Friday 7 September 2012

Media Quotes of the Week: From is Jeremy Hunt the PM's human shield? to the age of the trolls


Stephen Glover in the Daily Mail on the promotion of Jeremy Hunt (top) from Culture Secretary to Health Secretary: "It’s been suggested that as long as Mr Hunt remains in government he acts as a kind of human shield, drawing on himself criticisms over his association with the Murdoch empire, which might otherwise be reserved for Mr Cameron. Perhaps he also knows such things as make it prudent for the Prime Minister to keep him close to his side. Whatever the explanation for this inexplicable promotion, it is a thoroughly unsatisfactory development."

The Sunday Times [£] in a leader comments on the Leveson Inquiry: "While many critics hope this inquiry will recommend statutory controls, it would be a tragic outcome if it were to inhibit freedom of speech and legitimate investigation, even if Lord Justice Leveson intended no such outcome. The only ones celebrating would be the rich and the powerful and Britain would have lost yet another cherished freedom."

Grey Cardigan on Press Gazette about Sun intern Sophie Henderson who posed for mockup pictures of Prince Harry partying in Vegas: "Now look, I’ve had a quick glance at Ms Henderson’s Bookface page, or whatever it’s called. She does not strike me as being a shrinking violet and I would imagine that if she didn’t want to pose for the picture, the hapless executive who made the request would have soon been dispatched clutching his privates in much the same manner as the Prince. Either way, I bet she isn’t still an intern 12 months from now…"

Trinity Mirror job ad, as reported by HoldtheFrontPage: "The advert said the successful applicants would be responsible for 'gathering and preparing market-focused content direct from communities' for publication to readers across multimedia channels. It added: 'This is a non-journalistic role but you will be working closely with journalists and you will need to be self-motivated with the flexibility to work on multiple projects and meet a variety of deadlines'.”

Journalism.co.uk reports: "The annual World Press Trends survey by the World Association of Newspapers and Publisher (WAN-IFRA) has highlighted a 'lack of intensity' in digital news consumption, with just 2.2 per cent of global newspaper advertising revenues said to have come from digital platforms last year."

Ex-Daily Star journalist Rich Peppiatt on the The Journalism Foundation about his one man show One Rogue Reporter:"I can give the show a serious philosophical underpinning, but I appreciate some will see it simply as an act of eye-for-an-eye vengeance, albeit a satisfying vengeance against some richly deserving targets. There is truth in that interpretation too – which is why the person who suffers the show’s most brutal assassination is me, myself and I. The first part of the show is dedicated to my failure to be a journalist in anything but name. It is a necessary existential dissection. No one wants to be lectured about press ethics by a washed-up Daily Star hack (and certainly not pay for the privilege…) and it is only by positioning myself as lowly as possible that I earn the right to make some serious points amid the comedic terrorising of Fleet Street’s great and not-so-good."

Ex-Loaded editor Martin Daubney in Press Gazette: "We live in the age of the trolls. You get a shit storm of Tweets, in real time, for saying anything opinionated. My advice? Don’t take online feedback to heart, be dignified and never engage in a Tweet-off with the haters. Remember: you’re getting paid to write, they’re not. Tall poppies will always attract scythes."

[£] = pawall

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