Owner: Newsjiffy URL:http://brennybaby.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:58:03 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: I am a MA Journalism student at Westminster University.
This is my blog Site statistics:Click here
BBC Three: Born Survivors Growing Up Skint 2007-12-20 07:09:00 One in three children in the UK live below the poverty line.BBC 3's Born Survivors
:Growing
Up Skint showed us the lives of four of these children.What came across last night was how important social facilities were.For example, Moonisha Parvin's life was brightened up by homework club, which took place in a local church hall, run by teachers who volunteered their time.The local youth club, which only opens once a week due to lack of funds, was important to Matthew from the Possilpark area of Glasgow.More should be done in affluent areas to raise money for social havens in deprived areas.You can donate to Hackeny's Albion Kids Show or the Child Poverty Action Group.Every child should be able to access an after-school facility such as a youth club every day of the week.The Olympics and Child Poverty:The vast sums of public money going into the 2012 Olympics should, in my view, gone towards repairing the social fabric of Britain.I strongly believe that we should never have bid for the Read more:Three
Vladimir Putin: Time's Person Of The Year 2007-12-20 06:40:00 Russia's President VladimirPutin
has won TIME's Person Of The Year.TIME claim:TIME's Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor. It is not an endorsement. It is not a popularity contest. At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world—for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership—bold, earth-changing leadership. Putin is not a boy scout. He is not a democrat in any way that the West would define it. He is not a paragon of free speech. He stands, above all, for stability—stability before freedom, stability before choice, stability in a country that has hardly seen it for a hundred years.Last year, you were the person of the year.TIME placed a piece of reflective plastic on their cover so anyone could see themselves on the magazine.My hero Jon Stewart lampoons TIME in December 2006. Read more:Vladimir Putin
News from Harrow 2007-12-19 05:01:00 Having subscribed to Harrow Council's news feed in Google Reader, as I've been reporting on the Mecca of reportage that is Harrow Town Centre, I thought I'd ignore my sore throat and give a rundown.1. A man has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service for claiming benefits while earning £80,000 a year. 2. Drawings of teenagers will be part of a new road safety campaign.3. Travel operators received a bus tour around the borough's attractions, in order to promote sights within Harrow.The day was rounded off with a tour of the newly re-opened Wembley Stadium and a visit to Neasden Temple - voted by Reader's Digest as the "eighth wonder of the world".Council press releases, while obviously not forming a story on their own, are a useful information source.
Brighton: Kensington Street photo 2007-12-18 10:55:00 Brighton: Kensington Street
Originally uploaded by richardbrennanmajournalismA photo I took while visiting Brighton.You can see the rest of the photos here. Read more:Brighton
Nick Clegg E-mail and tthe Liberal Democrat One-Day Manifesto Conference 2007-12-18 10:18:00 I have just recieved this e-mail from Nick Clegg.I have respaced it in accordance with Jakob Nielsen.Dear Mr BrennanUnder my leadership the LiberalDemocrat
s will be ambitious. Ambitious for ourselves and ambitious for Britain.I want to thank you for giving me the chance to lead our great party. It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy and Ming Campbell, who have all contributed so much to our party. I look forward to working with them all during my leadership. I would also like to pay tribute to both Vince Cable and Chris Huhne. Vince has been an inspiration as stand-in leader with both his forensic questioning and his memorable put downs. Chris and I saw a lot of each other during the leadership contest. Now we will be working together as close colleagues to ensure that our party goes on to further electoral success. I am delighted that both Vince and Chris are going to be part of my top team over the coming years. We have a golden opportunity fo Read more:Manifesto
Nick Clegg wins Liberal Democrat leadership 2007-12-18 08:26:00 The BBC have been told that Nick Clegg has won the LiberalDemocrat
Leadership.I was one of those who voted for Clegg, although Huhne would have been a good leader as wellThe Harrow Connection: On the 22nd November,Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne debated at the Harrow Campus of the University of Westminster.You can read a report by one of my collegues on the day here, complete with rather good photographs.
Panorama: Basra The Legacy 2007-12-18 06:52:00 Last night's Panorama
was sharply critical of the current state of Basra
.The handover of control from the UK to Iraqi forces was completed on Monday.Jane Corbin's report revealed deep concern over the rise of militias throughout Iraq's second city.Graffiti from the "Organisation ordering an end to Abomination" can be seen on walls, warning women not to wear bright or revealing clothes.Black-flak jacketed, Jane Corbin told us it was unsafe for journalists to report from Basra, but local people had contacted her with diaries and e-mails.One e-mail told Corbin "Every morning they find bodies in the rubble".Sheik Abdul Saltar Al-Bahadi denied the claims and claimed that women should be kept in a "case made of cloth".General Mohn Al-Firaiji blamed Britain for the rise of the militas, claiming they "appeared at the collapse of Saddam's regime".Tarout Al-Ainacha told of how her husband's plans "to make Basra the Venice of the MiddleEast" came to nothing after he was gunned down, soon aft Read more:Legacy
New Threats To Media Freedom: Conference. 2007-12-18 06:24:00 The National Union of Journalists and the Campaign For Press And Broadcasting Freedom
are holding a conference on January 26th.It will take place at the National Union of Journalists, at 308 Gray's Inn Road. The union can be reached from Kings Cross Underground Station.From the form, speakers include:Alan Johnston, former BBC correspondent in Gaza,Martin Bright, New Statesman political editor Peter Wilby, former editor, Independent on SundayGranville Williams, media commentator & CPBFVictoria Brittain, freelance journalist and authorJo Glanville, editor, Index on CensorshipHeather Brooke, freelance journalist and authorJoy Francis, managing directorDavid Crouch, Media Workers Against the WarIbrahim Seaga Shaw, Exiled Journalists NetworkMark Stephens, Finers, Stephens, InnocentJeremy Dear, NUJ general secretaryChris Frost, NUJ ethics councilTony Lennon, BECTU presidentPaul Mason, Newsnight correspondentAidan White, general secretary, International Federation of JournalistsYou can find
In memory of David Brunton: Last Chance 2007-12-17 11:17:00 A song in memory of my friend David
Brunton is now at ITunes or at Apple Recording.It is released by Oxford band The Vale.The song is also on Matchbox Recordings' Stay In The Box Volume 2All profits go to support Equilibrium, a charity helping to understand bi-polar disorder.Why not buy a copy for 79p. Read more:Last Chance
Carol Ann Duffy: My favourite poet. 2007-12-17 08:19:00 One of my treasured memories of school involves the late David Brunton booting a chair across the classroom.He was reciting Carol
Ann Duffy's poem "The Snowman" to us.When he came to I took a runand booted him. Again. Again. My breath ripped outin rags.His voice raised and he booted the chair into the wall near the whiteboard.Not for David the expressionless readings that some teachers seem to favour.Now, when I look back on Carol Ann Duffy's poems, I hear them in a Liverpool accent.Carol Ann Duffy is my favourite poet. The first time I experienced her was when she was featured in my GCSE anthology, back in the city of dreaming spires, Colin Dexter and Blackbird Leys.I remember the haunting tones of "War Photographer", the alienated subject remembering foreign wars, and his critique of the effect his work has.The true love of Valentine, with the personal wiping out the commercial.Before You Were Mine stands out as well, Carol's glimpse into her mother's past.in the bal
Ipod news 2007-12-17 07:37:00 Broken Ipod?Did you fling it into the fishtank during a waltz, or did the dog chew it while Songs of Praise was distracting you?Well, Brett Moseley of BuyMyTronics offers $2.40 and up for iphones and ipods.The site is worldwide.Another site is Beyond The Pod.You can also use ifixit to repair your ipod.Hacking Ipods:You can convert your old ipod to an encyclopedia, jukebox, console or a Linux system This information was from the Times' Microtrends.
Changing Media Summit 2008 2007-12-17 06:52:00 Today's MediaGuardian advertises the Changing
Media Summit
2008.It examines the impact of the "digital revolution".It's on the 12th March at Victoria Park Plaza Hotel in London.Speakers advertised are:Jim Buckmaster of CraigslistMarian Salzman of JMT.Peter Fleischer of GoogleTraviz Katz of My SpaceGordon mcLeod of the Wall Street JournalDawn Airey of ITVTim Brooks, Guardian News And Media. (managing director)I don't know if it costs money or when it starts, but I've e-mailed to find out.E-mail conferences (@) guardian dot co dot uk to book a place.
Postal Grinch Steals Christmas 2007-12-16 07:48:00 Canada's National Post and CTVreport on someone sending obsence and sometimes hateful messages to children who wrote to Santa.One letter alleges that "Santa is bad, he hates kids and even hates David Beckham".Canada Post are keen to stress that "We firmly believe there is just one rogue elf out there."So many good things in the world have been destroyed by commerce and spite. Let's hope Canada Post catch this person so the letters can resume. Read more:Christmas
, Grinch
, Postal
BookMooch 2007-12-16 06:32:00 Today the Observer's digest of the New York Times had an article on BookMooch.Joanne Kaufman reports on the creation of BookMooch by John Buckman.And what an appropriate name. Mr Buckman managed to sell Lyris Technology (which he co-founded) for $29.5 million.How BookMooch works:After joining (for free), you then create a list of books you wish to give away.Members are also notified by e-mail when a book is listed that is on their wish list.The more books you give away, the more points you receive.You can use these books to recieve books from others.A forum adds to the interactivity, enabling members to recomend their inventory to check other.The site also has links to Amazon, enabling members to buy from there if the book cannot be found.According to Mr Buckman, the site generates $30,000 for Amazon yearly.BookMoocn has arond 750,000 titles and is global.
Visions of 2000: Villemard: Utopie 2007-12-15 02:05:00 Here are some illustrations from 1910 of how life might be in 2000.They are currently in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which in English means the National Library of France. Read more:Visions
BBC redesigns its homepage 2007-12-15 01:38:00 As pointed out by Cookd and Bombd and The Register, the BBC has redesigned its homepage.It's only in beta at the moment.Richard Titus says.From a conceptual point of view, the widgetization adopted by Facebook, iGoogle and netvibes weighed strongly on our initial thinking. We wanted to build the foundation and DNA of the new site in line with the ongoing trend and evolution of the Internet towards dynamically generated and syndicable content through technologies like RSS, atom and xml. This trend essentially abstracts the content from its presentation and distribution, atomizing content into a feed-based universe. Browsers, devices, etc therefore become lenses through which this content can be collected, tailored and consumed by the audience.
Viewfinder Magazine 2007-12-15 00:50:00 I picked up Viewfinder Magazine
last week from the Harrow Learning Resources Centre.Viewfinder is the magazine of the British Universities Film and Video Council.Notable news in Viewfinder:* The BBC Motion Gallery (in association with JISC) is launching a website offering access to BBC clips for use in education.* The Open University have launched a new DVD service. For £35, you can create a DVD online and have it posted within seven days.The DVD creation interface resembles a older version of Windows Media Player.Feature articles in the magazine include Dr Chris Wilmott on bioethics, Roger Geenhalgh on time-lapse video and a review of "Shut Up and Shoot", a guide to making documentaries.AthenaWeb:The feature that caught my eye was by Kathleen Van Damme of AthenaWeb, who discusses how she gave the site a Web 2.0 overhaul.This was done by placing scientific films on the net under copyleft agreement.Although Kathleen Van Damme does not mention it in the article, the site also has an RSS
Happy Christmas 2007-12-24 09:18:00 As John Lennon sang, so this is Christmas
...A sore throat and flu-like symptons mean I don't feel very Christmassy this year, that and the upcoming law exam, first day back.Defamation, contempt of court, the Broadcasting Act 1990...it's a lot to take in.I am currently reading the late Harry Thompson's Penguins Stopped Play, about an amateur cricket team. It's excellent. I'm not really into sport, but it's got me enthralled.(There are some sport blogs among the Westminster blogs if that floats your online boat).I am going to try and finish watching Casino Royale on DVD this week, and hope the guinea pigs don't fart while I do so.Tommorow I will do shorthand shadow writing in front of the backward Queen's Speech.We Wish You A Reggae Christmas:Have some Christmas Trojan Reggae. Read more:Happy
Queen launces YouTube channel 2007-12-24 05:41:00 The European Union already has one.And now the Queen
and her happy pampered band do as well.It's called The Royal Channel.So far, it has over 8,000 subscribers.The channel has been viewed over 300,000 times-although no doubt promotion on the BBC helped.I can't see any videos of Prince Edward walking in on Fegie in the bath or Prince Phillip saying crazy things while women in big hats guffaw quickly.Maybe Prince Harry should upload some YouTube
.
Promoting your blog 2007-12-24 05:09:00 Want to increase the number of hits your blog recieves?Start by submitting it to Technorati, the blog search engine.As more blogs link to you, your blog will recieve more authority.Bloggers can click on Technorati tags to find your blog as well.Here are some good sites for you to submit your blog to:Note: In many cases, you will need to link to the site, either using HTML or text.Simply create a new HTML page element in "Template" and place all your links there.Blog Catalogue:One of my favourite submission sites, Blog Catalogue is free to join and has been responsible for a lot of my traffic.You can donate and recieve a link on the front page.It's quick to join and submit.Blog CarnivalNiche submission sites:Many sites are country-specific. BritBlog and the London Weblog Directory are two I've submitted to.Article posting sites:ZimbioYou can post as many as you want. Import your blog and select a wikizine.Ringsurf also offers this faciliy.Other ways to promote your blog:Put it on your
Michael Geist on the power of Facebook 2007-12-23 08:37:00 Interesting BBC News article by Michael
Geist, who blogs on technology law.On December 1st I launched the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook
group, with limited expectations. This seemed like a good way to educate the public about the Canadian government's plans to introduce new copyright reform within a matter of days. I sent invitations to a hundred or so Facebook friends and seeded the group with links to a few relevant websites.What happened next was truly remarkable. Within hours the group started to grow, first 50 members, then 100, and then 1000. One week later there were 10,000 members. Two weeks later there were over 25,000 members with a new member joining the group every 30 seconds. Facebook groups have been used by Karen Reissman, to fight her suspension along with UNISON (828 joined), Brian Paddick(467 joined), and the Wright Stuff(381 joined).The most popular group appears to be Steve Jackson's plan to get all Facebook members to join "20 million? 3o million?"Facebook g Read more:power
Queen Camilla 2007-12-23 07:36:00 I've just finished QueenCamilla
by Sue Townsend.It's probably the best novel I've read this winter.Although the Queen and I, Townsend's prequel to Queen Camilla, did end on a rather different note, just ignore the last chapter of that book.It is thirteen years since the Royal Family were uprooted to the Flowers' Estate, and Princess Diana has mysteriously disappeared (with no road mash involved) to be replaced by Camilla.Trapped in the Flowers Exclusion Zone by ankle tags and private security police (forced to pay £500 for their own Tazers), the Royal Family discover that Charles and Camilla have a love-child.A love-child who hates stepladders and loves tiddlywinks, and dwells at the outer reaches of the Metropolitan Line.Throughout, the book remains frighteningly real.Boy English and his homely political broadcast resembles David Cameron and his naff webcameron.The Vulcan computer seems eerily predictive of the recent multiple data mishaps, given Queen Camilla was published in
David Cameron:The New Gussie Fink-Nottle? 2007-12-23 07:11:00 Last week I made the mistake of sitting through half of a documentary on wallpaper-like DavidCameron
.There was one section which really convinced me how unfit the man is to do anything political.It was his infamous "Let Sunshine Win The Day" Speech, which made him sounds like P.G. Wodehouse's Gussie-Fink-Nottle.Labour are pessimists. They think that without their guidance people will do the wrong thing, that's why they want to regulate and control.So let us show clearly which side we are on. Let optimism beat pessimism, let sunshine win the day, and let everyone know that the Conservative Party is ready - ready to serve, ready to fight, ready to win.No political party is wholly pessimistic. For one, they are optimistic enough to believe they can rule, not rule for the better, perhaps, but rule.Secondly, Labour trust the public enough to encourage gambling with super casinos, open pubs 24hrs (which is a good idea in quiet areas, and bad in many city centres) and of course the maxim o Read more:David Cameron
BBC embedds reporter on Greenpeace ship 2007-12-22 07:18:00 Embedding is usually used with regard to the army.A BBC reporter is currently embedded on a Greenpeace
ship following the Japanses whaling fleet.He will be keeping a diary.Whales and Web 2.0:The Australian Government are using YouTube to appeal to the Japanese.
Facehooked 2007-12-22 06:06:00 Yesterday the Money Programme examined Facebook.Max Flint examined the upsides and downsides of Facebook in an admirably balanced programe.Joining the site himself in order to examine Facebook from the inside, Max Flint also spoke to a broad demographic of Facebook users.Well, fairly broad: he didn't speak to anyone under 18.Users:Flint first interviewed Katie Byrne, who works in PR.Katie uses Facebook to send virtual gifts to her friends such as a starfish.She also thought poking was to say hi. I thought it was for flirting.Katie also uses the site for networking.Max Flint also interviewed Zara Adams of Talent.Zara has 1600 friends, and gets 30 friend requests every day.She's at the other end of the Facebook ladder from me.I know a girl with 911 friends, which seems a lot. I guess Zara does a lot of Facebook networking.Flint then went to Burnham-On-Sea and told us that "the oldies" also use Facebook.Pat Nicholls uses Facebook to view photos of a recent wedding.She told Max Flint "F
Would you like to read the Lisbon Treaty? 2008-03-11 18:16:00 Marcus Brigstocke claimed on Question Time that most people in Britain had not read the EU's LisbonTreaty
.If you want to find out more about the treaty, which has just been ratified in the House of Commons, there is a link to a PDF of the text here.The BBC have provided a comprehensive guide.
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan mandir 2008-03-11 15:32:00 Have been interviewing at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan mandir in Neasden, London for a WNOL story.It is a beautiful place of worship and a focus for the community.The mandir is also connected to the Swaminarayan School, which is across the road on the 13 acre site.It was interesting to watch how the broadcast pathway student I was with filmed a piece to camera and I undertook a soundcheck for her.The Mandir is free and open every day from 9 until 6.I strongly recommend a visit, but allow at least two hours.You can reach the temple via Bus PR2 from Wembley Park (except on Sundays, when you may have to walk there). Other buses are Bus 112 from Brent Cross and Bus 18 from Baker Street.Neasden also has an Underground station, which is about fifteen minuites brisk walk.
Recommend Site To A Friend
