Blood, Bombs and boys' talk

The cost of war is usually counted in fallen soldiers. Afghanistan - like Iraq before it - is no different. Last week, the number of British personnel to die in the perpetually war-torn country reached the symbolic figure of 100.

Three-quarters of these deaths are believed to have been caused by improvised explosive devices (IED). But often left unreported are the lives of those severely wounded by this ugly icon of modern warfare.

An article in the Sunday Times, written by Miles Amoore, has attempted to readdress the balance. Blood, bombs and boys' talk tells the story of the military inhabitants of Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham, where bloodied soldiers still carrying the scent of battle are taken to begin their rehabilitations.

The author's 24-year-old brother James - a second lieutenant with 2nd Battalion, the Rifles – was himself hit by an IED while serving in the sprawling maze of alleyways in Helmand province, losing seven pints of blood, his sight in one eye and large chunks of flesh in both legs.

Describing the operations, flashbacks, raw memories and phantom pains of disabled soldiers facing up to their life-changing wounds, the article is well worth a read.

Daily Express screams "conspiracy!"

With world leaders potentially deciding mankind's fate at the Copenhagen summit this December, the Daily Express has continued its brave campaign to uncover the great climate change conspiracy.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary - from pretty much the entire scientific community - some crackpots continue to peddle the myth that global warming is not man-made. Unfortunately for us, a number of this group are newspaper editors. Today's Daily Express carries the entirely misleading and sensationalist front page story 100 REASONS WHY GLOBAL WARMING IS NATURAL – No proof that human activity is to blame.

The self-styled 'World's Greatest Newspaper' - a slogan that may well breach the trading standard's act - has published the rantings of the 'respected' European Foundation; a glorified lobbying group created by the types of Tories David Cameron is hiding in his attic until the end of the next general election.

The foundation was created in 1992 in opposition to the formation of a European government and actively lobbies against the unification of the EU on trade, labour market and economic issues. It has not previously engaged in any scientific debate, but the make-up of its UK advisory board explains why it has chosen to do so now. The business leaders represented by the foundation include Roger Brooke, life president of the private equity house Candover, which currently has £141 million invested into Wellstream – a manufacturer of flexible pipeline systems for the oil and gas industries.

The report, I write this term very loosely, was written by Jim McConalogue, editor of the right-wing propaganda pamphlet the European Journal. A respected climate change scientist you might think? Alas no. Mr McConalogue received a degree in social and political theory from Birbeck University and has no background in science at all.

The 'evidence' gathered to back-up the foundation's claims that global warming is not man-made includes out-right lies, statistical misinterpretations and baseless statements that have no relevance to the issue at all.

Coming in at number 14 in the top 100 is the 'astounding' revelation that Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden Peter Lilley doesn't think climate change is man-made, which sounds like irrefutable evidence to me. Number 15 is the completely irrelevant suggestion that wind farms do nothing to reduce CO2 emissions, while at 37 the sound of McConalogue desperately clutching at straws can be heard with the statement that an increase in CO2 has probably helped lengthen human life-spans since the industrial revolution.

Now you might think that the Daily Express has every right to report the views of climate change sceptics. Editors often repeat the mantra that it is essential for the objectivity of journalism to publish both sides of the story. However, objectivity in journalism is a myth. It is the role of a reporter and newspaper to make a judgement on a particular issue and present the language and angle they deem most important to the public.

In this case, a brief look at the report and a Google search would have told journalists working at the 'World's Greatest Newspaper' that it should be binned. Global warming is an issue that will affect us all and recycling is an important part of the solution, but regurgitating shit like this will not help anyone.

Bitter Mandy blows off Murdoch

One of the 21st century's great unrequited love affairs has simmered to the boil again this week. Drawing comparisons with Brad and Jennifer, Clinton and Lewinsky and perhaps even Peter and Jordan, Peter Mandelson has passionately criticised one of his most famous exes, Aussie press baron Rupert Murdoch.

The courtship rituals of these two timeless hate figures are more complex than -- and have more than a little in common with -- the penis jousting contests practiced by hermaphroditic flatworms.

In a tale fit for a Hollywood rom-com -- starring Ian Beale and Marlon Brando in the lead roles -- the couple began their love-hate relationship in the mid-1990s.

Mandy, then sporting a rather dashing moustache, wined and dined Rupert alongside soon-to-be prime minister Tony Blair in the hope that the Sun would express support for the Labour Party in the run-up to the 1997 elections.

The relationship was consumated with New Labour's victory and remained relatively stable until Rupert filed for divorce in September this year, citing a new partnership with David Cameron's Tories.

Mandy removed any prospect of love rekindling earlier this week by suggesting that Murdoch's News Corp International is "imperilling the traditions" of British broadcasting and journalism.

Speaking at a reading of the government's upcoming Digital Britain Bill, Mandy said: "They believe that profit alone should drive the gathering and circulation of news rather than allowing a role for what they call 'state-sponsored journalism'."

While I agree with Mandy's argument about the importance of the BBC, it does seem a little rich coming from a man who has faced more than a few accusations of cuddling-up a little too tight to Rupert.

Whatever happens next, I eagerly anticipate the inevitable competing OK! and Hello interview spreads that have become synonymous with very public break-ups.

*Incidentally, the BBC Trust sensibly ruled earlier this week that an analogy used by the political correspondent Nick Robinson comparing Mandy's political career with manure was an "accurate assessment", which seems fair.

Death came out of a clear sky

Twenty-five years ago yesterday (December 3rd) a catastrophic gas leak in the Indian sub-continent killed 20,000 people.

The release, which was caused by the failings of the multi-national chemical firm Union Carbide, continues to pollute ground water in Bhopal -- affecting thousands of residents two decades on.

To highlight the pain and problems still affecting communities in Bhopal, Indra Sinha has written a moving article, published in today's Guardian, asking why the Indian government has still not made the area safe.

Read it. It's important and it illustrates the power that journalism can have.

Blood-suckers Bite Murdoch

*Disclaimer - For anyone who dislikes the use of extended metaphors, I apologise in advance.

Having conquered cinema, fiction and television, vampires have turned their attentions the world of journalism. But this is not a Twilight-esque tale of teenage angst in small town America. No, the mythical beings, which exist by feeding on the blood of living creatures, have infiltrated our traditional media in the form of a new breed of publishers.

Is this part of a global conspiracy by the undead to control our communication channels? Not quite. The technological advances of the 21st century have created a number of news providers that exist with the sole purpose of repackaging existing stories. These range from aggregators to self-titled 'news agencies' that have no intention of sniffing-out original leads or angles themselves.

On Monday (December 2nd), Rupert Murdoch, Managing Director of News International, said that he will place his news sites behind a pay wall -- removing all partnerships with 'vampire' aggregators, as he considers this a form of theft. I maintain, however, that this may have more to do with the contractual legalities of his existing pact with the Devil.

Following the Dirty Digger's comments, Arianna Huffington, founder and editor of the The Huffington Post -- a half-human, half-vampire news provider offering both repackaged and original content, think Wesley Snipes' day-walker character in Blade -- yesterday made a passionate rebuke.

Offering a more nuanced view, the online news innovator suggested that Rupert -- yes we are on first name terms -- has confused aggregation with wholesale misappropriation.

She said: "Be careful what you wish for because as soon as you … start denying your content to other sites that aggregate and link back to the original source, you stand to lose a large part of your traffic overnight."

Unfortunately, having seen the way these organisations work from the inside, I have to agree with Rupert -- not a sentence I ever imagined writing. The majority of these vampires do not exist to inform and entertain their audience. Instead, they are looking for potential consumer markets to feed upon.

The credibility of the internet as a news source is being destroyed by a percentage of these organisations. If they are left to scavenge upon the remaining remnants of our media landscape, forever replicating the same sources over and over again, journalism will lose the one attribute that vampires hold so dear - immortality.

Wax Factor

Stop the presses! The Daily Mail has completed its long-running investigation into a matter of intense public interest. Following in the grand tradition of Fleet Street's finest achievements, the voice of middle England has completed its expose of Simon Cowell's hot-wax beauty routines.

In a clear attempt to provide readers with a zeitgeist for banal journalism, the paper followed revelations earlier this week that the X Factor overlord removes the hair from the back of his hands with a blow-by-blow account of his annual beauty bill.

If you were wondering, the article breathlessly describes the 50-year-old's hands as "silky smooth -- in stark contrast to his forearms, which are covered in thick, dark hair".

The author of Monday's Wax Factor was kindly granted anonymity by the editor Paul Dacre in the knowledge that this article may be you used against him or her at a later date.

Today's It's Simon Cowwwwell -- note the witty use of additional Ws -- continues a long-running trend of reportage that dates back to the 19th century, when profiles of celebrated individuals emerged alongside more salacious stories discovering scandals.

Although celebrity and journalism have been twinned for the best part of 200 years, reporting on the hand waxing routines of a judge on a glorified version of televised karaoke must be a new low. Never mind the fact it made onto the newspaper's front cover.

As erstwhile Daily Mail columnist and Muslim-baiter Richard Littlejohn would say: You couldn't make it up!!!

Obnoxious Little Bollocks

The biblical battle between public relations guff and news continued to rage yesterday (December 1st) in the British press. The powers-to-be at the Sun decided to include an interview with the self-titled "jumped-up, obnoxious little bollocks" Michael O'Leary in the midst of their news pages. The Chief Executive of Ryanair and pied-piper of the low-cost airline industry is one of the four horsemen of the Press' impending apocalypse - empowered by divine forces to wreak havoc on the world of journalism.

An inflammatory statement perhaps, but O'Leary is truly an innovator in masquerading free publicity as news. Previously, the wealthy Irish businessman has managed to persuade deadline-driven hacks to publish remarks that he is 'considering' charging passengers to use in-flight toilets and oxygen masks.

His latest headline-grabbing wheeze involves removing plane seats on his company's sardine-packed flights so that an extra 100 people can stand.

With the growth of the public relations industry in recent years, more attention needs to be focused on the ways in which contending voices -- whether corporate or political -- get their messages across in the media.

Not enough questions are being asked in newsrooms around the country about whose voices are given prominence and the potential motives of interviewees.

The astounding thing about this article is that O'Leary clearly discloses his PR-driven intentions to the Sun's reporter in the course of the interview.

Explaining the secret behind his success, he said: "Be a loudmouth, attention-grabbing publicity-seeker. It saves a fortune on advertising."

Part of a journalist's job is to cultivate and use credible, trustworthy and legitimate sources. Mr O'Leary's previous history suggests that two out of these three criteria have not been met.

Hole in Ozone Layer is Saving the Planet

Flicking through today's Sun, I came across a story by the tabloid's esteemed environment editor Ben Jackson. The journalist -- who has previously scripted ground-breaking accounts on climate change, such as Fatties Causing Global Warming -- was reporting on a study conducted by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

The organisation, which is a coalition of international experts from the region, published the report on ice loss in the Antarctic to give negotiators at the Copenhagen Climate Summit the most up-to-date research.

The report's findings revealed that the closing of the hole in the Earth's ozone layer will contribute to average temperature rises of 3C on the continent in the next decade -- leading to a global sea level rise of up to 1.4 metres by 2011. This increase would engulf islands located in the Pacific and Indian Ocean and destroy coastal cities such as Calcutta and Dhaka.

Pretty important news, most would say. Not, however, Ben Jackson, who instead decided to focus on evidence that the hole in the ozone layer has kept Antarctica warmer over the past decade.

"The hole in the ozone layer is protecting the arctic from global warming," he gleefully claims.

Though this report is undoubtedly factually accurate, it accentuates the myth that climate change is not an issue that the public needs to worry about; when insurmountable evidence suggests that it is.

And environmental activists wonder why the 'average Joe' remains unconvinced that human-induced climate change is occurring.

The Dark Arts of Churnalism

I am a 23-year-old graduate trying to break into the world of journalism. So far, my experiences of the industry have been limited to exploring the dark arts of churnalism, which seems as good a place as any to start this blog.

A phrase coined by the BBC's Waseem Zakir, churnalism is the process of regurgitating press releases, wire stories and existing news output to create articles without fact checking or further research. My current employer, who shall remain nameless because of the insatiable appetite of its legally-trained attack dogs, is the da Vinci of churnalism's dark arts. Drawing in eager young university-leavers with the job title News Correspondent, the 'news agency' then removes the smokescreen of its marketing guff to reveal the rotting entrails of a glorified press release provider.

Expected to write between 25 and 30 stories a day -- while also sub-editing a similar number, uploading these stories to a content management system and personally dealing with any client issues -- the life of a churnalist at [blank] is an unenviable one. On top of this, these inhabitants of a sinister building in the shadows of Canary Wharf are slowly playing their part in the final act of the death of journalism.

The British journalist Nick Davies illustrated the severity of the problem in his book Flat Earth News. He cited research conducted at Cardiff University, which discovered that 80 per cent of the stories in Britain's quality press were not original. Remember this is the quality press -- The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Daily Mail. The types of newspapers expected to aid the democratic process and serve the public interest - ok, maybe not the Daily Mail. But still, if this figure is so high for former Fleet Street institutions, imagine the proportion of ill-informed, repackaged 'news' consumed by internet users.

Commenting on the causes of this trend, Mr Davies said in 2008: "Now, more than ever in the past, we are likely to engage in the mass production of ignorance because the corporations and the accountants who have taken us over have stripped out our staffing, increased our output and ended up chaining us to our desks."

As a self-confessed writer of churnalism myself -- albeit a dissatisfied writer -- I can wholeheartedly vindicate Mr Davies's claims. 'Journalists' working for the unnamed agency, which makes George Orwell's Ministry of Truth look like a beacon of objectivity, are not even afforded the luxury of a telephone. A telephone! Working on 15 minute deadlines for every story, young churnalists instead rely on the wise teachings of Wikipedia – the oracle of truth for lazy writers.

The decline in traditional journalism had been lamented by London-dwelling media types and academics long before the phrase churnalism was ever uttered. Bob Franklin, Professor of Journalism Studies at Cardiff University, adopted George Ritzer's metaphor of the McDonaldization of society to describe the increasing emphasis placed on efficiency, predictability and control by news executives across the UK press. This is most easily seen in the freesheet Metro, which is essentially a 'sound-bite newspaper' made up of sub-editors.

Quantity and standardisation have replaced quality and variety as valuable commodities in the newsrooms of the UK, and unless McNugget journalism is replaced by the well-researched stories written by knowledgeable writers, churnalism will prevail. And believe me, you do not want that.