Space to rent

Image via MorgueFile.com

I spend too much time reading media blogs, predominantly American, because that’s where the most interesting things are happening. While Irish newspapers still fret about paywalls, there are already lots of new revenue models in the Land of the Free, from freemuims and leaky paywalls to digital first, web-only, and (in rare cases) paper-only products.… Continue reading Space to rent

Quantum Omerta

Close to a year ago, I wrote a piece about Quantum Research, a market research firm used by the Sunday Independent, and apparently only by the Sunday Independent. In short, Quantum Research appears not to exist, at least not as a market research company. No such name appeared in the records of the Companies Registration… Continue reading Quantum Omerta

The Public Interest

“Taking photographs of individuals in private places without their consent is not acceptable, unless justified by the public interest.” I’ve never been a huge fan of the Press Council. It was set up as the lesser of two evils, an industry-funded self-regulator, the greater evil being a state-sponsored regulator. Threats of new privacy laws, and… Continue reading The Public Interest

In context

On record. Image via MorgueFile.com

A few days ago, I drafted an article on the Out Of Context Defence. You know the sort of thing. A politician or entertainer says something controversial, faces a backlash of criticism, and responds by says a quote was taken out of context. In my experience, that’s usually not the case. When someone complains of… Continue reading In context

Willie Woes

Green party senator Dan Boyle used his twitter account to express his frustration after the government won a Dáil vote of confidence in Defence minister Willie O’Dea earlier today. The Cork-based politician said he was “not happy with what happened today” using the online messaging service. “As regards to Minister O’Dea I don’t have confidence… Continue reading Willie Woes

Introspection

Self-Googling should come with a government health warning. For various reasons, mainly to do with updating my CV and collecting potential reviews and recommendations (okay, vanity too) I do it now and then, just to see if I missed anything. Mostly, it involves zipping quickly past half a dozen pages of old news reports with… Continue reading Introspection