Newspapers

Article — 11 August 2016 — 498 words

Today’s newspaper circulation figures show why clickbait is a losing strategy

The free versus paywall debate was a red herring. What matters is the quality of the product.

Article — 14 August 2009 — 931 words

How charging for online content might work

In my previous article, I argued that the problems that are hitting journalism are more to do with the quality of the content than with the fact that it’s difficult to charge for content these days. “Why pay to read Telegraph Digg-bait when you can read BBC churnalism for free?”, I asked. I am sure […]

Article — 14 August 2009 — 1,019 words

Are newspapers ready to charge for online content?

Business — Economics — Media — Technology

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to experiment with charging for content has ruffled a few feathers. Fair play to Murdoch for being brave enough to put his head above the parapet. If anyone can take the risk, it’s Murdoch — and the rest of the media will have him to thank if the gamble pays off and […]

Article — 7 August 2009 — 1,155 words

Growing up with the internet

Media — Personal — Society — Technology

It is notoriously hard to get to grips with the youth. Advertisers hate it. The age group of 15–24 — of which, incidentally, I am still part — is notoriously fickle. They define themselves almost in terms of what they are not rather than what they are. That is the explanation being given to the […]

Article — 1 July 2009 — 1,005 words

Newspapers: keep your RSS feeds

Media — Technology

There is a slightly bizarre article today on Online Journalism Blog advocating that newspapers should turn off their RSS feeds and instead push their stories to Twitter (via Cybersoc). Many people have noticed that Twitter has become one of the easiest ways to disseminate content on the internet, leading some to predict the death of […]

Article — 29 April 2009 — 1,105 words

Iain Macwhirter and the relationship between the media and bloggers

Current affairs — Media — Technology

Part one of this article was published yesterday Further evidence that Iain Macwhirter is struggling to see beyond the model of the media comes from the fact that the blogs he cites as “very good and intelligent” are both offerings from the media. Paul Krugman’s blog is funded by the New York Times while Robert […]

Article — 28 April 2009 — 1,253 words

Iain Macwhirter inadvertently criticised the media

Media — Politics — Technology

There was much hand-wringing among bloggers a couple of weeks ago in the wake of an article about blogging written by Iain Macwhirter. I didn’t take much notice of it at the time. After all, it is not exactly surprising that an established media figure would take a swipe at blogging. And if there is […]

Article — 8 March 2009 — 988 words

Blogging and the future of journalism

Current affairs — Media — Personal — Technology

This week I helped out Peter John Meiklem on a story for the Sunday Herald about the future of journalism. Amid all the job losses in the Scottish media, the piece looks at whether bloggers can step up to the plate and begin to supplant traditional media outlets. My view has long been that blogging […]

Article — 28 October 2008 — 203 words

Reading The Guardian in full

Media — Web

I have long been an advocate of full RSS feeds for reasons outlined in this post. I do, however, understand why most news outlets opt to keep partial feeds. News websites, unlike blogs, typically show you just the headlines and a short summary of each story on the front page — just like a partial […]

Article — 26 July 2006 — 1,056 words

Blogging takes no time at all

Current affairs — Media — Technology

A lot of bloggers have had a lot to say about Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s little tirade against blogging. (You can’t read the article now because it is behind a subscription wall. Independent please note: this is why Guardian Unlimited and BBC News are the most popular news sites on the net and yours isn’t.) It is […]

Article — 17 March 2006 — 2,570 words

Warning: This is a navel-gazing post about blogging, and they are the worst

Culture — Society — Technology

First of all, I am so sorry sorry sorry for writing this post. I thought I had grown out of writing about blogging, but it’s just a bad habit; an itch you have to scratch. Clearly I have had a lot of thoughts about blogging since whenever the last time I wrote about it was. […]

Article — 12 September 2005 — 1,229 words

My thoughts on the Berliner

Current affairs — Media

Well then. I’ve not read any other blogs or anything about this, so I’ll probably end up updating this post with interesting quotes and links. First things first then — the front page (actually, the first thing is the barcode — the checkout guy spent ages looking for it!). I’m still not sure about the […]