This is…

… a place for my media and journalism links, occasional comments/ponderings and for bringing together my bits and bobs around the web. Find me: @jtownend on Twitter, jt.townend on Delicious, Muskehound on Flickr, and blogging / reporting at Journalism.co.uk. Or check out what I’m doing via my Lifestream.

Continue Reading »

Due to disruption during the postal strikes, NUJ members now have until November 16 to vote for the new editor of The Journalist magazine and website.
Members and non-members alike can put their questions to the eight candidates on the Journalism.co.uk forum - and vote in an informal poll.
See the NUJ’s statement about the extension of [...]

How on earth to balance freedom of speech as outlined in the European Convention of Human Rights with the moderation of obnoxious and damaging views?
Channel 4 News has just neatly illustrated this conflict which lies at the heart of two very high profile UK stories this week:
Jon Snow was interviewing, among others, John Kampfner, chief [...]

A campaign to balance inaccurate news reporting about the cervical cancer jab is working. Malcolm Coles, SEO consultant and blogger, informs me that NHS pages with information about the HPV immunisation are steadily getting bumped up the Google rankings, displacing misleading and deliberately alarming newspaper reports. He says:
“The three NHS pages I was targeting are [...]

Nope, we haven’t moved on from Mad Men-esque gender roles. Pretty women on successful hubbies’ arms.
Yesterday OK magazine the Guardian ran a ‘Leaders’ wives’ photograph, and online you can find this G20 Leaders’ Wives gallery.

“What is everyone wearing? Who gets to go to the Ladies with Michelle Obama? What are the G20 spouses doing while [...]