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• 12.26.09
  An open letter to the Media Acquisition Dept, Royal Bank Of Scotland: Case of bonus first, brain second people…? General, Journalism | (0)

  Given the festive season is now firmly upon us, maybe it's time for a Xmas teaser. OK... what have the four following posts got in common? i) http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=44765&c=1 ii) http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=44792&c=1 iii) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/scottish-giant-johnston-press-close-to-refinancing-163500m-debt-1776020.html and iv) http://rickwaghorn.co.uk/2009/02/23/chapter-11-now-filed-in-the-story-of-fred-the-shred-brian-p-tierney-and-philly-media-kiss-good-bye-to-more-of-our-millions-folks/ And the answer is...? The Royal Bank of Scotland. Us, in other words. The poor, down-trodden UK tax-payer who has been left to mop up in the wake of Fred the Shred and the Boys and upon whom the future fortunes of everyone from GMG, to Johnston, to Archant to our old friend in Philly - that chancer-cum-charmer Brian P Tierney - now appear to rest. Of course, as that media sage Pete ...

  Tagged: Archant, GMG, Philly Media, Royal Bank of Scotland
  
• 05.07.09
  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that ‘Plan Seamus’ was more of a network than a silo. And if that’s the case, then off come the gloves… and into the neighbour’s back yard we go. General, Journalism | (1)

  Having been round one or two of these blocks before, it's always been interesting to see which of the large provincial newspaper groups would be the first to 'break ranks...' and quietly forget the gentlemen's agreements upon which their industrial fortunes were based... http://outwithabang.rickwaghorn.co.uk/?p=257 And today, there's a little sign that Northcliffe/DMGT are starting to get itchy feet. http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/534339.php The fact that they, like TrinityMirror and Newsquest before them, are starting to turn their thoughts towards hyper-local is nothing new. In fairness to TrinityMirror, they caught the bug early on with the postcode-based sites they first launched on Teesside... the trouble, as always when you ...

  Tagged: Archant, Newsquest, Northcliffe/DMGT, TrinityMirror
  
• 04.27.09
  The BBC head to Mr Burnham’s table tomorrow bearing a few gifts for us all. And being this fledgling written content network, I might even be able to give them one back… Journalism, MFW | (2)

  This is interesting. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/26/bbc-share-local-media On a number of fronts; not least in the fact that someone, somewhere has found me a ticket to tomorrow's ball and so alongside '... Helen Boaden, the BBC's head of news, and David Holdsworth, controller of the English regions, as well as other industry executives and the National Union of Journalists....' will be yours truly. Given that I'm a big fan of the Tom Hanks film 'Big', I have this image of me being sat round some corporate table at Portcullis House tomorrow, gingerly poking my hand in the air and saying: 'I don't get it...' ...

  Tagged: Archant, BBC, MyFootballWriter.com, Newsquest, Northcliffe
  
• 03.14.09
  Not for the first time we walk into this revolution with the thoughts of Mr Shirky in one hand, an Apple iPhone in the other. It’s 1500 all over again… General, Journalism, MLW | (1)

  OutWithABang celebrates its first birthday on Monday; we threw our very first pebble into this deep and dark pond of ours on March 16th, 2008 - two nights after me, Paul and Tim all heard we'd been bombed in the Knight News Challenge. Beaten by some bloke called Berners-Lee. I mean, for f*ck's sake, what did he ever do? http://outwithabang.rickwaghorn.co.uk/?p=9 MyFootballWriter.com is now a little more than three years old; it stemmed out of my 'Road To Damascus' moment on my 40th birthday - January 16th, 2006. Bored at work - the next Evening News back page I had to fill was some ...

  Tagged: Archant, Clay Shirky, Local Media Alliance, Lord Carter, MyLocalWriter.com
  
• 03.10.09
  Memo to Mr Jewson as this forest fire rages all around him. Ditch the ‘legacy’. Switch off your print presses now. General, Journalism | (1)

  In a way its none of my business; in another way its very much my business. After all tis my Mrs who is staring down the barrel of a redundancy gun at Archant (Norfolk) following last Friday's announcement of 54 job losses. There's also the small matter of my old job on the Evening News' sports desk. That, too, appears to be in the mix again as all my former sports desk colleagues go through that God-awful mill again. My first ever job in provincial journalism - as the sports department on the Wiltshire Gazette & Herald - went to meet its ...

  Tagged: Archant, Jeff Jarvis
  
• 03.04.09
  The comings and goings of them Whitehall media folk make for right pretty viewing. Being as we’re all so blind, stupid and dumb… Advertising, General, Journalism | (0)

  Clearly it's none of our business what our local media masters have in store for us. Such high matters of state are not for us to worry about. We, who were once their audience, remain blind, stupid and dumb to all such goings-on; tis not for us to question when, how and what local news is delivered to our door. And how much, of course, we have to pay for it. We let the Lord and Lady of the Manor look after us like that; Lady Bailey always gives us a good read on a Monday night, though - if she don't ...

  Tagged: Archant, Local Media Alliance, Lord Carter, Newspaper Society, TrinityMirror
  
• 03.01.09
  Tracy Record – you are my hero of the day. And note, too, her inspiring voice comes from the West Coast, not the East General, Journalism | (4)

  I've found ourselves a new heroine... worthy of a longer blog tonight, one feels. For now, however, I'll just cut and paste off this... http://www.ojr.org/ojr/people/davidwestphal/200902/1660/ and say no more. And if I could, I'd reach for a chisel and cut her words and thoughts out onto a tablet of stone. And you know what, I'd put said tablet on a big, f*cking plinth right outside Archant Towers. And NESTA's. And EEDA's. And outside Lord Carter's office. He's another one that seems convinced that only 'big' media has the answer. That, somehow, the answer will only be delivered from the 'top down...' So, Tracy Record ...

  Tagged: Archant, NESTA
  
• 02.01.09
  What if this forest fire is raging with such a ferocity that the next time Lord Carter blinks, the Sheffield Star is gone? General, Journalism | (3)

  There were a couple of pieces that rolled into one, bigger thought over the weekend; that and a big, warm, over-due welcome for the first honorary bird on our blogroll, Jemima Kiss... ... who banged a couple of large nails on the head on the back of Lord Carter's first draft of his 'Digital Britain' thing last week with this... http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/jan/29/digitalmedia-bbc In particular... 'the report seemed fixed on pushing traditional media companies to transform for this demand. 'The future for the BBC, for Channel 4, for local newspapers and for radio - the report is focused on helping these behemoths plan for the future, ...

  Tagged: Archant, Digital Britain, Johnston Press, Lord Carter, TrinityMirror
  
• 11.21.08
  How to bite the hand that could have fed you; and why your new friends in the Tory party might have a nasty surprise up their sleeve General, Journalism | (0)

  There were several points that stuck out like sore thumbs with regard to today's decision by the BBC Trust to formally knock those dastardly local video plans on the head. Many of which are covered here by the learned Professor... http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2008/nov/21/bbc-theregions And the subsequent comments. What fascinates me is the role of the Tory party as the great champions of the local newspaper industry in all this - as the Newspaper Society clearly calls in all manner of favours off those with a marginal seat to protect. Cue Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative culture spokesman, said: "These plans were totally flawed and would have done enormous ...

  Tagged: Archant, BBC Local, BBC Trust, TrinityMirror
  
• 11.17.08
  Courtesy of How-Do, it is the smallest of pebbles. Where the ripples lead, however, will be fascinating to watch… General, Journalism | (0)

  I've no idea if this will ever see the light of day. It is, however, worth a ponder. http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/mediamoney/2008/11/17/guardian-cities-local-sites-for-local-cityfolk/ Worth treating as tiny pebble and throwing into the shrinking pond that is the UK provincial newspaper industry and trying to imagine where the ripples might lead... Clearly GMG have been happily working that Manchester beat for years. The Manchester Evening News was just AN Other city evening paper - just a bigger version of the Trinity-owned Newcastle Chron, the Johnston-run Sheffield Star, the Northcliffe-managed Bristol Evening Post, Archant's Norwich Evening News. Everyone plundered their own little circulation fiefdoms with a passion; everyone knew whose ...

  Tagged: Archant, Johnston Press, Northcliffe, The Guardian, TrinityMirror
  

• « Previous Entries

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