Friday, 1 August 2014

Media Quotes of the Week: From Sun sniffer dog caused panic in the News of the World newsroom to why are there so few women sports journalists?



Nick Davies in an extract from his new book Hack Attack in the Guardian on News of the World staff: "In the same way, they were ruthless in exposing any target who used illegal drugs, but there was no shortage of journalists using the same drugs. Former reporters tell stories of a Christmas disco where the dancefloor was almost empty while various guests resorted to the toilets to snort cocaine; and of a ripple of panic when the Sun let their anti-drug hound, Charlie the Sniffer Dog, loose in the newsroom."


Neil Wallis ‏@neilwallis on Twitter after being charged with phone hacking: "I'm devastated that more than 3 years after my initial arrest, this swingeing indiscriminate charge had been brought against me."


The Sunday Mirror: "Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s son Nicky threatened to gag the Sunday Mirror tonight over claims about his private life. The 28-year-old instructed lawyers who threatened an injunction at London’s High Court on Saturday afternoon over a story about him we planned to publish."


Piers Morgan ‏@piersmorgan on Twitter: "Hmm... @thetimes transcript of @usainbolt 'bit s***' comment looks like he's talking about the weather to me."


Dylan Jones on Press Gazette:
 "I fear for it [the newspaper industry]. I don’t have a magic wand, but I’m a keen advocate of charging for content... If you give people things for free they expect to keep getting it for free. It’s very simple – the psychology is not difficult to understand."


Raymond Snoddy ‏@RaymondSnoddy on Twitter: "Journalists are, quite rightly, in jail because they broke the law but why do bankers seem to be immune from criminal prosecution?"


Robert Fisk in the Independent: "To die is one thing – to be turned into a blob quite another matter. The blob is the weird, mystical “cloud” which weak-kneed television producers place over the image of a dead human face. They are not worried that the Israelis will complain that a dead Palestinian face demonstrates Israeli brutality. Nor that a dead Israeli face will make a beast of the Palestinian who killed the dead Israeli. No. They are worried about Ofcom. They are worried about rules. They are worried about good taste – something these TV chappies know all about – because they are fearful that someone will scream if they see a real dead human being on the news."



The Women and Sport report: "The NUJ argued that the 'briefest of flicks through the back pages of newspapers will show a dearth of women reporting or photographing sport and virtually no coverage of women's sporting events. This partially reflects the situation in national papers, where the majority of bylines belong to men… it seems that you are more likely to see a female reporter on the frontline of a war than the touchline of a football or rugby match.'"

The Women and Sport report: "There are comparatively easy ways in which the media could contribute to reinforcing the view that women’s sport is normal and worthy of interest. One example would be for more national newspapers to publish the results of women’s matches alongside the men’s. Another would be for journalists and commentators to refrain from discussing the appearance
of sportswomen and from making derogatory comments about the ability of women in general to play sports."

Veteran newspaper journalist at a leaving do: "It's easy to remember the names of staff now - because there's so few of them."

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