Media

Interesting inteview with Margaret Ward co-author of Irish Women and Nationalism: Soldiers, New Women and Wicked Hag. She gives Slugger a mention, but wonders whether there is a deep gender divide in the readership of the site, considering the apparent dominance of male contributors. It’s a subject that Jo’s been thinking through over on her own recently established blog. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the …

Read more…

I thought we’d lost this one to the distinctly inhospitable Daily Ireland archives. Thanks to Newshound, it has been recovered for the wider world. Jude Collins argues that there is no such thing as an impartial media. He recounts restrictions of space, ownership, and self censorship as sources of bias and finishes with the paradoxical proposition that objectivity in reporting is a myth that should be both dispelled and aspired towards: Media people are human beings and each sees the …

Read more…

The Belfast Telegraph has disclosed the page impression rate for their website. Over the last year it averaged at 5.5 million per month. Whilst that’s a good five million ahead of Slugger, our own monthly average is 1/2 million (it peaked at 710,000 in May). So, all told, we’re not doing bad for a humble weblog. Now where did I put that advertiser’s rate card? Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of …

Read more…

Austin Hunter can certainly give himself a pat on the back if the latest ABC figures are anything to go by. From languishing in the doldrums less than two years ago, the News Letter has put on growth of 1.9%. Ed Curran at the Belfast Telegraph 1.8% growth overall and 2.2% Monday to Friday. Despite the campaign of some Loyalist paramilitaries, the Sunday World put on a whopping 7.5% to their NI readership figures, whilst remaining flat in the Republic.The …

Read more…

US blogger, Aaron Wall, is being sued for what some commenters said on his site about a internet advertising company. It’s even made the Wall Street Journal. He seems determined to fight it, and he’s currently collecting donations for a legal fighting fund – corporate law can be extremely complex and extremely expensive. Amy Gahran has some interesting things to say on the matter. Importantly, she flags up the SLAPP suit phenomenon: ie, a frivolous action intended to close down …

Read more…

Mary Rafftery has a nicely argued piece on RTE’s consumer block buster Rip-Off Republic. She believes it is playing in a half way zone between bona fide current affairs and satire, and that the programme’s considerable polemical content is not subject to the forms counter balance that RTE normally provides. RTÉ’s factual programming, particularly in the news-current affairs area, is rigorously presented to a universally acclaimed high standard. Once again, scrupulous attention is paid to the matter of balance. Comedy …

Read more…

Channel 4 are running promos for a feature-length history special on Thursday 1st September at 9pm – The Year London Blew up: 1974 – and the opening line on the Channel 4 site certainly sounds interesting – “What happens when a city faces a cell of fanatics with a single goal: to bring the maximum terror to the civilian population?” – that’s the IRA cell known as the Balcombe Street gang btw. Even more interestingly, it’s a co-production with RTÉ.. …

Read more…

51% of journalists read blogs regularly. 28% depend on them for material on a daily basis! Blogging may still not be considered journalism (though I’d argue that’s a financial constraint more than one dictated by the form), but it’s clearly got a (up till now) hidden (and potentially powerful) role in how the news cycle is generated. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media …

Read more…

In today’s Irish Examiner’s Ronan Mullen has spotted Slugger friend Sheila’s blog and, in particular, a great post on the changing face of Dublin, and Ireland – Road Works Ahead – from where he goes on to discuss Rip Off Ireland. There’s a slight breach of etiquette however – he neglects to provide a link to the post, or blog, he’s referring to. Ah well, at least it’s an acknowledgement that blogs and the wider media can complement each other …

Read more…

Despite appearances, I’m not back to full blogging until next week. The NI blogosphere is growing all the time. The latest to join in the fun is Slugger regular Jo. Here she digs into Toby Harden’s Bandit Country. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

SDLP East Londonderry MLA John Dallat has called for tighter controls of websites that promote paramilitaries on the net. Relax, Slugger is not amongst them. But it appears John’s been walking on the darker side of the net in recent times. It also appears that the producers of one of the sites has already made good its reply. Update: It looks like PA have been doing some further digging on this issue. Stay with us for further developments.From John Dallat: …

Read more…

Television lets a lot of tragedy into our homes, it rarely follows up. The BBC revisited some drug addicted children and found this story. Blank

Newton Emerson with his farewell to the Internet, or at least the Portadown focused part of it. Love it or hate it, the PDN resides on the blogroll of many bloggers far and wide. Portadown’s loss will be our future gain, as he seeks to push his energies into a deeper journalistic furrow. Go Newt! Let us have your memories of NI’s No 1 Satirical site. Thanks to Alan for the heads up! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. …

Read more…

DID anyone see the British military watchtower (possibly being dismantled in Derry) that was ‘auctioned’ on eBay a day or two ago? It seems to be gone now, but had attracted a bid of just over a million pounds before eBay presumably took it off the site… Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

Believe it or not, I’m heading off on holiday in a few days. I will continue to blog, but it will be very occasional. I’ll be back towards the end of the month to tune in for the new political season in Northern Ireland. In September we’ll have news of an exciting new online project, and we hope to have some serious sponsorship for Slugger by then too. In the meantime, if you’ve enjoyed Slugger and want to help keep …

Read more…

[*Title stolen shamelessly from the excellent Harry’s Place] Part 1 of Technorati’s report on The State of the Blogosphere [Haven’t we banned the use of the term blogosphere? – Ed] is out.. According to their figures, a new blog appears every second and overall blog numbers are doubling every 5.5months.. In addition about 55% of all blogs are considered active [had a posting in the last 3 months] and 13% of all blogs update at least weekly.. importantly, IMO, according …

Read more…

Via maca’s comment in an entirely unrelated post at United Irelander.. Over at the BBC On-line Magazine, Alan Connor’s Weblog Watch has a round-up of Irish blogs’ reaction to the IRA statement.. and other posts.. you’ll probably recognise some familiar names there. Pete Baker

I doubt whether many of you will have been up late enough to hear this programme on Pods and Blogs on BBC Radio Five last night (I wasn’t). They asked me to do a quick sketch on the elections last week – 6.45 mins in from the start. It’s worth running through if you are interested in the podcasting revolution – it’s the next big thing, apparently! Huge breadth of interests from Indian politics to knitting. Mick FealtyMick is founding …

Read more…

IRA is one of Technorati’s top tags at the moment. If you read down through them you’ll get a decent idea of how the world’s bloggers are interpreting the news. In Sri Lanka for example the Tamil Tigers are being urged to follow their example. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK …

Read more…