hackbash

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 to something [...]

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Blimey.
All Fox News wanted to do was have a sensible, informed discussion about the death of Heath Ledger, and guest Montel Williams has to spoil it all by mentioning the fact that 28 US troops had died in Iraq since the beginning of the month, and asking why we aren’t talking about them instead.
Under several [...]

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I’m still a bit perplexed by this BBC article. I picked up on it earlier when researching personal finance stories, and ended up writing about it for a client.
The thing is, the BBC seems quite sure that the FSA “is to examine the rules governing websites that compare insurance products”. And, at the time of [...]

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This blog’s got quite a scoop - it appears to be the first site anywhere on the internet with the low-down on the 2008 Product of the Year. There’s some hardcore investigative journalism for you, but I guess it’s all about connections.
The Thats [sic] News article is written in the kind of no-nonsense language that [...]

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Here we go again.
Flood warnings across the country as it pisses it down with rain and the tide of watery metaphors looks set to rise in the media.
According to a reporter for Radio 4’s 6 o’clock news, the National Flood Forum’s helpline has already been ‘inundated’ with calls.
Back on the very first Hackbash post, Simon [...]

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Busy week, sorry for the lack of posts.
Been writing a story based on a report by Experian that makes some interesting, if not entirely original, predictions about the rise of the “super advocate” in 2008. Basically, the idea is that the opinions of influential figures within an online community will dictate how a company or [...]

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OK, I made a new year’s resolution to leave the BBC alone, but I can’t resist it.

Sorry.

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Last week Dave Lee picked up on Spannerworks’ advert for a new journalist, and drew our attention to the fact that it was, frankly, rubbish.
I hope that Charlie’s reply to Dave’s follow-up post explains a bit more about how we work and what we’re doing in a marketing agency. We’ve spent plenty of time talking [...]

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There’s a set of responsibilities incumbent on a journalist that needn’t trouble a copywriter, PR executive or marketing assistant. The latter are generally assumed to have an agenda, with a message to sell or place, and their words regarded accordingly. The former should be writing for the reader.
Given the above, it’s not always surprising that [...]

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