Five election lessons for the media
- 13 June 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
We await better data, of course, but a few days after Theresa May's humiliation at the ballot box it is not too early to say this election was a watershed... for the media.
As many Tories have pointed out, their party increased its share of the vote for the fifth election in a row, something no party has ever done before. What took everyone by surprise was the astonishing surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.
This is driven to some extent by the UKIP vote falling back into their hands; but it seems likely to have been driven primarily by Britain's young voters.
And the place where they spent the election campaign wasn't just the rallies at which Corbyn drew thousands. It was online. In new digital media.
You cannot understand politics in our time unless you really understand media.
Junk news and democracy
- 1 June 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
Researchers at Oxford University have found that the quality of news available to British voters on Twitter is superior to that available to Americans ahead of the election of Donald Trump as president.
The Oxford Internet Institute has also discovered that there have been more tweets about Labour than other political parties so far in the campaign.
Standard's deputy moves to Mail Online
- 25 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
There's been a lot of "fair play, George Osborne" on Twitter in recent days, commending him for breaking a series of agenda-setting political stories.
There was the line about how not a single member of the cabinet supports the prime minister's immigration cap, followed by the scoop about her swivel on social care.
May delights her fans in the press
- 18 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
So it turns out that a prime minister's word isn't always sacrosanct - because, after all, he or she won't be in No 10 forever.
Victims of press abuse in Britain believe they were given a cast-iron guarantee that the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry, which would look at corporate governance at Rupert Murdoch's News International as well as the relationship between Britain's press and the police, would definitely go ahead.
Gordon Brown calls for 'Leveson 2'
- 16 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
I can reveal that Gordon Brown has written to Culture Secretary Karen Bradley, arguing that his experience of the new press regulator IPSO strengthens the case for a second stage of the Leveson Inquiry.
The former Prime Minister had a complaint upheld against The Daily Telegraph, concerning his expenses. The paper re-published an old heading, "The Truth About the Cabinet Expenses", together with a picture of Brown and his brother.
Rupert Murdoch gives robust response to BBC questions
- 9 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
As Ofcom explores whether Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox should be allowed to press on with its planned takeover of Sky, we thought the company might agree to an interview with the BBC. But they said no.
So we paid Rupert Murdoch a surprise visit at his headquarters in Manhattan.
Read full article Rupert Murdoch gives robust response to BBC questions
BBC election debates: A decent result?
- 8 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
Henry Kissinger is said to have remarked, when asked why university politics is so vicious, that it was "precisely because the stakes are so small". In some academic circles, this is updated to: "Because the stakes are so small and the egos so big".
When it comes to TV debates ahead of British elections, both the egos and the stakes are massive. This makes negotiations fraught. It is impossible to keep all of the people happy all of the time, and the incentives never align: Popular parties, especially if they are in government, would rather avoid them, so as to keep tight control of their message; but insurgents feel it is a moment to receive equal footing with those in power, and so look leaderly.
Fox victims' lawyer to meet Ofcom next week
- 5 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
I revealed on Twitter today that Douglas Wigdor, the New York lawyer who is representing over 20 of the alleged victims of sexual and racial harassment at Fox News, is to meet Ofcom next Thursday.
The key is that the timing of this Fox News scandal couldn't be worse for the Murdochs.
Read full article Fox victims' lawyer to meet Ofcom next week
What is going on at Fox News, and could it affect Sky bid?
- 2 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
The ancient adage was never wrong, and thanks to Fox News we can now offer an update: to lose one may be considered a misfortune; to lose two is a sign something's up; but to lose three is a sign that something is rotten in America's most watched news network.
The sacking of ratings juggernaut Bill O'Reilly last month was the most significant departure in the modern history of American cable news. Except that is, for the departure of his boss Roger Ailes last year.
Read full article What is going on at Fox News, and could it affect Sky bid?
George Osborne's priorities as Evening Standard editor
- 2 May 2017
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
George Osborne has had countless exhilarating moments in his career - and plenty of grim ones too.
He will have felt a surge of adrenaline when, this morning, he sat in the editor's chair at the Evening Standard for the first time. And thank goodness, because his new working hours mean he has to wake up at about 5am.
Read full article George Osborne's priorities as Evening Standard editor