Curiously satisfying website
23/05/06 18:14 Coffee machine moments
Permalink
Here's
something
entertaining. You'll need Flash installed.
Hold your mouse down on him and you can throw him around the screen. Very therapeutic. My thanks to William Poel for drawing this little masterpiece to my attention!
Hold your mouse down on him and you can throw him around the screen. Very therapeutic. My thanks to William Poel for drawing this little masterpiece to my attention!
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Fathers for lotteries
22/05/06 11:15 Coffee machine moments
Permalink
So, um...did anyone see
the National Lottery on Saturday? As interrupted by a
number of people wearing t-shirts about family
lottery or some such thing.
Sorry, did I sound a little dismissive there? OK, maybe I did. And the reason I did was that I had no idea what these people were protesting about until I read about it in the papers (it was one of these Fathers for Justice groups, with whose aims I have some sympathy if not their methods, which seem to involve making a damned fool of yourself).
I hold no brief for trespassers, violent people or anyone who uses means other than lawful ones to make a point. But guys, if you must make your presence felt in this way, could you at least put some meaningful slogan on your shirts? Those of us who weren't privy to the lead-up will have had no idea what you were objecting to, or why, or why the Lottery was a suitable target. You had millions watching and you didn't tell us a thing.
You might want to have a little think about that.
Sorry, did I sound a little dismissive there? OK, maybe I did. And the reason I did was that I had no idea what these people were protesting about until I read about it in the papers (it was one of these Fathers for Justice groups, with whose aims I have some sympathy if not their methods, which seem to involve making a damned fool of yourself).
I hold no brief for trespassers, violent people or anyone who uses means other than lawful ones to make a point. But guys, if you must make your presence felt in this way, could you at least put some meaningful slogan on your shirts? Those of us who weren't privy to the lead-up will have had no idea what you were objecting to, or why, or why the Lottery was a suitable target. You had millions watching and you didn't tell us a thing.
You might want to have a little think about that.
Running for Sport Relief
19/05/06 08:15 Coffee machine moments
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Look, nobody laugh, but
I'm going to be running a mile in July for Sport
Relief. You can sponsor me, you lucky people, using
the new page on this site
and the link that's
on it.
People who've met me will no doubt have observed that I'm overweight and pretty inactive and wonder how I'm going to manage. Well, I have eight weeks and it gives me a goal. I'm hoping to be fitter than I've been since my mid-thirties by 15 July and to use this as a starting point rather than an end in itself, and who's talking about mid-life crises here? I'm hoping it'll cost me a fortune in clothes as everything I own will be too big by the end of it all. I get fit, loads of charities benefit - I'm struggling to find a loser here.
Anyone wanting to sponsor me will have my gratitude - many thanks.
People who've met me will no doubt have observed that I'm overweight and pretty inactive and wonder how I'm going to manage. Well, I have eight weeks and it gives me a goal. I'm hoping to be fitter than I've been since my mid-thirties by 15 July and to use this as a starting point rather than an end in itself, and who's talking about mid-life crises here? I'm hoping it'll cost me a fortune in clothes as everything I own will be too big by the end of it all. I get fit, loads of charities benefit - I'm struggling to find a loser here.
Anyone wanting to sponsor me will have my gratitude - many thanks.
When is a contract not a contract
18/05/06 09:29 Journalism in practice
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Interesting stuff is
happening over at the Freelance e-mail list, to which
you can sign up at www.journalism.co.uk if you're a
journalist. Someone pitched an article, it was
agreed, the editor has decided it wasn't what the mag
was looking for and now doesn't feel obliged to pay
after sitting on it for a while.
I've had that, in the distant past - people thinking that once they've commissioned something, if they don't feel like using it in the end they don't have to pay. If I've missed the brief, fair enough, it's still a commission so we can negotiate. If I haven't, as happened a couple of years ago, but there's been a space problem or something, I've never understood why some of these amateurs don't think the bill is due. Please invoice for 50 per cent as we didn't actually use it in the end, although it was perfectly OK, said one editor.
That's fine as long as he doesn't mind when his proprietor says OK, we didn't use all of your edits so here's half your salary in spite of your having done all the work.
If any freelances are reading please, please don't put up with this stuff. If we let them do it once they'll think it's normal - and if they do it more than once it'll become standard practice.
I've had that, in the distant past - people thinking that once they've commissioned something, if they don't feel like using it in the end they don't have to pay. If I've missed the brief, fair enough, it's still a commission so we can negotiate. If I haven't, as happened a couple of years ago, but there's been a space problem or something, I've never understood why some of these amateurs don't think the bill is due. Please invoice for 50 per cent as we didn't actually use it in the end, although it was perfectly OK, said one editor.
That's fine as long as he doesn't mind when his proprietor says OK, we didn't use all of your edits so here's half your salary in spite of your having done all the work.
If any freelances are reading please, please don't put up with this stuff. If we let them do it once they'll think it's normal - and if they do it more than once it'll become standard practice.
This week's news last week
15/05/06 14:37 Media
issues Permalink
Sorry, been a bit quiet
round here as I've been editing a book. All done now
I'm happy to say.
And apparenty I haven't missed much. The big media story today seems to be the Guy Kewney not-appearing-but-a-taxi-driver-in-his-place story, which is causing much mirth and many headlines.
I blogged it last Thursday, as did Guy, you'll notice (see below). Nice to see the papers are on the ball as always.
And apparenty I haven't missed much. The big media story today seems to be the Guy Kewney not-appearing-but-a-taxi-driver-in-his-place story, which is causing much mirth and many headlines.
I blogged it last Thursday, as did Guy, you'll notice (see below). Nice to see the papers are on the ball as always.
You have GOT to read this
11/05/06 17:26 Journalism in practice
Permalink
No, really, it's glorious. Just click on it and try
not to think what the consequences could have been if
the bloke had been less benign.
http://www.newswireless.net/index.cfm/article/2697
http://www.newswireless.net/index.cfm/article/2697
ITN's Prescott Watch
09/05/06 09:46 Media
issues Permalink
Broadcast news should be different from newspaper
journalism in one key area. The law says that
broadcast news, because of its ubiquity, must be
impartial. There are no such constraints on
newspapers, hence the fact that MPs regularly moan
about the BBC and never about the Daily Mail.
So I was surprised when last night the ITV News launched its Prescott Watch campaign, in which it plans to scrutinise the newly-disempowered DPM's activities and see whether they merit public money.
It might be an important issue. It might be worth investigating. But it's a vendetta against one individual and a pretty clear attack on the one party. Which isn't what ITN is supposed to be doing.
So I've decided to mount an occasional ITN Watch. Anyone with examples of non-news from ITN is more than welcome to comment or mail me.
So I was surprised when last night the ITV News launched its Prescott Watch campaign, in which it plans to scrutinise the newly-disempowered DPM's activities and see whether they merit public money.
It might be an important issue. It might be worth investigating. But it's a vendetta against one individual and a pretty clear attack on the one party. Which isn't what ITN is supposed to be doing.
So I've decided to mount an occasional ITN Watch. Anyone with examples of non-news from ITN is more than welcome to comment or mail me.
Freelance or staff
08/05/06 17:10 Journalism in practice
Permalink
There's an interesting discussion kicking off
at
Object Marketing's blog
- someone has asked whether they should go freelance
in order to earn £60K per annum and take massive
holidays.
I'd make a couple of points about that from the journalist side of the fence. Having been freelance some 13 years now I find it very difficult to believe in this 20 weeks per year holiday. It can't, really it can't, be right - a freelance works by himself or herself, and if you're not there 20 weeks a year the clients will go away. It would be the same if I had an editor asking me for a regular column - he/she might be happy for me to have up to five weeks off per year but 20? Get real.
The other thing is that although I don't know the PR industry in depth, or at least not its earning capacity, I'd query whether a great many independent PRs get that figure in gross profit rather than in turnover. If it's turnover, OK, but you've got all your costs to come out of it.
In fact my best advice to people thinking of freelancing is always to watch the money. Never mistake an outstanding invoice for cash; it can go wrong, a client can go bust and not get paid and if you've bought a new car on the strength of the posited income you're suddenly in debt. Second, never mistake turnover for your own income. You do need a computer, premises, all those things, and they cost money. By the end you might find your actual income a bit depressing, but whoever said it was all going to be easy..?
I'd make a couple of points about that from the journalist side of the fence. Having been freelance some 13 years now I find it very difficult to believe in this 20 weeks per year holiday. It can't, really it can't, be right - a freelance works by himself or herself, and if you're not there 20 weeks a year the clients will go away. It would be the same if I had an editor asking me for a regular column - he/she might be happy for me to have up to five weeks off per year but 20? Get real.
The other thing is that although I don't know the PR industry in depth, or at least not its earning capacity, I'd query whether a great many independent PRs get that figure in gross profit rather than in turnover. If it's turnover, OK, but you've got all your costs to come out of it.
In fact my best advice to people thinking of freelancing is always to watch the money. Never mistake an outstanding invoice for cash; it can go wrong, a client can go bust and not get paid and if you've bought a new car on the strength of the posited income you're suddenly in debt. Second, never mistake turnover for your own income. You do need a computer, premises, all those things, and they cost money. By the end you might find your actual income a bit depressing, but whoever said it was all going to be easy..?