Thank you to everyone who has chipped in about the death knock debate, privately by email and publicly through comments on my blog and others. I think there is scope for at least a leaflet to help families in similar situations and possibly a different way of behaving by the press.
I have a meeting with the Press Complaints Commission on Monday 16 August at 4pm. Comments from journalists and those affected by the media have influenced me. Here’s where I am at so far. There is still room for changes, so do please give me your thoughts.
Intro | Press protocol | Leaflet for families | Who does what? Read More »
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Posted in Chris, Journalism, Work, blogging, ethics, personal
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Tagged blogging, blogs, Chris, death, ethics, journalism, journalists, Work
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Evan Davis, Radio4
On Radio4’s Today programme this morning I pointed out the difference between the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) code and the much older and stronger National Union of Journalists (NUJ) code when it comes to intruding on grief.
I think, as a result, there is scope for a change in the way the media deals with these situations. Can we develop a system that means the police help the family deal with the press and where we pool the media so there is only one point of contact and that the journalist shares the story among the rest? Read More »
My nine-year-old nephew Jamie Bray died in a tragic accident last week, getting caught in a rope swing in his garden, breaking his neck in the fall and ending up hung by the rope.
Since then I have had to deal with the press. Being a journalist on the receiving end of journalism is an eye-opener. And the first thing I have noticed is just how good the local press is and how lazy the nationals are. Read More »
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Posted in Chris, Facebook, Journalism, challenges, personal
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Tagged censorship, challenges, death, ethics, journalism, Journalist, problems
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For some reason, reading Mike Cross’s piece for Daily Finance, reminiscing about the Independent after news that it had been sold for £1, made me dig out my first ever CV.
It is from 1987 and includes my letter to the Independent that triggered my resolve to be a journalist. Read More »
PR people need help. They appear to have less understanding of how journalists work than ever before. They don’t appreciate deadlines, the speed journalists work at and the hours journalists now work on 24-hour internet media.
I have had a couple of weeks of dire experience with PRs. These include:
Slow, non-answers | Embargos | Contacts | Press registration Read More »
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Posted in Chris, Journalism, PR people, Work, challenges, web
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Tagged challenges, Chris, Journalist, PR, press release, problems, Work
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Banks may not be lending much money right now but I certainly am. I reckon by the end of this week I will have about £28,500 of invoices outstanding. That is my business lending money to other businesses. And interest free. Read More »
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Posted in Chris, Journalism, Payment, Work, accounts, challenges, problems
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Tagged accounts, banks, challenges, credit, invoices, payments, problems
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The BBC carried a story on a tax hoax phishing email this morning, timed at 01.49. I phoned the out of hours HMRC PR at 9am and he did not have the press release, said he would get it to me about 11am and, so far, still hasn’t.
Why are PRs so completely useless?
Update: After second chase up call, when release was still not ready, it arrived by email at 12.34, saying exactly the same as the BBC was given 11 hours earlier.
Related stories
Links (new windows)
Should journalists mention facts that will play up racism, even though the source seems impeccable?
I did a story yesterday about insurance fraud on Daily Finance. In the course of interviewing the lawyer, she made the statement that the defendants refused to testify in court because they would have had to swear on the Qur’an. Read More »
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Posted in Chris, NUJ, Work, challenges, problems
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Tagged censorship, challenges, Chris, ethics, Journalist, problems, racism, Work, writing
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I finally got the figures I needed – though I had to find some via a link on Local Government Chronicle’s website to the Communities department’s site (new window) that the PR had not found.
Interesting that the chief PR seems to think the response “but will be Monday before I can come back to you” would be OK for a website that runs seven days a week.
When he gets back in on Monday he’ll find several more emails from me and that I have found the missing figure on his own website.
Related post
Poor Govt. Pr
Links (new windows)
Taking the rise out of council tax (Daily Finance)
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Posted in Chris, Journalism, PR people, Work, challenges, web
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Tagged Chris, email, Journalist, PR, problems, Work
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Throw some light on it
An email to my MP asking whether I should complain about the Communities PR team to the minister or head of the Civil Service elicited a response, at last.
I called Matthew Gorman there on 15 December. I asked for the amount of council tax collected and the cost of collecting it, plus the amount of council tax benefit paid and the cost of paying it. I was given this information ten years earlier by the predecessor department for an article in the Guardian.
Read More »
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Posted in Chris, Journalism, NUJ, PR people, Work, challenges, problems
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Tagged challenges, Chris, Journalist, NUJ, PR, problems, Ruddock, Work
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Thank you to everyone who has chipped in about the death knock debate, privately by email and publicly through comments on my blog and others. I think there is scope for at least a leaflet to help families in similar situations and possibly a different way of behaving by the press.
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