Disqus - Latest Comments for hizzary

Re: Civil war at the top of the Guardian has former colleagues assassinate Rusbridger's reputation

hizzary — Mon, 09 May 2016 06:17:08 -0000

Well, well. Even at the Gruaniad the suits can get away with blaming editorial for their own management failures. And judging by the current quality of the paper, I'd say it is, as usual, the subs who are being shown the door first!

Re: Lakes latest brasserie at Holker estates

hizzary — Wed, 04 May 2016 05:49:19 -0000

It's Cartmel racecourse & it's complement in that context. Come on, Maurice, at least sub the press releases!

Re: Trinity Mirror's new cut-price national expected to be called New Day and launch within a fortnight

hizzary — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 05:57:47 -0000

It's a spoiler.

Re: Contrary to what Evgeny Lebedev might say, ten reasons why the death of print is not 'inevitable'

hizzary — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 05:56:40 -0000

Indeed. I've often wondered what role journalists' attitude has played in the demise of local papers. So many of us entered the trade with a lofty view of what we were there for - either to make our names in Fleet Street or to become Great Writers. I know that we regarded "district news" with almost as much contempt as "advertorials" and would do our darnedest to get on the crime beat or whatever. We regarded district news as a the province of the grey haired old dear in the corner who never made it. And yet that is where the local coverage really is. Look at French local newspapers - they are, astonishingly, chock full of hyperlocal district news EVERY day. I know they aren't doing particularly well, by their standards any more, but by 'eck they are still doing it!

Re: Contrary to what Evgeny Lebedev might say, ten reasons why the death of print is not 'inevitable'

hizzary — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 05:26:09 -0000

It's the ultra-local bit that matters, not the medium of delivery! Local newspapers that deliver properly-resourced & supported local news still survive in print - as long as the readers can get hold of them, which is less and less often the case.

Re: Contrary to what Evgeny Lebedev might say, ten reasons why the death of print is not 'inevitable'

hizzary — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 06:07:42 -0000

...and look at Europe. I'm on a Costa at the moment and the (free) English papers are thriving. Admittedly, mostly on property ads, as you'd expect, and some of the editorial is rubbish but some of the best are full of translated local material.

Re: Independent newspaper to close

hizzary — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 12:36:20 -0000

70-30 in favour of advertising. The "editorial is just to fill the gaps between the ads" brigade has won - at the expense of audience, of course, but they wouldn't understand that. This is why regional journalists were guilty of turning their noses up at advertising - they knew what would happen if they didn't fight their corner.

Re: Independent newspaper to close

hizzary — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:13:36 -0000

I can't help wondering at the yawning gap between the comments on here and those on HoldTheFrontPage - populated by people who actually know the local press, care about it, and have been in many case victims of JP's colossal incompetence over the past 20 years, rather than fretting about "Fleet Street". JP do not understand the value of good editorial. They want the i for its advertising revenue but you can bet your life they won't put the required resources into the i to keep it. I give it a maximum of the three years of the agreement to take content from the Indy. After that, it'll be another case of "editorial is only the stuff that fills the gaps between the ads". There will be more redundancies, many more, quality will nosedive & readers will disappear; and when the advertisers walk away too JP will blame everyone but themselves.

Re: The Guardian's financial implosion appears to signal a victory for Times '19th century' paywall model over open journalism

hizzary — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 05:29:26 -0000

Hardly. You haven't read the article, have you?

Re: Guardian 'shed' plan to create 30,000 sq ft events space on hold as it seeks to curb losses

hizzary — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:08:17 -0000

Sadly, I'd completely forgotten the FT! Its bias towards business news leaves me cold - doubt if it's really left-wing either, unless your politics tend to the extreme end of the Telegraph spectrum. Might be liberal, tho - or, perish the thought- impartial? Of course I like my newspaper to agree with my politics, so do most readers. But I also find the Guardian's actual literary quality higher.

Re: Guardian 'shed' plan to create 30,000 sq ft events space on hold as it seeks to curb losses

hizzary — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 09:34:31 -0000

I have attempted recently to read the Telegraph, the Times and the Indy. I find the Telegraph badly written, badly subbed and at times, lately, deranged (as a former employee I find that particularly sad); the Times is shallow as well as badly written; the Indy is OK but timid. The others are not designed to be read in any intelligent way - merely to to be gasped at. Regardless of its politics there is quality, and often challenging, writing still to be found in the Guardian. The three other broadsheets, for want of a better word, do not seek to challenge, merely to be agreed with.

Re: Guardian 'shed' plan to create 30,000 sq ft events space on hold as it seeks to curb losses

hizzary — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 17:11:08 -0000

I'd miss it deeply. What is more, I don't believe it's been ruined - I think it's improved a great deal. It's now the only national newspaper that's worth reading, but of course only for people who actually want something worthwhile to read. And it's not dead or even dying yet!!

Re: 'Decling business model' of the media an 'opportunity' for central Government's 3,650 communications staff says official report

hizzary — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 10:01:01 -0000

It comes to something when the Government can freely, even proudly, point to scope for publishing propaganda which won't face challenge as if it were a good business opportunity!

Re: Monty's mad Local World vision promised a 'revolution' and but ends with yet more consolidation and cost-cutting

hizzary — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 06:37:19 -0000

He did nothing in the end, apart from promoting clickbait and advertising that pops up right in the middle of a story you are reading & refuses to be closed down. Editorially Local World are still using Tera, a system so outdated now that it cannot be integrated into modern systems. I predict that until TM update the entire LW production system they won't be able to make the "cost synergies" (centralisation leading to wholesale redundancies) that they want. The axes will fall, but not as quickly as they may hope.

Re: Government commission mulls charges for FoI requests, strengthening ministerial veto and more exemptions

hizzary — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 06:00:06 -0000

"The commission is an independent body, with no pre-determined view" - oh yeah? Each of the four is on record as either opposing or having been exposed in some way by the FoI...

Re: Treat meat eaters like smokers, warns Jeremy Corbyn's new vegan farming minister Kerry McCarthy

hizzary — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 07:32:35 -0000

If you won't even eat anything that casts a shadow, how come you're still alive? Even plants cast shadows, and seeds etc come from plants!

Re: Award-winning investigative journalist 'banned' from putting questinos to Birmingham crime commissioner

hizzary — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 11:04:12 -0000

This should do nicely to keep Joanne's online audience figures on target...

Re: 'Pure evil' Bedroom Tax will hit one million more people as Tories launch 100-day welfare blitz

hizzary — Wed, 13 May 2015 12:10:23 -0000

Instantly? We-e-e-ll...what actually happened was that as the 50% rate was announced as temporary, he "victims" rigged their tax returns so that they didn't have to declare or pay up until after it came down again. If it hadn't been repealed they'd have been forced to pay up eventually and then the false increase when the rate returned to 45% would not have happened.

Re: 'Pure evil' Bedroom Tax will hit one million more people as Tories launch 100-day welfare blitz

hizzary — Tue, 12 May 2015 17:32:53 -0000

Some of them want to bring back hanging

Re: 'Pure evil' Bedroom Tax will hit one million more people as Tories launch 100-day welfare blitz

hizzary — Tue, 12 May 2015 17:29:14 -0000

Sue they are. A 5% cut won't make the slightest difference to the greedy bastards

Re: How many people does it take to edit 18 Newsquest titles? One

hizzary — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 08:20:33 -0000

Effectively he'll have seven titles to edit. The rest will be slip editions, barely distinguishable from each other except for the mastheads. Still, when you consider that once upon a time the Walthamstow Guardian ALONE had a subs' table of eight....

Re: EDF 'violently attacked' journalists, claims NUJ - Press Gazette

hizzary — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:56:33 -0000

Like I said, the left shout, the right thump. Nothing wrong with a bit of abuse as long as it's not physical.

Re: EDF 'violently attacked' journalists, claims NUJ - Press Gazette

hizzary — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:25:46 -0000

The ultra left are almost as bad, I have found, only less likely to thump and more likely to shout. They are usually more intelligent, too. Otherwise, there is never a big divide between Fascism and Stalinism.

Re: EDF 'violently attacked' journalists, claims NUJ - Press Gazette

hizzary — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:21:18 -0000

Ever tried taking a picture when someone's trying to yank your camera off you, or is hitting you? You have a problem with focus, camera shake, sheer terror...etc

Re: Could accepting feebies land journalists in jail? - Press Gazette

hizzary — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:21:31 -0000

Supplements already work that way, now that commercial considerations have taken a stranglehold on local newspapers' editorial policy. I used to sub a brilliant business supplement, with great readable features on local business, until the ad dept began to insist that no-one got a mention unless they were advertising. After that it deteriorated into pages of sponsored columns. And it still got no ROP advertising.