tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58369018881516657432024-03-13T16:25:07.261+00:00Tyne Eye ViewNewcastle-based blogging on the Media, local events, personal opinions and Doctor Who - from a Journalism BA GraduateTim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-89551594733727239102019-03-13T20:04:00.002+00:002019-03-13T20:05:17.471+00:00"This isn't about fighting wars. It's about ending them." Captain Marvel (2019) review. <br />
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"I don't have to prove anything to you."<br />
<br />
So says Captain Carol Danvers, a.k.a Vers, a.k.a Captain Marvel, the protagonist in the latest hotly anticipated release from, uh, Marvel. Of course, she does really, carrying the burden of that vast creative empire so soon after the explosive finale of Avengers: Infinity War, as well as joining Wonder Woman on that lonely stage marked 'female protagonist' at a time when frothing, toxic masculinity is a day-to-day hazard. She has a world of expectation to overcome, and the character struggles valiantly with these preconceptions as she does with the array of villains and the occasionally sluggish plot.<br />
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The film begins with a miasma of half-recalled memories that introduce our main character, Vers, and that hazy uncertainty clings to much of the film like stubborn weeds in an overgrown pond. She is a warrior for the proud warrior race - sorry, 'heroes' - the Kree with no explanation coherently provided for why she's a white Caucasian on a planet of blue-skinned comrades. Equally white and handsome is Yon-Rogg, her superior officer as played by the insufferably smug Jude Law who leads her on a mission against the grey goblin-like Skrulls, shape-shifting invaders who threaten all that is great and good amidst the shining spires of Vers and Yon-Rogg's homeworld.<br />
<br />
Except all is not as clear-cut in this post-truth world, either in the movies or in reality. So, in the true spirit of escapism Vers is dropped on Earth, circa 1995, straight through the roof of a Blockbuster video shop. Here is where the movie's wry, subtle but superb sense of humour really takes hold. A cardboard cut-out of Arnie advertising 1994's unremarkable action-comedy 'True Lies' takes an energy blast to the face, which I could definitely read as Brie Larson's role-model sticking it to the tired 90s movie tropes and Schwarzenegger's model of masculinity as a whole.<br />
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Shortly after the film is truly stolen by baby-faced Agent Nicholas J. Fury, just finding his feet in the superhero security world, years before he becomes the powerful puppet-master of SHIELD and the Avengers. Samuel L Jackson's undeniable skills are put to great use and he slips effortlessly into the role of comic sidekick and foil to Larson's lead - not that she isn't a rounded character with a great line in comedy herself. She's witty, dry, compassionate, proud, outraged and angry and sad throughout the film. Her resolution of her murky origins, her self-appointed role and discovery of a strong moral code all help resolve a film that occasionally suffers from a vague plot, and a rotating carousel of half-identified allies and enemies without a clearly defined threat or goal.<br />
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There are regular breakouts though, such as a welcome return / debut from understated rookie agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), or confident and defined pilot Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), or the hilariously expressive Talos (Ben Mendelson) who stand-out from an often cluttered cast and myriad of stories.<br />
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The fight sequences seemed to be spread a little thin, but on reflection this gives more room for the characters to converse and develop, and heightens the impact of battles such as a high-speed pursuit on an LA train, or a aerial chase through a canyon that slotted in well to the referential 90s action theme. In the climax, Danvers - fully realized of herself and unrestrained of her power - throws a staggering amount of power at the villains. It solidifies in my mind the understanding that Captain Marvel is definitely one of the most powerful heroes we have seen in the MCU to date, and justifies her stepping in as the salvation - somehow! - for Avengers: Endgame.<br />
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I came away amused, entertained and satisfied if not overly challenged or surprised by this film which does the rules of a Marvel movie well, lightly garnishing it with great characterisation, snappy comedy and a superb soundtrack. I went in with no preconceptions about its feminist overtones and did not feel they impacted the plot at all. It wasn't until the credits rolled and I noted the major involvement of Anna Boden - director, screenwriter and storywriter with partner Ryan Fleck - that this movie is very much a product of, and celebration of, women.<br />
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The short montage, also seen in trailers, where Larson rises from a setback with a look of fierce determination, was utterly heartening. A hundred leading men have done that sequence before, to the point where it's almost hackneyed. When Brie Larson rises from the dirt she's been put in by men telling her to know her place, when she gets back up after a defeat, stronger than before - when she rises to save the day and cement herself into the male-dominated superhero pantheon, I felt a thrill of excitement at the utterly formidable expression on her face.<br />
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I can only hope a legion of female fans look up at the screen, at a triumphant and successful woman in a massively lopsided genre, and feel they can rise above where they've been put by inconsiderate others.<br />
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Do stick around for the mid-credits scene which links into the upcoming MCU release with some familiar faces, and the final post-credits scene which comically sums up one of the most remarkable story strands in this film. I must sing the praises of the soundtrack designers, but boggle at the idea of packing the movie with 90s references that are probably lost on the vast part of the audience! Back to the present (or the future?), and bring on the Endgame and more of Captain Marvel - please!Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-40227875638517710762017-07-25T12:00:00.000+01:002017-07-25T12:00:18.786+01:00S**tposting: Facebook's anarchic meme playgroundsThe internet is, essentially, a horrible place. The last great frontier of humanity - the deeps of the ocean, of space, of other worlds and dimensions can all be traversed - and probably will - by highly trained professionals.Conversely, the internet can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection and requires no training at all. It's all but ungovernable, with only the strangest of government legislation, <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ip-bill-law-details-passed" target="_blank">like the Investigatory Powers bill</a>, that will permit the Security Service to flick though your sexts in the name of protecting freedom. It's a churning well of bizarre cultural mashups, beyond-the-curve trends, sexual disinformation, unfiltered violence and microtransaction mobile games.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BaPxhMx96Fs/WWjgmA5U2bI/AAAAAAAAH-o/bQzkMXzaDTwJzLV2mOE23a9WMkeO5gDxwCLcBGAs/s1600/comrades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="923" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BaPxhMx96Fs/WWjgmA5U2bI/AAAAAAAAH-o/bQzkMXzaDTwJzLV2mOE23a9WMkeO5gDxwCLcBGAs/s200/comrades.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/09/corbyn-memes-wot-won-it-some-of-the-best" target="_blank"><i>The bizarre meme-size mashups of the Left.</i></a></td></tr>
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And of course, the memes. The often <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/about" target="_blank">surreal graphical snapshots</a> that convey an often extreme concept in a crudely enhanced manner. They were suddenly potent weapons deployed in the high level political skirmishes of 16-17, a conduit from the crazed fringes of the internet right to the heart of mainstream culture. We're suddenly up to our shoulders in incomprehensible mutated comedy, a world where the Right Honorable Jacob William Rees-Mogg, the stereotypical Home Counties Tory's stereotypical Home Counties Tory, <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/07/parliament-has-already-proved-cross-party-alliances-are-future" target="_blank">has his own #Moggmentum, a meme-producing teen online machine</a>.<br />
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It is Facebook, ironically enough, that is the great incubator for this insanity. Zuckerberg's advertising hothouse, where your parents learn about emojis and share incoherent hatred from MailOnline and the Daily Express, doesn't immediately strike you as the oven for half-baked political ideology masquerading as a <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/nazi-pepe-controversy" target="_blank">poorly-drawn smirking frog</a>. But it's that huge audience set up with sharing tools that enables chain-reaction content to launch itself halfway around the world, whilst 4chan squats solitary at the bottom of the barrel and Reddit is left eating its own tail. Even Twitter, at times feeling like a tap on an ocean of ill-informed and badly-spelled hatred, still has some internal braking system, its very architecture allowing forces to marshal rapidly and as a group boost a signal or beat down a message.<br />
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Not so with Facebook, the central nervous system of the 'normies', the vast crowd of humanity for whom life isn't actually a quest for OC and screaming at strangers in another country at four in the morning. Yet it is so very easy to fall into that world, and nowhere are the barriers between one reality and the next thinner than in Shitposting groups.<br />
<br />
There's one for every conceivable entertainment project, from Star Wars <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SWSithposting/" target="_blank">Sithposting</a> to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/464657370391887/" target="_blank">The Office (US)</a> to America's first family, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/shitpostingsimpsons/" target="_blank">The Simpsons</a>. To step into one is to enter a crass and crude hall of mirrors, with every reflection an incomprehensible distortion of some vaguely familiar joke. Memes whirl, collide, mutate and recycle in a never-ending merry-go-round with updates several times an hour, constantly as members from around the world log on to post updates, bicker, insult, fight, block and post memes at each other. Rock Bottom is another Simpsons group and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockbottomaustralia/permalink/1518025448220100/" target="_blank">they have a contentious relationship with their bigger brother</a> - users are accused of 'spies', battle lines are drawn, and the ban hammer often descends from the heavens.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockbottomaustralia/permalink/1518269134862398/?comment_id=1518277974861514&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pHq1i7_NKf4/WWjdf15jKGI/AAAAAAAAH-k/IXJw52OfECQEvVUP9Nh3egtwp32F-1DUACLcBGAs/s200/rb-admin.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockbottomaustralia/permalink/1518269134862398/?comment_id=1518277974861514&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D" target="_blank">This refers to admins in Rock Bottom.</a></i></td></tr>
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Who indeed would play ringmaster in one of these insane circuses of awkward adolescent amusement? The Admins in shitposting fall into one of two groups I feel, silent masterminds who either police their fiefdoms with draconian severity... or public spectacles who become one with the meme machine, the strangest of all mutations in a world where comedy is measured by the obscurity and subsequent random alterations a joke, character, scene or phrase can go through.<br />
<br />
They no longer make the memes, they <i>are</i> the memes. With hundreds of thousands of fans packing out each and every community this weird wave continues to rise and may never crest, for as long as Facebook - with its own inability to police itself properly - allows them their voice, they will continue to shrill at the top of their surreal voices. This is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6734cdde-550b-11e7-9fed-c19e2700005f?mhq5j=e2" target="_blank">the generation that has suddenly turned out in droves for the latest general election</a>, this is the generation that will start setting the political agenda, and this is the generation that communicates every concept through a filter - an instagram filter - of chaotic comedy.<br />
<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-76176481834477094062016-01-07T12:02:00.000+00:002016-01-07T12:02:18.822+00:00A Storm in a Puddle: #DrummondPuddleWatchIt's spontaneity, the elusive spark of creation that fires an insane idea right around the world, leaving professional communications and marketing professionals gnashing their teeth and turning green in envy. <br />
So it was with <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=news&q=%23DrummondPuddleWatch&src=tyah" target="_blank">#DrummondPuddleWatch</a>, where a Newcastle-based media strategy company decided to livestream the efforts of commuters to navigate a large puddle outside their offices.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3eMBx4dGjQ/Vo5H-E4OAQI/AAAAAAAAHsQ/mKBICosZnJc/s1600/CYDjMmnWwAAuaXQ.jpg%2Blarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3eMBx4dGjQ/Vo5H-E4OAQI/AAAAAAAAHsQ/mKBICosZnJc/s320/CYDjMmnWwAAuaXQ.jpg%2Blarge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The internet latched on with all its explosive and unpredictable enthusiasm. By the time twenty thousand people were streaming the feed through Periscope, it attracted the attention of the press and social media. <br />
Between them, they magnified the experience - more and more people signed in to see what the deal was. Chain reaction, triggering ever more social media posts exclaiming surprise and confusion (like shock and awe, but less dangerous), ever more media coverage, and ever more visitors to the feed.<br />
<br />
I have a few theories about the success of the Drummond Puddle. I think I spoke to the intrinsic nature of the British, an entire nation fixated on our temperamental weather system, especially after the rigorous storms and destructive flooding recently.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EnFZqqWuT6o/Vo5Iaxtzz0I/AAAAAAAAHsY/hUGJo2tkLvw/s1600/Snow-in-Britain-vs-Snow-in-Norway_o_62419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EnFZqqWuT6o/Vo5Iaxtzz0I/AAAAAAAAHsY/hUGJo2tkLvw/s320/Snow-in-Britain-vs-Snow-in-Norway_o_62419.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Note also the popularity of memes when snowfall disrupts the British transport system so effectively each time; if any nation on the world can cope with heavy rainfall, surely it should be Britain!<br />
<br />
Ultimately, it typifies that British stereotype of reservation, fussiness, our passion for the passionless. "So British!" came the cry again and again, across every social media channel as they observed our endless battle with the slightly annoying elements of a few more inches extra rain.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DrummondPuddleWatch?src=hash">#DrummondPuddleWatch</a> is the most British thing to have ever happened on the internet.</div>
— Dean Burnett (@garwboy) <a href="https://twitter.com/garwboy/status/684748815027535873">January 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The company at the heart of it all, Drummond Central, insisted to the world's media they weren't in fact staging a massive PR coup. I believe them - they were coy via their own social media channels, retweeting the best bits only. <br />
Not so every other major band, latching onto the passing coattails and ultimately dragging the Emperor's New Clothes down in the muddy puddles. Mashable posted <a href="http://mashable.com/2016/01/06/drummond-puddle-watch-brand-tweets/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-socmed-link#ocWRaDR7puqz" target="_blank">a great digest of some shameless cashing in from huge brands that</a>, many claim, were second only to the spambots for ruining a good hashtag!<br />
<br />
Yet that <i>is</i> their job - or, more accurately, their job is to somehow anticipate these kind of phenomena and if possible co-opt them for their clients. That can be the ultimate kiss of death to something that thrives on spontaneity - remember flash mobs? Before they were used in cringe-inducing adverts set in train stations?<br />
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There was no future in the Drummond Puddle of course. Well, I mean, it's still <i>there</i> and probably will be for some time, based on the forecasts. But the madness, the inmates running the asylum, the whole social media furore had to pass, like a storm in a muddy puddle. I was lucky enough to stop by and see the triumphant last minutes.<br />
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It's all over. <a href="https://twitter.com/drummondcentral">@drummondcentral</a> just came out of offices to film the puddle and say goodbye <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DrummondPuddleWatch?src=hash">#DrummondPuddleWatch</a> <a href="https://t.co/xdsNuqGBUD">pic.twitter.com/xdsNuqGBUD</a></div>
— Tim Hood (@thehoodedhack) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehoodedhack/status/684785442252800000">January 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<br />
Afterwards, a Drummond Central employee hastily scraped some water into a bottle. "You aren't going <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/drummond-puddle-watch-now-you-7129147" target="_blank">to put it on eBay are you</a>?" I asked wonderingly. "No," he laughed. "Just a memento from the day we broke the Internet!"<br />
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Well, Newcastle's insufficient drainage did, for a few hours anyway, achieve second-highest worldwide trending topic on Twitter and level pegging with the gleaming buttocks of a Kardashian. You can't <i>break</i> the internet with content like this, of course. It's the fuel the internet needs to grow, baffle, amuse, entertain and - ultimately - to advertise. Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-14631702883913746682015-11-26T22:40:00.000+00:002015-11-26T23:25:26.374+00:00Tyne Bridge of Spies: The KGB Agent from Benwell<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UKo9HmHU-Vc/VlcsWAhkiEI/AAAAAAAAHqw/I1fol3USyPc/s1600/Glienicker_Br%25C3%25BCcke_Film_%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UKo9HmHU-Vc/VlcsWAhkiEI/AAAAAAAAHqw/I1fol3USyPc/s200/Glienicker_Br%25C3%25BCcke_Film_%25289%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glienicke Bridge, Berlin, adapted for <i>Bridge of Spies</i><br />
Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glienicker_Br%C3%BCcke_Film_%289%29.JPG" target="_blank">Biberbaer</a></td></tr>
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At the culmination of Tom Hanks' espionage thriller, "Bridge of Spies", there is a tense exchange of intelligence officers over Glienicke Bridge between East and West Berlin. For KGB Colonel Rudolf Abel it is a return home - except that he was actually born in the shadows of bridges far removed from the battlefields of the Cold War! Abel was in fact born William Fisher, in Benwell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.<br />
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His father was a revolutionary exile from Tsarist Russia at the start of the 20th century, caught spreading Marxism in the company of Lenin himself, in St. Petersburg. A German by birth, Heinrich Fischer faced deportation back to his native country and either conscription or imprisonment. However, he was a skilled engineer and easily found work in the booming industrial North-East of England. <br />
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Not that Heinrich left his revolutionary ideals behind, and preached to British socialist groups in the area. He was even murkily involved in a plot to ship arms from Newcastle to rebels in Russia, but escaped conviction after his links to the group couldn't be established clearly enough. After exoneration, Fisher and his young family - Henry, born in 1902 and William, born in 1903 - moved to Whitley Bay, where the sons were enrolled at Whitley Bay & Monkseaton High School in 1914.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1j8I-XjrU0/VldLjwj50JI/AAAAAAAAHrA/L7TUE2ohIhw/s1600/fisher%2Bfamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1j8I-XjrU0/VldLjwj50JI/AAAAAAAAHrA/L7TUE2ohIhw/s200/fisher%2Bfamily.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fisher family in 1917, <br />
William at rear on left. <br />
From <i>The Kremlin's Geordie Spy, </i><br />
Dr. Vin Arthey</td></tr>
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The First World War broke out across Europe at the same time, and for Russia concluded bloodily in the October Revolution of 1917. Finally, the Russian Marxists had seized power in the motherland, and in time the Fishers would return to what had now been proclaimed the Soviet Union. In the meantime, young William left school at fifteen and became an apprentice draughtsmen at <a href="http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/swan-hunter-closure-20th-anniversary-3662143" target="_blank">Swan's Hunter Yard in Wallsend</a>, builders of many famous naval vessels.<br />
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However, as post-war depression seized England and William's father Heinrich found it harder to keep working, he began considering a relocation to Lenin's Russia. His sons, nearing eighteen, seemed destined for university places he could never afford, and the possibility of revolution in England seemed less likely every day. By 1921, the Fishers were on their way to Moscow, now the capital of the Soviet Union, and William Fisher left behind his home in the North-East and Newcastle, for good.<br />
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The young William's life developed quickly in the new Russia. Tragedy struck first, when his brother Henry drowned late in the summer of 1921. The family fractured irreparably from this accident, and it formed in the developing William a quiet reticence that would mark him for the rest of his life. <br />
His past is somewhat difficult to decipher, as befits an intelligence officer. It is stated that, like many young men in Russia, he was part of the <a href="http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/komsomol/" target="_blank">Komsomol</a>, the Red Army as a radio operator, and then the OGPU, the Russian state security organisation - which, <a href="http://www.systemaspetsnaz.com/history-of-the-cheka-ogpu-nkvd-mgb-kgb-fsb" target="_blank">after many years and changes of name,</a> would become the dreaded KGB.<br />
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Academic and writer Dr. Vin Arthey, whose book <i>The Kremlin's Geordie Spy</i> inspired this article, includes an anecdote related to him by Fisher's daughter Evelyn about William's recruitment into the OGPU;<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In this document you say that you're German. Here you say you're Russian. Here British. What <i>are</i> you?"<br />
Fisher replied, "I don't know what I am according to your rules. I'll be whatever you say I am."<br />
"You're Russian."</blockquote>
Indeed, by 1929 William had a wife, Yelena, and a daughter, as well as a brand new name for his Russian life - Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher. He would begin to move about Western Europe, working within established communities of Soviet spies, often as their radio operator. Returning to Moscow in 1934, the OGPU became the NKVD and Fisher found himself training the next generation of spies in radio work - including the infamous <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2003/may/10/weekend7.weekend2" target="_blank">Kitty Harris, lover and KGB contact for Donald Maclean of the "Cambridge Five"</a>.<br />
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Fisher narrowly dodged Stalin's purges from 1938, receiving only a dismissal instead of a bullet, but was reactivated for duty with the intelligence service in 1941 as Soviet Russia reeled from Nazi Germany's lightning invasion, with a dearth of skilled intelligence operatives after the Purge. <br />
After the major battles of Stalingrad and Kursk turned the tide in favour of the Soviets, Fisher was involved in several successful operations, including <a href="https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/soviets-caught-dozens-german-agents-wwii-spy-game-even-staging-mock-battle-keep-charade.html" target="_blank">the astounding Operation Berezino</a>. <br />
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Certainly, Fisher emerged from the war unscathed and awarded the prestigious Order of the Red Banner. Powerful individuals high in Soviet state security took more notice of Fisher, and he received the most prestigious assignment for a Russian spy - North America. <br />
From 1948, Fisher was to resurrect the 'Volunteer' network, which had smuggled atomic secrets out of Los Alamos during the war. Within the space of a year from Fisher's arrival, the Soviet Union detonated their own atomic bomb, a near-replica of the American design. Conversely, he dodged the fallout from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/1953/jun/20/usa.fromthearchive" target="_blank">the arrest and execution of the Rosenbergs in 1951</a>, who confessed nothing and left the network more or less concealed.<br />
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It would be the enemy within that would ultimately bring down Fisher, however. An assistant was assigned by Moscow, Reino Häyhänen, who posed as a Finnish-American and joined Fisher in 1954. However, Häyhänen had none of the drive and self-control required by an intelligence operative, and was an abrasive drunk. The first message he received upon being assigned to Fisher's New York based network was concealed in a fake nickel, which he subsequently lost. It was discovered, a year later, when a paperboy dropped some change and the nickel cracked open.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQGYdkF4MWM/VldzncfPPNI/AAAAAAAAHrQ/c6HmP2tX_AQ/s1600/abel-arrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQGYdkF4MWM/VldzncfPPNI/AAAAAAAAHrQ/c6HmP2tX_AQ/s200/abel-arrest.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colonel Rudolf Abel, aka William<br />
Fisher, arrested in 1957.<br />
From <a href="http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/bridge-of-spies/" target="_blank">History vs. Hollywood</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/hollow-nickel" target="_blank">The FBI analysed the encrypted message within</a>, but luckily for Fisher were not successful. Less successfully, Häyhänen was finally recalled by Moscow in 1957, only to defect when he arrived in Paris. Returned to New York by the CIA, he provided the American security services with a description of his superior, known to him as "Mark", and on 21st June 1957 FBI and Immigration agents arrested William Fisher, identified as 'Martin Collins' according to one set of documents, in his Brooklyn safe house.<br />
<br />
Fisher, under interrogation, claimed his identity as Colonel Rudolf Abel, a very close
friend; Fisher's motives for this new disguise were
seen as a way of communicating his situation to his superiors in the KGB, without
actually admitting to his real birth name of William Fisher. Sadly, Fisher had no idea the real Abel had passed away not long after Fisher's final mission to the US had begun. <br />
This total unwillingness to supply any information to the Americans - even when offered reimbursement for defection - could have stymied the entire operation against him, leaving the US Government no legal place but to deport 'Abel' as an illegal alien and nothing more. <br />
<br />
Nevertheless, with the alcoholic Häyhänenin the stand, testifying about Fisher's activities, there was sufficient grounds to bring charges of espionage against the United States. Going before a grand jury, the Bar Association had to appoint a lawyer for Abel's defence, as no-one would volunteer for the role. <br />
They chose wisely it was seen, in the form of James B. Donovan, now an insurace lawyer but at one point had served as Assistant Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials of 1946, and had also served as legal counsel to the Office of Strategic Services; he was eminently qualified to handle matters of espionage and law.<br />
<br />
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<br />
He was also an honorable man, determined to ensure his client received a fair trial under the requirements of the Constitution of the United States. Abel would be facing three charges <br />
<ul>
<li>Conspiracy to transmit defense information to the Soviet Union <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FBI_1-7"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Abel#cite_note-FBI-1"></a></sup></li>
<li>Conspiracy to obtain defense information </li>
<li>Conspiracy to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign
government without notification to the Secretary of State</li>
</ul>
After only two days, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts, for which he received concurrent life sentences of thirty, ten and five years imprisonment. For the 54-year-old Abel, this was a life sentence in all but name. That he evaded execution, unlike the Rosenbergs, was in part due to the near-prophetic urging of Donovan prior to sentencing; <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"It is possible in the foreseeable future an American of equivalent rank will be captured by Soviet Russia or an ally; at such time an exchange of prisoners through diplomatic channels could be considered in the best interest of the United States." </blockquote>
It was only a few years later, in 1960, when <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/u2-incident" target="_blank">US pilot Francis Gary Powers was flying the high-altitude U2 spy plane</a> over Sverdlovsk in the Soviet Union, seemingly out of range of Russian air defences. A missile in fact successfully crippled his aircraft, forcing Powers to bail out - right into the waiting hands of the Soviet security services. He too was put on trial, and sentenced to imprisonment on 19th August 1960.<br />
<br />
The ground was laid for an exchange however; the American press were calling for a swap of Abel and Powers, the CIA began making plans as soon as Powers was shot down, and Donovan had been receiving messages of thanks from 'Mrs. Abel' in Leipzig, which the US intelligence services believed to be a cover for the KGB to communicate directly with them.<br />
<br />
It was indeed, and for the next two years delicate diplomacy between Donovan and an East Berlin lawyer called Wolfgang Vogel led to an exchange on the Glienicke Bridge that linked the West and the East - in many ways. <br />
Donovan stood with Abel, and across the bridge stood Ivan Shishkin, a member of the Soviet embassy to East Germany, with Powers. The two men crossed, the Russian spy and the American pilot, joined their former colleagues, and were both whisked away for intense debriefing. After many months of careful, utterly secret negotiation, the exchange had concluded flawlessly. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QUG6r_iEfaA/VleGV5ldzxI/AAAAAAAAHrg/ERq9bmV522U/s1600/glnbr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QUG6r_iEfaA/VleGV5ldzxI/AAAAAAAAHrg/ERq9bmV522U/s320/glnbr.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Officials and guards await the prisoner exchange at Berlin's Glienicke
Bridge (top). <br />
Soviet officials arrive for the prisoner exchange in the <i>Bridge of Spies</i> movie.<br />
From <a href="http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/bridge-of-spies/" target="_blank">History vs. Hollywood</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Abel's career had concluded as well. No longer of use as a spy to the KGB, he had been 'burned' in the <i>lingua</i> of espionage, and was deployed more as a propaganda tool, lecturing high school students as the successful 'Colonel Abel' who had spied for nine years in the heart of America. His KGB superiors declared he would have to use the name Rudolf Abel to maintain this fiction - whilst privately acknowledging that Fisher had not discovered a single agent during his tenure in New York.<br />
<br />
His health was deteriorating rapidly as well. He referred to his vice of smoking cigarettes as "coffin nails", a slang term he recalled from his childhood and teenage years on Tyneside, and by 1971 had been diagnosed with lung cancer. His final words to his daughter, Evelyn, came in English and were <i>"Don't forget we're Germans"</i>. In his later, final and bitter years, it is accepted that Rudolf Abel, aka William Fisher, came to regret the career of a spy that estranged him from his family, his country, and even his name.<br />
<br />
He died on 15th November, 1971, and his ashes were interned in Donskoi Cemetery in Moscow beneath a headstone inscribed with the name Rudolf Ivanovitch Abel. A year later, his widow Yelena successfully campaigned to have it changed to Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher, before passing away herself in 1974. Their daughter Evelyn died in 2007.<br />
<br />
So concludes the odd story of a boy from Benwell, who ended up shaking the world from Washington to Moscow via Berlin in one of the greatest spy stories of the Cold War. <br />
I am deeply indebted to <a href="https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/authors/vin-arthey" target="_blank">Dr. Vin Arthey</a> for writing <i>The Kremlin's Geordie Spy</i> and for answering the questions that helped form this article. I asked him if William Fisher had ever expressed a desire to return to his childhood home in the North-East. Vin replied that he had not, and even if he had, it would have been far too dangerous. Such, it seems, are the prices paid by spies. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A_TkDmPmUJk/VleJVfU0xsI/AAAAAAAAHrs/TX5OTcY84rY/s1600/vilyam-fisher-tombstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A_TkDmPmUJk/VleJVfU0xsI/AAAAAAAAHrs/TX5OTcY84rY/s320/vilyam-fisher-tombstone.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grave of Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher<br />
Donskoi Cemetery<br />
From <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6385189" target="_blank">Find A Grave</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-45560279966628455962015-03-12T18:38:00.000+00:002015-03-12T18:39:53.085+00:00Sir Terry Pratchett - Professional and Personal Grief<br />
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My plan had been to write about a recent project launch I helped with the media on, which has some painful bearing on this article. <br />
It kept sliding as these things do - and then was utterly derailed by today's heartbreaking, if not surprising, news that acclaimed writer <a href="https://twitter.com/terryandrob" target="_blank">Sir Terry Pratchett has passed away</a>.<br />
<br />
Pratchett started work as a journalist, then became a press officer before his books exploded in popularity - and now, we learn that the beloved author has finally succumbed to the encroaching, indefatigable and <a href="http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/services_info.php?serviceID=103" target="_blank">unusual variant of Alzheimer's Disease</a> that plagued him.<br />
<br />
A lot of Sir Terry's books are on my shelves, and I can appreciate the similarities now that I am a trained journalist, who works as a press officer - for the <span id="goog_536338573"></span><a href="http://www.crn.nihr.ac.uk/dementia/" target="_blank">National Health Service's research departmen<span id="goog_536338574"></span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">t</a> specifically tasked with looking into dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.<br />
<br />
Just a few months ago, I was floating the idea that we might approach Sir Terry for some patronage, but he was already involved with the massively successful Dementia Friends campaign. Professionally, I regretted not being able to net such an influential and passionate patron. The awkward gangly boy who still lurks in my memory regretted missing what could have been a golden opportunity to meet a hero.<br />
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<br />
Even so, I do have a copy of The Last Continent, when the awkward gangly boy gangled up awkwardly to a tired man still dutifully signing books, a long, long time ago. The memories of that encounter are hazy - ironically enough - but the goose pimples and awe I recall feeling have remained indelibly marked on my mind. Here was someone who had shared the most valuable and incomparable gift of all with us - an entire world! <br />
<br />
So, I hope Sir Terry will forgive me today, when I used the work account to mourn his passing - and mention <a href="https://www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk/" target="_blank">how people could help contribute to research</a> into dementia conditions like his. I hope he will appreciate how we can in some way benefit from what has happened, and work towards - hopefully - preventing such things in the future.<br />
<br />
That was what the professional press officer did with Twitter, anyway. The gangly, awkward boy read the last tweets sent from Sir Terry's account, and grieved and mourned. <br />
<br />
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<br />
These two very unalike halves are nevertheless utterly appropriate for discussing the Discworld. It's where wizards and heroes, dragons and elves, vampires, werewolves and Corporal Nobby Nobbs - all fantastical and unreal creatures - nevertheless had a beautifully human, down-to-Disc side, that allowed Sir Terry to spear our world with such acidic, satirical brilliance. That's the side of all of us that grieves the most. <br />
<br />
Much can be said about your work living on after you, that no person is gone until their creations are forgotten as well - but at the heart of it, the creator of those magical words, the living human responsible for an impossibly huge amount of work has gone. <br />
Each of us felt a connection, through this vast and shared fantastical universe, and probably none more so than <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/24/terry-pratchett-angry-not-jolly-neil-gaiman" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman, an equally brilliant creator who collaborated frequently with Sir Terry</a>. The tweet from his wife, multi-talented performer Amanda Palmer, struck a very deep chord with me.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
woke up early, checked my Patreon feed & someone had posted the sad news about Terry Pratchett. went to bed, held neil, told him, held him.<br />
— Amanda Palmer (@amandapalmer) <a href="https://twitter.com/amandapalmer/status/576052851178246145">March 12, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
My heart goes out to every person today who needs to be held - because we've lost more than just an author. A world-maker, a brilliant and funny and kind and wise man who invented an entire world that so many of us lived and breathed in.<br />
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<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-38612211875905047772015-01-23T12:59:00.001+00:002015-01-23T13:01:35.732+00:00Dylan Sharpe's Ironic JusticeLike many opposed to <em>The Sun's</em> Page Three feature, I was part of the mad rush to dance on its' supposed grave on Wednesday.
Then, when the tabloid pulled the rag out from under us all, I was smarting and bitter at their - non-existent - duplicity!<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/thehoodedhack">@thehoodedhack</a> When did they lie, Tim? Refused to confirm or deny, not the same thing. Wishful thinking did the rest.<br />
— Richard Horsman (@leedsjourno) <a href="https://twitter.com/leedsjourno/status/558045933758582784">January 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
I was wrong, I'd committed a cardinal sin of journalism by making an assumption, a leap of faith without the evidence to back it up. Call it a valuable lesson, and hopefully all of the media commentators who made the same mistake will also come away wiser and more cynical. <br />
<br />
What they didn't need is <a href="https://twitter.com/dylsharpe/status/558163898789281792" target="_blank">Dylan Sharpe's superior tweet</a> to some of the most well-known journalists, as well as a sympathetic politician who sincerely hoped her campaign had made a difference.
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Even Sharpe, in his apology - published on Buzzfeed oddly, not <em>The Sun </em>itself - acknowledges a pot-shot at Harriet Harman was unnecessary. <em>"Guilty of gloating"</em>, he conceded.<br />
<br />
In reality, he has done a fantastic job of Public Relations. Not only has <em>The Sun</em> pulled off one of the greatest bait-and-switch moves in journalism history, Sharpe has stoked the fires by taking to that great media battlefield and throwing oil on the inferno. There's no such thing as bad publicity! <br />
<br />
I fully expect the entire operation has galvanized the legions of otherwise apathetic white van men, who feared for the loss of the morning totty, and whose brand loyalty can only improve with this swerve towards cancellation. <br />
I expect the increased polarisation of discussion about Page Three online will keep <em>The Sun</em> riding high in press coverage and media discussion. <br />
I believe that Sharpe's jibing swipe at his detractors eggs the argument on, creating a vortex of ardent conversation that this article itself is just one bubble of. <br />
<br />
It all contributes to a major PR coup for Murdoch's flagship tabloid, back from the dead more than Vlad Dracula. <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/richardhjames/the-suns-head-of-pr-dylan-sharpe-apologises-for-page-3-tweet?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpgm#4ldqpgm" target="_blank">What <strong>did</strong> interest me was Sharpe's closing wish...</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
So there it is. I continue to be told I’m a c*nt by people who know my name, my job and one tweet I sent. Guilty of gloating I most certainly am. Icarus has well and truly plummeted to earth. But I never meant to offend and I want to apologise to all those I @’ed in that tweet. It was supposed to be funny but clearly I misjudged that one. Now I see if Twitter can forgive as quickly as it can hate….</blockquote>
Really. A white male employee of a sexist British tabloid, asking for forgiveness from Twitter. If this isn't a delightfully ironic parallel to the entire concept of media self-regulation, of toothless press watchdogs forgiving one another their myriad sins, then I don't know what is. <br />
<br />
I honestly can't tell if Sharpe is concealing another 'cheeky swipe' in his apology, fully acknowledging the hypocrisy of begging for mercy from Twitter for giving the MRAs and trolls <em>exactly what they wanted</em>. Compare his two days experience to what <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25641941" target="_blank">someone like Caroline Criado-Perez has endured for years</a>, and try and accommodate how disingenuous it is. <br />
<br />
Caroline's twitter feed included this retweet that I particularly like, and find very appropriate. <br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
The Sun's PR Dylan Sharpe's 'apology' after death threats(?) <a href="http://t.co/Mon8rBVqJY">http://t.co/Mon8rBVqJY</a> reminds me of this <a href="http://t.co/OJSIbpbPCI">pic.twitter.com/OJSIbpbPCI</a><br />
— Sophie Wilkinson (@sophwilkinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/sophwilkinson/status/558547850444144640">January 23, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>However, we <strong>must</strong> resist the urge to relish Sharpe's experience of mistreatment at the hands of Twitter. As tempting as it is for an evident supporter of patriarchy to suddenly be on the grim receiving end of that institution's crude online 'justice', we should not wish that punishment on anyone. <br />
<br />
That punishment should not exist. Nobody, no-one at <strong>all</strong> should have to endure threats of harm, death, and violence online. We should condemn those who threaten Dylan Sharpe with all the fire and fervour we condemn those who threaten Criado-Perez, or Anita Sarkeesian, or Brianna Wu, or anyone else who has dared come out and state that women are treated as second-class citizens. <br />
<br />
Nobody is a second-class citizen - and the last person who should be regarded as so is Dylan Sharpe. Even if it seems like he doesn't agree with the concept. <br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
One closing thought - much of the debate about Page Three swirls around rendering the models as mere objects, objectification being a major plank of feminism, I believe. To counter that, Channel Four conducted a brilliant interview with author Germaine Greer, Harriet Harman MP, and model Chloe Goodman - you can watch it here. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gFA9MgsUBAM" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
I'd be curious to know what <em>Nicole, 22 from Bournemouth</em> thinks about the debate swirling around her decision - and it is hers - to appear on Page Three. Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-75492488897789950232015-01-07T22:26:00.000+00:002015-01-07T22:26:09.107+00:00Armageddon Will Not Be TelevisedThere has been a flurry of online interest in <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/11326837/Is-this-the-tape-CNN-had-ready-for-Doomsday.html" target="_blank">the surfacing of the fabled 'doomsday' tape</a> from the vaults of the Cable News Network.<br />
<br />
Ted Turner, founder of the first dedicated news channel in the US, famously claimed on the launch of his channel in 1980, that<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We gonna go on air June 1, and we gonna stay on until the end of the
world. When that time comes, we'll cover it, play 'Nearer, My God, to
Thee,' and sign off."</blockquote>
Now, a former CNN intern has proven that this was indeed Turner's plan. Hunting through the famous news network's video archives, <a href="http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-video-cnn-will-play-when-the-world-ends-1677511538" target="_blank">Michael Ballaban</a> found the clip that is only to be played upon confirmation of the end of the world. Thankfully it isn't specified what form that confirmation will take.<br />
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<br />
Created during the 1980s, with the Cold War ever at risk of going hot, we shouldn't question the merit of creating an emergency broadcast for use in the likelihood of worldwide Armageddon. We might question the choice of music, which was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends_and_myths_regarding_RMS_Titanic#cite_note-Gracie-23" target="_blank">rumoured to be the final song played by the band on RMS <i>Titanic</i></a>. <br />
<br />
What is surprising is, well, the surprise this discovery is being met with. Perhaps, being British, I have a more phlegmatic attitude towards "We interrupt this broadcast...", as the BBC and the British Government's plans have long been well known. In 2005, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1506589/This-is-Peter-Donaldson-with-the-news.-Britain-is-under-nuclear-attack.html" target="_blank">the media was discussing recently declassified files</a> detailing planned broadcasts should a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom be confirmed, drawn up as early as the immediate post-War period.<br />
<br />
Such a broadcast was laconically referred to as the "four minute warning", so named for the brief period between confirmation of inbound missiles and their impact on target within England. This in fact was the maximum possible time for British-based detection systems, and it could have been even less time.<br />
On confirmation, the Wartime Broadcasting Service would have been activated, overriding all existing BBC transmissions to inform in classical, RP tones, the grave news.<br />
<br />
Delivered by familiar BBC Radio Four continuity announcer Peter Donaldson, part of the broadcast has been spliced, aptly enough, into the song <i>Four Minute Warning</i> by Radiohead. Peter also briefly discusses recording the automated warning on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z_5gK6KIsk" target="_blank">this clip from The Culture Show</a>. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VtotpiSL700" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
These painfully real-world examples are chilling, but far more people are familiar with the fictional portrayals of nuclear devastation in England. The leading example must be Threads, the BAFTA-award winning drama produced in 1984 and broadcast to record viewing numbers for the week.<br />
<br />
Set within the northern English city of Sheffield, it explores the true reality of nuclear war on a very personal level, introducing us to characters and their lives which are unfortunately being led in the vicinity of a high-priority strike target. Below is an amateur trailer of this powerful and eye-opening show.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/s_s8CrRN76M" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
The following year, <i>Threads </i>was shown again on the fortieth anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. In conjunction was the first ever showing of <a href="http://pwatkins.mnsi.net/warGame.htm" target="_blank"><i>The War Game</i>, a documentary from the 1960s that had been banned by the BBC</a>. Although they have never stated precisely why, the bleak nature of the psuedo-documentary style would no doubt have swung a great deal of opinion against the nuclear arms race.<br />
<br />
<i>The War Game</i> does indeed make for disturbing viewing. To show it in the Eighties, when nuclear weapons had become even more powerful than the cruder atomic bombs of the post-War period that featured in the production, must have been even more disturbing.<br />
<br />
Or perhaps people were numb to the dangers of nuclear warfare? Perhaps they'd become accustomed to the reality of annihilation, delivered so calmly by familiar BBC voices ever since the end of the Second World War?<br />
<br />
This is why I regard the surprise and fascination surrounding the CNN tape with some bemusement. I don't doubt every network has such an ominous pre-recorded piece, for such a dire emergency. We've had ours for quite some time.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/GenbakuDome02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/GenbakuDome02.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Hiroshima Peace Memorial</i><br /><i>Taken by <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Aiden&action=edit&redlink=1" title="User:Aiden (page does not exist)">Aiden</a> on November 24, 2006.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-3509266948079987132014-10-03T23:13:00.000+01:002014-10-03T23:13:42.222+01:00Doctor Who: The Caretaker versus Remembrance of the Daleks<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Coal Hill School occupies a magical place in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who</i> history, ever since William
Hartnell abducted two schoolteachers back in 1963. The last time the TARDIS
landed in East London, his Seventh incarnation had a confrontation with the
Daleks and Davros that consistently ranks high amongst fans – not only for
McCoy’s run, but for the pre-2005 episodes as a whole.</div>
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<br />
Last week, we had another episode set in that venerable education establishment, and I decided to stack <i>Remembrance of the Daleks </i>against <i>The Caretaker</i> in a versus review! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Enemy</u><br />
</div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOtR6x76-y4/VC8TuNNvTYI/AAAAAAAAEtY/4f3t1HS5VEU/s1600/doctordanny.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOtR6x76-y4/VC8TuNNvTYI/AAAAAAAAEtY/4f3t1HS5VEU/s1600/doctordanny.png" height="111" width="200" /></a>Moffat has attempted to think ‘outside’ the villain box
against the Twelfth Doctor. During ‘Listen’, it’s arguable if there is an enemy
at all. Very revolutionary, but leaves one a little unsatisfied by thin
metaphysics. This week, the enemy is ostensibly a scuttling CGI effect called
the Skovox Blizter, but in reality the enemy is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>– in the Doctor’s irascible
eyes – the ex-soldier Danny Pink. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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No mention is made of how the Blitzer ended up on Earth. How
many alien races accidentally forget where they left a planet-killer? Moffat
has again elected to describe something apocalyptic, that then proceeds to be
only dangerous to the furnishing, and extras. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the concept he likes though – the End of
this, the destruction of all that, the Last of all them. It sounds wildly
impressive, and that sound is meant to convey a world of threat all by itself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In reality, the Blitzer is a menace to A) a bobby on the
beat, B) some chairs and C) a shed door. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vx02vviO290/VC8UIQV2MBI/AAAAAAAAEtg/7H0tBFWlHSc/s1600/dalekpatrol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vx02vviO290/VC8UIQV2MBI/AAAAAAAAEtg/7H0tBFWlHSc/s1600/dalekpatrol.jpg" height="152" width="200" /></a>Meanwhile, under showrunner Andrew Cartmel, the Seventh
Doctor is up against his most photogenic enemy. A measure of every incarnation
is how he fights Daleks, and this episode alone earned McCoy the </div>
unusual
moniker of the ‘chessmaster’ Doctor, because he’s fighting two antagonistic
factions of the pepperpot invaders. To win, he’ll end up manipulating them –
and his erstwhile human allies – like pieces on a chessboard. Well devious!<br />
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<br /></div>
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The Doctor admits that the Dalek mothership in orbit of
Earth could <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“crack this planet like an
egg!”</i>, and it’s a believable threat with the Nazi dustbins from space, so
he needs to avoid antagonizing them too much. Instead, we’re treated to the
unique sight of Daleks blowing merry hell out of one another on the streets of
Shoreditch, not to mention the many squaddies caught in the crossfire. Enough Daleks were detonated with pyrotechnics, the emergency services were summoned by concerned neighbors! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We are treated to some truly unique moments for what is fast becoming a
revolving door foe – who was not astounded when, in 1989, the Daleks finally
overcame their second most mortal enemy? That first cliffhanger, we all joined
McCoy in staring aghast as a menacing Dalek soldier levitated up the stairs,
forever endangering our second floor bedrooms as the last bastion of safety. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0qoLaRtr8LM/VC8UcxQE_FI/AAAAAAAAEto/h7fP3g5DTHY/s1600/doctorabomination.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0qoLaRtr8LM/VC8UcxQE_FI/AAAAAAAAEto/h7fP3g5DTHY/s1600/doctorabomination.jpg" height="120" width="200" /></a></div>
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The appearance of the Special Weapons Dalek was a rare treat
as well, enough that it was briefly honoured again in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Asylum of the Daleks</i> when one briefly turned up in Skaro A&E as
Matt Smith bumbled past. On the swinging streets of Sixties London, it was a
breathtaking foe that torched entire Dalek patrols without breaking a sweat. Or
a rust, I guess. </div>
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<u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Location</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The school is a battleground for both Daleks and Skovox. The
old familiar foes decide its basement is an ideal staging ground for
teleporting in reinforcements, and enslave the Headmaster as their coordinator
in the field. He is startled when one applicant for the vacancy of Caretaker
introduces himself as ‘The Doctor’ – isn’t he overqualified? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Flash forward sixty years, and "Most people call me The
Doctor", dreadful wink, takes up that vacancy. Nobody notices or cares. Cutting
satire on the role of the service industry? Maybe. This time, it’s the Doctor
deciding this building full of vulnerable children is an ideal execution ground
for dispatching nemeses. Why didn’t he rig the alleyway outside the Blizter’s den
in the abandoned building with the chronodyne generators? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Doctor</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QA_7NWOybXs/VC8U_g7gzwI/AAAAAAAAEt0/MF5NH4srcvg/s1600/doctorgeoffrey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QA_7NWOybXs/VC8U_g7gzwI/AAAAAAAAEt0/MF5NH4srcvg/s1600/doctorgeoffrey.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Amidst the action of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Remembrance,
</i>we find the Seventh Doctor in an unusually restrained mood at the café with
Geoffrey from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fresh Prince of Bel Air</i>
(no, seriously). McCoy’s normally mischievous face is forlorn and faraway, as
the ancient time traveller ponders the impact of every action. It’s a beautiful
little scene that conveys the unimaginable scope of this eternal warrior of
space and time. It’s one facet of a complex Doctor, who employs cunning
manipulation of archenemy Davros, his paternal worries towards the gung-ho Ace,
his distracted concern around military officer Gilmore. People tend to only
recall the spoon-playing, ALWAYS SHOUTING, clownish McCoy. The intention is, of
course, that you were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">meant</i> to think
that all along.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mbusDZV8fHQ/VC8VNbXqNNI/AAAAAAAAEt8/gjPEzps2R5s/s1600/claraboyfriend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mbusDZV8fHQ/VC8VNbXqNNI/AAAAAAAAEt8/gjPEzps2R5s/s1600/claraboyfriend.jpg" height="111" width="200" /></a>Prise up Capaldi’s frothing animosity towards Danny Pink,
and you discover the irascible old man is just worried about a boy living up to
‘his’ companion’s exacting standards. He was more than happy with the cheap
knock-off copy of his own Eleventh self, but he cannot tolerate the thought of
an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ex-soldier</i> being Clara’s own
companion. Grist for the psychologist’s mill maybe? </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something here jars though – because the last time the
Twelfth Doctor was talking to soldiers, he said of Clara <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“She cares, so I don’t have to.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Moffat has been hitting us over the head with the Twelfth Doctor’s
‘darker’ side, which so far has been represented by his grumpiness,
unwillingness to empathize, and stark, snide, superiority. Capaldi feels more
like he’s playing a pre-watershed Malcolm Tucker in space, and less of the
wistful, wise old wanderer. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where the Seventh Doctor prevented many more casualties by
convincing the military to evacuate the civilians from the area, the Twelfth
Doctor is certain that rigging the school building with a time trap and luring
the world-ending robot <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">into a building
full of children</i> is the best way to go. Granted he at least waits until
after teaching hours, but the task is fluffed anyway when Danny Pink –
displaying all the skills of an Afghan War veteran – spies a few of the ominously
flashing devices and idly picks them up to toy with. Come to think of it, in a
London state comp, he was lucky there were any to be found at all. </div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jXI7oDLeXTc/VC8VxANiVqI/AAAAAAAAEuI/W8PfUyd80WE/s1600/doctortranslator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jXI7oDLeXTc/VC8VxANiVqI/AAAAAAAAEuI/W8PfUyd80WE/s1600/doctortranslator.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a>To hurriedly resolve the situation, he takes a degree in
engineering from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Trek</i> and
condenses twenty-four hours of cobbling together a device into about twenty
minutes. It saves the day though, and one has to wonder why he didn’t just pull
it together at the start of the show.<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PLrFj4ldYVw/VC8WOyndY8I/AAAAAAAAEuQ/KJ2atdw4V-Y/s1600/dalekjammer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PLrFj4ldYVw/VC8WOyndY8I/AAAAAAAAEuQ/KJ2atdw4V-Y/s1600/dalekjammer.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a>Conversely, McCoy recycles part of an electric fire into a gizmo that
incapacitates three Daleks with some glittery confetti just long enough for them to be sticky-bombed – but amidst
an army of them, three is a minor victory. The device burns out after a single use
anyway, and the Seventh never even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bothered
with a sonic screwdriver! </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It's a wonder he made it through a season alive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Companion</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ace passes a home-made grenade to the Doctor in a builder’s
yard, then <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>batters one Dalek with a
supercharged baseball bat and blows another apart with a rocket-propelled
grenade. She tentatively flirts with smarmy soldier Mike Smith, before
relentlessly calling him out on his treachery. At the end of the episode, she
is shown trying to comfort the tortured young girl who was plugged into the
rebel Dalek computer as a tactical resource. There was a vast array of roles for Ace to play in her very first full episode as Companion.<br />
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clara got through all the flirting last episode, by abusing
the Laws of Time so now it’s belatedly time to see what kind of teacher she
actually makes. Well, at one point she pauses a lesson to argue with the wacky
Caretaker. If I were a parent of a child at Coal Hill, I’d have listened to all
those rumours about alien invasions and kidnapped teachers about the place and
sent my kids elsewhere. As a Doctor Who fan however, kids aren’t really a
possibility for me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x5r6Cq-lmHA/VC8YfYhXIRI/AAAAAAAAEuc/gqixf958Afg/s1600/clarapoint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x5r6Cq-lmHA/VC8YfYhXIRI/AAAAAAAAEuc/gqixf958Afg/s1600/clarapoint.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
In terms of helping the Doctor, Clara runs away in a montage at the start of
the episode, then <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">professionally</b>
runs away, to lure the Skovox Blitzer into a trap. That doesn’t go entirely
well, so Danny Pink has to do his best forward-flip to distract an apparently
deadly, highly advanced robot battle system. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Resolution</u><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Seventh Doctor prevents the military from becoming
embroiled in apocalypse by winning the trust of Gilmore. He permits Davros to
eliminate his rival Daleks and win the prize of the Hand – only to shoot
himself in the foot, or wheel, by setting off its booby-trap. The final
remaining rebel Dalek is dispassionately obliterated by the sheer force of the
Doctor’s will and convincing arguments. The Doctor and Ace discreetly exit
before the funeral for poor, turncoat Mike Smith. <br />
“Doctor, did we do good?”<br />
“Time will tell. It always does.” An ominous and significant ending, as The Protectors of Time slip away discreetly
to fight the forces of evil again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PGHZMZ11HY/VC8daHFd9BI/AAAAAAAAEus/8Z86S3sWUbw/s1600/doctorchild.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PGHZMZ11HY/VC8daHFd9BI/AAAAAAAAEus/8Z86S3sWUbw/s1600/doctorchild.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
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After tying up the drama with a last-second <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deus ex translator</i>, Danny and Clara head
home to rebuild their relationship, presumably abandoning the adults and pupils
in the main hall to the interminable <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sitcom</i>
subplot Parents Evening. Mind you, they did miss an alien weapons system marching about
the corridors and yelling about death. They'd probably miss the teachers coming back on fire. <br />
Meanwhile, the Doctor tips the switched-off robot into space, adrift and
presumably available for salvage. A small child is sick in the Console Room. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Myth Arc</u><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QrdMgC9XHIU/VC8d81qrc0I/AAAAAAAAEu0/WgZazO4RDBE/s1600/doctorhistory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QrdMgC9XHIU/VC8d81qrc0I/AAAAAAAAEu0/WgZazO4RDBE/s1600/doctorhistory.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
Seated on a school staircase, the Doctor explains the
function of the Hand of Omega to Ace, and how it was built very early in Time
Lord history - “…and didn’t we have trouble with the prototype.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We?” asks Ace immediately, suspiciously. The Doctor rarely
mentions Gallifrey, but Ace knows the Time Lords are ancient far beyond the
Doctor’s own life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They!” amends the Doctor with a guilty look. Later on, in a
scene excised from most recordings, Davros angrily mocks our hero as “Just
another Time Lord!”<br />
With a smug smile, the Seventh Doctor responds “Oh Davros… I am far more than
just another Time Lord.”<br />
<br />
That was one of our first brushes with the Cartmel Masterplan, an attempt to
inject some mystery into the Doctor. Dropped discreetly into other episodes of
Season 25 & 26 are hints that the Doctor’s past is considerably murkier than
we had believed – and that the Doctor may have deliberately lied about some of
it. Whilst we’re accustomed to the Doctor lying now, primarily about his age or
inconvenient plot elements, back then he’d become this noble and upstanding
hero, all pure and good and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dull</i>.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l_CPC7fIYHk/VC8eJeM3FTI/AAAAAAAAEu8/s4MactqUXgA/s1600/doctordaleksupreme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l_CPC7fIYHk/VC8eJeM3FTI/AAAAAAAAEu8/s4MactqUXgA/s1600/doctordaleksupreme.jpg" height="152" width="200" /></a>Now, the Seventh Doctor was on the scene, sitting back and
letting Ace kill baddies with home-made explosives, whilst he tweaked threads
here and there. Beyond the toothy grin and mixed metaphors was a cunning mind,
symbolised by his chess games against ancient evil in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Curse of Fenric</i>. You never knew where you stood with the funny
little man and his rolling R’s, who might suddenly let you topple into a trap
you never even noticed. The Doctor was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dangerous</i>.<br />
<br /></div>
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The Twelfth Doctor has someone to be dangerous for him, it
seems. Another glimpse of Madame Kovarian, sorry Oswin Oswald, sorry I mean River
Song, wait I mean Irene Adler, or was that Miss Delphox… Well. Whoever the
Mysterious Woman <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">de rigeur</i> this
season is, Chris Addison has no right to be looking that smug in the same show
as Peter Capaldi. I think I’m more looking forward to their confrontation than
anything else this season.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
A bit of mystery is a good thing – but where Cartmel was
painting with fine strokes, Moffat has dragged his chimney sweep brush out and
the old familiar pot of clichés. I’ll stick with Season 27, thanks. </div>
Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-82523988423822913912014-08-12T12:19:00.000+01:002014-08-12T12:19:41.621+01:00Blogging Anniversaries and PR Failures<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-32cvg6iefP8/U-n3V0I7TjI/AAAAAAAAD_c/XvKb2kmyIgU/s1600/alt-fest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-32cvg6iefP8/U-n3V0I7TjI/AAAAAAAAD_c/XvKb2kmyIgU/s1600/alt-fest.jpg" height="195" width="200" /></a>It was a pleasant surprise to be notified by the professional networking website <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/tim-hood/42/22/210" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> that my other writing project - <a href="http://theblogginggoth.com/" target="_blank">The Blogging Goth</a> - has been running three years as of August. Very much a labour of love, I haven't always been able to devote the time to it I'd like - more official demands on my time always have to take a priority!<br /><br />However I was inspired by the anniversary, and immediately had a good topic to cover - the , due to be held in Kettering this coming weekend. Fans were torn between awe at the stupendous line-up, and resentment as Alt-Fest's juggernaut progress eclipsed older and more established festivals - outbidding for artists and drawing off fan-bases.<br />
<a href="http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/78934" target="_blank">implosion of massively ambitious alternative music festival Alt-Fest</a><br />
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A greater exploration of the rise and fall of <a href="http://www.alt-fest.com/index.html" target="_blank">Alt-Fest</a> is available on The Blogging Goth, but the ultimate conclusion seems to be that ambition soared a little too high - with around a million in the red even after their successful Kickstarter campaign.<br />
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The real issue of note to media, PR and journalist types in my readership is the communications blackout from Alt-Fest itself. Even now, we aren't sure of the details - and rumours continue to burn up forums and social media. But when bands started being quietly let go, they saw their obvious responsibility to alert their fans to the oncoming disaster.<br />
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If Alt-Fest management had the foresight necessary, they'd have preempted an unwanted release from the bands with a statement. As we understand it, eleventh-hour negotiations were ongoing with various investor types and other revenue sources - and the organizers chose to maintain radio silence, even going so far as to delete inquiries from their social media presence.<br />
Instead, the <a href="http://www.gigwise.com/news/93051/alt-fest-2014-strongly-rumoured-to-have-been-cancelled" target="_blank">rumours and contradictory tweets and status updates</a> from the artists engaged to play took on a momentum all of their own. The vacuum of comment from official sources was rapidly filled with suposition, rumour, and the unsubstantiated but increasingly convincing statements of withdrawal from the engaged artists - and then, the site for the festival and the PR company professionally engaged to promote them both withdrew themselves!<br />
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I see this as a valuable lesson to all media professionals. As a journalist, I was one of the minority who held on stubbornly for an official statement - in an era where social media takes priority in all communications strategy, my role as a gatekeeper of accuracy and verifiability does not fade away. If anything, it becomes more important, and in my opinion, transcends that of <i>"first with the scoop."</i><br />
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I have that luxury as a blogger, without a profit margin or exclusivity to concern me - what does concern me is the prioritizing of, well, <i>priority </i>over <i>accuracy</i>. <br />
<br />
In the end, it was a twenty-four hour cycle from the first signs of collapse to the Alt-Fest official statement of cancellation. Throughout it <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBloggingGoth" target="_blank">my twitter feed</a> was a regular flux of links and statements I judged independently to be informative, prompt, based in fact and occasionally even amusing. Crucially, none of it was orginating from within Alt-Fest until the very end.<br />
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What we were left with is a raft of concerns. The UK alternative scene must now deal with the toxic fallout of an expensive, collapsed festival that will sour relations between artists, promoters, locations and fans. The PR industry will now have a textbook example of Kickstarter backed, grassroots organizers utterly failing to be up to the task, and potentially reneging on their employment of such communications experts. And through it all, a wealth of simple marketing mistakes that at least might be a valuable - sorry, <i>expensive</i> - lesson for anyone following in their footsteps.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yzghcNR-liY/U-n3VigjHxI/AAAAAAAAD_Y/Z67G4PTX9js/s1600/Sarah-Blog-photo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yzghcNR-liY/U-n3VigjHxI/AAAAAAAAD_Y/Z67G4PTX9js/s1600/Sarah-Blog-photo1.jpg" height="128" width="200" /></a><br />
Had the Alt-Fest team been able, somehow, to arrest their financial freefall they would have found that by neglecting their previously vast and robust communications structure they had alienated their entire customer base. You cannot re-prioritize your PR situation for <i>anything</i>. <br />
<br />
<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-5008155219786478952014-08-07T15:25:00.003+01:002014-08-07T15:25:39.005+01:00Centuries of Conflict<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VqWdT2gcR9I/U9_qw77MAlI/AAAAAAAAD7I/HMI3oxP71tc/s1600/1914+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VqWdT2gcR9I/U9_qw77MAlI/AAAAAAAAD7I/HMI3oxP71tc/s1600/1914+2014.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>This is the centenary year of the outbreak of World War One - the 'Great War', the War that would end them all. Of course, it wasn't to be - and social media is alive with heart-rendering images comparing the devastation of WWI with the fighting in the Gaza Strip. <br />
<br />
What concerns me is that caption - "Have We Learnt Nothing?" How can we allow such violent warfare to unfold a full hundred years later?<br />
The answer is, of course, because we've let it happen before.<br />
<br />
In 1814, the Sixth Coalition of nations finally put a stop to Emperor Napoleon I's megalomaniac plans - briefly - in a conflict that raged from Haiti to Cairo via Madrid, Berlin and Moscow. In the newly-minted United States of America, a national anthem was born in the shape of 'Star-Spangled Banner' and a new capitol was born after the British stormed Washington DC, burning the White House. Fighting reached around the planet a hundred years before the continental powers took to the field in the first industrialized war. <br />
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For the first time in two hundred years, Europe is <i>not</i> riven by vast international war. This isn't to belittle the savagery of the Middle Eastern conflict, any of them, but to point out that this century has finally begun, if not in total peace, then in far better shape than the past two. <br />
<br />
The staggering death toll of the First World War was only eclipsed by the even more horrendous Second. Those figures will stand in eternity as the greatest loss of human life in recorded history. They cannot be equated with any other conflict on record, in simple internet propaganda like this. <br />
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<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-85139239165179283162014-03-22T18:52:00.001+00:002014-03-22T18:53:30.144+00:00Newcastle Film & Comic Convention - March 2014It may be time to consider the title of this blog as I am spending more time in the North-East with the significant other! A couple of weeks back, I was enjoying myself at the Metro Arena for the first - and clearly not the last - <a href="http://www.newcastlefilmandcomiccon.com/" target="_blank">Newcastle Film and Comic Convention</a>.<br />
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Organised by the clearly experienced Collectormania company, the Convention nonetheless <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/story/2014-03-08/fans-complain-of-waiting-for-hours-for-newcastle-comic-con/" target="_blank">made local headlines</a> when the two-day event was swamped beyond all predictions, leaving many - including some with advance tickets - queueing for hours in the bitter weather. According to the BBC's local news, attendance reached <i>15,000</i> which is a staggering figure outside London! <br />
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I luckily avoided this issue by sheer luck, turning up at around 10:00am on Saturday to buy on the door. Only an hour after doors opened, and the queue stretched the length of the Arena, but moved at a fairly impressive pace. Once inside, we decided to buy advance tickets for the following day in case the queues were longer. It wasn't until the early afternoon that I noticed visitors stopped at the doors - by this point the Convention was operating on the frankly barbaric one-in, one-out policy.<br />
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In Collectormania's defence, nobody could have anticipated the explosion of enthusiasm in Newcastle - when the cult convention circuit is dominated by the <a href="http://www.mcmcomiccon.com/" target="_blank">MCM Expo</a> events of London and Manchester. It's heartening to see such focus moving further up the country, and I fully anticipate the convention staff being ready for a similarly impressive turn-out next year. Letting down advance ticket holders is a serious failing, it should be observed, but at the same time it is a rite of passage for convention attendance, when one realises the importance of turning up <i>early</i>!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9c1I10ehUJs/Uy3Ue9bTq-I/AAAAAAAADt4/q3nTeGjAQIA/s1600/IMG-20140308-WA0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9c1I10ehUJs/Uy3Ue9bTq-I/AAAAAAAADt4/q3nTeGjAQIA/s1600/IMG-20140308-WA0005.jpg" height="150" width="320" /></a>A core component of these events, and a major motivation for my attendance, are the guests and NFCC scored a hat trick with the signing of three former <i>Doctor Who</i> main stars - <a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Sixth_Doctor" target="_blank">Colin Baker</a>, <a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Seventh_Doctor" target="_blank">Sylvester McCoy</a> and <a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Eighth_Doctor" target="_blank">Paul McGann</a>. Always firm favourites amongst the fans, even Colin Baker's inability to attend didn't dampen their enthusiasm. It was well-rewarded too - Sylvester McCoy is a consummate showman, and peppers his hilarious anecdotes with the clowning mischief that defined his early portrayal of the Seventh Doctor.<br />
That mischief seemed most obvious when he casually dropped into the Q&A his knowledge that <a href="http://www.kasterborous.com/2014/03/sylvester-mccoy-knows-next-master/" target="_blank">Peter Capaldi would be facing perennial nemesis The Master at some point</a> - seemingly so effectively killed during John Simm's tenure. The sound of so many people gasping at once is quite unusual, I can assure you! <br />
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There were no spoilers from McCoy's replacement (in more ways than one), Paul McGann. The remarkably fresh-faced veteran actor wears none of his fifty-five years, and instead was a dry and witty spirit who seems to personally enshrine so much of the Eighth Doctor's charming bemusement. His reaction to the riotous fan approval of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EobSTIc-ywA" target="_blank">The Night of the Doctor</a> was atypically British astonishment, his passion for the Audio adventures that have extended his Doctor's life is conversely so apparent. Although I have seen McCoy at conventions previously, McGann's Q&A was a new delight and I only believe it could have been bettered by having both men together. However, I doubt anyone else could have got a word in edgeways!<br />
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Fan enthusiasm also manifests itself in the <a href="http://www.cosplay.co.uk/" target="_blank">Cosplay</a>, easily the most visual component of any Convention. From obscure Japanese anime characters to expertly armoured members of the elite <a href="http://www.501st.com/" target="_blank">501st Legion</a> of Stormtroopers, via impossibly young and pouting clones of the BBC's Sherlock, the turn-out at NFCC was another healthy indicator of the fan potential in the North-East.<br />
In my own small way I contributed, clearly to Sylvester's amusement - although any fan worth his salt knows McCoy personally disliked the most garish element of his outfit, the question-mark pullover. A core component of the <a href="http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2014/01/ken-trew-1936-2014.html" target="_blank">recently-passed Ken Trew's</a> design, McCoy has mellowed on his outre outfit in recent years, but between the novels set after the 1989 finale and the 1996 telemovie, McCoy's outfit never again featured that novelty knitwear!<br />
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Returning on the Sunday - this time with early-bird ticket clutched tightly in hand - we were whisked inside promptly and back for another circuit of the traders and merchandisers who make up the third, core part of a successful convention. Obviously the greatest portion is given over to the sale of back-issues of comics and DVDs of classic films, with the infamous <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0193524/" target="_blank">Star Wars holiday special</a> now in the front-lines of any self-respecting stallholder. The merchandise is catching up rapidly, and for the recent convert entire stalls exist to furnish the willing with whatever novelty headwear or mock weapons their costuming fantasies desire.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JMjMhlzROVk/Uy3ZgIS_y6I/AAAAAAAADug/oBCxW7R3xDk/s1600/ghost1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JMjMhlzROVk/Uy3ZgIS_y6I/AAAAAAAADug/oBCxW7R3xDk/s1600/ghost1.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a>Recognition of that effort is also embraced by convention staff, and on Sunday I was actually collared by organisers of the <a href="http://www.newcastlefilmandcomiccon.com/zones.html" target="_blank">Cosplay Masquerade</a>, a procession of attendees in notably unique outfits. Regular readers of this blog will know that <a href="http://leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/journalism-week-2014-and-harold-ramis.html" target="_blank">I recently paid my modest respects to the passing of Harold Ramis</a>, and in keeping I had donned the original children's toys from the Eighties that comprised his outfit.<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YQCvhAr3k5Y/Uy3ZfGz53vI/AAAAAAAADuc/qMJT9Y9wiZg/s1600/ghost2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YQCvhAr3k5Y/Uy3ZfGz53vI/AAAAAAAADuc/qMJT9Y9wiZg/s1600/ghost2.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a>This originality had piqued the interest of the Masquerade staff, and before long I was stood on stage before several hundred convention visitors, who were cheering as I posed for photographs and laughs. Looking back, if anyone was to ask me - rightly so - what a grown man was playing at, wearing fancy dress like a child, I would tell them the satisfaction of giving amusement and entertainment to so many is utterly incomparable. I might not have won the Masquerade competition, and sincerely have no regrets. To take part is a singular honour, and gives such satisfaction in and of itself.<br />
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Wearily now, my friends and I took our leave, pausing only by a fan-made replica of the TARDIS console from Paul McGann's single televised excursion. Looking at this magnificent reproduction, I have to congratulate the organisers of the Newcastle Film and Comic Con for setting up - but even more so, I must praise the fans for convincing people to host a Convention here at all, and to turn out in such numbers and enthusiasm to make it all so very worth while.<br />
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My thanks to you all, and I shall see you all next year!</div>
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Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-35299977391521943462014-03-17T11:22:00.000+00:002014-05-06T21:54:00.023+01:00REVIEW: Wes Anderson's 'Grand Budapest Hotel'Agatha is one of the myriad characters in <a href="http://www.grandbudapesthotel.com/" target="_blank">Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel</a>, who works in a bakery, crafting exquisite cakes that one might associate more with the confectionery of Switzerland. Nevertheless it’s excellent visual shorthand for the generic Eastern European locale in which the titular hotel is situated, and a perfect metaphor for Anderson’s comedy-drama epic. <br />
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An elegantly spun, saccharine tasting construction, light on the palette, the film is gorgeous, lavish with vision and design and style. It venerates the cloying decadence of the last century, which still endures at the titular hotel in a kind of bubble – overseen by Ralph Fiennes’ polished, flowery, highly-strung Concierge, M. Gustave. Indeed, another character describes how Gustave maintains an illusion of the cultured excess of European ultra high-class, even as the continent itself slips inevitably into the horrors of the industrial age – a world war is the menacing shadow cast across proceedings. <br />
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Under his dedicated watch, the Hotel turns like greased clockwork – another metaphor for Anderson’s direction, as the film clicks neatly through its sequences at a brisk rate. Equally dedicated is the Concierge’s attention to the wealthy, unsatisfied and rich dowagers in a darkly comic sequence. It is the untimely demise of one of M. Gustave’s ‘clients’ – portrayed by the chameleonic Tilda Swinton – that propels our protagonist into a madcap adventure through snowy high-speed pursuits, dramatic hotel shoot-outs and grim train-bound confrontations. <br />
Familiar faces flash by like stations we aren’t visiting – Bill Murray’s quasi-angelic concierge ex machina, Edward Norton’s dogged Javert-style policeman, Jeff Goldblum’s ponderous and unflappable Freud-inspired lawyer. Even the full-time villains – twitching, crazed Adrian Brody and impressively sadistic William Dafoe – feel like they are wheeled onto set, deliver their performance and are quickly shuffled back into storage until their next scene. <br />
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Illusion is at the heart of Grand Hotel Budapest. The Hotel is a safe haven for those fleeing reality – fleeing loveless lives for Gustave’s embrace, fleeing impending war for the pampering of nineteenth-century indulgence, fleeing nemeses to escape in its endless, echoing halls. By the end of the film, F. Murray Abraham’s character Zero has fled all his losses of his life for the now decaying and decrepit hotel, which is his last link to a happier past. All are illusions of safety and contentment that collapse, one by one, like dominoes falling, and the delicate icing on the start of this movie has become sour crumbs. <br />
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As the film concludes, we find we are leaving an old man’s reminiscence, only to find ourselves back with the author who wrote the story based on his tale. We then find we are leaving his reminiscence, and find ourselves with the young girl who read the author’s book. There are so many layers to this film, and yet each is the only the depth of a mirror or a fantasy. You’ll find it a glorious spectacle that enthralls so long as it is seen, and disappears as easily as a half-remembered dream the moment you step through the cinema doors. Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-39727830696470354022014-02-24T21:39:00.000+00:002014-02-24T21:39:04.867+00:00Journalism Week 2014 and Harold RamisRather than an in-depth article, which I am intending, I just wanted to update today with a few succinct points to keep my hand in the blogging field.<br />
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It is the 2014 Journalism Week at Leeds Trinity University, the <i>alma mater</i> and the first in three years that I haven't been able to attend. Thankfully, it can all be followed on twitter via the #ltjw hashtag, and following @JournalismWeek, and reading <a href="http://journalismweek.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">the official blog</a> of the post-grad team, and<a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/cfj/jweek/pages/webcast.aspx" target="_blank"> watch it live</a>, and...<br />
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Well, suffice to say I am very envious of those attending. It was one of the motivating factors behind Leeds Eye View, and you can <a href="http://leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/journalism%20week" target="_blank">r</a><a href="http://leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/journalism%20week" target="_blank">ead my multimedia updates from previous Journalism Weeks</a> in my archives.<br />
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One of the articles I've most appreciated coming out of #ltjw 2014 has been by post-graduate lecturer Richard Horsman, and it's a <a href="http://rhorsman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/therell-be-another-one-along-in-minute.html" target="_blank">wry lesson for the exuberant, ever-connected generation</a>. I hope some of the student hacks at Trinity take this lesson to heart! <br />
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When I saw it pop up on Twitter, I was inspired to comment to him as below:
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<a href="https://twitter.com/leedsjourno">@leedsjourno</a> Great article. Strong argument as well for trained journalist over passionate but amateur blogger. Still need gatekeepers!<br />
— Tim Hood (@thehoodedhack) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehoodedhack/statuses/438000686018879489">February 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
Much of the hue and cry about the 'death' of old Journalism and the rise of the blogger has since subsided in the face of, dare I say it, common sense. The call is not for old-fashioned trained journalists to be replaced by the smartphone and wifi - but for<b> the journalist to add those tools to their armoury</b>! <br />
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T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T</div>
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On a more sombre note, today American actor, director and producer Harold Ramis<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-harold-ramis-dead-20140224,0,2259309.story" target="_blank"> has died, aged just 69</a>. Like many British kids who are proud nerds, I grew up watching <i>Ghostbusters</i> over and over and <i>over </i>again. Ramis' potrayal of the awkward, brilliant, and surprisingly sly Dr Egon Spengler was to me how footballers or pop stars must appeal to the regular, sporty, confident kids. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Still a favourite fancy dress outfit!</i></td></tr>
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Spengler was a hero, a goal to aim for - if perhaps a little less <i>nebbish</i> - and proof that having brains was not an obstacle to becoming popular and achieving goals. The man<i> </i><b>saved the world!</b></div>
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He helped me feel more at ease with myself during adolescence, instilled in me a love of intelligence for knowledge's sake, and an appreciation for a dry, deadpan delivery. I am not surprised to read the list of contemporary, feted directors and producers who cite Ramis' quiet work behind some of the classic Eighties comedies as such a great influence.</div>
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<i>Ramis' comedies were often wild, silly and tilting toward anarchy, but
they also were cerebral and iconoclastic, with the filmmaker heeding the
Second City edict to work at the top of one's intelligence. This
combination of smart and gut-bustingly funny led a generation of comedic
actors and filmmakers — including Judd Apatow, Peter Farrelly, Jake Kasdan, and Adam Sandler — to cite
him as a key inspiration.</i></div>
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That's a legacy any Hollywood veteran can be proud of. I was grateful for an awesome character in a brilliant comedy that will undoubtedly stand the test of time. My thoughts are with Ramis' nearest and dearest, as well as fans around the world.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="http://ghostbusters.wikia.com/wiki/Ghostbusters_Wiki" target="_blank">Ghostbusters Wiki</a></td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-63611023280252476952013-12-19T12:34:00.000+00:002014-02-07T10:33:16.817+00:00Me, My Selfie and the World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's a worldwide phenomenon that has catapulted many to the front page - from <a href="http://gawker.com/womans-selfish-selfie-lands-her-on-the-cover-of-the-1476361212" target="_blank">former unknowns (who is probably now missing that anonymity)</a> to the<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25322260" target="_blank"> President of the United States of America</a>, the Prime Minister of Denmark, and a man with the paranoid delusion that he runs England. All are united in being condemned for partaking in what is increasingly seen as the adolescent masses' most narcissistic act yet - <a href="http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/11/an-infographic-of-selfie/" target="_blank">the Selfie</a>. <br />
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Except that it isn't the new Moral Panic the papers are making it out to be - first prize, of course, must go to Dacre's gutter-press rabble rouser, the Daily Mail - headline: <br />
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<i><span class="tl">A photo that makes me tremble a little for the future of the Free World</span></i></blockquote>
<span class="tl">I'm not linking to the story, of course. Who wants to feed even more clicks to the biggest news website for the most despised newspaper? The point is it's <b>a nothing story</b>. Selfies are just 'MySpace' profile shots redone for the 21st century - and the only thing MySpace has been a danger to is <a href="http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/news-corp-sells-myspace-to-specific-media-for-35-million/?_r=0" target="_blank">Rupert Murdoch's accountants</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Neil almost always looks like this</i></td></tr>
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<span class="tl">Selfies are just annoying, facile pieces of jetsam that clog the Internet pipes, and only gets noticed by the mainstream media because it's jumped the generational gap and adults have started doing it.</span><br />
<span class="tl">Notably, famous people - because it fits so well with Twitter for building a one-to-one relationship with fans, like Lady Gaga persistently tweeting pictures of her in bed relaxing after a gig. Clearly we have different definitions of relaxing, but at least it keeps large sweaty alarming men called Barry from climbing her walls to peer in her window. Now he can do it safely from his parent's basement. </span><br />
<span class="tl"><br /></span><span class="tl">Except of course, I'm a humongous hypocrite. I nearly went into fan overload when cherished counter-culture author (who also wrote a naff Doctor Who episode but we'll let it slide) <a href="http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman</a> tweeted a selfie of him and supernaturally young-looking antipodean rock renegade <a href="http://www.nickcave.com/" target="_blank">Nick Cave</a>. Between Gaiman's atypical 'Englishman abroad' look of <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Adorkable" target="_blank">adorkable</a> perplexion and Cave's stock expression of pensive, universal malaise it's a beautiful and hilarious and unique moment for fans of both, of either, or of clever individuals in general. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ground Control to Major Tim</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>...</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span class="tl">The selfie, ironically, cuts two ways - for every smouldering expression that brightens your partner's mobile, there's a duck-faced pout that ends up shared on 4chan. It's a surprisingly persistent piece of internet nonsense, and I suppose it fills the blank spaces of the world's media that we'd only be wasting on <i>more</i> wars in the Middle East, <i>more </i>corruption in America's boardrooms, and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25330432" target="_blank"><i>more</i> taxpayers money avalanching into ramshackle banks</a>. </span><br />
<span class="tl"><br /></span><span class="tl">Because the real threat to the future is an annoying social-media trend...</span><br />
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Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-78655810834062618782013-12-10T20:35:00.002+00:002013-12-10T20:35:56.592+00:00Victory for Feminists in Leeds - But the War's not over<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-25299530" target="_blank">Leeds' Mezz Club has licence suspended over 'rape' ads</a><br />
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This is an excellent conclusion to a very disturbing concept - of appealing to misogynistic tendencies in promoting a night out. The original video which promoted a student-orientated night in Leeds city centre is no longer available, but <a href="http://www.leedsstudent.org/2013/10/11/news-i-tequila-call-for-tequila-to-shut-after-rape-promo/" target="_blank">this early article</a> from Leeds Student Online gives an upsetting synopsis of what is envisaged as appealing to student punters.<br />
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Clearly, only the male punters however - female attendees at this night are presumably on a par with the music or the drinks, merely an attractive feature. What I found even more disturbing was this line in the <a href="http://www.leedsstudent.org/2013/12/09/news-mezz-license-revoked-following-protest/" target="_blank">Leeds Student article</a> on the closure of the club:<br />
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Among the issues raised were reported cases of severe overcrowding in the 400-person space and their conduct on social media.</blockquote>
To me, that indicates that this club night, for all it's disgusting attitude towards gender equality, has been quite popular. Indeed, Tequila UK - the night at the centre of the controversy - will instead be held at Halo nightclub just beside university campus. No doubt it will be very popular with students celebrating at Christmas. I hope some enterprising journalists ask the women at this night just what they think of the promotion - and what that means to them, or about them.<br />
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I am heartened that a vocal backlash has been co-ordinated by groups like the <a href="http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/groups/Feminist/" target="_blank">Leeds University Union Feminist Society</a>. Victories like this are great cause for celebration, but the bigger picture must be considered - and I salute the effort to challenge complacent opinions on equality and freedom from violence and sexual abuse. <br /><br />The great campaign <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LUUfeminism" target="_blank">"I Need Feminism Because..."</a> is a great idea because rather than just an open-and-shut battle with misogyny like protesting Tequila UK, the hard truths about the dangers women can face at any time are being openly discussed. Beliefs need to change, and the best way to do that is a long and protracted campaign of education. <br /><br />Students are here to learn, and I certainly hope they're going to learn more from FemSoc than they do from a night that endorses shocking attitudes towards women. Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-91742351657020411502013-07-18T21:17:00.000+01:002013-07-18T21:17:11.295+01:00Graduation... and Beyond!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cap, Gown, Upside-down Frown!</i></td></tr>
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My time with Leeds Trinity has finally come to a - very formal - end! On July 15th I formally graduated <br />
from Leeds University (due to my enrolling at Trinity before their official recognition as a University) with a BA (Hons) in Journalism. I achieved a very comfortable 2:1, and am pleased to note I scored a First in my Law module especially! <br />
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The ceremony was certainly interesting, thanks to the heatwave the UK is enduring at the moment. I donned a smart black business suit and tie, and then my black and green robes, and weathered the weather as best I could. I must praise Ede and Ravenscroft who supply the University's robe and dressing service - they were professional, well-organised, and supplied high quality gowns. <br />
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Credit also must go to the University who arranged the event to proceed promptly and with maximum provisions for the guests. My only recommendation would be for more ushers and helpers to advise the newcomers on procedure, timings and locations.<br />
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The actual ceremony was a mix of anticipated and unexpected events. The collection of the degree certificate itself went exactly as expected, but did you know a Graduand (one who has passed one's degree requirements but not been formally awarded) can <i>choose</i> to bow to the Awarding Officer? This information was included in an advisory to the collected graduates, and as I approached the center of the stage - and the serried ranks of my lecturers behind - I made sure to pause and bow in respect to the people who enabled me to be standing there. I suspect I was the only one. <br />
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I was also surprised to note that mortar boards are<i> not worn at all</i> during the conferment! Those receiving their Doctorates or other high accolades do, the Awarding Officers and various staff members do, the Ushers organising the event do, but the Graduands and Graduates themselves do not! I was surprised - and made sure I had mine to hand at least for pictures outdoors. <br />
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One very hot day and a full memory card later, and I am back at my temporary office job, still musing on the future. I have been contracted until the end of the year to cover absence and must concede I am earning more than most graduates doing so - but I run the risk of having an irrelevant degree as I pursue a middle-management career if I get used to this lifestyle...<br />
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My personal life may necessitate a move to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 2014, so I am thinking about media opportunities in the North-East. Now, after years spent studying every aspect of journalism - television, radio, cutting-edge internet technology and of course the definitive Print - I am still contemplating which discipline to subscribe to. <br />
Do I follow my new-found, newly taught technical aptitude and pursue work in television, specifically production and editing? Or do I stick to my inherent strength in writing and enjoyable Work Placement experience, and move into a purely features and editorial role? <br />
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Or do I listen to the sages and realize that the future of Journalism will be the multi-skilled, video, print and internet wielding news creator, aggregator and curator? The blogger with the skills of the new, and the journalist with the authority of the old? How do you carve out a place for yourself in an industry that shifts and changes shape by the day? <br />
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I started this blog as an accompaniment to my learning experience at University. Now it seems I should continue it as I learn how to be a professional.Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-6428558933922372082013-06-30T10:47:00.000+01:002013-06-30T11:02:22.367+01:00Doctor 'Joan Smith'<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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I have a shameful admission. When a friend first directly asked me “How would you feel about a female Doctor?” my gut reaction was opposition. The Doctor has always been a fatherly – or grandfatherly – figure to the entire Universe, not to mention wide-eyed young me who devoured novels and the shows equally. He ranks amongst other worthy fantasy Elder Statesmen as Gandalf, Captain Picard and Sherlock Holmes, all wise old <b>men</b>. </div>
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But then I decided to approach it as I do most issues in the Whoniverse – by assessing the canon qualifying. With thanks to Neil Gaiman, it is now canon <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/may/16/neil-gaiman-doctor-who-doctors-wife#comment-10776022" target="_blank">that Time Lords can regenerate across the genders</a>. So, it can happen!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mary Tamm as Romana I</i></td></tr>
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Should it, then? I got to thinking about the Female of the Species – Time Ladies, as they can be distinctly known. The most distinctive to my mind is Romana, the Fourth Doctor’s assistant during the Key to Time quest – Series 16, 1978-79. She was introduced as more than just the ‘damsel in distress’ that has so plagued Doctor Who – Romana was a Time Lord like the Doctor, but unlike the Doctor had qualified much higher in her training! The unlikely pair eventually bonded when the Doctor’s greater experience and improvised successes melded with Romana’s book-smarts and relative stability...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lalla Ward as Romana II</i></td></tr>
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Sadly, Mary Tamm would decide that the scriptwriters still couldn’t extract themselves from the premise that the Doctor’s assistant was basically a plot device to be captured or threatened and <i> du jour</i>. <br />
handed – a fact which is arguably correct. Lalla Ward would take over as the second incarnation of Romana, only to be equally menaced by the villain</div>
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After their exit, Romana would be redeemed in the novels and audios that comprise that forgiving crucible of characterization, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanded_Universe" target="_blank">Extended Universe</a>. Romana would become Lord President of Gallifrey, and have entire stories revolving around <a href="http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/gallifrey" target="_blank">her adventures on the Doctor’s homeworld</a> which crucially didn’t involve the fact that she was a woman!</div>
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Gallifrey, it seems, was very progressive. Thalia and Flavia were both politically powerful, holding seats on the High Council; Thalia was a Lord Chancellor during the Second Omega Crisis, and Flavia would later ascend to the position of Lord President herself after another of the Doctor’s reluctant adventures back home. The Sixth Doctor would be menaced by the determined Lady Inquisitor, even if the script did call for her to flounder a bit with what was going on – and also wear a novelty birdcage on her head.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Left to Right: Lord Chancellor Thalia, High Chancellor (and later Lord President) Thalia, and Inquisitor Darkel</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kate O'Mara as The Rani</i></td></tr>
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In time as well, Colin Baker’s incarnation would succumb to the more deadly gender – the Rani, a renegade like himself and played with overly-exagerrated hateur by Kate O’Mara, one of TV’s most favoured villains.<br />
Just like our hero, she stole a TARDIS and used her superior intellect to carve a life for herself out in the universe – only she was unencumbered by petty morality. Thankfully this would frequently be her undoing!</div>
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All of these successful Time Ladies prove irrevocably that a female Doctor would be no bad thing – the real risk, I feel, is from bad writing, just like it plagued Romana so long ago.<br />
Moffat and his script writers have made a few lurches away from the confused, screaming assistant – how would they cope with the confident, intelligent, alien Doctor contained within a woman’s body?<br />
Of an equal risk is if Moffat pulls one of his famous surprises and switches the Doctor’s gender merely to spice up the show, or as a sop to the growing chorus of complaint from the ‘right-on’ crowd.<br />
The show suffers from weak writing frequently enough now, let alone hamstringing it with an ill-thought shark-jump. </div>
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Done right though – with someone like the stark <a href="http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/person/tilda-swinton/" target="_blank">Tilda Swinton</a> who recently acted as an equally alien figure as David Bowie, or the sinister <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642605/" target="_blank">Fiona Shaughnessy</a> who excelled in bleak Channel 4 drama Utopia – there is no reason the Doctor couldn’t join the ranks of so many other Time Ladies who have excelled within this traditional, patriarchal, even misogynistic institution. Gallifreyan society? No, I mean the BBC! What an irony! </div>
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NB: I have purposefully avoided references to Lady Iris Wildthyme, the infamous and popular star of her <a href="http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/iris-wildthyme" target="_blank">own audio series from the Big Finish team</a>. I’ve never heard them and thus feel I can’t do her justice.</div>
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Suffice to say I’ve heard good things about a post-middle-age, vodka-loving good time girl who just might be a parallel universe lush version of the Doctor – fit that into your arguments how you like!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Katy Manning as the irrepressible Lady Irish Wildthyme</i></td></tr>
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Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-26518718304510161032013-06-06T14:49:00.000+01:002013-06-06T14:49:32.617+01:00End of an Era<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello blog. It's been a while, in which a great deal has happened. Namely my final exam - in <a href="https://evision.leedstrinity.ac.uk/sipr/IPP_FEHQ_CATALOGUE/JOU6902.htm" target="_blank">English Media Law</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It was an exciting topic, made all the more - shall we say, challenging - by the fact that the laws governing contempt and defamation are <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/media-blog/2013/may/24/woolwich-attack-footage-contempt-laws" target="_blank">in such flux</a>. I'd like to take this opportunity to be profusely grateful that my Lecturer in Law was the estimable <a href="http://www.nigelgreenmedia.com/" target="_blank">Nigel Green</a>, a battle-hardened journalist and truly inspirational teacher. He made a difficult, sometimes dull and potentially dangerous subject both interesting and approachable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I came out of the exam broadly confident. I am certain that I understand the various laws that control how I report from the Courts, from press conferences, on sex attack victims and juveniles. No employer will find me unsure of the four factors of defamation, or the four key defences. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In fact they might find me avidly reading stories about <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10078119/Court-rules-against-Sally-Bercow-over-her-innocent-face-McAlpine-tweet.html" target="_blank">landmark cases</a> in legal history. The only way to keep up with this game is to stay ahead of it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It was enjoyable on the whole, but I'm glad to get that behind me. It wraps up the entirety of my Journalism BA degree work - I submitted my dissertation at the end of April. That was a highly enjoyable piece of work entitled <em>Fleet Street to Task Force </em>and was an analysis of <a href="http://archive.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/29/mediawar/technolfalk.htm" target="_blank">media reporting during the Falklands War of 1982</a>. Again, I was able to do something I deeply enjoyed and then submit it for assessment. It's proof positive of what makes a <em>career</em>, rather than a job. The passion for the task. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Although I'm currently only temping, I understand the difficulty of making the transition from graduate to employed journalist. Right now my priority is restoring my overdraft to a reasonable level and contemplating my next move. I'll graduate formally on July 15th - and after that, even though I only have casual work in an unrelated field going on, I'll have financial security to seriously consider what I want to put my passion to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It's been an amazing, challenging, frustrating, inspiring, and above all enjoyable few years. I can't credit <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/cfj/staff/pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">the faculty</a> highly enough, and they must have done their job truly properly, because of all the roles I considered post-graduation, one keeps appealing to me more...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Teaching journalism!</span>Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-67717506942183744902013-03-04T16:56:00.000+00:002013-03-04T16:56:15.650+00:00Bradford's own Batman - The latest 'real-life superhero'All over West Yorkshire, locals are chuckling over news that a man dressed as Batman (and as the cheesy <a href="http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/09/19/happy-birthday-to-the-original-batman-adam-west" target="_blank">Sixties Adam West Batman</a> too) has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-21654930" target="_blank">hauled a minor criminal into a Bradford police station</a>. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9O81bi62ZVE/UTTR55O6vGI/AAAAAAAAAQE/Q1vtyVFpvFg/s1600/batman-reu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" jsa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9O81bi62ZVE/UTTR55O6vGI/AAAAAAAAAQE/Q1vtyVFpvFg/s200/batman-reu.jpg" width="200" /></a>Amazingly, this has precedence. The starched shirts of Wikipedia seem to be smothering their own giggles as they compile information about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-life_superhero#United_Kingdom" target="_blank">'Real-Life Superheros'</a> - everyday citizens who don colourful costumes to combat crime. Whilst they might not have Superman's invulnerability or Batman's billions, what they have usually have is pride, bravery, and a canny knack for promotion - and sometimes, if not most, a <a href="http://downtownseattle.komonews.com/news/people/693190-no-charges-against-seattles-self-appointed-superhero" target="_blank">difficult relationship with conventional law enforcement</a>!</div>
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Indeed, the police attitude is understandably <a href="http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/01/18/Cops_not_fans_of_real-life_superheroes/UPI-64571232303637/" target="_blank">against 'Vigilantism'</a> and whilst nothing has yet occurred, incidents like these will no doubt force a landmark confrontation between the self-declared 'Enemies of Crime' and the legally-bound protectors who are permitted to dispense justice. </div>
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I telephoned West Yorkshire Police for a comment on this kind of "zero-tolerance in tights" - their overwhelmed press office begged for time in responding until tomorrow morning! Commissioner Gordon must be busy, so bookmark this blog for an update...</div>
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Suspicions about the identity of this civic-minded crusader are ranging far and wide, and many suspected - or perhaps hoped - it was outspoken and promotionally-minded Bradford West MP <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17558313" target="_blank">George Galloway</a>. He moved to quash the allegations: </div>
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Contrary to rumours sweeping gotham, I am not the Bradford Batman, However I take my hat off to him and wish him luck in the future.</div>
— George Galloway (@georgegalloway) <a href="https://twitter.com/georgegalloway/status/308575284641275904">March 4, 2013</a></blockquote>
But isn't that precisely what Bruce Wayne <em>would</em> say? The <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-03-04/one-directions-zayn-malik-or-alan-titchmarsh-who-is-bradfords-batman/" target="_blank">odds on his real identity are already being calculated by Ladbrokes</a> with an interesting selection of "What, really?" choices! I'd be interested in the odds of someone betting celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh is also a night-time crime nemesis - but what a bulletproof secret identity! <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-38181925570664162472013-03-01T14:39:00.000+00:002013-03-01T14:39:22.100+00:00Professor Brian Cathcart - Founder, Hacked Off campaign<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Professor Cathcart at Journalism Week </i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr>
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Coming hot on the heels of <a href="http://leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/journalism-week-2013-neil-wallis-former.html" target="_blank">yesterday's appearance by staunch press supporter, former News International Executive Editor Neil Walli</a>s, was today's rebuttal from Professor Brian Cathcart - leading academic light of the <a href="http://hackinginquiry.org/" target="_blank">Hacked Off allianc</a>e of hacking victims. They represent the strongest supporters of the Leveson Inquiry recommendations and are in direct conflict with the Fleet Street empires who have been exposed in the midst of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/phone-hacking" target="_blank">greatest wrongdoing in modern journalism</a>.<br />
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Wallis' comments yesterday were highly provocative, and into the small hours I was tweeting with former Daily Star reporter turned moral crusader <a href="http://www.rich-peppiatt.com/" target="_blank">Richard Peppiatt</a> as he responded to some of the slings and arrows exchanged at yesterday's session!<br />
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@<a href="https://twitter.com/thehoodedhack">thehoodedhack</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/neilwallis1">neilwallis1</a> Aww, man who's made a career out of smearing & lying, continues smearing & lying, shocker..<br />
— Rich Peppiatt (@richpeppiatt) <a href="https://twitter.com/richpeppiatt/status/306902933860126722">February 27, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Regardless of hurt feelings, the mood on the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LTJW&src=hash" target="_blank">#LTJW feed</a> was one that had been swayed by the "Wolfman's" charm to anti-Leveson sentiments. It was hard not to be convinced that our basic rights as Journalists were at the mercy of vengeful and distant celebrity personages - and Professor Cathcart had an uphill fight on his hands!<br />
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It's worth noting that Brian did not bother with a presentation and spoke directly to his audience, drawing the facts and figures straight from memory. His language was creative and exciting, much like Neil Wallis' - <i>"Celebrities were subject to stalking and - let's face it - surveillance"</i> he said of the scandal, wryly observing that the story of a massive corporation with a famous leader breaking the law would certainly make an entertaining book - and movie. Indeed, it already comes preloaded with celebrity faces!<br />
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Getting into the grit of details, Brian observed how the <i>Guardian</i> - whose reporter <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/nickdavies" target="_blank">Nick Davies is widely credited</a> as the man who broke the hacking scandal - ran 237 stories on the drama as it unfolded. Conversely, papers from the <i>Mail</i> empire ran just 37, usually criticizing the <i>Guardian</i> for mounting what appeared to be a <i>"politically-motivated vendetta!"</i><br />
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Indeed, Brian strongly implies the presence of a <i>"conspiracy - to cover up phone hacking"</i> - a joint effort by titles both News International and not to bury any evidence of wrong-doing on Fleet Street.With relish he quotes an interview with Richard Murdoch from the Sixties, where the mogul said <i>"Newspapers can hide things - and be a great power for evil." </i>You can infact see the comment for yourself in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtcq8RDDPFU" target="_blank">this amazing archive footage courtesy of the BBC</a>, at 1:50. Never before have such prophetic words been uttered - I am certain that Rupert would dearly like to "have no recollection" of this interview as he did so much else when placed before the Culture Committee as well as Lord Justice Leveson!<br />
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Meanwhile, Professor Cathcart is undaunted in his pursuit of the truth. <i>"What is happening? The only newspapers reporting the scandal to begin with are the British national papers with the smallest circulation - the Guardian, the Independent, the Financial Times." </i>There is a disconnect between the actions of the underdog papers and the powerful alliances of Murdoch's empire, and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html" target="_blank">Dacre's</a>, and the Trinity Mirror group. <br />
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The answer, he claims, is simple. <i>"Journalists don't want to shine a light into their own backyards - and that is shaming, as a Journalist myself." </i>In reality, he says, we should be a force for change, 'poking' the powerful and exposing wrondoing - but what does that make us, the press, if we won't do the same for ourselves?<br />
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He turned his attack on regulation - past, present and future, mentioning the Press Council from 1953, and the PCC from 1991 - both organisations grudgingly formed under threat of statutory reform. The results, he says, speak for themselves. <br />
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History is repeating itself, we don't want another PCC@<a href="https://twitter.com/briancathcart">briancathcart</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23ltjw">#ltjw</a><br />
— Journalism Week (@JournalismWeek) <a href="https://twitter.com/JournalismWeek/status/307092593341251584">February 28, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Stronger, statutory-backed press regulation, audited three-yearly, is <i>"Nothing to be afraid of. It could become a kitemark, a badge of honour, a standard to be aimed for and to be held to."</i> He contrasted this with his ending comment, taken from a taped conversation at the News of the World in 2002. <i>"This is what we do, Charley - we go out and we destroy people's lives." </i>We, as journalism students, have nothing to fear - but those kinds of tabloid hacks do.<br />
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At this point he thanked us for our time, and turned the floor over to questions. The entire session was filmed as always, and at 33:35 you can see me ask the first question, passing on a direct quote from Neil Wallis that was made during <i>his</i> session the preceding day!<br />
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Many of the audience came away from this speech informed, but not especially swayed after the more charismatic speech of Mr Wallis. Indeed, Neil was able to push the buttons of fear and apprehension about the possible restraints placed on us if the Hacked Off campaigners succeed in having their recommendations passed - although Professor Cathcart acknowledged that David Cameron's administration is <a href="http://t.co/GAC4bvW5DU" target="_blank">compromising significantly with the press</a> to water down the Leveson recommendations as much as possible. <br />
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After the Q&A finished, too quickly as always, I was able to talk to Brian one-on-one to ask another question about collusion between the media, the police and the politicians.
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Possibly one of the most highly anticipated speakers at Journalism Week was Neil Wallis, lauded in our programme as a former editor of <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/the%20people" target="_blank">The People,</a> Executive Editor of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21442040" target="_blank">News of the World</a>, and member of the <a href="http://www.pcc.org.uk/" target="_blank">Press Complaints Commission</a>.<br />
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He was one of many journalists arrested following the phone-hacking scandal in 2011 on charges of conspiracy to intercept mobile communications. Just recently the Crown Prosecution Service <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/feb/22/phone-hacking-neil-wallis" target="_blank">dropped their case against him</a>, citing a lack of evidence to secure a conviction. <br />
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If there is a man more qualified or able to talk to us about the journalism industry and the <a href="http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/labour-seeks-cross-party-agreement-leveson-and-harman-tells-cameron-man" target="_blank">Leveson proposals</a>, then we haven't met them yet! Certainly, the tone was set before he even began with his presentation entitled "LEVESON: Devil in the Detail - Why Inquiry Report Threatens Press Freedom In More Ways Than One". Quite clear what his feelings on the reforms of the media are!<br />
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Neil was introduced by his former employee, and current Leeds Trinity <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/CFJ/staff/Pages/Nigelgreen.aspx" target="_blank">Senior Lecturer in Media Law</a> - appropriately enough! - <a href="http://www.nigelgreenmedia.com/" target="_blank">Nigel Green</a>. It was a perfect moment for Neil's phone to ring, and one wag in the audience (I have my suspicions <a href="https://twitter.com/leedsjourno" target="_blank">about who</a>!) shouted "It's Leveson!" to laughter all round. <br />
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Turning then to the serious, Neil was candid about his arrest, his bail and his subsequent exoneration - "It's scary. You feel like wetting yourself! It brings everything to a grinding halt - your life, your family, your career." The mood of the room was actually sympathetic, and it will be interesting to see if that holds up tomorrow when we're joined by <a href="http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/findanexpert/profile/72/Brian-Cathcart/" target="_blank">Professor Brian Cathcart</a> of the <a href="http://hackinginquiry.org/" target="_blank">Hacked Off</a> campaign, bitter ideological opponents to Mr Wallis and co.<br />
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Back to today, and Neil - cleared of all charges - has now set his sights on those arguing for the toughest of press reforms as proposed by the Leveson Inquiry. He painted a very convincing picture of the dangers of appointing a statutory regulator - specifically one backed by (and therefore dominated by) Parliament.<br />
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A Parliament, of course, that is wracked by scandal, corruption and ineptitude - see left!<br />
There has been no end to the procession of crimes and misdemeanours of our elected leaders - exposed, naturally, by the Press they're now struggling to gag. <br />
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Hitting the topical angle, Neil referred to the Rennard scandal engulfing Nick Clegg's Lib-Dems, and how it was broken by a Journalist, those <a href="http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/rennard-scandal/51709/nick-clegg-angers-press-self-appointed-detectives-jibe" target="_blank">self-appointed detectives</a> that the Deputy Prime Minister has <a href="http://www.fleetstreetfox.com/2013/02/watching-detectives.html" target="_blank">made inadvisable enemies</a> of! <br />
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He spoke rousingly and charmed an audience of - I'll be honest - naieve journalism students who have been raised on a diet of cynicism towards the Government, even though their (our?) faith is still in the Guardian and the ethical correctness of the Leveson Inquiry. Nonetheless, it's clear to see how he was able to wield such influence over a Murdoch newsroom - and we're only seeing the beauty of charm and not the 'Wolfman' beast!<br />
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When the Q&A came around after a very quick half-hour, Neil made it clear how he'd tackle press reform. Trinity Journalism Graduate, and next Paxman <a href="https://twitter.com/croppersports" target="_blank">Ben Cropper</a> asked him if the Press Complaints Commission - of which Neil had sat on the board as a tabloid Editor - was a "toothless watchdog". <br />
Neil responded forcefully that the PCC simply lacked stronger investigative powers - which seems surprising as the main complaint against the PCC seemed to be its lack of punitive strength instead. As an editor, however, Neil stated how he spoke to the PCC practically every day, checking the suitability of his stories - and is that a comment on other editors who might not have held to that admirable practice? He made it clear that <i>"People were not arrested becase they broke the Editors Code of Conduct - they broke the law. The PCC couldn't stand in the way of that."</i><br />
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At one point he turned the entire Q&A on its head and asked us at one point we'd fall back on that tried and tested method of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/oct/21/national-newspapers-cityuniversity" target="_blank">chequebook journalism</a>. I couldn't tell if the silence that greeted him was moral in fibre, or just squirming! A few hardy souls ventured to admit they'd pay out for stories, and uppermost in my mind was securing the<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8115998.stm" target="_blank"> Telegraph scoop on the Expenses scandal</a>. It was an interesting moral conundrum, and he continued the theme when asked if there was indeed a culture of criminality amongst the tabloids - <i>"No, but I know a lot of journalists who sail bloody close to the wind!"</i><br />
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It's fair to say Journalism has always operated in the 'grey' areas, both morally and legally - indeed, it's probably where it's most needed. I had decided long before this session to get into this as far as possible, and tweeted <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-7-fp-DX5A&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">a former Journalism Week guest</a> - infamous tabloid apostate Richard Peppiatt. <br />
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I asked Richard what I should specifically put to Neil, considering their naturally opposing viewpoints on a common topic. By the wonders of modern technology, the link to the right will show you all of Neil's talk and at 43:35 I am the person who asks the question - <i>"Regarding press freedom, which you have discussed extensively and proudly, how do you reconcile it with the fact that all 175 titles owned by Murdoch simultaneously supported the Iraq War?"</i><br />
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The response I get is somewhat confusing - not certain that I would describe Rupert Murdoch's work as "left-of-centre papers". Nor would I describe all of his titles as "not being huge opinion formers." And his decision to mention the 'Editor of the Times' as opposing proprietorial influence seems <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/feb/18/times-directors-new-editors" target="_blank">laughably inappropriate</a>!<br />
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Raising the most eyebrows, of course, is Neil's vehement response to Mr Peppiatt which came across as a violet drubbing. No less energetic is his attack moments later on Professor Cathcart, but Richard himself has already been responding to the comments via Twitter and the <a href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23ltjw" target="_blank">Journalism Week hashtag #ltjw</a> until just recently, several hours after the talk has concluded! <br />
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Will the Hacked Off campaign respond equally forcefully to this tabloid supremo turned press freedom fighter? No doubt there will be even more exciting developments as Journalism Week comes to an end for another year, continuing the theme whereby I ask impertinent questions of important people!<br />
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Until tomorrow...! <br />
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<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-75631824361969854442013-02-26T19:51:00.000+00:002013-02-26T19:51:13.618+00:00Journalism Week 2013 - Mark Bradley, Yorkshire Weekly Newspapers - Group EditorWe went regional with our final speaker on the second day of Journalism Week - Mark Bradley is Group Editor of fifteen West Yorkshire titles including the Wakefield Express, Dewsbury Reporter and Halifax Courier. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mark Bradley introduced to #ltjw by Susan Pape,<br />Assoc. Principal Lecturer in Journalism</i></td></tr>
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An eighteen-year veteran reporter, then sub-editor and finally editor responsible for all the titles mentioned above, it was clear he was going to speak with a great deal of experience behind him.<br />
He approached Journalism Week with an unprecedented amount of hard, and good, advice for training journalists, saying "I'll tell you what I'm looking for when I'm recruiting for my newsrooms." He wants reporters who can quickly take pictures, get and edit video, write good copy, write their own headlines, sub their own work and put it all on a user-UNfriendly Content Management System.<br />
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It's another brick in the wall of multi-skilling journalists - but more than that, Mark doesn't want staff to forget the "fundamentals - finding and telling stories. How you deal with people everyday will define you as a journalist, and what this course does is train you how to go out and TALK to them - not sit behind a monitor and press keys."<br />
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It's valuable stuff for a room full of training reporters, many of whom will be job-hunting within weeks. Demand for a position well exceeds the actual vacancies - Mark informed us if he advertises for a position, he will get at least 50 applicants!<br />
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How should the potential employee stand out from the crowd then? The answer is at the heart of regional journalism - that the journalist should be vitally aware OF their region! Any good editor wants to see in the covering letter itself a true awareness of the 'patch' you'll be covering, a real familiarity that will lead to good, in-depth writing.<br />
Back that up with a reference as well - and make it a good one! If you can, make it someone already working on the publication who knows you. "I want to be able to pick up the phone and speak to someone who can tell me in a few minutes if you're right for the job."<br />
Finally, Mark observes "I've never had a video application!" I'd already been considering a show-reel style portfolio on Youtube as an application tool, but now a room full of competitors know, I'd better get on it quick! The lesson here though is a combination of local knowledge, proven skills, and ability to improvise a novel approach - all keys to standing out from the crowd.<br />
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Mark turned next to the real challenges facing regional media, dealing with monetizing their work and balancing the digital/print demand. "We want to chase new demographics, of course, but we don't want to alienate our existing customers. Print is still our priority, and whilst it might change in 12 to 24 months, but many of our core demographics don't have access to high speed internet" - so, a flashy website is entirely wasted on your key customers and what content might you have sacrificed in the course of going fully 'digital'?<br />
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It's an interesting conundrum which must be facing regional titles and broadcasters across the country, and it's even more crucial when you consider a key message of Journalism Week is the importance of starting with local media - either as a stepping stone to national and international work, or building a solid career with your hometown title. <br />
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Mark echoed other common themes of the week, such as advising against too much dependance on Facebook or Twitter. "They're valuable tools certainly, but they are no replacement for properly curated content." He cites well-known examples of social media driven stories that have exploded spectacularly in people's faces, with names like McAlpine and Bercow ringing warning bells across the nation.<br />
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During the Question and Answer session, I asked him what he thought of hyperlocal blogging, and citizen journalism - did they compete for custom with their increasing popularity, and lack of commercial dependance versus his more traditional media?<br />
"I think bloggers, and micro-local journalism, are really just part of the landscape that live alongside local newspapers - for the moment. We aren't really in direct competition."<br />
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He stressed the kind of 'brand loyalty' that publications like the Yorkshire Evening Post have, which is key to the success of regional media - and that loyalty is assured as long as they retain 'integrity', which causes him to comment on the post-Leveson world of journalism. "Our readers now come to expect a higher quality, less 'in your face' style of reporting that is less tabloid. They will actually complain if we become too tabloid, that's a definite shift after things like Leveson and the closure of the News of the World."<br />
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I found that a particularly interesting point, and after the applause and thanks I stopped to ask Mark to expand a little further on it for a video.<br />
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<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-26250217383375389882013-02-26T14:35:00.002+00:002013-02-26T14:39:23.073+00:00Journalism Week 2013 - Trevor Morris, Public Relations SupremoAnother <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/CFJ/Pages/journalismweek2013.aspx" target="_blank">Journalism Week</a> has begun, courtesy of <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Leeds Trinity University</a> and their <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/CFJ/Pages/Aboutus.aspx" target="_blank">Centre for Journalism</a> - where I am a final year student on a Journalism BA. <br />
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I've blogged <a href="http://www.leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/journalism%20week" target="_blank">about Journalism Week previously</a> and this year will be no exception. When not blogging, you can follow the action on twitter via the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ltjw&src=hash" target="_blank">#ltjw</a>, the account <a href="https://twitter.com/JournalismWeek" target="_blank">@JournalismWeek</a> and the <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/CFJ/Pages/Journalism-week-live-blog.aspx" target="_blank">liveblog</a> and <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/CFJ/Pages/webcast.aspx" target="_blank">livestream</a>. We don't just talk about multiplatforming - we do it!<br />
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Today we had a couple of firsts - our first PR representative, albeit now resigned from the industry to become our first journalism academic, <a href="http://www.trevor-j-morris.com/" target="_blank">Trevor Morris</a>.<br />
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The theme of his presentation to us was "Is PR good for us?" - an interesting concept to a room full of cynical veteran journalists and their proteges!<br />
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Indeed, he asked how many in the room were specifically PR students, and the lone few hands that went up were heavily outnumbered by the 'pure' Journalists! <br />
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Unabashed, he pressed on with his lecture which portrayed PR as "hard to describe, easy to malign" in my words. He discussed the steretotypes of the PR operatives, such as the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qgrd/profiles/malcolmtucker" target="_blank">male Machiavelli</a> and the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jm3ms" target="_blank">female Strategist</a> - but the truth is actually of a well-connected corporate employee who probably knows as much as his CEO or Minister about the doings of their company or Department.<br />
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He confirmed my suspicions about the divide between Journalists and PR staff - the divide between good jobs and pay versus no work and scant earnings, with no medals for guessing who gets what! But more than that, that contention between the camps is actually a good thing. As a citizen, he says, he wants reporters to be sceptical of the PR line - "holding the powerful to account" as we were always meant to do!<br />
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Indeed, he freely admits that good PR must 'mislead in order to keep their clients interests' - and equated it with a Journalist deceiving to protect their exclusive. Are these deceptions necessary to our work? Some tweeters were <a href="https://twitter.com/Salliex/status/306383801989345280" target="_blank">still reserving judgement</a>! <br />
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During his busy Q&A, Trevor was clear on his morals stating he'd <a href="https://twitter.com/thehoodedhack/status/306388189696897025" target="_blank">never lost his principles over his work</a>. At a time when Journalism is still recovering from Leveson, how many hacks can claim the same? <br />
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<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-38461805676917720182013-01-16T17:20:00.000+00:002013-01-16T17:20:10.684+00:00The New Year - Retrospectives and Viral SuccessesThere was a great rush of activity coming up to New Year, and every time I tried to sit down and write a retrospective, something else came along and seized the initiative!<br />
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The most intriguing - and exciting - development has been my <a href="https://evision.leedstrinity.ac.uk/sipr/ipp_fehq_catalogue/JOU6932.htm" target="_blank">Digital Media Portfolio module</a>, a new 'core' or compulsory segment of my Degree. Tutors have rapidly adapted to the demands of contemporary journalism, and the DMP module requires students to create, maintain and update a news-worthy blog requiring at least a monthly entry, if not more. <br />
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On top of that, at least one entry must be a multimedia, audio-visual creation. This is an excellent way to push students out of their comfort zones, and in to multi-platform media coverage. I seized the initiative for my blog - a continuation of a project I've worked on previously, called <a href="http://theblogginggoth.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Blogging Goth</a>.<br />
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Intended to be a news-centered blog for the popular and enduring <a href="http://www.darkwave.org.uk/faq/ukpg/#2" target="_blank">Gothic subculture in the UK</a>, I took the opportunity to make my first update on the popular <a href="http://www.whitbygothweekend.co.uk/" target="_blank">Whitby Gothic Weekend</a>, the long-running UK musical festival. It took the form of a ten-minute video piece going over the difficulties of a lengthy, booze-filled, band-seeing, clothes-shopping weekend in these financially straitened times - you can see it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VcIQGooxGXg" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
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At the same time, I also agreed - somewhat reluctantly! - to help a friend create a parody music video. Who said Goths have no sense of humour? Well Whitby Gothic Style was considerably more successful than my news-orientated Blogging Goth update, and has indeed reached the viral stakes of a quarter of a million views, plus some <a href="http://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/seoul-music-for-gothic-crowd-1-5199853" target="_blank">'real' media mentions</a>. Granted, we were holding on to the coat-tails of a great many parody predecessors, but I think Graeme and myself tapped into the ubiquitous online presence of the Goth scene, who have overall a great sense of humour and a willingness to share generously on social media - hence our astonishing success!<br />
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Also from The Blogging Goth, and heavily shared but for much more serious reasons, was my very sombre response to the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sandy+hook&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a#q=sandy+hook&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=zOq&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ei=DL_2UMjoI8OR0QXkmYGQDA&ved=0CA0Q_AUoAA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41018144,d.d2k&fp=ad23c03e7d67141a&biw=1440&bih=806" target="_blank">Sandy Hook tragedy</a> in the United States, and specifically a critical response to certain aspects of the British media's decision to lead with some very provocative headlines.<br />
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This kind of scapegoating is not new to the Goth culture of course - I remember the <a href="http://alterophobia.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/columbine-legacy-of-hatred.html" target="_blank">media riposte to the Columbine massacre of 1999</a>, but that was a primarily American response. In this instance, it was elements of the British media, with some familiar faces, who headed straight for the moral panic button.<br />
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I had another story in mind for December, but I immediately set about contacting people for quotes, drafting and redrafting my piece, and striving all the way throughout to be as measured, reserved and balanced as possible. I was taught, and am always learning, that to strive for objectivity and clear-eyed reporting of the truth is crucial. I wrote <a href="http://theblogginggoth.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/subculture-responds-to-goth-loner-accusation-over-adam-lanza-tragedy/" target="_blank">my article on 18th December</a>, and by the end of the day had 360 views. The following day, Wordpress - the hosts of my blog - e-mailed me to say the article would be 'Freshly Pressed' and placed on their frontpage shortly. That day, I had 555 views of the article, and it was beginning to get shared extensively through Facebook, and a few retweets as well. <br />
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Wordpress duly posted the article to their frontpage late on the 23rd, so a great deal of people had a lovely Christmas Eve reading about the Daily Mail's latest shameful display. On the 24th itself The Blogging Goth clocked an all-time high of 895 views, and for the rest of the festive period had smaller but steady amounts of visitors, along with nearly 100 comments and more than double that in 'likes'. It hasn't come to a stop yet, and even today - nearly a month after the article went online - I get a handful of e-mails telling me of new subscribers to the blog. <br />
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At no point do I forget the point of this story - that I am calling out one of the biggest newspapers <i>in the world</i> for failing to observe basic journalistic procedures and acting completely disrespectfully in a tragedy played out on an international stage, to the horror of everyone.<br />
It's irrelevant that they respond; I did try and contact them and was met with a wall of silence, and who is surprised by that? The crucial thing is to at least be a dissenting voice to the Mail's rabble-rousing, and hopefully deter people from receiving this hate-mongering without some form of balance. So it's difficult to take pride in an article which has been successful, but only for the most grim reasons. <br />
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Moving on now from viral stories to a high-profile, hyper-local and happier one - the appointment of renowned TV sports journalist Gabby Logan to the <a href="http://leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/leeds-trinity-2013-gabby-logan.html" target="_blank">Chancellorship of Leeds Trinity University</a>!<br />
The in-house recording of Gabby's 'masterclass' to the Journalism students is above, and is the very same I provided sound tech support for. Hear how crisply those levels are mixed, and how neatly those music clips are cued? No?<br />
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Well, never mind - considering I'd never touched the sound desk before, I'm fairly pleased with how it went! There's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=InHIj_mCdJo" target="_blank">another video</a>, produced in a more PR style, that shows much of the making of - including a brief shot of the gallery where I am working under the steady directorship of <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/CFJ/staff/Pages/Best.aspx" target="_blank">Mike Best</a> and <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/departments/CFJ/staff/Pages/Eastwood.aspx" target="_blank">Lindsay Eastwood</a>, along with Mohammed Ali of <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/services/Media_Services/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Media Services</a>. With such experienced contemporaries, it's fair to say I was overawed!<br />
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So, it was a dramatic turn of the year. Onwards into 2013 then, and pretty soon we'll have confirmation of some of the rumours about <a href="http://leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/journalism%20week" target="_blank">Journalism Week</a> for this year. Dead Tree journalism? There's still a pulse! Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5836901888151665743.post-85074810652228185752013-01-08T12:27:00.000+00:002013-01-08T12:29:23.507+00:00Leeds Trinity 2013: Gabby Logan, Chancellor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A Happy New Year to all the readers of Leeds Eye View!<br />
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As you know, I am a Journalism student at <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Leeds Trinity University</a> - which proudly received that final recognition of <a href="http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/news/leeds-trinity-university-whats-in-the-new-name/" target="_blank">University title</a> in December of last year. Not content with just that major transformation, the University has today announced that Leeds-born, award-winning sports presenter <a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/education/tv-presenter-gabby-logan-sworn-in-as-leeds-newest-university-s-first-chancellor-1-5285004" target="_blank">Gabby Logan has become the new Chancellor</a>! <br />
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And of course, when you have<a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/services/Media_Services/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank"> industry-grade facilities</a> at hand, you make an announcement in your own style! So after a formal introduction to staff, governors, students and press, Gabby came to our modern new TV studio facilities - <a href="http://leedseyeview.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/on-shoulders-of-video-journalists.html" target="_blank">which I have recently put to use myself</a> - to be interviewed by students from the Centre for Journalism! Indeed, she was unique amongst guests in that she could teach us a great deal about the challenges of television presenting. <br />
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Of course we weren't the only ones with a nose for the story, and press from <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2013-01-07/gabby-logan-is-university-chancellor/" target="_blank">Calendar</a>, Look North and the <a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/education/tv-presenter-gabby-logan-sworn-in-as-leeds-newest-university-s-first-chancellor-1-5285004" target="_blank">Yorkshire Post</a> were all jostling for room inside our facilities. Indeed, at one point I had those two titans of regional broadcasting - <a href="https://twitter.com/harrylooknorth" target="_blank">Harry Gration</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/duncanwooditv" target="_blank">Duncan Wood</a> - sat directly behind me as I engineered the sound for our programme. This was not the time for me to hit the wrong button on our music console, but indeed I did so. An anecdote to laugh over in the future, but one to cringe about now!<br />
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Such fears were not troubling Gabby however, as she spoke enthusiastically to <a href="https://twitter.com/MissSammyParker" target="_blank">Sammy Parker</a> about embracing the role, and hoping she could inspire students to gain the most from a University degree - something she states definitely benefited her career. Afterwards, she chatted with Duncan and Harry, reminiscing about their pasts - as Gabby had come up in reporting via work experience with none other than Mr Gration, the beloved face of Look North!<br />
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Again, she was able to show how her own professional experiences, backed up by her own treasured University days, would be such an immense boon to Leeds Trinity, in the town to which she has strong ties.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqFmlasoeH4/UOtYkRbasII/AAAAAAAAAMs/GMd2TR0ZTK0/s1600/20130107_150824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqFmlasoeH4/UOtYkRbasII/AAAAAAAAAMs/GMd2TR0ZTK0/s200/20130107_150824.jpg" width="200" /></a>Once the video interviews were concluded, Gabby and the crew of the studio, who were almost all bright new journalists on Trinity degrees, were snapped in glowing photoshoots. At the same time, I was able to talk with <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/news_events/news/Pages/Leeds-Trinity-University-welcomes-new-Vice-Chancellor.aspx" target="_blank">Professor Margaret House</a>, the University Vice-Chancellor who joined us just prior to Gabby's announcement. I was able to keep Professor House up to date with the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ltchancellor&src=typd" target="_blank">Twitter storm</a> we were all generating - causing trending to occur within minutes - and in turn hope I satisfactorily answered her searching questions about being a student at Trinity. I'm a Student Rep and I discuss University matters with staff frequently, but even I was gratified at this level of interest in, and engagement with, students on their level.<br />
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After this, Gabby was again whisked away, this time to the modern radio broadcast facilities in the Centre for Journalism where she conducted interviews with BBC Radio Leeds, Pulse Radio, and Radio Aire, all with the assistance of <a href="http://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/news_events/news/Pages/LeedsTrinityLecturerwinsBBCAchievementAward.aspx" target="_blank">award-winning</a> post-grad lecturer <a href="https://twitter.com/leedsjourno" target="_blank">Richard Horsman</a>. Here she acknowledged the uniqueness of Professor House and herself leading the way in academia, a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/24/why-women-leave-academia" target="_blank">hot topic in higher education circles</a> - and she stated how old-fashioned views of 'traditional' roles for men and women should be challenged. <br />
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It's another encouraging sign from someone who will become an Ambassador for the University, and a role model for many aspiring students, especially based on the reactions of those she passed on campus! So a day of media engagements was drawn to a close, and we lucky journalists who covered it are now submitting our stories.<br />
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Gabby Logan is the new Chancellor of the new Leeds Trinity University, in the New Year of 2013. It's an exciting time to be part of it! <br />
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<br />Tim Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008682687099307676noreply@blogger.com0