Thursday 2 April 2015

Media Quotes of the Week: From the online chase for clickbait turns journalists into thieves and liars to should star columnists hit sub editors?



Nick Cohen blogs on the online chase for clickbait: "The system turns journalists into thieves and liars. Not the traditional journalistic frauds in the Jayson Blair/Johann Hari mould but liars who lie because lying is a corporate imperative. To get traffic, fewer and fewer news sites can afford to send out writers to find original content. So they steal from other news sites, or lift and repackage a YouTube video or Twitter exchange that may go viral."


Nick Clegg, quoted in the Guardian: “I have long been concerned that the laws of the land are not clear enough on the public interest defence for journalists and other people who are covering information in the interests of the public. It’s just far too opaque, in too many of our laws, exactly what is the strength and nature of a public interest defence. I would like to see that clarified in law, my party has always advocated that. The fact that prosecutors are relying on 13th century laws, that we don’t have an up-to-date definition of what a public interest defence is, shows the need for a proper review and a proper reform of the law in this area.”

Daily Mail in a leader: "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Posing as a champion of Press freedom, Nick Clegg pledges a law offering special status to journalists and a public interest defence for responsible reporting. Forgive the Mail if we sound ungrateful – but no, thanks. Indeed, the last thing any true freedom-lover wants is self-interested and often self-enriching MPs defining what is in the public interest.  But then Mr Clegg, whose stitch-up led to the disgraceful post-Leveson clampdown on newspapers, has hardly a true liberal bone in his body. How significant his latest idea was floated in the Guardian, whose ability to lose eye-watering sums of money is matched only by its almost psychotic hatred of the commercially viable free Press."


Lord Thomas, quoted in The Times [£] after allowing an appeal by a former News of the World journalist convicted of“This is without doubt a difficult area of the criminal law. An ancient common law offence is being used in circumstances where it has rarely before been applied.”


NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet, speaking in a debate on state surveillance at City University:  "The secret back-door accessing of data – which has led to sources being identified and outed – puts journalism and journalists in an incredibly vulnerable position. It renders our collective ability to work safely and in a way that genuinely guarantees the safety and confidentiality of others nigh on impossible."


The Grey Cardigan on TheSpinAlley: "I thought all my friends in Newsquest who have had their livelihoods taken away might want to know how the boss of their parent company is muddling by.
Gracia Martore, president and CEO of Gannett, earned an eye-watering total of $12.4 million in 2014, compared with a measly $7.9 million in 2013. Just think of that when you’ve got to go home and tell your wife that you’ve got to take the children out of school, sell the house and move to Wales to work in a ‘subbing’ factory."


Ad agency boss Sir Martin Sorrell, quoted in The Times [£]: “There is an argument at the moment going on about the effectiveness of newspapers and magazines, even in their traditional form, and maybe they are more effective than people give them credit [for]. There is some interesting data that I have seen recently on consumer engagement in terms of newspapers and magazines — just like we’ve seen in traditional TV.”


Rupert Murdoch @rupertmurdoch on Twitter: "Thanks for 2 mentions, Ed Miliband. Only met once for all of 2 minutes when you embarrassed me with over the top flattery."


Kay Burley ‏@KayBurley on Twitter: "Oh look @guardian have bothered to write about my frock. My 37 years as a journalist have all been worth it."


Graham Stringer, MP, in a letter to The Times [£]: "Sir, Having defended the continued employment of Jeremy Clarkson at the BBC, can The Times inform its readers which of its star columnists are allowed to hit its sub-editors?"

[£]=paywall

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