain, uncorrected, for posterity.

'I'm obsessed with Tolstoy. It's a weakness': The celebrity interview, deconstructed

2012-01-18T09:30:00.000Z

Ever read a fawning celebrity interview in a glossy magazine or Sunday supplement and thought you could do better? Then this one's for you.

A brilliant guest post from freelance journalist Mhairi McFarlane over on Sarah Ditum's blog doesn't so much satirise as eviscerate the entire genre, with a dead-on impersonation of pretty much every 'humble Hollywood star at home' feature you've ever read. Celebrity interviewers and film writers, look away now.

An Actress bounds into the East London photographic studio, slightly out-of-breath, fizzing with the energy of Silvio Berlusconi on Horny Goat Weed at an 18-year-old’s swim party. "I just gave a homeless man outside a 20 pound note, and now I’m worrying he’d have rather had it in two tens,” she says, huge eyes widening in a luminously fresh face, as she puts down her vintage handbag and leather-bound copy of Anna Karenina (“I’m obsessed with Tolstoy, it’s a weakness, I need to widen my contemporary reading”) in a flurry of activity that lights up the room and makes all heads turn. “Oh, no. I hope he’s OK,” she says, fretting extravagantly over this act of incredibly charming philanthropic spontaneity I’m choosing to include here for colour but that she obviously had no idea could end up in the article.

The issue of the Handily Timed Tramp is resolved when a menial is despatched to offer him change and to pick up her favourite snack, Minstrels. An actress who eats?! I ask, incredulous, as she unselfconsciously shovels in great handfuls while having her hair and make-up done. “Oh, I eat like a pig, I love cooking for my boyfriend,” she says, adjusting her navy wool crepe Jil Sander dress over her tiny size six frame, which she maintains by consuming shitloads of food and walking to appointments.

Read the full thing here.

Belfast Telegraph tops Guardian's cruise ship clash

2012-01-18T07:30:00.000Z

Unlike Roy Greenslade, FleetStreetBlues has never edited a national newspaper, so we'll have to bow to his greater wisdom. But his take on the Guardian's unfortunate front-page clash on Monday ('Such clashes are noticed more by journalists than readers. We tend to be overly sensitive about such things. In this case, good sense prevailed') seemed a little, well, complacent.

Fortunately, though, the Guardian's blushes have been spared by the Belfast Telegraph, which on Monday offered an arguably even more unfortunate clash with an advert. Let's hope one of the 'six fabulous breaks' wasn't a cruise...

Sub Editor - Cycling Weekly

2012-01-17T13:00:00.000Z

IPC Media is recruiting a sub editor to work across its cycling titles - Cycling Weekly, Cycle Sport, Cycling Active and three others.

You'll need experience and a solid knowledge of InDesign, and the ad says understanding of the subject matter will be a help too. You'll be doing all the usual things a sub on a consumer magazine does - IPC Media are based in central London just south of the river near Southwark tube.

Apply with CV, covering letter and salary expectations to production editor Daniel Thomas at daniel_thomas@ipcmedia.com. No deadline stated.

Which journalist at the Times was caught hacking?

2012-01-17T07:30:00.000Z

The hysteria over hacking has been overdone, politically motivated and shamelessly whipped up in a decidedly tabloid manner. But while journalists may argue over its right and wrongs, and the extent to which the letter of the law is being applied retrospectively, there's one thing we can all agree on. It wasn't just the News of the World.

Today it's the turn of the Times to appear before Lord Leveson, and the written evidence of News International's interim director of legal affairs, Simon Toms - flagged up by the Press Gazette and the Jack of Kent blog but apparently not more widely - suggests a possible line of inquiry:

Question: Explain whether you, or The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun or The News of the World (to the best of your knowledge) ever used or commissioned anyone who used ’computer hacking’ in order to source stories, or for any reason.

Answer: I am not aware that any NI title has ever used or commissioned anyone who used "computer hacking" in order to source stories. I have been made aware of one instance on The Times in 2009 which I understand may have involved a journalist attempting to access information in this way. However, I also understand that this was an act of the journalist and was not authorised by TNL. As such, I understand it resulted in the journalist concerned being disciplined.

The Guardian, led by editor Alan Rusbridger, also takes the stand this afternoon. Might be worth asking him about this.

News Editor - Bolton News

2012-01-16T17:00:00.000Z

Big regional Newsquest title the Bolton News is recruiting a news editor.

You'll need experience of leading a news team, and must be both a good manager and a 'great journalist'. Otherwise the ad is very short on specifics though - as ever, we're guessing local knowledge would be a key advantage.

Apply with CV and covering letter via the editor's secretary, Lisa Schofield, at lisa.schofield@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk. Deadline this Friday 20 January.

Meet Boxie, the vox-popping robot

2012-01-16T13:00:00.000Z

So last week we brought you one not-so-simple invention guaranteed to change the face of journalism as we know it - now, thanks to New Scientist technology correspondent Paul Marks, here's another.

Fed up with traipsing round arcades trying to nail the perfect set of vox pops? Then why not send out 'Boxie', a small and - crucially - cute robot which can find its way round town interviewing people all by itself.

The only downside? Boxie's made of cardboard - the plastic version didn't look cute enough, apparently - so its vox-popping performance will be severely diminished by the first sign of rain. Not unlike a few reporters we could name...

Crossed wires on cruise ships over at PA

2012-01-16T08:00:00.001Z

With huge continuing interest in the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, news wires have been scrambling to file copy to cover all the angles. But over at the Press Association, the City desk and the travel desk can't quite seem to agree on what the story is.

PA 1 Sea Italy 02.48.27

BRITONS GET THE BUG FOR CRUISES

By Peter Woodman, Press Association Travel Correspondent

The Italian cruise ship disaster comes at a time when cruising has never been more popular.

The UK's Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) reckons as many as 1.73 million cruise holidays will be taken by Britons this year.

This is around 1% more than the number taken in 2011 which in itself was 6% up on the 2010 figure.

Ironic context! Cruising has never been more pop... oh, wait a minute.

PA 1 Sea Italy Carnival 02.48.16

CRUISE SHIP COMPANY'S BOOKINGS DOWN

By Jamie Grierson, Press Association City Staff

The sinking of the Costa Concordia comes at a time when its American-British parent company has reported a decline in bookings as the weak economic climate hits demand for cruises.

Carnival Corporation & PLC, the world's largest cruise ship operator, warned in September that it was seeing weaker bookings for 2012 as consumer confidence diminished.

Not technically contradictory, of course, but not exactly complementary either. Pity the poor dopey news ed who uses them both...

New look Guardian front page has a rather ship headline clash

2012-01-15T22:30:00.004Z

So Monday's Guardian unveils a brand-new look with a startlingly dramatic photo above the fold. An effect spoilt somewhat by the unfortunate headline clash...

UPDATE: Deputy editor Ian Katz confirms the clash wasn't deliberate and it was spotted, but they went with it anyway.

@suttonnick Not at all! We even thought of dropping one of the stories to avoid it....Sun Jan 15 22:30:30 via TweetDeckian katz
iankatz1000

I wanna be a billionaire (editor)

2012-01-12T13:00:00.001Z

Job title of the ~~day~~ decade goes to one Matthew Miller, a journalist working for Bloomberg who we learnt earlier this week rejoices in the title 'Billionaires Editor'.

Quite what that involves... well, we imagine it involves speaking to a lot of very rich people, and probably dressing smarter than your average hack (which judging by his Twitter profile, Matthew's already got covered).

In the competitive world of finance journalism though, having 'Billionaires Editor' on your business card is definitely a statement of intent. Hope he gets paid accordingly...

(Spotted by: Martin Stabe)

A media clampdown with a difference

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000Z

Imagine: you're a broadcast journalist covering an important court case, you're parked outside court all ready to go live for the lunchtime news - and then a clamping firm decides to clamp your vehicle in the spot you've been parking in for five years, and everything is thrown into chaos. The wheels of justice...

That's what happened to BBC Northern Ireland reporter Mark Simpson in Belfast earlier this week, when he and his colleagues were suddenly hit by the private sector traffic wardens.

The Northern Irish blog Slugger O'Toole has the full story - but it's summed up nicely in this rather plaintive tweet from Mark at the end of the day.

A Day in Glamorous World of Journalism: car clamped, court case delayed, 3hr wait, case starts, fine paid, car released, report filed, bed.Mon Jan 09 23:39:12 via webMark Simpson
BBCMarkSimpson

Commissioning Editor - Daily Mail

2012-01-11T16:00:00.000Z

The Daily Mail's Femail section is hiring a commissioning editor.

You'll need experience 'at a senior level' on a national or 'leading women's magazines', as well as a bulging contacts book and lots of original ideas. You'll be working on everything from 'escapist glamour to hard-nosed investigations', and it's candidly described as 'one of the toughest but most rewarding environments'.

Apply with CV, covering letter and five ideas to improve the Femail pages to anna.dunlop@dailymail.co.uk. Deadline Wednesday 25 January.

Turn the page

2012-01-11T11:00:00.000Z

That's the problem with print media - it's a physical effort to even turn a page. If only there was a simple machine to help with that....

Spotted by Adam Westbrook

Why hasn't the Independent corrected or removed Johann Hari's interviews?

2012-01-10T22:30:00.000Z

Chris Blackhurst, the editor of the Independent, today told the Leveson inquiry about the Johann Hari affair and took a regretful tone, claiming Hari's lifting of quotes came as an 'enormous shock' and insisting he realised the paper's reputation had been 'severely damaged' by the whole sorry saga. Really?

Why, then, do some of the offending interviews - interviews which include quotes copied from elsewhere and entirely made-up bits around them - still appear on the Independent's website, apparently unedited and without any apology or even acknowledgment that parts of them are pretty much fiction?

In his interview with Gideon Levy last year, for instance, Hari wrote the following:

After saying this, he falls silent, and we stare at each other for a while. Then he says, in a quieter voice: “The facts are clear. Israel has no real intention of quitting the territories or allowing the Palestinian people to exercise their rights. No change will come to pass in the complacent, belligerent, and condescending Israel of today. This is the time to come up with a rehabilitation programme for Israel.”

The words Levy supposedly said he seemed to have written before - as for the silent staring, well, that's anyone's guess. And it's all still published by the Independent without correction.

And then there's Hari himself. We have nothing against the guy, really. He seems intelligent, earnest and no doubt he'll do well very well in some other field. But he's clearly not cut out for journalism and no, he doesn't deserve a second chance.

To pay him - no doubt very well - as a columnist at a time when hundreds of talented young journalists have no jobs to go to, and the Independent is actually laying off his colleagues... well, Mr Blackhurst, that's where the 'severe damage' to your paper's reputation is entirely self-inflicted.

'They fight for food at functions as if they are villagers': Why you should never marry a journalist in Uganda

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000Z

We've read a few pieces about why you should or shouldn't hook up with a journalist - this post on 'five things you should know before dating a journalist' pretty fairly summed up the pros and cons - but this is a hacks' love column with a distinctly unusual twist.

Red Pepper, which bills itself as the first daily tabloid in Uganda, has published a column we somehow happened on while stumbling around on the internet, which sternly advises: 'Never Marry A Journalist!'. And it's an entertaining read.

Some things are lost in translation, of course - quite what 'lugezigezi' or 'bematila nyo' means we're not sure, and frankly when it comes to 'Kandahar' we're afraid to ask. Other terms used are intelligible but unfamiliar - 'catching a swallow', for instance, is a strangely poetic way of saying 'having a drink'.

Here's what they have to say:

Journalists are the most broke people on this planet. An account of a journalist is always in red because they are paid peanuts. A journalist should never lie to you that they are paid a seven figure salary. A journalist’s account always has Shs500,000 on the last working day of the month, Shs250,000 by the 5th of the month, Shs70,000 by the 10th then from 15th it is always back to the normal minimum balance of Shs10,000. Most journalists cannot even afford to buy themselves beer.

As well as the booze ('It should not surprise you that when you go to their newsrooms, you find most of them nursing a terrible hangover'), there's also food:

They also like eating a lot. When you go to a function, you can get ashamed of the way these fellows hog kimere. They are always fighting for food at functions as if they are villagers.

Journalists are also untrustworthy 'Casanovas', we're told:

These fellows have shafted the whole town. They like entering holes and a journalist’s slogan is to date, bonk and dump. They also like shafting on credit and can never commit themselves to any relationship!

Words of wisdom indeed. Sounds like Ugandan journalists would do well on Fleet Street.

Reporter - Carmarthen Journal

2012-01-09T13:00:00.000Z

Welsh weekly the Carmarthen Journal, part of the South Wales Evening Post's group, is hiring a new reporter.

They're undecided on whether they are looking for a senior or a trainee, so those in either category could apply. Ideally you'll have NCTJ qualifications, but the key requirement it seems is the ability to speak good Welsh. In addition to the usual skills, you'll also need 'an understanding of Welsh issues'.

Contact South Wales Evening Post deputy editor Cathy Duncan for an application form, at cathy.duncan@swwmedia.co.uk. Deadline is Friday 20 January.

Press office trumpets a 'solid number two'

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000Z

Who's the British journalist with the coolest job in journalism right now?

Well, if we put it to a vote, we're guessing the politics geeks among you would plump for Jon Swaine or one of his colleagues. Thanks to the magic of Twitter, you can follow the Daily Telegraph's man in Washington as he provides a blow-by-blow account of the US presidential primaries, and after stumping round Iowa he's now now tackling New Hampshire. West Wing fans form an orderly queue...

In any event, we're grateful for Jon for flagging up rather unfortunate press release headline with which we can start the week, courtesy of the Ron Paul campaign.

RON PAUL A SOLID NUMBER TWO IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Steady and growing support in the Granite State

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul is polling in second place in the key early voting state of New Hampshire, according to poll averages calculated by Real Clear Politics.

American readers, help us out. Does 'number two' mean there what it means here?

Egan vs Elgan: British and US IT journalists go to war over Google+

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000Z

Many journalists working for multinational media companies are vaguely aware they have colleagues working as far afield as Thailand or Timbuktu, but the course of true international integration never did run smooth - and nowhere is that more clearly illustrated than in a rather public spat between two IT hacks.

The story, in brief, is this - UK computer title PC Advisor published a not-particularly-scientific poll on their website about Google+, the social networking site, asking readers to choose one of the following options.

It's great and will be most popular social network soon.
It's okay, but it's not as good as Facebook.
I still don't understand exactly what it's meant to be.
It will change everything about the web.
What's Google+?

Mike Elgan, a well-known technology writer in the States who freelances for some of PC Advisor's sister titles there, took exception to the methodology. But rather than dropping his (theoretical) colleague an email - or hell, picking up the phone - Elgan let rip on Google+ itself, describing the survey as 'shameful' and claiming: 'The survey writers crafted this survey so that there's no way to express enthusiasm for Google+ without agreeing to something that literally isn't true.'

Cue an influx of outraged Google+ readers storming the PC Advisor poll and making their feelings known, with 81% insisting Google+ is great. And outrage from PC Advisor editor Matt Egan claiming his magazine had been given no right of reply, and Elgan responding that he hadn't intended to give PC Advisor a right of reply as it wasn't journalism but just a 'public conversation' with 'a few hundred thousand of my closest friends', and then Egan asks if that makes it OK to make libellous statements, and.... It goes on.

Scroll down in the comments and you'll find Egan and Elgan locked in a fascinating, passionate discussion covering online ethics, media law and the huge looming questions about the distinction between individual journalists and their brands. (There's also a separate, very long blog post on the PC Advisor site titled: 'How social media lets journalists practise poor journalism').

But fascinating though it is, it's possibly a discussion that Egan and Elgan's mutual paymasters wish they were having in private, particularly when there starts to be talking of suing and it all gets a bit heated. Ladies, take it offline...

Quote of the Day: 5 January 2011

2012-01-05T14:00:00.000Z

As clear an economic explanation as you'll get of why simply moving everything online isn't necessarily going to save journalism, from US media commentator Jeff Jarvis:

The myth of legacy media — rich while it lasted — was that every reader saw every ad so the paper charged every advertiser for every reader. That’s how scale paid off. Those are the economics that led to the rise of the penny press.

Online, that myth has been punctured: (a) every reader does not see every ad, and (b) advertisers pay only for the ads readers see (or in Google click on), and (c) there’s abundant competition. That’s what confounds legacy media folks: “If I get more audience and have more effective advertising, why am I not being paid more?” Because you’re operating by media laws that are now outmoded.

Diana, Madeleine and five cures for Alzheimer's: a year on the front page of the Daily Express

2012-01-05T08:00:00.002Z

In the Fleet Street family, the Daily Express is generally seen as that slightly eccentric uncle you only ever see at Christmas - set in its ways and obsessed beyond all reason with a couple of rather irrelevant topics. And always rather angry.

But for all the casual ridicule, this is the first time we've seen any kind of analysis of the topics it leads on, and this list of Express splash headlines over the past twelve months compiled by blogger Ned Morrell makes fascinating reading.

The key words are summarised in the 'Wordle' below (credit to this Twitter user) - but it doesn't tell the whole story.

'Diana' may make only a small appearance at the top, but somehow the paper managed to splash on the long-dead princess at least four times in 2011:

• DIANA INQUEST SAMPLES SWITCHED (May 10)
• DIANA DEATH FILM COVER-UP (Jul 2)
• DIANA POLICE FACE ARREST (Jul 22)
• DIANA’S SECRET ENGAGEMENT (Aug 17)

Poor Madeleine McCann is also still very much front-page news:

• FAMILY WARN KIDNAPPERS (Apr 1)
• KATE MCCANN FEARS ATTACK (Apr 10)
• MADDIE LINK TO GERMAN CHILD KILLER (May 8)
• MADELEINE IS STILL ALIVE (May 13)
• HOW DARE THEY CALL ME COLD (May 22)
• SHE IS STILL OUT THERE (Jul 29)
• THIRTY BRITISH POLICE IN NEW HUNT (Sep 9)
• POLICE: WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS (Dec 6)

The rest of the list is definitely worth reading too, unless perhaps you actually work for the Express, in which case you'd maybe rather not.

House prices 'soared' at least twelve times, although mortgages got cheaper nine times.
Poisoned eggs, salt, red meat and, er, salad and fruit juice were all revealed as deadly threats.
Alzheimer's was cured five times, diabetes six, and cancer 13.
Migrants, of course, featured regularly, and were variously blamed for stealing our jobs, stealing our pensions, getting hard-working Britons fired, claiming benefits, diverting aid abroad and getting cosmetic surgery.
And the EU was blamed for all manner of ills - testing drugs on British pets, forcing Brits to wear the EU flag, taxing British food and banning British shopping bags - while Germany warned of war not once but twice.

Best of all though, were the weather predictions, including the unambiguous promise on 17 December made in the front page shown at the top of this post. And wasn't it beautiful...

Digital Content Producer - FHM

2012-01-04T16:00:00.001Z

A relatively new job title that's becoming increasingly prominent as the inexorable shift from print to online continues is that of 'producer' - 'digital producer', 'content producer' or, in this case, 'digital content producer'. It's a clumsy term for a key job, and the people who will one day make all subs redundant. It's also a nicer way of saying 'web monkey'.

In any event, FHM is now hiring a 'digital content producer', and it's a simple pitch:

You'll know everything there is to know about the internet, you'll be a dream to work with, and you'll want to have the most creative, fun, exciting job possible.

Rather than listing specific skills or qualifications, the ad over on Gorkana instead just describes the kinds of things you'll be asked to do: create infographics, design online shops, develop games, email newsletters, social media and so on.

Apply to the Editor-in-Chief, Men's Digital - another somewhat convoluted job title, but his name is Adam Gold and his email address is adam.gold@fhm.com. They ask for a CV and 'links to five things on the internet which prove that you're just amazing'. Deadline is Friday 13 January.

Is this the worst celeb-visiting-the-homeless photo ever?

2012-01-04T11:00:00.001Z

After what's probably the worst cheque-presentation photo ever, an email comes in - from Neville Thurlbeck, since you ask, and given the former News of the World man now has a blog and is on Twitter, we're pretty sure it's the man himself - referring us to an equally terrible photograph which actually was published by the Sunderland Echo.

'We always wondered why snappers took so many photos "just in case" - now we know why,' writes Neville, and it is indeed another picture which just raises more questions than answers. Why does the girl on the left have her tongue out? Why has whatever's on her tongue - a stud? - turned out orange? And which of the three teenagers mentioned in the caption is represented only by a disembodied hand?

'Murderers': the making of a classic Daily Mail front page

2012-01-03T23:00:00.002Z

As expected, the Daily Mail runs with a powerful front page tomorrow celebrating the Stephen Lawrence verdict (although, like Peter Sands, we're not entirely convinced by the exclamation mark).

Say what you like about Paul Dacre - and people do - but the Mail's original 'Murderers' front page back in February 1997 was pretty ballsy. And his first-person piece published today explaining exactly how it came about makes compelling reading:

It was about 8 o'clock. I reached for a layout pad. This was in the days before on-screen make-up and I literally wrote down with a thick pencil the words "Murderers" and underneath it the sub-deck: "The Mail accuses these men of killing. If we are wrong, let them sue us".

I showed it to the senior sub-editors. There was a kind of nervous laughter but then contempt of court is drilled into every newspaper executive's thinking. And this was contempt of a cosmic order...

...The paper was due off at 9.45 pm, and by now it was 9.30 pm – the loneliest time of the day for any editor when only one man can make a decision. Of course, I was desperately aware of the enormousness of what was being proposed. It's not up to newspapers to accuse people of murder or act as judge and jury.

But if the suspects did sue, we would achieve what British justice had failed to do – get Stephen's alleged killers into a court to answer questions.

After about five minutes on my own, I walked back on to the floor. The "Murderers" page was made up with an alternative front page next to it. The mood was electric. "Let's go," I said. "You can always come and visit me in jail…"

Is this the worst cheque-presentation photo ever?

2012-01-03T11:00:00.001Z

'Is this the the worst cheque-presentation photo known to man?' asks one jaded senior reporter in the local press, forwarding on with some disbelief the publicity photo above. And we're sorry, Crystal Palace-supporting policemen who have made a large and worthy donation to help disabled kids watch football, but we think he might be right.

No novelty-sized - or even legible - cheque. Only one out of three looking at the camera. Plus the guy in the middle looks like he's just paid the taxman...

The top five journalism heroes of 2011

2012-01-02T16:00:00.001Z

After our list of the top five journalism villains of the year, it's time to celebrate five heroes (and some runners-up as well). With thanks once again to everyone who submitted nominations, including Neal Mann, Rachel Corp, Iain Hepburn, the Wannabe Hacks' Undergrad, two former News International employees who asked not to be named and a whole host of other journalists who pleaded anonymity.

The also-rans

First, an honourable mention to three who came close.

Lord Hunt was the unexpected choice of one local paper journalist, who praised the new chair of the Press Complaints Commission for seeing 'past this phone hacking nonsense to recognise that the regional press actually does a pretty damn good job'. See here to find out how.
Fleet Street Fox was nominated by one colleague, for anonymously championing the trade throughout a difficult year. As she acknowledged in her end-of-year roundup, the tabloid reporter has had a fantastic twelve months - and now she has the book deal to prove it.
Nick Davies, the Guardian investigative journalist who broke the phone-hacking story, was also nominated. Regardless of where you stand on the Guardian's coverage overall, and subsequent corrections not withstanding, it was a hell of a story.

5 - Brian Whelan

A newspaper reporter-turned-editor for Yahoo!, and an occasional contributor to FleetStreetBlues, Brian Whelan earned a number of nominations for first exposing Independent interviewer and columnist Johann Hari, and then doggedly pursuing the story in the face of determined indifference from many. Brian's very readable blog offers a mix of links to his own journalism and wider insights - his pictures and video of the final hours of the News of the World captured from inside the newsroom were particularly gripping.

4 - David Wooding

Political editor at the time of the paper's closure, David Wooding became overnight the de facto spokesman for staff at the News of the World facing redundancy. As one admiring colleague put it: 'He did an excellent job getting the message across that more than 200 innocent, untainted people had paid a hefty for a crime they did not commit'.

Runner-up: Colin Myler - the News of the World editor also came in for praise in leading his team through the 'deeply surreal final three days with consummate class and dignity', and subsequently standing up to James Murdoch in front of a Parliamentary committee.

3 - Arab Spring bloggers and tweeters

So much has been written about the impact of social media on journalism that it's hard not to believe it's all hype - but overseas, the series of revolutions across the Middle East showed the medium's true worth. As ITN's Rachel Corp put it: 'Bit worthy... but for me when on the foreign desk this year it's all been about Arab Spring bloggers/tweeters/social media types.. Some anonymous, some under pseudonyms. Many taking amazing risks to get info out. Some killed for it. Never think social media replaces the 'proper' trained and experienced reporter - but for large chunks of the year, especially in Libya and Syria, they've been our only source.'

2 - Mark Stone

Sky News reporter Mark Stone was memorably dubbed by the Daily Telegraph as a 'chiselled god of news' - and it was a sobriquet he earned in a few short minutes on the riot-torn streets of Clapham back in August.

As reporters, it's all too easy to shout angry questions at evasive politicians from the safety of the media scrum. It's far harder to shout those same angry questions at looting rioters, with only your iPhone for backup and the police nowhere to be seen. Nuanced in-depth analysis it wasn't, but for ballsy on-the-spot reporting it was unrivalled - and given the generally poor coverage of a massive breaking news story on the media's doorstep, that's to be celebrated.

Runner-up: Paul Lewis - Guardian special projects editor and another journalist who had a 'good riot'. His 2,600-word long-form feature on the five days of riots gives an excellent, old-school ground-eye view of the unrest.

1 - Joe Casey

Joe who? He's the least-well known name on this list, but like all of the best journalists, even if you don't know who BBC reporter Joe Casey is, you'll definitely know his work.

Tsunamis, revolutions, recessions and Royal Weddings - 2011 was a year jam-packed with breaking news. But in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, top-class investigative exclusives were somewhat thin on the ground. The Panorama investigation into abuse at the Winterbourne View care home - an investigation which saw Joe Casey spend five weeks working and filming undercover - was a notable exception.

The best investigations are conclusive, shocking, genuinely in the public interest and effective, and the Panorama story qualified on all four counts. The unequivocally horrific images from inside a supposedly state-of-the-art residential hospital prompted public revulsion, political intervention, arrests and court appearances and closures.

It's worth noting, too, that such an obviously praiseworthy story probably arose from some otherwise dubious methodology - as we pointed out in this post:

It involves a reporter who smelled a story going undercover, lying about his CV to falsely obtain a job, covertly and no doubt illegally filming the most vulnerable people in society, then standing by and doing nothing as they were submitted to the most horrific physical and mental abuse. The resulting BBC Panorama film was one of the best and most effective pieces of investigative journalism we've seen in recent years.

Brave, intelligent reporting - and a timely reminder of why the world needs top quality investigative journalism.

The top five journalism villains of 2011

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000Z

After an exhausting twelve months in which journalists have covered other journalists as never before, it's time - albeit fashionably late - for FleetStreetBlues' end-of-year roundup.

A big thankyou to everyone who submitted nominations, including Neal Mann, Rachel Corp, Iain Hepburn, the Wannabe Hacks' Undergrad, two former News International employees who asked not to be named and a whole host of other journalists from publications big and small who pleaded anonymity. Later, we'll name five true journalism heroes of 2011 - but first, here are the villains...

5 - Rebekah Brooks

While we've tried not to let phone hacking completely dominate proceedings, it was the journalism story of the year, if not the decade, and so inevitably it makes a number of appearances in our countdown. Rebekah Brooks has of course denied knowledge of or involvement in any criminal activity at the News of the World, but it is for her handling of the crisis that enveloped News International rather than the phone hacking investigation itself that she makes our chart. As one former News of the World staffer put it in his nomination: 'I will never forget her look of utter bewilderment at the suggestion that she should have resigned. If she had done the right and obvious thing, more than 200 people might still have jobs. And seven million people might still have their favourite Sunday paper.'

4 - Ryan Giggs

Before phone hacking, the big story of the year was superinjunctions, and while it was a battle waged on a number of fronts, it was Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs who inadvertently found himself in the eye of the storm. Before the tabloids could finally run their 'Naming Private Ryan' headlines, there were weeks of legal threats and sly hints at the worst-kept secret in Britain. At the time, it felt like a battle journalists had won - seven months on, the war's not going so well.

3 - The Guardian

Inevitably a controversial one this, but the Guardian actually scooped more nominations than anyone else for their over-enthusiastic prosecution of the phone hacking story. Had things gone a bit differently, the paper could have topped our heroes list instead - but after the initial jaw-dropping moment when Nick Davies revealed that Milly Dowler's voicemail had been hacked, and the feeding frenzy which ensued, things started to unravel. For neutral journalists it didn't help that the story always seemed to be more about Rupert Murdoch than phone hacking itself, with the Guardian concentrating its investigation of a relatively widespread practice almost exclusively on News International. Gloating at the demise of the News of the World compounded the error, with repeated references to the 'unlamented' paper when 200 journalists had lost their jobs causing particular offence. The icing on the cake, though, was the furious reverse-ferret executed by Davies, Rusbridger et al when it emerged that poor Milly Dowler's family had not in fact been given false hope by the News of the World deleting voicemails - the killer allegation which initially broke open the story. The Guardian has since, grudgingly and only after widespread complaints, expressed 'regret'; the word they're still looking for is 'sorry'.

2 - Johann Hari

Before phone hacking, before superinjunctions, this should have been the biggest media story of the year - and it's a story FleetStreetBlues played a small part in. A number of bloggers, including Brian Whelan (whom several readers nominated as a hero of 2011), did some analysis of the work of the Independent's leading interviewer and columnist, Johann Hari, and found some eerie similarities with work elsewhere. But what was astonishing was what followed: in an ill-advised post on his own blog, Johann Hari hit back at the rumours by cheerfully admitting he regularly included in interviews quotes which were never actually said to him. Our post following up on this was one of our best-read ever, and in the storm which followed the Independent was - eventually - forced to admit that recycling quotes from elsewhere and making up the bits in between isn't ideal journalistic practice, while Hari had to hand back the Orwell Prize. Most astonishing of all, though, is this: somehow he kept his job.

1 - The phone hackers

Most journalists have never hacked a phone. Most would never dream of doing so. Many of those who did, did so at a time when doing so was far from black and white. Some may even have done so in the public interest. And yet, and yet... the ugly, unavoidable, undeniable fact remains that a significant minority of journalists went somewhere they really, really shouldn't have done - and in doing so have dragged the whole trade through the mud.

Throughout the whole depressing affair, FleetStreetBlues and other journalism bloggers (notably Fleet Street Fox) have been fighting a desperate rearguard action, insisting that not all journalists are scum, highlighting exaggerations in the coverage and disproportionate responses where they have occurred and defending our colleagues' right to sometimes walk the line ethically. But in doing so, we've always been clear:

There can be no defence, of any kind, for breaking into the voicemail of a murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl. There can be no defence either for hacking the mobile phones of the victims of a terrorist attack, or the family of servicemen killed in action. It goes without saying that the fact that private investigator Glenn Mulcaire's notes listed these numbers does not automatically prove that the phones were all hacked - but if they were, and it seems certain some were, then that was really, truly awful.

Rail against the unfair villification of our trade, by all means. Carp at the Guardian's skewed coverage. Sympathise with the News of the World journalists. But ultimately, those who broke the law and crossed the line, often for the most trivial of reasons, are those most responsible for journalism's annus horribilis.

That was the month that was: December 2011

2012-01-01T20:00:00.000Z

As expected at this time of year, traffic fell off somewhat in December 2011 - but FleetStreetBlues did pass a milestone of sorts, publishing our 2,000th post towards the end of the month. Three and a half years and counting...

Most-read stories of the month were:

1. Er...actually News of the World didn't delete Milly Dowler voicemails which gave her family false hope, Guardian admits
2. The hardest-working hacks of 2011
3. Kim Jong-il: The Great Teacher of Journalists
4. Guardian offers fulsome apology for Milly Dowler phone hacking inaccuracies*
5. Want to work for the Daily Mail?
6. The final edition
7. Is Fleet Street still a man's world?
8. Are you a journalist's journalist? Take the test...
9. Page 3 fuck
10. Proof at last: journalists' FOI requests DO get special treatment

With more than 4,500 followers on Twitter, over 850 on Facebook, almost 300 on email and hundreds of UK journalists reading us every day, FleetStreetBlues is now one of the biggest trade blogs - and if you'd like to reach our audience, it's very easy to advertise.

The slot at the top right has just been taken for the next month, but we can offer discounted rates for other ad positions, or get in touch now to book your ad for February. Email us today at fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk to find out more. Thankyou for reading.

*Actual figures may vary

2012-01-01T17:30:00.000Z

A quick word of reassurance to anyone who might be alarmed by the MailOnline's rather alarming current top story.

You might be forgiven for thinking, from the headline, that New Year's Eve emergency calls had trebled compared to last year - but as with most such stories, it's worth reading the small print.

The London Ambulance Service said at the peak they were dealing with over 600 calls per hour which is more than three times as many as on a normal night.

In fact, it's easy to check how 999 calls last night compared with this time last year - because the Daily Mail ran a very similar story, albeit with a much more positive headline. Arrests in London were exactly the same across the two years (77 in 2010 and 2011) while the number of 999 call outs actually fell (from 2,639 in 2010 to 2,333 calls in 2011). Or to put it another way, this year calls may have trebled on New Year's Eve compared to a normal night, but last year they quadrupled.

In case you're working the evening shift at MailOnline and reaching for the calculator, we'll spare you the trouble. 'Emergency calls down 11% as Britain celebrates New Year'. That's the headline you're looking for...

Happy New Year

2011-12-29T09:30:00.001Z

FleetStreetBlues will be taking a short break for the next few days, but would like to wish all its readers in advance a very happy new year.

We will return - with a somewhat belated roundup of the journalism heroes and villains of 2011 - on Monday 2 January.

Freelancer - Daily Mail

2011-12-28T14:00:00.000Z

Money Mail, the personal finance section of the Daily Mail, is looking for a freelancer to work regular shifts.

The ad asks for a 'knowledge of personal finance' and 'consumer issues', plus a head for figures - and it won't hurt to have similar experience on a national already. It's listed as a full-time position.

To apply or for more information, contact Sarah Beck at sarah.beck@dailymail.co.uk.

Being Caitlin Moran

2011-12-27T22:30:00.000Z

Having won both Critic of the Year and Interviewer of the Year at the British Press Awards, plus a stack of other gongs, there's no doubt that Times columnist Caitlin Moran has had a pretty good 2011. But how do you know you've really made it as a writer? When your own newspaper commissions an interview with you, that's when.

The Times has that tomorrow (paywalled, of course), and it's by the journalist who first discovered Caitlin Moran, back when she was a gobby teenager, Valerie Grove:

She was a podgy little girl of 13, with a clear-eyed and candid gaze, and her name was Catherine, not Caitlin, but everyone called her Tatty. She’d come from Wolverhampton with her rock-musician dad because she’d won £250 of book tokens in a Dillons young readers’ contest, for an essay on Why I Like Books. It was the first time she had been to London, the first time she’d been on a train.

She already had a distinctive, hectic style. “Basenji! Slartibartfast! Mint Julep, Jolly Super, Hoopy, Necrotelecommunicom, Wonka Vite and Vitawonk,” her essay began, making the judges (I was one) sit up. So unlike the other entries with their pious declarations of “I have always loved reading”. Tatty had retitled her essay: “Starting me reading — who dunnit?” The answer was Mrs Boden at Springdale Junior School. “She was the infant teacher who introduced me to the world of pixies, enchanted princesses and Jip the Big Black Rat. Eureka! I could read!”

The key point about Caitlin Moran's deserved success, of course, is that it's been far from overnight - incredible though it may seem, she was being interviewed in national newspapers about her career as a columnist some 17 years ago.

Back then, in an interview with the Independent, she was asked about her writing ambitions:

'I'm seeing the editor of a Sunday newspaper this afternoon. I know she'll offer me mega-bucks to do an opinion column, but I don't want that. I don't like opinion journalism. Anyway, how can you have 52 opinions a year? I'd like to do some interviews. How much do you get paid?

Quite a lot, it turns out...

Happy Christmas

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000Z

And to think they call it the Dead Tree Press.

FleetStreetBlues would like to wish all its readers a very happy Christmas. If you're working over the holiday period, here's hoping it's a quiet one...

Quote of the Day: 24 December 2011

2011-12-24T14:00:00.001Z

Roy Greenslade, tackling the flaws in the Guardian's phone hacking coverage at last, and taking the wider view:

Single errors by Davies and Hyde amid a host of truths do not invalidate The Guardian's terrific overall work. I cannot believe, in all conscience, that editors and journalists across Britain do not agree.

The funniest headlines of 2011

2011-12-24T10:00:00.002Z

No matter what hot gossip or incisive analysis FleetStreetBlues serves up, there's always one thing that pulls in the punters like nothing else. Comedy headlines.

Our personal favourite of the year is probably this effort from the Phillipine Star, which somehow managed to draw a chuckle from a terrorist attack, although the 'something special' offered by girls' schools in Gloucestershire ran it pretty close.

But if you're looking for more, then it's worth checking out Buzzfeed's 50 funniest headlines of 2011, which explains the ones above, plus another 46 of pretty high quality. Enjoy.

The truth, the whole truth - and nothing but the truth

2011-12-23T13:00:00.000Z

When is it OK for journalists to make things up?

The evidence submitted by Tabloid Girl author Sharon Marshall to the Leveson Inquiry has inspired the Unemployed Hack to write a lengthy blogpost on the topic of 'colour' - and, specifically, the slightly made-up colour which is often added to features.

She offers a series of concrete examples:

I once wrote about a gay man who had agreed to have his friend’s child and I conducted the interview with him. He was a nice man, articulate, open, willing to share the sad tale of how the baby he loved turned out not to be his after all. In the first person article I wrote:

“… one night she yelled from the bedroom, “come here. Come here! I ran in, panic-stricken, terrified something was wrong but she was lying on the bed smiling. “Put your hand on my stomach. Can you feel the baby kicking? she asked. I did and it was amazing.”

This is not an entirely true scenario. The moment of panic happened. The feeling the baby kick happened. They did not happen within minutes of each other. I added “colour” to stir emotion in the reader.

This happens, of course - FleetStreetBlues has seen it happen - but the Unemployed Hack goes beyond saying such instances are an occasional aberration. Instead, she suggests, they are actually a valuable part of the process for writing effective features:

No one was harmed in the adding of colour to these features.

Many journalists, once written the feature, will read them to contributing interviewees before publication, getting their approval and making changes. I’ve often been thanked for what I’ve written – I’ve even heard, “that is exactly how I told it” from people I’ve interviewed and known it really, really isn’t.

In many ways what we write is creative non-fiction. It’s what journalists have been doing for centuries to encourage readers to stay with their writing to the end, to feel something for the people described in the story – maybe even to react to the story by giving to charity; perhaps Leveson could be introduced to some of Dickens’ journalism.

Really?

Routine it may be, but to permit and even celebrate this kind of colour is surely straying dangerously into Johann Hari territory ('We stare at each other for a while. Then he says in a quieter voice...').

Yes, colour is important. It's what makes features work. But good journalists should use as colour real things that really happened, reported as they happened. If your interview subject doesn't give you the perfect anecdote, use another one, or write around it. Find another angle. Don't just write the anecdote as you or your editor wished it had happened and then persuade the interviewee to sign off on it because 'no one was harmed' in the process.

As this year has shown, the ethics of journalism are hideously complicated, but there's an easy starting point. Never, ever, write something you know to be untrue. Slant stories, quote selectively, take a line, if you must. But facts and quotes are sacred.

Journalists' only currency is their credibility - the only reason people read what we do and pay us for doing it is because it's presumed to be true. That's why this year many journalists found what Johann Hari did, trivial as it was, at least as shocking as the whole phone hacking thing. Hacking phones was immoral and illegal and wrong, and much less trivial than inventing a bit of colour - but at least it was in the twisted pursuit of some kind of truth, rather than fiction.

When Sharon Marshall told Lord Leveson that Tabloid Girl was 'intended to be a good yarn', and that it was supplemented with a 'bit of topspin', he asked whether 'topspin' meant 'lying'. The good Lord had a point...

Quote of the Day: 22 December 2011

2011-12-22T23:00:00.001Z

From a leader in the Independent, of all places, which until now has been second only to the Guardian in pursuing the anti-Murdoch phone-hacking agenda:

It was The Guardian's claim about NOTW journalists deleting Milly's messages that revived public indignation about phone hacking and convinced politicians they had to "do something". That something became the inquiry headed by Lord Leveson...

... The "what ifs" that follow are legion. What if The Guardian had reported only the hacking and not the deleting, would the public outcry have been as great? Would the Prime Minister have felt compelled to respond? Would there have been an inquiry at all, on top of the police investigation already in train? After all, if phone-hacking was going on – which it was – it was a breach not only of ethics, but the law.

One conclusion might be that the Leveson Inquiry is doing the right thing, even if it was set up for the wrong reason. But this would be to make the best of what is, at root, a bad job. The question must be faced squarely: is it right that this inquiry, which could transform regulation of the British press, should proceed at all, now it is clear that it was built on a misapprehension?

The hardest-working hacks of 2011

2011-12-22T21:30:00.007Z

When it comes to sheer quantity of articles filed in 2011, Roy Greenslade came top, averaging almost three a day across every day in the year. But overall it was the Stakhanovite reporters on the Mirror who were most heavily represented, between them claiming five of the top ten spots.

Here's the ten most prolific journalists of 2011, according to a Journalisted analysis:

Roy Greenslade (Guardian): 1,057
Ashleigh Rainbird (Mirror): 938
Sarah Bull (MailOnline): 910
Sarah Fitzmaurice (MailOnline): 903
Nick Fletcher (Guardian): 870
Clemmie Moodie (Mirror): 858
Graham Hiscott (Mirror): 835
Josh Halliday (Guardian): 790
Richard Hammond (Mirror): 780
Tricia Phillips (Mirror): 775

No mention of the indefatigable 'Daily Mail Reporter' though.

UPDATE: Good point in the comments: 'A local newspaper reporter would be sacked with that kind of work rate. Three pieces an hour and then you're talking.'

Nominate your journalism heroes and villains of 2011

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000Z

It's almost Christmas, which as every journalist knows means it's almost time to start publishing endless end-of-year reviews. And after a momentous and divisive year in journalism, on Fleet Street and beyond, we want your help in drawing up a list of the journalism heroes and villains of 2011.

We need as many nominations as possible (note these are nominations, not votes - the editor's decision is final), and the key thing we're looking for here is originality. So if you can, please, think beyond phone hacking - and very local nominations are as welcome as national ones. Who's been the bad guy for journalists over the past 12 months? Who's made your life more difficult or given you a bad reputation? And who's defied the odds to do a decent job and made you still proud to be a journalist?

Email your ideas, nominations, citations and abuse to fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk today. The idea is we'll credit those who contribute to the final list - but of course if you'd like to be anonymous, just let us know. News International employees can play too...

Quotes of the year, photos of the year and 18 reasons to love and hate freelance journalism: Read all about

2011-12-21T12:00:00.000Z

With Christmas fast approaching, here's a quick roundup of some of the things we've been reading over the past few days:

Remember the #proudtobeajournalist meme on Twitter? Well, in the US they've gone one better, with journalists of every stripe rallying together on the excellent We Are Journalists blog. With a snappy mission statement, and a series of heartfelt first-person pieces, it's a guaranteed pick-me-up for reporters everywhere as the Leveson Inquiry rumbles on.

Jon Slattery has pulled together a comprehensive list of media quotes of the year - and we particularly liked the Time magazine headline.

There's an awful lot of 'photos of the year' collections floating around at the moment, but this flipbook from Getty Images is truly striking.

Roy Greenslade has read our Kim Jong-il piece - and we ~~think~~ hope he's secretly pleased at the comparison. (Nice to see we made the Independent too).

And finally, Pitching the World has written a list - 'Nine Things I Love About Being A Freelance Journalist'. Arguably, it's just a little bit less convincing than his previous entry, 'Nine Things I Hate About Being A Freelance Journalist' - but then that's possibly a reflection on his general level of optimism. Both are great reads.

Quote of the Day: 20 December 2011

2011-12-20T23:00:00.000Z

Robert Hernandez, writing for the Nieman Journalism Lab, in one of the more sensible future-of-journalism pieces you'll read between now and the New Year:

Can I reliably trust you to tell me what is going on? If the answer is yes, then I don’t care if you work out of a newsroom or out of your garage.

Trainee Reporter - Dorset Echo

2011-12-20T09:00:00.001Z

Weymouth-based daily the Dorset Echo is hiring another trainee reporter.

You'll need the standard set of qualifications to apply - NCTJ, shorthand, some work experience and a driving licence - but other than that it's all down to you to stand out from what will undoubtedly be a crowd. The ad boasts of a number of stories which have made the nationals - including Ginger, 'the abandoned dog who stole the nation's hearts'.

Apply to the editor, Toby Granville, at toby.granville@dorsetecho.co.uk. Deadline Friday 13 January.

UPDATE: The Dorset Echo has been on to clarify that unusually for a trainee reporter role, this is a maternity cover position, something we somehow missed first time round. So apply only if it's a short-term maternity cover position you're after.

Bah humbug at the Sunday Times

2011-12-19T12:00:00.004Z

Tis the season for Christmas parties, and tonight sees the Sunday Times' annual shindig. But as is always the case with Christmas parties, some of those attending are keener about the whole thing than others.

One senior executive - whose blushes we'll spare, given it's Christmas and all - accidentally made his feelings about the party very plain when on Friday he forwarded a round-robin email with the invite on to his wife. Unfortunately, he copied in the entire Sunday Times.

From: [SENIOR EXEC]
Date: 16 December 2011 15:39
To: [SENIOR EXEC'S WIFE]
Cc: All Sunday Times Users
Subject: Re: Sunday Times Christmas Party invite - Monday 19th December

[SENIOR EXEC'S WIFE], i have to go to this on Monday evening. I don't particularly want to but feel I have to. I don't think it clashes with anything that you have planned?

love C xxxx

Hope you are having a good birthday.....rah

Expect a rather forced grin this evening...

Kim Jong-il: The Great Teacher Of Journalists

2011-12-19T07:45:00.003Z

So Kim Jong-il has died, and judging by the slew of 'I didn't know he was ill' jokes and Team America references already doing the rounds, it seems on balance in the West at least he was seen more as comedy tinpot dictator than a genuine nuclear threat. Let's hope that doesn't change.

One less-explored aspect of Kim's legacy, however, is his role as a journalism academic.

That's right - Kim Jong-il was pretty much the Roy Greenslade of Pyongyang, if this 1983 book cover is anything to go.

By all accounts, the advice offered isn't necessarily exactly what you'd expect - chapter titles include 'Press The Shutter When You're Sure Of Success' and the much-needed 'Concerns About The Meals Of Journalists'. But there's also this:

A North Korean reporter figured he could write about a pepper bush plantation from the comfort of his office. But leader Kim Jong Il, the story goes, insisted on driving with him to a rugged ravine and crossing a flooded river to personally count the bushes.

'"Comrade journalist, you must see things on the spot before you write your articles. Otherwise you may talk big,"' Kim told the ashamed reporter from the state news agency.

"At the moment the journalist blushed. Across his mind flashed the bygones when he used to write his articles in his office only after his conversation with the officials."

Here's a sentence we never thought we'd write without irony. Trainee journalists could learn a lot from Kim Jong-il.

UPDATE: Kim truly was the journalists' friend - Paul Wiggins reports that he also used to divert traffic so that sub-editors could work in peace.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, times two

2011-12-17T15:00:00.000Z

FleetStreetBlues doesn't work in advertising - we're humble journalists. But looking at this week's Shortlist magazine, it's hard to avoid the feeling that something's gone a little bit wrong.

As is often the case, the magazine features an 'advertorial' wrap-around, promoting the new Daniel Craig/David Fincher film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

The point of a wrap-around, of course, is that the advertiser can guarantee their product appearing on the front of the magazine. An advert's never as good as editorial, which is why the advert is styled up to look like the real front cover. But if a product's not newsworthy enough to make the actual front of the magazine, then paying for a (very expensive) wrap-around is the next best option.

So, here's Daniel Craig looking mean and moody on the front of the wraparound of this week's Shortlist.

Then turn the page to the real front cover, and... oh, there's Daniel Craig looking mean and moody. Again.

It might be intentional, of course. Maybe someone at Shortlist can fill us in. But it doesn't look great editorially. And we can't help feeling that the producers of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo might not be thrilled to have shelled out thousands for a pretend front cover promoting their film - only to find it obscure a real front cover promoting their film.

Proof at last: journalists' FOI requests DO get special treatment

2011-12-16T12:00:00.000Z

We've written before about the suspicion that FOI requests from journalists get singled out for special treatment. Now here's proof.

One Rachel Stewart, who is not as it happens a journalist, but instead from the Scottish Association of Mental Health, submitted a routine request to Highland Council - and received the following response:

Dear Mrs Stewart

Please find below FOI request.

As this has come from a member of the Media, your DRAFT response should firstly be sent to the Freedom of Information Mailbox for its approval.

Once the draft has been approved, it will be returned to you to send on the final response.

Please note - the deadline for this response is 17th January 2012.

Many thanksLynda Duncan

Public Relations Assistant
Chief Executive's Service
The Highland Council

The FOI officer later got in touch to apologise, saying Rachel had been 'sent the wrong email in error', but what she meant was that Rachel had been sent the email meant for the council official who was supposed to be answering the question, not that the email itself was incorrect.

A slip of the 'Send' button then reveals that Highland Council has a different approval process for FOI requests from journalists, and gives them an extra degree of scrutiny. It's probably far from alone in doing so, but the practice is hardly in keeping with the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act, which requires requests to be handled applicant and motive-blind. Good reason to consider using a pseudonym.

RIP Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-16T08:30:00.000Z

So Christopher Hitchens has died, and the worlds of journalism and writing are a poorer place.

Amid the blizzard of tributes, his old columns and essays are being dug up this morning and re-read, and we'd recommend one. It's not one of his political pieces, or most iconoclastic (did he really call Mother Teresa a fundamentalist fraud?). No, it's on the most compelling topic a journalist can ever write about: their own imminent demise.

His 'Topic of Cancer', written for Vanity Fair last year after he first revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus, is brilliantly written, as ever, and humbly self-aware.

'To the dumb question “Why me?” the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: Why not?'

RIP Hitch.

Want to work for the Daily Mail?

2011-12-14T08:30:00.000Z

The last time the Daily Mail advertised for trainee journalists, it prompted a series of sarcastic applications from the usual Mail-hating mob, and we've written before about 'Daily Fail' prejudice among student journalists, of all people. This isn't about that - this is for people who genuinely want to work for what is, for all its faults, probably Britain's most influential newspaper.

The full ad - in old-school print format - is over on Peter Sands' blog. There are positions for trainee subs and trainee reporters, and you'll need newspaper experience or postgraduate journalism training, with shorthand and driving licence an advantage for the reporters. It's a year-long course, with the chance to work on the Daily Mail or MailOnline - the subbing course will be based with PA in Howden, east Yorkshire, and the reporting course in London. You'll be paid a 'competitive' salary while you train.

If you're interested in applying, it's well worth checking out Peter Sands' detailed tips. As a former interviewer on the reporters' scheme, he knows exactly what he's talking about - and having helped whittle applicants down from 900, to 40, then 14 and eventually 7, he knows how fiercely competitive it will be as well.

Apply with CV, 200 words on why you want to be a Mail journalist and six clips to sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk. Deadline Friday 10 February.

The news that made 2011 - in Lego

2011-12-13T22:00:00.000Z

This is a great idea for a photo gallery, courtesy of the Guardian. See also the Royal Wedding, the August riots and, er, the fall of Gaddafi.

Are you a journalist's journalist? Take the test...

2011-12-13T12:00:00.000Z

Do you work 16 hours a day for eight hours' pay? Can you no longer read a newspaper without scanning for typos? Have you ever conducted a phone interview naked?

Our favourite American journalism blog Stuff Journalists Like has pulled together a checklist of 20 questions to help sort the real journalists from the wannabes. A little bit is lost in translation - 'lede', 'sportscaster', 'A1' - but it's essentially all true, and just as applicable to hard-bitten hacks this side of the Atlantic.

So, if you own your own police scanner or have ever corrected a loved one's grammar in a greetings card, now at least you'll know you're not alone. Head on over and check your score out of 20, then let us know what you got in the comments. FleetStreetBlues scored 15, just about. Must try harder...

Guardian offers fulsome apology for Milly Dowler phone hacking inaccuracies*

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000Z

So after a day of fierce criticism, an intervention by the Met and Lord Leveson's decision to launch a spin-off inquiry into the hacking of Milly Dowler's voicemail, the Guardian this morning prints the following in its corrections and clarifications column:

An article about the investigation into the abduction and death of Milly Dowler (News of the World hacked Milly Dowler's phone during police hunt, 5 July, page 1) stated that voicemail "messages were deleted by [NoW] journalists in the first few days after Milly's disappearance in order to free up space for more messages. As a result friends and relatives of Milly concluded wrongly that she might still be alive." Since this story was published new evidence – as reported in the Guardian of 10 December – has led the Metropolitan police to believe that this was unlikely to have been correct and that while the News of the World hacked Milly Dowler's phone the newspaper is unlikely to have been responsible for the deletion of a set of voicemails from the phone that caused her parents to have false hopes that she was alive, according to a Metropolitan police statement made to the Leveson inquiry on 12 December.

Fair play to the paper for finally including the correction - maybe Mr Rusbridger's a reader. But as with the much fuller explanation offered by Nick Davies yesterday, the key defence seems to be 'we reported what the police thought to be true at the time', and that 'new evidence' has now emerged which has led the police to be uncertain about who did it. The briefings from police were, of course, all off the record. Flat Earth News fans will not approve...

*Actual extent of apology may vary

Picture of the Day: 12 December 2011

2011-12-12T22:30:00.000Z

With the legendary Mazher Mahmood appearing before the Leveson Inquiry this morning, a great picture from inside the News of the World, courtesy of Brian Whelan. 'Hello, this is the fake sheikh...'

Content Editor - Staffordshire Sentinel

2011-12-12T12:00:00.001Z

Staffordshire Sentinel News and Media, which produces 10 newspapers and magazines including the Sentinel and the Tamworth Herald, is hiring a content editor.

It's a six month contract, and they're after someone who already has experience of subbing - or a senior reporter looking for a change.

Apply via the editor-in-chief's PA, Vanda Gibbons, at vanda.gibbons@thesentinel.co.uk. Deadline Friday 23 December.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

2011-12-12T08:30:00.000Z

The Guardian is keen on corrections.

Getting newspapers which get things wrong to publicly and prominently admit to it has been a central thrust of the paper's campaign this year to improve press standards. When the Daily Mail launched a page 2 corrections and clarifications column in October, it was big news. When the Mirror moved its corrections to page 2 last month, former editor Roy Greenslade approved. And when the Daily Mail was censured by the Press Complaints Commission last week for making the wrong pre-prepared Amanda Knox story live for 90 seconds, it was, of course, fully covered.

The Guardian has its own corrections column, which unlike some of the others is easy to find online, and today there are four corrections. The president of Pakistan had his name misspelled, an author was accidentally called Justin rather than Jason, a theatre review confused actresses and 'an article about gaffes made by the Mexican presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto at a literary festival perpetrated another by referring to the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges as José Luis Borges'. We've all done that...

What's strangely missing, of course, is any correction or even clarification of the paper's biggest story of the year. As was reported on Saturday, it transpires that actually the News of the World didn't delete the Milly Dowler voicemails which gave her poor family false hope.

Instead, the original story has been subtly changed, with a footnote crediting 'new evidence'. Other stories written in the aftermath of the original story still strongly suggest the News of the World was responsible for deleting the voicemails which gave her family false hope.

Check out the storm of abuse we got when we wrote about this on Saturday, and it's clear that pointing out this error isn't a hugely popular move. We're a 'low-life publication', apparently. Questioning Nick Davies' story is 'pathetic propaganda'. Journalists are 'amoral scum'.

But really, honestly, genuinely, we're not trying to excuse phone hacking. FleetStreetBlues has never worked for the News of the World. We have nothing against the Guardian. We admire Nick Davies hugely, and are as keen as many others to see some journalists clean up their act - and have been since long before it was fashionable.

What irks us though, and what irks many other journalists, is a feeling that the whole phone hacking story has been a campaign driven by a political agenda as much as anything run by the Daily Mail or News of the World - and it's been a campaign which has rubbished our profession and resulted in hundreds of journalists losing their jobs.

And if you argue, as many do, that such a campaign was necessary, that while it is painful now, Fleet Street had to get its house in order? Then at the very least it matters that the key story that broke open the whole issue should have been factually accurate.

Quote of the Day: 10 December 2011

2011-12-10T17:30:00.000Z

is gobsmacked to read The Guardian report the News of the World did NOT hack Mill Dowler's phone. Can we have our jobs back pls?Sat Dec 10 10:36:54 via LinkedInDavid Wooding
DavidWooding

Er... actually News of the World didn't delete Milly Dowler voicemails which gave her family false hope, Guardian admits

2011-12-10T16:00:00.001Z

This is absolutely gobsmacking...

Remember the story which made phone hacking matter? Before July this year, media ethics was a minority interest. Then the Guardian uncovered the smoking gun: News of the World journalists had deleted voicemails from Milly Dowler's phone, giving her family false hope that she was alive. Cue a Fleet Street feeding frenzy, debate in Parliament, the Leveson inquiry, and so on... It was the media story of the year. Only it wasn't true.

The Guardian admits, in a story published today which somehow doesn't merit top billing on its home page or even the media page:

It is understood that while News of the World reporters probably were responsible for deleting some of the missing girl's messages, police have concluded that they were not responsible for the particular deletion which caused her family to have false hope that she was alive...

...Testifying to the Leveson inquiry, Sally Dowler described how one day after Milly went missing she found that her daughter's voice mailbox had apparently been emptied. "I just jumped and said 'She's picked up her voicemails, she's alive'," she told the inquiry.

Evidence retrieved from Surrey police logs shows that this "false hope" moment occurred on the evening of Sunday 24 March 2002. It is not clear what caused this deletion. Phone company logs show that Milly last accessed her voicemail on Wednesday 20 March, so the deletion on Sunday cannot have been the knock-on effect of Milly listening to her messages. Furthermore, the deletion removed every single message from her phone. But police believe it cannot have been caused by the News of the World, which had not yet instructed private detective Glenn Mulcaire to hack Milly's phone. Police are continuing to try to solve the mystery.

Of course, that doesn't mean that phone hacking itself didn't occur, and wasn't wrong, or that journalists haven't overstepped the mark, or that there wasn't a story there. But the key allegation so outrageous that the story could no longer be ignored was simply false. In fact, ever since the phone-hacking scandal started, the Guardian has been leading coverage which has reported police-leaked allegations and spurious half-truths as fact. (It's also emerged that the total number of people to have been hacked is likely to be 800, as opposed to the thousands previously reported).

As a result, the News of the World closed down, hundreds of journalists lost their jobs, our entire trade has been denigrated and the Leveson inquiry looks set to stamp all over the freedom of the press. Great work...

UPDATE: There's reaction from the Dowler family lawyer here.

Technical failures will cost the Times

2011-12-10T08:45:00.000Z

FleetStreetBlues is a subscriber to the Times' website. It's not cheap, and we sometimes wonder why, but the Times is a newspaper we really rate and its site, which focuses very much on quality rather than quantity, offers something different to the Guardian, Telegraph and Mail etc. And if journalists won't pay for news, who will?

Of late, though, actually reading that news has been increasingly difficult. This morning, any attempt to log on is met with a blizzard of 'Apache Tomcat' errors and 'server filter' failures. And we're clearly not the only ones having trouble.

The Times website isn't responding. Anyone else having the same problems? #timesnewspaper #timesSat Dec 10 08:29:23 via webMarcus Hook
_Marcus_Hook

It's far from an isolated case either. There have been a few glitches we've noticed in the past few weeks. Every so often the paywall falls down entirely (something Times columnists always report with a certain amount of glee - people can actually read their stuff!). And in the middle of last month something clearly went badly wrong with the iPad edition, to the extent that Sunday Times editor John Witherow was forced to apologise to all subscribers:

I am aware that many of our subscribers had difficulty downloading The Sunday Times iPad app this weekend (20 November, 2011).

A record number of readers attempted to download the edition at the peak time between 8 and 10 am, and due to technical issues some readers had to make several attempts before successfully accessing the app.

This did not meet the standard you have come to expect from The Sunday Times, and I apologise for what must have been a very frustrating morning. Our teams are working hard to fix the cause of the problem, and I will update you later this week with our progress.

Yours faithfully,

John Witherow
Editor, The Sunday Times

When most newspaper sites hit technical problems - which they rarely do - there's not much readers can complain about. What are they going to do - ask for their money back?

But when you're asking readers to shell out £8.99/month for something they've never had to pay for before and don't have to pay for elsewhere, it becomes a different proposition. Might be time to consider offering refunds...

What a lovely pear

2011-12-09T08:00:00.001Z

Another day, another comically pointless local journalism story, this time courtesy of the Sutton Guardian, which breathlessly reports:

An Italian man has stumbled across a rather buxom pear in Sutton.

Kenneth Williams-style innuendo aside, Renato Bartolucci, 73, has a pear tree at the end of the garden which is producing incredibly voluptuous fruit.

Mr Bartolucci, who used to work in the hotel industry but has now retired, said he has never seen such a juicy pear as the 3lb one he saw recently.

Look, FleetStreetBlues enjoys a brilliant non-story as much as the next bored internet user. We were there when a mum in Whitstable mum had a custard crisis. We marvelled at Heinz's 'tomato which looks like an alien'. We gawped at Snoop Dogg and the giant swede. We speculated furiously about the nature of the unidentified object spotted floating in the water under Bridgwater bridge.

(It might or might not have been a pig's head, and definitely wasn't a turtle, if you're wondering).

But there is a slight feeling that this is a trend which has now officially jumped the shark, with local papers realising that the stories which garner the highest (ironic) traffic and are also most likely to be (ironically) picked up by MailOnline are also the easiest to write. When the whimsy of local papers was inadvertently wowing the wider internet, it was funny and just a little bit brilliant. If it's deliberate click-chasing, not so much...

Where are the role-models for female journalists breaking into news?

2011-12-08T09:00:00.106Z

Really successful female journalists to inspire the next generation are few and far between, writes Laura Dew.

An article by Kira Cochrane in the Guardian this week has caused a stir by claiming that public life is dominated by men.

My first response to the article was 'Is this news?' To me, it's just a fact of life.

Articles are repeatedly written on this topic offering similar findings. In fact, an article actually appeared in the Guardian in March courtesy of Roy Greenslade, and it said many of the same things that were said this week.

When I first began considering journalism as a career I hadn't thought of it as a male-dominated profession; it was just a field I was interested in.

But the more time I spent on work experience and meeting other journalists, the more I realised this was the case.

When I started my NCTJ course there were more guys than girls. At my placement there was only one other woman on the newsdesk alongside eight men. All my job interviews afterwards were with male editors, and now I have a job in finance journalism my colleagues are primarily male.

It's not something that I feel has hindered me from getting a job, but there's no denying that it's noticeable.

Statistics from the article show that the average percentage of bylines by female journalists across the seven biggest daily newspapers was just 22.6% - a shockingly low statistic. Statistics for editors are even worse. Only two newspapers out of 21 (the Daily Star and the Sunday Mirror) are edited by a woman, a dismally low 10.5%.

The situation is not limited to the UK either; in America, the New York Times did not appoint its first female editor, Jill Abramson, until this September, some 160 years after the newspaper was launched.

In my opinion the problem stems from a lack of female role models in newspaper journalism. I do have my own female role models who inspired me to get into journalism, but neither of them were news journalists.

Girls read newspapers full of male bylines and then read a glossy magazine full of female bylines and go towards that, feeling they will have more of a chance there.

I always knew I wanted to be a news journalist and have no intention of working for a glossy magazine. But as a result I accept that I will probably always be in working in male-dominated offices.

I particularly enjoyed reading about Sky News war correspondent Alex Crawford recently and her report on Libyan civil unrest - but women like her seem to be few and far in between.

Probably one of the best-known female editors in the UK was Rebekah Brooks, the youngest editor of a British newspaper and the first female editor of the Sun. But her achievements have since been tainted by the News International phone hacking scandal.

Columnist Liz Jones in the Daily Mail made her career as editor of Marie Claire, but is now constantly criticised by readers for her obscure revelatory articles in the newspaper, such as 'I stole my boyfriend's sperm'.

While both of these journalists have been successful and earn vast sums for their work, to me, neither of them are examples for female journalists to look up to.

Without role models, who will inspire future generations of women to get into journalism? If we want to ensure we're not reading the same stories about Fleet Street being dominated by men in ten years' time, we need to show there's more for women to write than just features.

And finally, if you want to read the original article, it's on the Guardian website. Not filed under 'Media' or 'News' but under 'Life and style/women'. A telling placement if ever.

Laura Dew is staff writer at Financial Planner magazine. If you'd like to write for FleetStreetBlues, email us today at fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk.

Associate Editor - PR Week

2011-12-07T16:00:00.001Z

Public relations, public affairs and communications trade mag PR Week is hiring an Associate Editor (News).

All in all, it sounds like a pretty decent gig. They're after an experienced journalist to replace the long-serving David Singleton, who's served up some decent political scoops in his time (remember Gordon Brown cold-calling people at 6am?) It's based in Hammersmith, pays around £30k, and as well as writing and investigating there'll be some editing and helping to establish the news running order across print and online. The only downside? You have to actually like speaking to PRs...

Apply via the Haymarket website here.

Stand up if you're #proudtobeajournalist

2011-12-07T08:30:00.008Z

Do you remember when you first became a journalist?

Every journalist remembers the thrill of their first byline. The stupid excitement of seeing a name - your name! - in print. Every journalist remembers their first proper job, the first time they told someone they were a reporter, the giddy thrill of realising that people actually get paid to ask awkward questions and write about the answers.

In the last few months, journalists' reputation has taken an absolute pasting, and whether you're a former News of the World door-stepper or a holier-than-thou Guardian columnist, the chances are your friends don't look at you in quite the same way they used to. Remember when your apologetic 'actually I'm a journalist' wasn't inevitably followed by some tired riff on phone-hacking?

Top marks then to the Press Gazette, which yesterday asked journalists of every denomination to take to Twitter to explain exactly why they are #proudtobeajournalist. Reasons given so far vary from the worthy to the practical to the disarmingly honest - and while a few tweets are hardly going to reverse months of raking over the sins of the few, it's already done wonders for journalists' collective morale.

And FleetStreetBlues? Well, like most journalists, we don't have any delusions of heroism. It's not about the glory, or some shot at fleeting fame. We're never going to work on Watergate. And we're certainly not in it for the pay.

No, for us it's about the small victories - about telling a story as best we can, about nailing a top line, about exposing a half-truth or carving out a bit of coverage for someone who really deserves it. We're proud to do a professional job alongside a bunch of other hard-working professionals - colleagues and rivals alike - and simply try the best we can at a job we love.

Oh, and personally we're still proud we get paid to ask awkward questions and write about the answers.

UPDATE: The T-shirts are still available in the FleetStreetBlues shop, by the way, alongside other ones campaigning against superinjunctions and for greater press freedom. Haven't sold many of them in a while...

The final edition

2011-12-06T23:00:00.000Z

The East Kent Gazette has been delivering news to the people of Sittingbourne and its surrounding villages since 1855. Today, at midday, its final edition went to press after 156 years.

Along with the closure of the Medway News, at least 35 jobs have been lost. Best of luck guys...

Quote of the Day: 5 December 2011

2011-12-05T21:00:00.000Z

Tory MP and superinjunction fan Zac Goldsmith, talking about tabloids and in no way overstating the case on phone-hacking:

'If the only way a business can stay afloat is by engaging in immoral or unethical behaviour, then that business should either change its model or go out of business. No one said that Auschwitz should have been kept open because it created jobs.'

'I'd be shot': Local newspaper editor explains why he can't cover a website for small businesses

2011-12-05T12:30:00.000Z

The Chinese wall between editorial and advertising is supposed to be one of the central tenets of journalism. We assure our readers that we are independent - that decisions made by advertisers have no influence at all on the stories we write or the editorial slant of the newspaper. You cannot buy good coverage.

One frequent exception to the rule has been with direct commercial competitors: newspapers have often seen fit to pretend that other newspapers don't exist. But with the advent of the web, and with newspapers frantically seeking alternative revenue sources, our pool of potential commercial competitors has exponentially expanded.

And so to Hertfordshire, where one unfortunate local newspaper editor last week perfectly illustrated why this is such a tricky area. He refused to run a story on co-deal, a start-up set up to help local small businesses - and in what can only be described as an interesting PR move, co-deal decided to publish the entire email exchange on their website.

From: [Start-up]
To: [Editor of local newspaper]
Sent: 01 December 2011 11:12

Morning XXXX,
Was the story about co-deal and Christina Larkin of interest at all? I thought it may be relevant with the recent autumn statement and the right mess we are in at the mo! Please let me know your thoughts.
Laura

From: [Editor of local newspaper]
To: [Start-up]
Sent: Thursday, 1 December 2011, 11:22

Hi Laura, I don’t tend to do general pieces commenting on national issues unless there’s a strong local connection…
xxxxx

From: [Start-up]
To: [Editor of local newspaper]
Sent: 01 December 2011 11:30

Christina is from St Albans and has set up the business to try and help support the local business community. Here’s the story again if that helps?
Many thanks
Laura

From: [Editor of local newspaper]
To: [Start-up]
Sent: Thursday, 1 December 2011, 11:46

Thanks Laura. Can’t run this I’m afraid – far too much of a conflict of interest with our own commercial department and our own online directory. I’d be shot if I was seen to be promoting a rival website facility like this.
xxxxx

Quite whether the editor was right or wrong, we'll leave you to decide, and it certainly wouldn't be the first time that a journalist has just tried to be painfully blunt with a pushy PR.

But equally, the response points to an obvious but rarely-admitted truth in local journalism - editors have to be commercially aware, and it can and does affect coverage. And with news websites now chasing the same finite number of local page views as other businesses, that commercial sensitivity has been ramped up a notch. The Chinese wall just got more complicated...

Is Fleet Street still a man's world?

2011-12-04T22:00:00.003Z

An interesting article in tomorrow's Guardian asking, in true time-honoured Guardian style: 'Why is British public life dominated by men?' The evidence gathered by features writer Kira Cochrane includes a four-week analysis of the bylines on seven nationals.

Awkwardly, it was the Daily Mail which came out as the most progressive in its use of female journalists:

There wasn't a single day, on a single newspaper, when the number of female bylines outstripped or equalled the number of male bylines. The Daily Mail came the closest of any newspaper to parity on Monday 27 June, when its contributors were 53% male and 47% female – reflecting the fact that, whatever the Daily Mail's style and tone, it clearly recognises the commercial importance of its women readers, targets a mass of material at them, and is rewarded as the only daily national, besides the Daily Express, whose female readers currently outnumber male readers.

Overall though, if the methodology is right - and we have no reason to think it isn't - then the chart above seems pretty conclusive. Fleet Street is still very much a man's world.

'Sorry for any incontinence'

2011-12-03T12:00:00.000Z

Thanks to Niall Firth for this snap of a rather unfortunate fridge on the Daily Mail news floor yesterday.

Cleaning department don't have sub-editors, of course, so the literals and typos are forgivable. Let's just hope 'incontinence' was one of them...

Trade journalists the latest victims of under-the-radar job cuts

2011-12-02T08:30:00.001Z

This time last week, we wrote about a swathe of pre-Christmas closures and job cuts in regional newspapers, and added one of our own - the imminent closure of a local paper in Somerset which as far as we can tell still doesn't seem to have been officially announced. Now there's more bad news.

Journalists at the Incisive Media trade title Computing magazine were told yesterday about a major 'restructuring'. FleetStreetBlues understands that while the publication isn't going to close, the news comes, inevitably, with a round of job losses across both news and production. And with 2012 budgets being finalised against the backdrop of another global financial meltdown, it seems certain more journalists across the UK are going to lose their jobs between now and Christmas.

We've been here before, of course. At the end of 2009 the situation was so bad the Guardian put together a map of media cuts drawing together dozens of redundancy announcements and newspaper closures across the country. Might be time to dust it off again...

Got information about journalism job cuts or closures? Email us at fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk - anonymity guaranteed.

Page 3 fuck

2011-12-01T22:00:00.000Z

Quite how this got here, we have no idea, but page 3C of today's Greenville News, a local paper in South Carolina, is every editor's worst nightmare.

First par, nice drop intro. Second par, some context. Third par...

UPDATE: According to a comment on US media blog Jim Romenesko, the error was apparently made at a subbing hub in Louisville, Kentucky - some 413 miles away.

That was the month that was: November 2011

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000Z

The Leveson Inquiry may end up curtailing press freedom and castrating the business end of Fleet Street, but there's no denying it's good for ratings on blogs about journalism.

FleetStreetBlues is now closing in on half a million visitors, and more importantly for a niche site, is read every day by hundreds of journalists across the UK, working on nationals, local papers and in the trade press. If you'd like to advertise, the big ad at the top right will cost you £20 a week - email us at fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk.

Most-read stories of the month were:

1. Five questions for Lord Leveson
2. A letter to Lord Leveson
3. And the winner is...
4. 'Rusbridger needs to roll his neck in. Frankly, we all do'
5. 'I couldn't make love to Gerry'
6. Tripadvisor comes to journalism: the new site which allows you to rate your reporter
7. The dinosaur bones are back
8. Michael O'Leary, PR genius
9. Shop a dog - and win a mug
10. 'Freddie Starr Ate My Camel'

Keep up to date with FleetStreetBlues on Facebook, on Twitter @fleetstreetblue or by signing up to our daily email in the box on the right-hand side. Thankyou for reading.

Reporter - The Gazette

2011-11-30T14:00:00.000Z

The Gazette, a Newsquest daily covering north Essex and based in Colchester, is hiring a senior reporter.

You'll need to be NCE qualified and, as ever, have a 'track record of producing cracking exclusives'. The ad's brief, so there's not much more, but evidence of working online, your own transport and any indication of local knowledge would all presumably be pluses as well.

Apply via the Newsquest (Essex) website here. Deadline Friday 16 December.

The national with just three reporters

2011-11-30T09:00:00.003Z

Lots is coming out of the Leveson Inquiry - and despite our scepticism about the inquiry as a whole, some of it makes pretty uncomfortable listening for any journalist - but what's also interesting is the stories which are coming out almost incidentally. Ignore the knee-jerk journalist-bashing headlines and listen to or read the evidence in full, and for anyone interested in the British media the inquiry offers a real insight, albeit with a hefty Guardian-esque ideological slant.

Yesterday saw evidence from former News of the World deputy features editor Paul McMullan and the Guardian journalist who broke the phone-hacking story, Nick Davies, who between them pretty much cover the full spectrum of Fleet Street hackery. But the inquiry also heard from Richard Peppiatt, the former Daily Star reporter who resigned in a memorable blaze of glory back in March ('I made it up. Staring at a blank page, I simply plucked it from my arse') and has since established himself as a campaigner for press standards.

In his evidence, as well as making much broader ethical points about the fabrication of stories and the influence of PR, he talked about the pressure overworked Daily Star reporters are under, and offered the following anecdote:

Richard Desmond’s investment in his newsroom operation was/is woeful, and this has resulted in too few reporters to adequately do their job. I recollect one day there being just myself and two other reporters to write the whole newspaper. We were forced to use pseudonyms just to make it appear to readers there were more of us.

Quote of the Day: 29 November 2011

2011-11-29T23:00:00.000Z

Today's star turn at the Leveson ~~Circus~~ Inquiry was of course Paul McMullan, formerly deputy features editor at the News of the World. Trust the quintessential tabloid hack to come up with the quintessential tabloid headline: pithy, punchy and an outrageous overstatement obviously tailored to a red tops's audience - yet with just enough of a hint of an underlying truth to make you think twice:

'Privacy is for paedos.'

Part-time work while breaking into journalism? 'No, I'm all about the writing...'

2011-11-29T13:00:00.004Z

Have you done work experience recently at the Times? If so, it's worth reading Kevin Maher's column yesterday on why job-seeking graduates need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. And if you recognise yourself, prepare to cringe...

Neither do the graduates I meet — the ones who want to know how to get into broadsheet-style journalism — do themselves many favours. All lovely people, naturally. And I’m loath to use the word “workshy”, but really, I met one recently who physically flinched when I suggested that he might not be able to just stroll into a national newspaper and start flashing his stuff, and that maybe he should think of supplementing his career work with some pub shifts. “No,” he said firmly and coldly, before miming the act of typing while announcing, “I’m all about the writing.”

Five questions for Lord Leveson

2011-11-29T07:30:00.002Z

FleetStreetBlues realises that as the busy chair of an inquiry into the press, Lord Leveson barely has time to read the newspapers in the morning, let alone a blog. But in the spirit of being helpful and assisting the inquiry...

Chris Jefferies' experience, as we first wrote way back before inquiries into the press were fashionable, was appalling. But is the claim made yesterday by a former News of the World journalist that he tried to sell his story to the paper true? It would be relevant, surely?
In fact, given it is relevant, and in light of Kate McCann lambasting News International six months after it serialised her book, why not make it a standard question for all witnesses? Have you ever sold or ever attempted to sell your story to a tabloid newspaper?
You've succeeded in getting Guido Fawkes to remove the Alastair Campbell evidence for now, and he'll be appearing to explain himself before the inquiry on Thursday. But thanks to the Press Association, a key quote from the evidence now appears all across the internet, everywhere from the Cambridge News to the Chorley Guardian. Will you be calling the Press Association in to explain itself?
Yesterday, an ordinary member of the public was filmed without her knowledge or consent in a public place, and then had her face splashed all over the newspapers. When will you be inviting the angry tram passenger woman to appear before the inquiry?
In fact, what about the wider privacy implications of YouTube in general? And if your remit only covers newspapers and newspaper websites but doesn't extend to cover other websites, doesn't that make coming up with any recommendations on privacy or intrusion pretty much impossible?

Trainee Reporter - North Devon Gazette

2011-11-28T14:00:00.000Z

Vacancies have been a bit thin on the ground generally lately, so this is a welcome ad for a trainee reporter - Archant weekly the North Devon Gazette is recruiting.

You'll need to have your NCTJ qualifications with 100 wpm shorthand, as is standard, plus a driving licence and your own transport, which is also becoming increasingly standard. In return they promise to support you towards your NCE and to give you a lively patch.

Apply with CV and covering letter to the editor, Dave Tanner, at dave.tanner@archant.co.uk. Deadline this Friday 2 December.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, neglected wife

2011-11-28T07:30:00.001Z

There's always been a certain tension between news and features. Features writers see hard news hacks as shallow, narrow-minded and forever obsessed with the top line; hard news reporters, for their part, portray features types as insubstantial, waffly and even occasionally prone to getting their facts wrong.

Both stereotypes, of course, are unfair, but like most stereotypes, they're also just occasionally true. And on the last point - getting your facts right -a features freelancer for the Daily Mail has somewhat let the side down.

Said features writer, whose blushes we'll spare, was commissioned to write a feature for the Femail section on 'marital tipping points'. She approached Mumsnet readers for comment and input, using as the hook the recent (and, we should stress here for any lawyers reading, not necessarily proven) stories about Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Only this time she wanted to tell the story from the wife's perspective.

I'm writing a feature for the Daily Mail about marital tipping points, for our Femail section. It comes in the wake of news that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is reported to be finally considering divorce from her philandering husband - she put up with years of affairs but then reports that he had been text messaging escort girls became the straw that broke the camel's back. We are looking for good stories where women have tolerated bad behaviour for a long time only for something to finally prompt then to say enough is enough and to look at why that was. Ideally we'd like you to be identified and provide a photo but we'd also consider strong anonymous stories. In the former instance we could pay a small fee. Please do get in touch if you think you can help or know anyone who might want to take part - we are looking to feature a number of different stories. You can contact me via mumsnet or via my personal email address.

Cue scores of mocking comments from much better-informed mums, and while nothing is ever really deleted from the internet, Mumsnet have now removed the entire thread to protect the 'privacy' of the original poster.

The article doesn't yet seem to have run, and for all we know it may now have been dropped, but just in case it would be good to get word out to the Daily Mail. Can someone in news let someone in features know Dominique is a boy's name too?

Alastair Campbell worth reading in full

2011-11-27T20:30:00.002Z

On Wednesday, Alastair Campbell was due to take centre-stage at the Leveson Inquiry, but earlier today his written evidence was leaked, and published by - who else? - Westminster blogger Guido Fawkes.

Genuinely shocked someone has seen fit to leak my statement to Leveson. Less surprised that Guido Fawkes headline misrepresents itSun Nov 27 13:07:22 via Twitter for BlackBerry®Alastair Campbell
campbellclaret

Cue another interminable row about who leaked what when, with the Leveson Inquiry summoning Guido (aka Paul Staines) to explain himself. But what's of more interest is the evidence itself.

We won't quote it directly here - we wouldn't put it past his Lordship to summon the whole internet to court to explain itself - but Alastair Campbell's written evidence can be read in full elsewhere.

UPDATE: Well, it was available elsewhere, but now a restriction notice has been issued, Guido Fawkes has taken it down ahead of his appearance before the inquiry on Thursday and so we'd better remove any further reference to it as well. It should be good though...

Snappers hit back at call for blanket ban on photos in public spaces

2011-11-26T10:00:00.001Z

One of the more alarming suggestions to come out of the Leveson Inquiry this week was the proposal that it should be illegal to photograph a private individual in a public place without their explicit permission.

Gerry McCann told the inquiry:

You should not be able to publish photographs of private individuals going about their private business without their explicit consent, signed.

Even more than reporters, photographers came in for a bashing this week - and now one has hit back, and explained exactly why such a ban would be disastrous.

Writing on Leon Neal's blog, Christopher Pledger, a freelance photographer for the Daily Telegraph, says:

A ban of this type would be the death of the free press in the UK. Current guidelines require that individuals should not be photographed while they have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'. In practical terms this means that anyone in a public place can be photographed without permission, as they cannot expect privacy in a public space. If laws were introduced requiring the written consent of an individual before they were photographed, it would mean press photographers would have to ignore events unfolding before them.

Some of the biggest news stories of the year could not have been reported. Pictures of Charlie Gilmour swinging from the Cenotaph would have been taken illegally, likewise pictures of Oliver Letwin disposing of government documents in a park bin. Press photographers would be as hamstrung as reporters are when they are prevented from covering stories of public interest that are subject to super-injunctions.

A good point very well made, and there's more there too about the distinction between press photographers and paparazzi. Let's hope Lord Leveson's listening...

Local paper cuts coming thick and fast

2011-11-25T09:00:00.002Z

Away from the bright lights of the Leveson Inquiry, it's been a tough month for journalists working on local papers.

Last week the Chase Post, Stafford Post and Sutton News were closed. The Liverpool Daily Post has switched to weekly publication. The Darlington and South Durham Herald and Post ceased publication on Monday, while the Bridgwater and Burnham Times in Somerset closed yesterday.

Now FleetStreetBlues understands staff at another Somerset title were told yesterday their paper will be closed at the end of December, and that as well as staff on that paper being made redundant there will also be associated job losses at a subbing hub. Happy Christmas folks...

'Rusbridger needs to roll his neck in. Frankly, we all do'

2011-11-24T12:30:00.000Z

Yesterday's letter to Lord Leveson attracted a strong response from readers - though not, as yet, the man himself. But the one that stood out was a magnificently angry (and sweary) rant from one anonymous hack in the comments - so magnificently angry and sweary, in fact, that we thought it worth reproducing in full here.

You may not agree with everything he or she says, and at one point they actually tell us to fuck off, but it feels like a bit of anger from rank-and-file reporters is justified about now. Reminiscent of the late, great Playing the Game:

The trouble is, it isn't the unconscionable actions of a handful of hacks that have landed the profession in hot water - it's the campaign against the perceived Murdoch hegemony by the Graun et al. Let's not kid ourselves this was a pursuit of the truth, or some other lofty ideal. It was the recognition that there was enough room between News International's ribs to fit a fucking knitting needle.

NI haven't helped matters. Far from it. The obfuscation by James Murdoch merely lends weight to Tommy Two-Dinners' allegation that JM is the worst Mafia don in history. But in the same way that these crimes were not limited to one hack, they weren't limited to one rag either. As you correctly point out in your letter, the Guardian admits it (although you'll clearly have been disappointed if you actually read the fucking shit sheet in expectation of such clarity). Then again, the Information Commissioner's stats on abuse across Fleet Street have been in the public domain for years. Why oh why is that not widely known? Back of the class, cunt.

Guido Fawkes (of order-order.com) is right to refer to this as the circular firing squad. Some high-minded editors and BBC brass have used the idiotic actions of a few (including JM) to make a rod for News International's back and instead used it to break all of ours.

And let's not forget that print bastards can get away with editorial bias. Broadcast news cannot, yet still get lumped in with the inky-finger boys as EEEEEEVIL. FFS.

Rusbridger needs to roll his neck in. Frankly, we ALL do, for the time being at least. But let's be clear: Tommy Two-Dinners did some of the donkey work. Journalists did most. This scandal would not have been exposed BUT for the efforts of Fleets Street. And yet the profession as a whole is excoriated? Again, FFS.

Fuck them. Fuck Leveson and his sotto voce 'take as much time as you need' bollocks to folks who've now been given as much media advice as any FTSE 100 CEO, yet who himself turns up in court and admits to not reading the papers that day. Fuck the pseudo-leftie hacks and politicians and done-over slebs for whom this is nothing other than payback time for Murdoch. Fuck the under-30 keyboard warriors who never even buy a fucking newspaper yet feel entitled, simply because of their ability to two-finger type to cast aspersions on an industry whose actions have ultimately protected their right to write such unadulterated shit. Fuck the cunts who attack the Sun, the Mail, the tabs in general - yet fail to acknowledge they exist because people buy them, and that amongst that cadre are the people they're constantly defending against cuts to benefits, wages, nursery places, employment opportunities.

Most of all, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, fuck YOU for opening your letter in forelock-tugging, hand-wringing terms. This is the time we need to remind everyone that what we do we do not for money. Not for prestige. Occasionally for fiddled expenses. But always, ALWAYS (at least for the vast fucking majority of us) because it needs to be done and is the right thing to do. Hold the fuckers to account.

And maybe, just maybe, have a good time whilst doing so.

News Editor - Lincolnshire Free Press

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000Z

Johnston Press titles the Lincolnshire Free Press and Spalding Guardian are recruiting a news editor.

You'll undoubtedly need experience, but above all you'll need to be a jack-of-all-trades - as well as leading a team of six reporters, you'll be writing stories yourself, pushing stories on social media and we're told production experience would also be an 'advantage'.

Apply with CV and covering letter to jeremy.ransome@jpress.co.uk. Deadline tomorrow, Friday 25 November.

'I couldn't make love to Gerry'

2011-11-23T23:00:00.001Z

As predicted, the McCanns' evidence to the Leveson inquiry was compelling. But while as always they seem to cut desperately sympathetic figures, when it comes to the demonisation of News International, something doesn't quite add up.

The Guardian reports:

Kate McCann told a hushed courtroom at the Royal Courts of Justice in London how she felt "totally violated" after the publication by the News of the World of her personal diaries in which she recorded her thoughts about her missing daughter.

She said the now defunct newspaper had showed "absolutely no respect for me as a grieving mother" when it ran the story in September 2008 under the headline Kate's Diary: In Her Own Words. "I'd written these words, my thoughts, at the most desperate time of my life," she said.

Absolutely fair, as far as the diaries are concerned, but it's worth noting that by May this year, Kate McCann had appeared to forgive News International for the intrusion. Forgiven them, in fact, to the extent she was prepared to let the Sun serialise revelations about her sex life.

The splash - one of several that week - began:

After Madeleine was taken from us, my sexual desire plummeted to zero.

Our sex life is not something I would normally be inclined to share and yet it is such an integral part of most marriages that it doesn't feel right not to acknowledge this.

The article which follows, as with the rest of the serialisation, is cringingly personal, was published just six months ago and was written entirely voluntarily. As it contemplates another round of devastating headlines tomorrow, News International might once again feel a little hard done by.

A letter to Lord Leveson

2011-11-23T09:00:00.004Z

Dear Lord Justice Leveson,

A few weeks ago, a senior journalism academic suggested that FleetStreetBlues should submit written evidence to your inquiry. We thought little of the idea at the time - as lowly grunt reporters with no knowledge of phone hacking, what did we really have to add? But the profoundly depressing spectacle of the past few days, and the promise of weeks more to come, has prompted us to write this anyway. Make of it what you will.

First, an acknowledgement, and an apology. Like most journalists, we've never hacked a phone in our lives, or knowingly crossed the line in any other way - but others in our trade self-evidently have.

There have been so many phone hacking accusations flying around in recent months, few of which have been proven in court and some of which are inaccurate, that it's hard to list definitively journalism's misdemeanors. But on Monday, the testimony of Bob and Sally Dowler was heart-rending, and the case of Alan Watson, the 15-year-old Scottish boy who killed himself after reading derogatory articles about his dead sister, is equally horrific. Later today, Gerry McCann will take the stand, and in due course Christopher Jefferies will follow, and their evidence is likely to be pretty damning. Such stories shame us all.

That said, your job is not only to highlight the worst instances of media intrusion but to quantify it, and put it in perspective. Journalists are by nature intrusive - we get paid to ask the questions people don't want to answer. Most of us know where the line is most of the time, but it's a fine one, and not easily defined in law.

Hacking the phone of a murder victim is against the law, sure - but so is hacking the phone of a 'corrupt arms executive', as David Leigh, investigations editor of the Guardian, claimed to have done. Likewise, in the case of Alan Watson and his murdered sister, journalists broke no laws - it isn't possible to defame the dead.

As a lawyer and a judge, your instinct may be to say that it should be - but tread carefully. The breaches you are investigating were committed by a very small minority of journalists, generally, although not exclusively, covering a pretty limited patch. New laws you recommend will apply to every journalist, on every publication and most likely in every medium, writing about everything from farming to finance.

Your priority must be to look at where the balance of public interest lies. That's not the same, of course, as what the public is interested in - even if a certain actor once famously said: 'When I think about actors I know, I'd much rather hear about who they're shagging than what film they're doing next.' But it does mean acknowledging that the public extends far beyond the Guardian-reading chattering classes, and even includes the 2.6 million readers of the News of the World and two million readers of the Daily Mail.

Above all, it means considering not just the roll-call of those queuing up to have their day in court and vent against their tabloid tormentors, but also the much wider picture.

Consider whether there's not actually too much journalistic scrutiny of the rich, powerful and famous, but too little, at every level. Locally, courts and councils go uncovered because newspapers are sacking staff. Nationally, those who can afford it turn easily to the courts to serve out all manner of injunctions. And the really powerful go about their business largely unnoticed, insulated from the press by an army of lawyers. It's no surprise your witness list is packed with past-it MPs and minor celebrities - they're the only ones we dare to take on.

Consider the role of public relations, and the extent to which celebrities willingly - even desperately - collude with and manipulate the popular press for a precious few column inches. Yesterday Steve Coogan vehemently denied that this was something he had done, but certainly it applies to others. Staged photo shoots, planted stories, astonishingly powerful PRs - if you're keen to examine 'press standards' on behalf of the reader as well as the celebrity victim, call witnesses on this as well.

And finally, consider this. When your inquiry is completed, its recommendations have been considered, and new regulations are in place or maybe new laws are enacted, what kind of press do you want to see? You have a powerful pulpit from which you can help shape what British journalism will look like in 2012 and beyond.

We can all agree that phone hacking has no place in journalism - but phone hacking's not the only topic in town. Earlier this year, until the Guardian so dramatically changed the media agenda, it was all about superinjunctions and Ryan Giggs. As you decide whether to recommend further regulation of the press, remember that in some areas the courts are doing a pretty good job already. It's a sobering thought to think that, if things had gone a little differently, you could be presiding over an inquiry into extending the freedom of the press rather than curtailing it.

There are many things wrong with the British press. There have been appalling abuses of power, ethical breaches and some have broken the law. In some newsrooms, there is a culture of 'the story at any cost' which needs to be tempered. There are political and popular agendas that tabloids and broadsheets alike slavishly follow and in doing so skew their news coverage. There are cash-strapped papers cutting staff left, right and centre, leaving huge gaps in areas which a democratic press needs to cover. There are too-powerful PRs, and churnalists, and 'celebrity reporters' writing nonsense. There is an obsession with minutiae and a pack mentality which means all too often important stories go unreported. There are some topics and some subjects we dare not touch at all.

There are many things wrong with the British press, Lord Leveson. Hugh Grant has little to do with any of them.

Yours respectfully,

FleetStreetBlues

He's Alan Partridge

2011-11-22T21:00:00.000Z

Well, actually he's not, he's Steve Coogan. But as one superstar after another queues up at the Leveson inquiry to share their tales of tabloid pain, the Telegraph can be forgiven for getting a little confused.

Hat tip: Matt Rudge

Heinz's tomato 'looks like an alien'

2011-11-22T07:30:00.002Z

Following in the fine tradition of pointless local paper stories jam-packed with food-related puns (see: 'Whitstable mum in custard shortage'), the Cambridge News last week published the following story:

'My cherry tomato looks like an alien'

Three years ago Cambridge tomato grower Heinz Zielke found a monster growing in his garden – now he’s unearthed a sinister-looking alien.

Former motor mechanic Heinz, 77, who moved to Britain from Germany in 1964, is well known for his skill in producing the red-skinned fruit.

The article adds: 'It has a swollen cranium, two eyes and a mouth.' It doesn't add: 'The tomato is the one on the right'.