Some cross words about cryptic clues | Letters

June 23, 2017, 10:50 am

≫ Next: Peston on Sunday gives Leadsom's call for patriotism a droll reply

≪ Previous: Daily Mail and ‘alt-right’ put lefties in firing line | Letters:

Rather than levelling down, the Guardian’s cryptic crossword respects and accommodates different levels and different needs

Richard Walker (Letters, 22 June) argues that all of your cryptic crosswords should be brought down to the level of the least difficult – on the principle of “for the many, not the few”. But that rallying cry does not mean levelling down, it means respecting and accommodating different levels and different needs, with pathways between them: the comprehensive system, not the grammar. The Guardian crossword setup is a fine instance of that principle in action, with every setter identified, and a range of difficulties from – in this typical week – the entry-level Rufus on Monday to Screw and Arachne. Please keep it that way.
Charles Barr
Norwich

• Before I retired in 2011 I used to complete the Guardian cryptic crossword every day, despite being in a busy working environment. Now work free, I have twice this week thrown down the puzzle in frustration. What has happened? Has some sadistic virus permeated your bunch of setters. Oh, and by the way, I am an ex-Mensan with a 150 IQ.
Phil Garner
Derby

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Peston on Sunday gives Leadsom's call for patriotism a droll reply

June 25, 2017, 3:43 am

≫ Next: When to say it’s ‘terrorism’? | Open door | Paul Chadwick

≪ Previous: Some cross words about cryptic clues | Letters

ITV show joins in criticism of Tory MP’s Newsnight statements by decorating studio with union jacks

After Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, called for broadcasters to be “a bit patriotic” over their coverage of Brexit, the set of Robert Peston’s ITV show has been jokingly decorated with union jacks.

Peston, who presents ITV’s Peston on Sunday, shared a picture of the studio, making light of Leadsom’s comments, which have come under fire.

Shout out to @andrealeadsom: we've been listening to you! Look what we've done to Croissant Corner on @pestononsunday pic.twitter.com/SayvTs93Et

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When to say it’s ‘terrorism’? | Open door | Paul Chadwick

June 25, 2017, 8:36 am

≫ Next: Grenfell reflects the accountability vacuum left by crumbling local press | Emily Bell

≪ Previous: Peston on Sunday gives Leadsom's call for patriotism a droll reply

Calling an event terrorism or a person a terrorist is not the sole preserve of the authorities, but professional journalists need to take care with these labels

Soon after midnight last Monday a van hit pedestrians outside Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park, London, near a mosque from which worshippers were dispersing. Among the queries I received about the Guardian’s coverage was one that recurs often, defies definitive answer, but merits attention: what acts should be called “terrorism”, what actors “terrorists”? It matters because prominence, focus and anxiety accompany those labels, and one of terrorism’s aims is to create fear.

Re-reading, days later, the Guardian’s Finsbury Park live blog, which began at 1.50am London time and closed 22 hours later, I concluded that “terrorist attack” was not prematurely or irresponsibly used to describe what was alleged.

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Grenfell reflects the accountability vacuum left by crumbling local press | Emily Bell

June 25, 2017, 9:21 am

≫ Next: How a Google tax could revive the local press | Letters

≪ Previous: When to say it’s ‘terrorism’? | Open door | Paul Chadwick

Decline of advertising revenue and changing perceptions of ‘quality journalism’ have left no room for much needed local reporting

A day after the Grenfell Tower fire in West London, a Sky News camera crew is talking to writer, film-maker and local resident Ishmahil Blagrove as he delivers a polished exposition on the failings of the media as playing a part in the disaster.

“This is not just a story – this situation has been brewing for years ... You the media, you are the mouthpiece of this government and you make it possible.” Later Blagrove describes the mainstream media as “a bunch of motherfuckers” to a small crowd surrounding him who break into polite applause. Channel 4’s Jon Snow faced an angry group outside Grenfell the same day, asking him where the press was when the fire safety concerns were first raised.

The stories worth covering that nobody reads are the fabric of the public record

There is decreasing correlation between high numbers and quality journalism

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How a Google tax could revive the local press | Letters

June 26, 2017, 11:22 am

≫ Next: Ink review: when idea of a mission to inform was burned by the Sun

≪ Previous: Grenfell reflects the accountability vacuum left by crumbling local press | Emily Bell

Former Green party leader Natalie Bennett calls for reform of the press

Emily Bell (Grenfell reflects the accountability vacuum left by crumbling local press, 26 June) rightly identifies the collapse of local newspapers as a factor that allowed the housing safety crisis to run unchecked. That’s why the Green party wants to introduce what’s been dubbed a “Google tax” – a small tax on online advertising to fund local community-interest journalism. There is some brilliant work done on hyperlocal websites and other media, such as the Dorset Eye, The Public Interest (Sheffield) and Hackney Citizen. But these are maintained by the selfless dedication of individuals and what is needed is financial support to enable far more people to contribute.

But the national media is also at fault. With much of its ownership concentrated with a small handful of rightwing media tycoons, it’s no wonder that the well-documented previous concerns of Grenfell residents didn’t get a hearing. The editorial direction of most of our media has been to demonise residents of social housing, rather than listen to them. We urgently need to introduce the kinds of restrictions on ownership proposed by the Media Reform Coalition, which would open up the mainstream to a greater variety of voices.

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Ink review: when idea of a mission to inform was burned by the Sun

June 27, 2017, 5:18 pm

≫ Next: Flawed reporting about WhatsApp | Open door | Paul Chadwick

≪ Previous: How a Google tax could revive the local press | Letters

Almeida theatre, London
First-rate drama about Rupert Murdoch’s move into British newspapers in the 1960s gives us no sermons about press ethics

‘People like stories.” So says Rupert Murdoch in James Graham’s new play about the birth of the Sun.

And what makes this such a good and gripping piece of theatre is that it doesn’t preach us sermons about press ethics but leaves us to draw our own conclusions from the known facts. It strikes me as a first-rate play about newspapers in the honourable tradition of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s The Front Page.

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Flawed reporting about WhatsApp | Open door | Paul Chadwick

June 28, 2017, 6:06 am

≫ Next: Osborne gets job number six – an honorary professorship in Manchester

≪ Previous: Ink review: when idea of a mission to inform was burned by the Sun

Cumulative effect of missteps led the Guardian to overstate the potential impact on the security of users’ messaging

The Guardian was wrong to report in January that the popular messaging service WhatsApp had a security flaw so serious that it was a huge threat to freedom of speech.

But it was right to bring to wide public notice an aspect of WhatsApp that had the potential to make some messages vulnerable to being read by an unintended recipient.

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Osborne gets job number six – an honorary professorship in Manchester

June 29, 2017, 4:40 am

≫ Next: 'It’s a tense environment': Media braced for further hostility fueled by Trump

≪ Previous: Flawed reporting about WhatsApp | Open door | Paul Chadwick

Ex-chancellor and Evening Standard editor will use unpaid lecturing role at university to champion ‘northern powerhouse’

George Osborne, the editor of the Evening Standard and former chancellor of the exchequer, has added a sixth job to his portfolio – that of honorary professor of economics at the University of Manchester.

On Thursday an email to staff announced that Osborne would be joining the university in an unpaid role. Starting in July, he will give a few lectures and masterclasses a year, building on his work on the “northern powerhouse”– a project to devolve the economy away from London to Manchester and the surrounding area that he initiated as chancellor three years ago.

George Osborne has become a professor of economics at the University of Manchester pic.twitter.com/pOgJHz83ps

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'It’s a tense environment': Media braced for further hostility fueled by Trump

June 29, 2017, 10:03 am

≫ Next: The Guardian view on Murdoch’s Sky takeover: not a done deal | Editorial

≪ Previous: Osborne gets job number six – an honorary professorship in Manchester

Recent concessions by CNN and the New York Times have emboldened opponents of the press – and they’re taking their lead from the president

Legal experts are warning of a chilling effect on the media after a series of apparent climbdowns by leading news organisations have increasingly emboldened opponents of the press, including Donald Trump.

“It’s a tense environment,” said Samantha Barbas, an expert in first amendment and communications law at the University of Buffalo. “Public confidence in the media is at an all-time low, people are more sensitive about their reputations and more protective of their privacy. When you have those things, people feel bolder about taking the media on.”

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The Guardian view on Murdoch’s Sky takeover: not a done deal | Editorial

June 29, 2017, 12:20 pm

≫ Next: Fairfax and News Corp move for bigger piece of the property pie | The Weekly Beast

≪ Previous: 'It’s a tense environment': Media braced for further hostility fueled by Trump

Despite the phone-hacking scandal and eruption of US sexual harassment cases, the Murdochs are judged to be fit and proper owners of a UK broadcaster. There will be chances ahead to revisit that judgment

Did a smile steal across the face of Rupert Murdoch? It probably did so when the culture secretary Karen Bradley stood up in parliament on Thursday. While the billionaire was told his bid to buy the 61% of Sky that he does not own could give him too much power over the news and the political process in Britain, Mr Murdoch would have also heard that he and his family were “fit and proper” holders of a UK broadcast licence.

The culture of law-breaking unearthed at the turn of the decade in Murdoch newspapers over phone hacking saw executives jailed, multimillion-pound payouts to victims and grovelling public apologies from the media mogul. This scuppered the last attempt to control Sky. But last December Mr Murdoch returned with a £11.7bn bid for the pan-European Sky via his Fox television division. This time a slew of sexual harassment cases, high-profile firings and multimillion-dollar payouts at Fox News have not disqualified Mr Murdoch from controlling Sky, sans pesky shareholders. Ofcom displayed an admirable independence of thought in considering reams of evidence about whether the Murdochs passed a fitness “test”. However, the regulator seems gullible in accepting a prima facie case of innocence.

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Fairfax and News Corp move for bigger piece of the property pie | The Weekly Beast

June 29, 2017, 6:28 pm

≫ Next: What I wish I could tell my boss: 'I saw your lies in the headlines'

≪ Previous: The Guardian view on Murdoch’s Sky takeover: not a done deal | Editorial

Media giants take a chance on the the mortgage-broking business. Plus: panic at home as Play School’s scheduling clashes with school drop-off

Fairfax Media and News Corp have found something more profitable than journalism and they’re diving right in: property. As journalists and photographers walk out the door in droves and newspaper profits fall, legacy media is embracing the property boom. But property listings websites Domain and realestate.com.au are not enough so they have both announced this week a plan to extend the property brands further by joining the mortgage-broking business.

For the traditional readers of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age it may come as a shock that Fairfax is drumming up business for the loan brokers. Fairfax says it won’t be a problem because appropriate disclosures will be made in editorial whenever relevant, just as they are now.

I'm so very sad to learn of the death of my colleague @popculturechris - just a delightful person to be around. Condolences to his nearest.

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What I wish I could tell my boss: 'I saw your lies in the headlines'

June 29, 2017, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Social liberalism and traditional values | Letters

≪ Previous: Fairfax and News Corp move for bigger piece of the property pie | The Weekly Beast

The junior reporter: I winced watching people read the fabricated celebrity stories you plucked out of thin air

I thought I’d landed my dream job as a budding reporter when you invited me to join your team. But the highs of getting a scoop soon crashed when I realised who I was really working for. All the things my colleagues had told me about you – that I had naively brushed off – came true.

I studied hard to become a qualified reporter despite having no financial help; slogging it on a low wage because I saw it as a chance to one day make a positive change in society.

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Social liberalism and traditional values | Letters

June 30, 2017, 11:12 am

≫ Next: Barry Norman: 'His enthusiasm and love for film always shone through' | Peter Bradshaw

≪ Previous: What I wish I could tell my boss: 'I saw your lies in the headlines'

Joe McCarthy advises the Guardian to stick to its liberal guns, while Josephine Brady says society must not confuse ‘traditional’ views with intolerant ones

In response to Paul Tench’s plea for more room for the conservative perspective in the Guardian (Where is the space for traditional values?, Letters, 29 June), I’d like to ask you to stick to your liberal guns. Being a pro-choice, leftwing, feminist living in a traditionally socially conservative society can be quite oppressive. Reading the Guardian is a welcome antidote and I know I am not alone in Ireland in thinking so. Please keep up the good work.
Joe McCarthy
Dublin

• The letter from Paul Tench was interesting, but I was surprised that his list of traditional values was equated largely with Protestant and Catholic. There are many people who consider themselves “socially liberal” who value marriage, commitment and fidelity and who hold nuanced views on matters such as abortion, euthanasia and a bit of peace and quiet on a Sunday. They may have a religious belief but most will not. I don’t think it’s ever helpful to assume that holding the above views makes one a conservative. And I do think that you should try harder to find writers who express a range of opinion.
Jane Lawson
London

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Barry Norman: 'His enthusiasm and love for film always shone through' | Peter Bradshaw

July 1, 2017, 4:53 am

≫ Next: So Daily Mail and Mail Online are ‘totally separate’? It depends how you look at it

≪ Previous: Social liberalism and traditional values | Letters

The face of the BBC’s Film programme for almost three decades was an accessible, unpretentious surveyor of cinema

•A delightful and intelligent critic: Barry Norman obituary
•A life in pictures

As a professional journalist, Barry Norman had paid his dues long before becoming a celebrity and a much-impersonated national icon – complete with a catchphrase that he never actually said: “And why not?”

He had been a reporter at the Daily Mail, show business editor, and then a columnist and leader writer on the Guardian. He then got the gig that made him a legend: presenter on BBC1’s Film programme from 1972 to 1998.

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So Daily Mail and Mail Online are ‘totally separate’? It depends how you look at it

July 1, 2017, 10:59 pm

≫ Next: A functioning local press matters. Grenfell Tower showed us why

≪ Previous: Barry Norman: 'His enthusiasm and love for film always shone through' | Peter Bradshaw

In the Hopkins row, a Daily Mail editorial distanced itself from the Online version. But it’s a tangled web

There’s been too much flak flying between the Mail and the Guardian these past few weeks, too much choleric introversion guaranteed to turn ordinary readers off. But a few relatively benign points from these exchanges deserve pondering.

The Mail, in a mammoth editorial, declares that the Guardian knows that Katie Hopkins “has nothing to do with the Daily Mail, but works for Mail Online – a totally separate entity that has its own publisher, its own readership, different content and a very different world view”. In short, Paul Dacre, titular editor-in-chief of everything around the Kensington atrium, now cedes complete autonomy to hard-driving Mail Online editor Martin Clarke.

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A functioning local press matters. Grenfell Tower showed us why

July 1, 2017, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Ink review – Bertie Carvel is unmissable as Rupert Murdoch

≪ Previous: So Daily Mail and Mail Online are ‘totally separate’? It depends how you look at it

How different things might have been had properly resourced newspaper reporters been able to make local councillors take notice of tenants’ fire

What if the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea had a vibrant local newspaper scene (as opposed to the hollowed-out remnants of newsrooms past)? What if real reporters, with real resources, had latched on to the fire fears of Grenfell Tower tenants and made local councillors jump to attention? What if a press that investigates and champions cases on the streets where you live still flourished, a vital part of democracy’s response system?

Valid, utterly awkward questions for a local newspaper industry that has cut and cut again as Google and the rest drained advertising revenue. Without journalists to raise a ruckus, scandals slide by unchecked.

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Ink review – Bertie Carvel is unmissable as Rupert Murdoch

July 2, 2017, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Don’t leave dustmen out of the pay debate | Brief letters

≪ Previous: A functioning local press matters. Grenfell Tower showed us why

Almeida, London
Carvel is a natural as the media mogul in James Graham’s engrossing play charting the rise of the Sun newspaper

Is Ink indelible? Not really. Is it the talk of the theatrical week? Absolutely. For true and for trivial reasons. It is written by James Graham. It is directed by Rupert Goold, whose theatrical pizzazz could make Theresa May look as if she were rollerskating. It has in the rise of Rupert Murdoch a cracking subject. And – this is the aspect that gets the play all over the papers – it is about the importance or not of journalists, who love seeing themselves centre stage and writing about it. Especially when there is the possibility of spotting a gargoyle version of their/our colleagues. Few things are sweeter than recognition entwined with repudiation. On press night the Almeida was heaving with hacks.

The action – this is a Rupert Goold trademark – is often on the cusp of a chorus line

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Don’t leave dustmen out of the pay debate | Brief letters

July 2, 2017, 12:05 pm

≫ Next: Fairfax resumes plan to separate Domain after takeover bid talks end

≪ Previous: Ink review – Bertie Carvel is unmissable as Rupert Murdoch

Essential workers | Letters page | Swearing in pubs | Disappearing bank branches

Good to see the Guardian championing a rise in public sector pay (Gaby Hinsliff, 30 June). But why do columnists rarely mention the real losers at the bottom of the public sector pay cuts – refuse collectors, street sweepers, park staff? These essential service sector workers are on far lower pay than teachers and nurses, and rarely have any pay grades to climb up. Many have already seen their pay cut through privatisation of these services. It is time they were treated with the respect they deserve.
Allan Brigham
Cambridge

• A magnificent crop of letters (29 June) puncturing the flabby concept of social mobility on which the present government supposedly places such value. The letters page is one of the serious glories of the Guardian. With tabloidisation in the offing, guarantees from the editor that this great feature will not be attenuated would be of comfort to loyal readers.
RP Blows
London

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Fairfax resumes plan to separate Domain after takeover bid talks end

July 2, 2017, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: James Graham: 'Rupert Murdoch? He has a weird kind of loneliness'

≪ Previous: Don’t leave dustmen out of the pay debate | Brief letters

After TPG Consortium and Hellman & Friedman retreat, Greg Hywood says ‘now this distraction is over it is back to business as usual’

Fairfax Media will resume plans to spin off its real-estate listing arm Domain after two potential takeover bids for the company failed to eventuate before Friday’s deadline.

The Fairfax chief executive officer, Greg Hywood, said talks with private equity firms the TPG Consortium and Hellman & Friedman had now ended and his earlier plans to separate Domain, announced in February, would continue.

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James Graham: 'Rupert Murdoch? He has a weird kind of loneliness'

July 2, 2017, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: The slang used in sports reporting – archive, 5 July 1910

≪ Previous: Fairfax resumes plan to separate Domain after takeover bid talks end

Ink charts the sensational rise of the Sun and its unquenchable thirst for sex and scandal. Its playwright explains how he found the man behind the media monster

Rupert Murdoch was missing at the opening night of Ink, the play about his first year as the owner of the Sun. But there are rumours that Jerry Hall wants to see this account of how her octogenarian husband became the UK’s most powerful press baron. “That’d be fun,” says playwright James Graham. “Weird and fun.”

Set in 1969, Graham’s play charts the Sun’s battle to become more “popular” – both in sales and as the legitimate voice of the working classes – than its more successful rival, the Daily Mirror. The production, directed by Rupert Goold at the Almeida theatre in north London, has received glowing write-ups from a newspaper industry cheered by its depiction of a hot metal world fuelled by scotch and cigarettes. Kelvin MacKenzie has compared Ink to a documentary while another former editor of the Sun, David Yelland, tells me it is “joyful - the best presentation I’ve ever seen of what popular journalism is about: ideas, creativity, madness, sex, sports, glamour, news and fun”.

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