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Is this the dirtiest political reporting trick ever?
There are probably earlier examples of the non-denial denial in political campaigning, but this is my personal favourite. It’s from the dirty tricks handbook of onetime Philadelphia Inquirer owner, journalism education philanthropist, and general bad egg, Walter Annenberg: One day in 1966 a Democrat named Milton Shapp held a press conference while running for governor…
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When can you use off the record quotes?
My two penn’orth on Samantha Power from the Guardian: For me as a broadcast journalist, the camera and the microphone are the record. You can’t unsay things to a recording device or speaking live, only apologise or cringe. But in conversation, different standards apply. I was at ITN in the early 1990s when John Major…
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Using the media to change opinions [Code of the Woosters edition]
Before broadcasting, people read to one another to pass the time. Scary thought, eh? Embedded in popular fiction are examples not only of the practice, but also of its use in influencing an audience. Take this example, from P.G.Wodehouse. The devious spin merchant is, of course, Jeeves who suggests its employ to effect a marriage…
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But first the news…
Scott Karp has an interesting suggestion for newspapers online. Put news first. [L]et’s look at the New York Times. It’s homepage is arranged, like most traditional media brand sites, by what is most important. Here’s the problem — if you visit the New York Times throughout the day, and no important news has broken, the…