Phone Hacking: a crisis of agency for the rest of us

The unearthing of a hacking scandal at NewsCorp and the massive media circus of Murdoch ‘on trial’ before the commons select committee provided a spectacle that held what felt like the whole population in some sort of trance. It felt as if the whole of the establishment was just about to cave in on itself. The problem, and the reason I found the whole episode so difficult to deal with, was the impossible task of finding a way to do anything.

Why David Starkey’s career will get better

I must apologise before I start – this is pure Grumble territory. Forget the upbeat bits, this is depressing me as much as all the rest of the news. Last night, the BBC hosted historian David Starkey on Newsnight, during which he made various patently racist statements, which can be viewed here. That the BBC has cut out the segment and made it available should hint at how they’re feeling about it all.

Church of England: Apart of the Establishment?

These have been very bizarre days. A friend suggested this had been the most stressful week for consumers of the news in some months – perhaps they’re right. The British establishment is suffering a wholesale loss of credibility before our eyes; bizarrely, the church is for once doing better than any other area of the British Establishment.

Activists are interesting humans too!

To understand why I’m writing this now, you could go read something by Laurie Penny and then something written in opposition to Penny’s writing, but as the combined total is clear of 5000 words, lets just say this: some activists really don’t like Human Interest stories. Which is a shame, because activists usually make good human interest stories, and these stories tend to relate activism to the public much much better than political rambles.

Why did I pick up the Sun today?

I’m travelling today, and so I get the excuse of having a large number of newspapers around me to tempt my curiosity. I rather wish they hadn’t. There are days when I swear at the news for what is happening, and there are those days when I get angry because what is written totally misses the point, or is so clearly written with an agenda of injustice.

Royal Weddings, Errant Bishops and ‘Truth’

Well, it now appears that Bishop Broadbent has been severely reprimanded by his direct boss, the Bishop of London – possibly not a surprise as Bishop Chartres’ name has been connected with the event, normally an automatic ‘right’ of the Archbishop of Canterbury (please God, not Chartres next!) – allowing Chartres to claim to speak for the whole church in congratulating the couple.

Draft Statement on Millbank Occupation

I’ve been asked to write something for a Christian website with a radical edge on how we as radical Christians see the Millbank Occupation and the ensuing media furore. This is not a perfect finished draft, and its written in plural where currently it only has my endorsement. If you’re interested in signing (which would obviously imply you have affinity with the Christian faith) please get in touch. Several parts are based on comments from the ad-hoc group in question.

Police twisting facts over EDL & BNP in Bolton?

I’m guessing mostly people reading this will have heard about the English Defence League/Unite Against Fascism confrontation that broke out in Bolton on Saturday. Above and beyond what happened on the street, a curious war of stories seems to be raging about the way the demonstration occurred, with very different tales being told by all 3 sides.

The Art of Advertising

Advertisements penetrate every corner of our modern lives. As my body clock settles back from Canadian to UK time, I’m recovering from the ad-fest that being host country to the Olympic Games always inspires. But is advertising an art form? Can an advert actually be worth watching just to see the advert? And if so, what does this say about the arts as we now experience them?

Father Tim and the power of the Media

I suppose it was inevitable that I would get round to writing about this topic eventually. The brief flurry of press coverage Father Tim’s now-famous sermon received came just as I was sleeping off the effects of Copenhagen, and so almost got missed in the hurry to try and write up my experiences. I want to pick out just one aspect at this stage: the relationship between Church and Media.