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The Trust Obsession
CNN bills itself as the most trusted name in news. Director-General Mark Thompson reckons public trust is the life-blood of the BBC. Politicians and TV presenters wail and tear their clothes in public at the public’s loss of trust in the media. “Woe is us,” wails the collective cry from the journalism profession, “they don’t…
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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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Different reactions to BBC Arabic
A couple of perspectives on the launch of BBC Arabic from different parts of the Middle East.The Gulfnews thinks the Beeb won’t have enough passion: Regional viewers are more accustomed to Al Jazeera’s confrontational style, which expertly raises emotions – a safe, measured BBC approach is probably unlikely to move the masses. BBC Arabic, for…
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When to keep your mouth shut
A tale to sour the lingenberries on your meatballs (yes, Scandinavian story coming up). From the Guardian News Blog: The Telegraph reports that academics in Denmark found the furniture chain [Ikea] was naming its cheaper products after Danish towns.