Why paywalls are getting more prevalent; and The Guardian Weekly rethought

Megan McArdle’s excellent op–ed in The Washington Post, ‘A farewell to free journalism’, has been bookmarked on my phone for months. It’s a very good summary of where things are for digital media, and how the advent of Google and Facebook along with the democratization of the internet have reduced online advertising income to a […]

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A quick read from Prof Stephen Hawking in Wired UK

The late Prof Stephen Hawking’s interview with Condé Nast’s Wired UK is excellent, and a quick read. For those following me on the duopoly of Facebook and Google, here’s what the professor had to say: I worry about the control that big corporations have over information. The danger is we get into the situation that […]

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Vladimir Putin’s end-of-year conference: not as ‘crazy’ as The Independent makes out

I’m one of the few living in the occident who watched President Putin’s end-of-year press conference (all right, I listened to a good part of it while working). While the live translations coming through were distracting, it was better than not knowing what he was saying. It was a rare thing, to see a president […]

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The Murdoch apology does not let us off the hook

Above is Rupert Murdoch’s apology for the actions of the News of the World, to run in the UK in the wake of the resignations of Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton.    They’re great words, and they’re straight out of the PR 101 playbook.    Some might say they’re a trifle too late, as was […]

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It’s about content, especially when reality is more appealing than reality TV

It’s shows like The Apprentice that have kept me away from watching TV. I was surprised to learn, in conversation last week, that TV viewership is up, while print is down.    Shows you can’t base too much of what the general public does on your own experience.    I estimate my magazine and book […]

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