Hot Topic - Phone Hacking

Hacking Victims Unleash On Tabloids Again - October 7, 2019
Cyber-crime, and threats thereof, makes everybody nervous. It should. Everyday another headline announces new hackings of a database, business, control system and, of course, information providers. Then there is spyware; somebody unlocking the camera in your mobile phone or looking into your refrigerator. Then there is all that data casually collected through social media platforms and reported to, well, we’re not sure who.

Media Mergers And Virtual Disruption - January 23, 2019
Big mergers and acquisitions - media and otherwise - almost always result in a period of adjustment. This can last years as executives and shareholders begin executing new operating and financial plans. Those taking on debt tend to shed the odd bits. Those with newly found piles of cash tend to circle the wagons. Everything changes, especially the names.

Pop-up Politics, Press and Rain - May 14, 2018
The passage of time brings many favors. Most obviously, there is wisdom. In the post-modern social media age caustic events rise to prominence on momentary outrage. Given time, another outrage rises, cutting oxygen to the former. Wisdom gives understanding that memories can be shortened by a lack of air. The other great favor is spring rain.

Some Laws Are Irrefutable - October 31, 2013
Intertwined like the DNA double helix the Royal Charter for press self-regulation was officially adopted by the Queen as the first criminal trial over phone hacking and other tawdry deeds gets underway in the UK. That some UK newspaper publishers seem not to connect the two is remarkable, something on the order of denying the laws of science. That such a “medieval instrument” as the signature of the monarch was deemed necessary testifies to the political – if not popular – misunderstanding of the flow of information as the digital age enters its maturity.

Press Freedom And The Transit Lounge - August 26, 2013
Occupying the news cycle for an entire day or two was the story of authorities detaining a traveler in transit. It grew precipitously as details emerged; a major newspaper involved, electronic devices confiscated, wobbly statements from authorities. Add to that whistleblowers and spies for sufficient theatrics.

Post Journalism And The Attention Deficit - April 5, 2012
Theater and journalism generally keep their separate spaces. Both, though, are venues for a good story, which attracts viewers, listeners and readers. The values of journalism – objectivity and facts – seem passé in an attention-obsessed world. Welcome to post-journalism.I Feel The Need For Speed - February 13, 2012
Newsrooms are delightful studies of chaos. It’s a high-pressure world where the timid are quickly discarded. Add online demands to the mix and the mind boggles. Once journalism was about who, where, what, when and why. Now it’s the power of Twitter.