Best of the web 25/01/10 – 31/01/10

(c) altemark

Hello and welcome to my top tips for what you should have watched, heard and read on the intertubes this week.

The Afghan Diaries

During Febuary 11th 2008, 516 men and 34 women flew from Denmark to Helmand province in Afghanistan. Within 40 days 5 would be dead and 8 critically wounded. This is their story.

Newswipe: How to report the news

Hilarious and spot on demonstration of just how formulaic TV news is by Charlie Brooker.

The killing effect

Journalists get some protection from Reynolds privilege, allowing them to report matters in a responsible way. However, if a doctor was to write about a treatment, surgical device or pharmaceutical product then that doctor can be sued at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds. It is that simple, that is why the British Medical Journal chooses not to publish some important case reports on patient groups, and bloggers take down discussions about treatments that didn’t work, and why academics have had to modify their writing.

‘Crisis’ in the economics of journalism

Readers of the New York Times will be charged for full access to the newspaper’s website from 2011. Declining advertising revenues could force other big-name newspapers to follow its lead.

Tim Luckhurst, Professor of Journalism at the University of Kent and a former editor of the Scotsman, discusses the future of newspapers.

The Hatfield House Mystery II

Some who attended the talks insist that they also focused on the dream of “unionist unity” – co-operation or, perhaps in the long term, merger, between the UUP and DUP – which could prevent Sinn Fein’s electoral triumph and, in Westminster elections, deliver a dozen unionist MPs who might be expected to support the Conservatives. Very helpful indeed if David Cameron faces a hung Parliament after the next election.

The Virtual Revolution

Twenty years on from the invention of the World Wide Web, Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how it is reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by some of the web’s biggest names – including the founders of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the web’s inventor – she explores how far the web has lived up to its early promise.

Inside the Iraq inquiry II

Leaving his seat minutes later, he was greeted by boos and a shout of “You are a liar.” And another shout: “…and a murderer.” As I left the room, one woman was in tears.

“Cooking up” Lib Dem campaigns and the marvels of modern technology

On a train to Waterloo yesterday, Mr Maguire sent a number of tweets to reveal that “Train bloke boasting the hospital scare story cooked up at his kitchen table. Very proud of Facebook following”. He was able to take a picture of the man, which he also posted on Twitter, and was rewarded when his followers were able to identify him.

This amazing expose should lead to scepticism of slick populist Lib Dem campaigns that emerge conveniently just before an election, and also remind us that the wonders of social network technology makes us all citizen journalists – even professional journalists!

On inequality, special advisers, Ireland, and TB/Iraq

Professor Danny Dorling of the University of Sheffield describes it as probably the greatest social achievement of the Labour government since 1997, and says it was achieved not at the expense of upper and middle class children, but because of changes to the whole education system and the massive increase in funding for state secondary schools. A government policy success in other words. Hence the news blackout.

The Super Injunction Law Needs Reforming

John Terry, of course, tried his best to ensure that none of us knew any of the details of what he has got up to. He deployed a Super Injunction, but ultimately it fell to pieces. A new government must look at the law in this area. The rich and famous should not be able to use the law in ways which are no topen to the rest of us. Super Injunctions appear to be used by celebrities to invoke a privacy law by the back door. I know of at least two other cases – one involving a footballer and one involving a media personality – which fall into this category.

Missing Tony

A Prime Minister needs to take a broad, big picture view and not be burdened by intricate detail. Brown is a bad Prime Minister in part because he is pathologically incapable of making decisions when they need to be made. By the time he makes a decision the moment has often passed.

I would far rather have a Prime Minister who had the courage to make decisions, even if, on occasion, he gets them wrong.

Yes, I admit it. I miss Tony.

Cameron re-affirms claims to go green

David Cameron’s office recently wrote this email to a voter in response to the standard Tory grassroots view that Global Warming is a global conspiracy.

I can see that you feel recent allegations have cast doubt over the case for climate change, and the integrity of the science. However, our view is that public policy on climate change has been built over many years, with input from a wide variety of expert sources, and we do need to significantly reduce our carbon emissions.

Liberty: Defenders of Free Speech or Free Publicity?

There also the little matter of the growing use of so-called ‘super-injunctions’ to suppress both the publication of criticism, and other adverse information relating to the conduct of certain wealthy corporate interests – particularly the kind that has its toxic sludge dumped on African landfill sites trades under the name ‘Trafigura’ – and public knowledge of the existence of the injunction itself.

Regrettably, it has to be said that if you take the time to bone up on any of these issues then the only time you’ll encounter the word ‘liberty’ sporting a capital letter is at the start of a new sentence. Liberty, the organisation, has been a conspicuous feature of these campaigns only, to date, by its absence. In fact, you could be entirely forgiven, particularly in view of its involvement in Gaunt’s case –for thinking that the organisation is rapidly turning into the ‘corporate rock whore’ of the civil liberties movement in the UK.

S. Times article on blonde warriors “fabricated”

The response was picked up by other websites, one of which angrily said:

I hope American and British readers (and readers throughout the world) will finally wake up to the reality of British journalism: You just cannot believe what you read in British newspapers. I’d further call on my academic colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic never to speak to British reporters. You have absolutely no control over what they say about you and your scientific research.

Britain becoming more liberal

The 26th British Social Attitudes Survey has just been published, and has some interesting findings.

They show strong support for liberal social values, a decline in support for redistribution and traditional left-wing economic intervention to help the worse off, and overwhelming opposition to spending cuts in health and education.

It has prompted a mixture of gloating about how Britain is shifting to the right and whining about evil librulses not “tolerating” homophobia from our friends in the conservative movement, so let’s have a look at what it really says:

HAITI EARTHQUAKE: WHO’S GIVEN WHAT?

The global response to the Haiti earthquake has been extraordinary and generous. But in the midst of all the reporting, it’s difficult to keep track of the numbers.

In particular, who has given what, who has dug deepest, and how the Haiti relief fund currently compares to those of other tragedies.

Seen anything I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments.