Category: Media

  • Do spies tell lies?

    Do intelligence services spread lies? Sir Richard Dearlove, the only time I ever spoke to him, said they don’t set out to do so, but implied that lies may be the consequence of their operations. Stephen Hadley, Bush 43’s National Security Advisor, begs to differ. This from January, 2005: [Steve] Hadley went head-to-head with CIA…

  • Learning about the future of media from your kids

    Fred Wilson, affable tech venture capitalist and A-list blogger gives an anecdotal insight into media prospects based on the tastes of his kids (one of whom blogs too). I try, but it’s hard not to like Wilson. Here are his observations: 1) When they walk into a DVD store, they rarely walk out with a…

  • Old ideas on newspaper ownership…

    With US media regulator the FCC looking at relaxing cross-media ownership rules, and all the recent excitement in the US over newspaper ownership , it is worth recalling a different and rather quaint proposal, from way back when: The basic material conditions of contemporary journalism are fatally unsound. Journalism that is too “cheap” to be…

  • Michael Grade’s ITV – now 20% smaller!

    Back on 28 November 2006, when Michael Grade walked in to 200 Grays Inn Road to take the ITV helm the share price stood at 110.75p. Today it was just 89.1p. That’s a drop of just under 20 percent, or as we say in journalism – nearly a fifth. Of course, share prices can go…