Hanif on Media » The Guardian

Now, who will lay bare Rupert Murdock’s shenanigans on this side of the pond?

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 01:03:32 +0000

The News of the World debacle is a huge media story — and in typical fashion, our “Fair & Balanced” major news media organizations generally don’t know how to deal with it. Namely, by stating the facts. Such as:

“It seems increasingly likely that the techniques of bullying, coercion, spying, and the politics of personal destruction common at the News of the World were not limited to this one piece of the Murdoch media empire. Even short of hacking, Murdoch’s properties often behave like cults, not news organizations. We have known for a long time that Fox Cable News instructs reporters on how to spin the news and promotes fascist demagogues in the evening magazine shows.” — Professor Juan Cole at Informed Comment: “Is Murdoch’s Media Empire A Cult?”

This week, Murdock tried to head it all off by backing out of his $12 billion BSkyB satellite broadcast takeover bid. Today, the Guardian reported that “A threat of imprisonment by parliament forced Rupert Murdoch and his son James to perform a volte face and agree to give evidence next week to a Commons committee investigating why News International executives provided false information to MPs.”

It couldn’t happen to more deserving guys. As things continue falling apart, here for those just tuning in are a couple of compelling videos that really lay bare the Murdoch mess.

The first features Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, who I’ve greatly admired since I first got to know him during our annual international Organization of News Ombudsmen meetings:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2011/jul/09/phone-hacking-alan-rusbridger-video

The second features Nick Davies, the amazing reporter who refused to take no for a story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2011/jul/07/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-nick-davies-rupert-murdoch-video

Now, who will lay bare Murdock’s shenanigans on this side of the pond? Just in from the Guardian: “FBI launches investigation into allegations that 9/11 victims’ phones were targeted.” Faux News anyone? Fixed News? I’m surprised that anyone’s surprised.

— C.B. Hanif

And it wasn’t even political? Days of ‘recreational rioting’ in Belfast to impress the — er, young ladies?

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:32:57 +0000

Amazing story. Burning questions. Literally. Also, another perspective: “I watch these youngsters and, all but for a change in fashion, they could be the same people who were on the streets in the 70s and 8os. It is soul-destroying to observe…It is too easy, and it is frankly irresponsible in the longer-term, to dismiss those rioting as ‘thugs’ or ‘bigots’ or ‘criminal elements’ or, indeed, ‘recreational rioters’ (and believe me, I know from bitter experience that all of these have a part to play).” More here, video here.

Hear, hear…Guardian’s Rusbridger on pay walls: ‘New media’ disappeared. They’re just media now

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:10:44 +0000

“In print, the Guardian is, even now, the ninth or 10th biggest paper in Britain. On the web it is, by most measurements, the second best-read English-language newspaper in the world. If the New York Times really does start charging for access, the Guardian may become the newspaper with the largest web English-speaking readership in the world.” — Alan Rusbridger, Guardian editor-in-chief

Other than Edward Sears, the retired former Editor & Publisher Editor of the Year, who appointed me and established my independence as news ombudsman for The Palm Beach Post (he once said: “There are times when I’d rather eat ground glass than read his column”), I’ve had no higher regard for a newspaper editor than The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger.

I got to know Rusbridger when several of us sat for lunch during a Organization of News Ombudsmen meeting in Istanbul. During our wide-ranging discusssion he inquired at length about my experiences serving Post readers and in ONO. I was as impressed with his amiable disposition as with his depth and utter brilliance.

Under Rusbridger’s leadership The Guardian already was becoming a leader in ombudsmanship. The paper’s newly established ombud, Ian Mayes, soon was elected ONO’s president. The newspaper went on to host a subsequent London meeting of ONO.

Just as significant is that The Guardian has been a consistent trailblazer in the online possibilities that U.S. newspapers in particular still are trying to get right. The latest exhibit is Rusbridger’s report that:

“In December the journalism we’re producing (was) read by 37 million people around the world – very roughly a third in the UK, a third in North America and a third in the rest of the world,”

Which gets me to The New York Times’ announcement that readers soon will have to pay to play — er, read — some of that publication’s content online.

Already anticipating BuzzMachine.com blogger Jeff Jervis’ take on this, I was not surprised to find him sharing a link to Rusbridger’s observations, such as:

“It may be right for the Times of London and New York, but not for everyone. It may be right at some point for everybody in the future, but not yet.”

Rusbridger’s detailed insight is worth a thorough read.

For additional ONO perspective, here’s my earlier post regarding our Harvard meeting, during which both Rusbridger and Jarvis spoke.

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Last, a nod to my outstanding ombudsman colleagues Jamie Gold, who after 10 years is leaving the Los Angeles Times, and Siobhain Butterworth, who after 13 years is leaving The Guardian.

I’m hoping to see both again at our upcoming meeting in Oxford. Some good news in the meantime: Both report their newspapers are appointing successors; the Times already, The Guardian by the end of February.

In contrast, I recall from our president’s update during our last meeting that, with news ombudsmen already rare, readers of U.S. newspapers lost 12 in the previous year.

To my knowledge there no longer are any news ombudsmen in Florida.