There is no such thing as a flawless newsroom. Ask the late great Ben Bradlee, hero of Watergate, whose Washington Post had to hand back its Pulitzer after a reporter, Janet Cooke, was found to have invented an award-winning story.
Alan is spot on here that some nasty forces in politics and elsewhere in the media will use this as a stick to beat a vulnerable BBC. However, Tony Hall and some others are part of why it is weaker than it should be. It should act fast on showing a level of independence and be more transparent.
If you’ve ever attached any importance to moral or intellectual consistency, this morning will have been a difficult experience. The right-wing tabloids were out, knives sharpened, talking about journalistic ethics. Government ministers were on the airwaves talking about transparency and scrutiny.
Some very shifty people in politics relish this chance to destroy another great institution and the core of UK soft power.
The Dyson Report into the lies and cover-up that surrounded Diana's 1995 chat made some surprising findings - and ignored some massive facts Martin Bashir and the BBC have done the world a great service. They have proven, beyond all doubt, that lying doesn't work.
Sometime this week Newsroom co-editor Mark Jennings is due to be interviewed under caution by Police because he kicked the hornet’s nest.
A New Zealand special: I know Mark and others involved in this. It is a huge and dangerous overreach by the Crown Solicitor and should stop. I'm not sure there is enough anger or support from the rest of NZ journalism. This attack seems to me to be unjust and unwarranted.
Some exciting developments are in the works. Spinoff editor Toby Manhire explains. In a few months’ time The Spinoff turns seven. On its birthday, in September, there will be a changing of the guard for the second time, as I hand over the editor’s visor. (There is not an actual visor. Yet.) It
The Spinoff is quite a clever site and has done a good job in gaining commercial support for its journalism and shown genuine innovation. I have a slight bias because I do a weekly world news bulletin for them.
An increasing number of states that benefit greatly from U.S. assistance are disregarding free expression, one of America’s most important ideals.
Speaks for itself and not just in the attack on the building housing AP and Al Jazeera in Gaza. That alone was an outrage of a type we've seen before and not just from Israel.
In public radio, there is either an epidemic of bullying or an epidemic of whining, depending on whom you ask.
I have worked with editors who have crushed the spirits of the reporters. On the other hand some reporters may need to harden up if they are to deal with their beats, but their offices can't be hostile environments.
Afew weeks ago, Apple dropped its long-promised bombshell on the data-tracking industry. The latest version (14.