Free single malt whisky for sub-editors: Yes, really….

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 29 July 2009 at 13:42
Tags: David Montgomery, Roy Greenslade, Sub editors, Subbing

Industry bigwigs have been queuing up to stick the boot in to sub-editors in recent years – with media luminaries ranging from David Montgomery to Roy Greenslade proposing a ‘final solution’ to journalism’s economic woes with the elimination of sub-editors.

But as Axegrinder and Grey Cardigan have recently been pointing out – the results of such cost-cutting can be calamitous.

Press Gazette says enough is enough: It’s time to save our subs, and cherish the work they do.

With this end in mind we have relaunched Press Gazette magazine’s much-missed headline of the month competition – which was also recently reprised by All Media Scotland.

And thanks to some generous sponsorship we can offer the winning headline writer, and the colleague who nominates them, a bottle of Jura single malt whisky every month.

As if that’s not enough, we are also launching a new headline of the year contest. The winner of that will win an exclusive weekend away on the Isle of Jura where George Orwell wrote 1984, with the colleague who nominates the winning headline to receive a bottle of exclusive 1974 Jura whisky which is worth £500 a bottle.

So to hell with search engine optimisation: Press Gazette is looking for headlines which show wit, intelligence and craft while grabbing the reader’s attention.

Nominations should be sent to dominicp@pressgazette.co.uk.

Entries are welcomed from all sectors of journalism – print and online.

Why journalistic ‘elite’ should be maintained

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 2 November 2007 at 14:16
Tags: David Leigh, Roy Greenslade

Guardian investigative reporter David Leigh painted a somewhat depressing picture of the effect of the internet on journalism last night.

The main thrust of his lecture – that his brand of long-form investigative journalism is under threat in the internet age and must be defended – was undoubtedly true.
But I take issue with his, and Roy Greenslade’s, analysis that “Journalistic skills are not entirely wiped out in an online world, but they are eroded and, most importantly, they cannot be confined any longer to an exclusive élite.”

Journalism is undoubtedly in a tight spot at the moment. And in a tight spot professionally I would rather have a few trained journalists around me than any number of Citizen Journalists or bloggers.
The frenetic pace of news in the internet age means core journalistic skills like speed, accuracy and the ability to quickly write legally sound, compelling copy is more important than ever.

This is hard to do. To do it well you need training and experience. You need shorthand, the ability to type and above all the ability to write snappy copy – not the sort of verbose, navel gazing twaddle that populates many blogs (not Prof Greenslade’s I hasten to add).

When I read a report of a conference or event – I don’t want to know what sort of tie the speaker is wearing, or what the correspondent had for lunch, I’m in a hurry and I want to read the top line.

I also think Leigh was a little harsh on the Scotsman. Having been to their “rabbit hutch” offices in Holyrood I can testify that they are definitely among the more swanky newsrooms I have visited.
BUt he his right that their print circulation decline has undoubtedly been rapid in recent years. From around 100,000 in 2000 to around 56,000 in August.

Finally, at the risk of sounding a bit like a “hyper-active news bunny” – the internet has had some good effects on journalism.
At Press Gazette it is has made us work a lot harder to produce content distintive enough to warrant appearing in the magazine and brought daily newspaper style competition to what was once was a specialist magazine monopoly and had the effect of, I hope, of raising the bar journalistically.

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