wake up and smell the copy
Posted in online journalism, PR on Feb 28th, 2008
I have no idea whether Unite’s claims about M&S are true. Neither do I wish to be glib about the serious subject matter of workers’ conditions. But I suspect that the union is selling its campaign very short with this sorry press release. Apparently the union has launched “a virtual and actual campaign”. I beg [...]
Posted in journalism, online journalism, work on Feb 28th, 2008
Right at the beginning of this year we became a two-Tamsin family, as Charlie, me and copywriter Tamsin Mac were joined by Tamsin H, our new content strategist. Since then, things have evolved much faster and better, and in more ways than we’d have managed on our own. We’ve even hired two new journalists, which [...]
Posted in digression on Feb 28th, 2008
Marks & Spencer has a lot to answer for. I don’t mean because it contributes 400 million carrier bags to the 13 billion apparently handed out by British retailers each year, or even because of the “widespread discrimination” that Unite alleges at the store’s meat suppliers. But because of that fucking “These are not just…” [...]
Posted in blog, online journalism, writing on Feb 27th, 2008
Kind of a note-to-self: editorial process is a Good Thing. And although blogging is all conversational and flexible and 2.0, it’s sometimes handy to ask a friend (or, what the hell, journalistic colleague) to cast their eagle eye over your draft. Especially when you’re planning to post at the end of the day. So, Handolio: [...]
Posted in digression on Feb 22nd, 2008
Simon just passed this on. Genius.
Posted in online journalism, work on Feb 19th, 2008
I’m still not using BigNews, are you? If the answer is “What?” you’re probably not alone. BigNews is Ask.com’s answer to Google or Yahoo’s news services, launched earlier this month. I wrote about the launch for iCrossing, observing at the time that an Ask search for “BigNews” didn’t return a link to the site. Still [...]
Posted in journalism on Feb 17th, 2008
You know, Charlie and I have spent a lot of time thinking about, and talking about whether what we’re doing at iCrossing is journalism. After a conversation I had at the weekend, I’ve decided to stop worrying about it. The discussion in question was with a best friend of some 24 years; a journalist for [...]
Posted in journalism on Feb 16th, 2008
Web 2.0 is great. No, really. Here’s the kind of awkward PR run-in that I’m sure has been happening for donkey’s years. Off-message Channel 4 News reporter Ben Cohen dares ask an iTunes question on an iPhone day, and Apple’s PRs move in for the kill. Admittedly we don’t see the context, and the Apple [...]
Not every day can be great. Work today was up and down, ending with a surprise sucker punch. When stuff goes wrong – and I mean everyday, non-life changing stuff – it’s easy to mope about it. I frequently do – there are plenty of toys around my pram. I’d recommend picking up the nearest [...]
Posted in journalism on Feb 11th, 2008
I know, I know: nothing for three weeks and I come back with a cheap shot, but really. In a candidate for Bad Science, the Mail has it that temperatures at the weekend were TWICE their seasonal average of 8 degrees Celsius. Science pedants the world over will tell you that’s unlikely, as it equates [...]
blog digression freelance internet journalism marketing online journalism photograph politics PR reading technology work writing
The hackbash blog was published under a Creative Commons Licence.