You don't get this on Final Score

Why Sky Sports News' coverage of the goals flying in around the country is the best in the country.



Chris' face is like that of a school boy who didn't mean to do something wrong but inadvertently did while the others laugh a genuine laugh not at him, but with him at the way he has so honestly admitted to missing a key piece of the action.

I've often said football's best moments are the comedy moments. Wonder goals and epic matches are obviously great too but the comedy from a missed open goal, a disastrous own goal, riotous crowd banter and chants and the overall joy of seeing a game that is so often at great pains to justify its own seriousness - the tactics, positioning, players ability to control the ball etc - undermine itself so frequently are often the best moments in the entire game.

War: what is it good for?

Two things yesterday:

1) DSEi: This show is known to some as the Death Show and is not popular with those of certain moral view points. Entry was Kafkaesque, involving several queues to be placed in queues, much anger at how slow the entire process was, and even a bag search before you could go in, to the Excel Centre. Felt utterly bizarre. Once inside I saw many tanks, guns, rocket launchers, an Apache helicopter, and various Asian generals wandering around in full military regalia.

On one side of an aisle you've got weapon manufacturers or suppliers with posters and literature proclaiming their weapons can 'pierce the strongest body armour on the market!' and on the other you have body armour manufacturers and suppliers saying 'can stop the strongest weaponry on the market!' And all beneath the brightly lit, air-conditioned, Subway sandwich franchised Excel Centre. Last time I was there was to collect my marathon entry number. Very different indeed.

2) Frontline Club: Access Denied. A talk about reporting from war zones and the implications for journalists. With Richard Sambrook from the BBC, Adrian Wells from Sky News, Jean Seaton and chaired by Tom Fenton.

It was a very interesting chat, and the floor contributed a great deal too, with those in attendance ranging from Al Jazeera reporters, to the London press official for the Dalai Lama. They discussed the use of Twitter, the difficulties of getting certain stories on the news agenda when they cease to have a news currency, and the challenges of trying to get in to areas you're banned from. Wells told us that Sky News tried to access North Korea by asking to cover the North Korean karate championships (and then do some other things on the side) but were politely refused entry. Darn.

It seemed though, due to the most recurring point, that war coverage, or conflicting reporting, is impossible to cover in a way that will ever please everyone, or cover all the necessary angles. Nothing is ever two-sided and war is surely one of the hardest things to pin down as to the causes, the rights and wrongs, the outcomes and so on - almost all wars are debated hotly by historians to this day, despite years of time passing, collation of huge numbers of documents, and even access to the leaders' writings. What chance do news reporters have, often embedded with military staff who take them where they want them to go, have of getting a 'true' story out? Have they ever been able to?

Twitter and the like may give the populations a chance to present views from inside but, again, it just adds more voices that conflict, disagree, present different ideas, to a picture that is already completely confusing and impossible to view in full, objectively. It seems hard to believe war reporting will ever move to a time when 'black holes' of information don't exist, especially when authoritarian regimes like Iran, North Korea and so on, are so staunch in their position on allowing foreign news teams in.

A few people introduced themselves, when speaking from the floor, as 'news consumers'. So you watch TV?

400 posts

What have I learned from writing 400 blog posts? Not much. Well, a little...

You can't make any money from this, unless you bombard it with Google ads, and you probably need to specalise your subject matter too, while regular readers of this blog will know I write about pretty much anything. This blog was started as part of a course requirement at Cardiff University. Everyone else seemed to think it was a chore, but I really enjoyed it. There are only a few of us going now; myself, Mr Severs, and Mr Dando (sometimes). There may be more but I don't know of them. Apologies to my old course mates if so.

When I tried to focus it around media and entertainment issues I would often leave it untouched for days. Now though, I just write about whatever the hell I want and it's far more enjoyable. And it seems to generate more followers and higher hit rates than previously. I'd like to think the unknown (the unknown unknowns and known unknowns etc) of what's coming next keeps people coming back. I should credit Mr Five Centres for this somewhat as his blog is so hard to predict what's coming next - yesterday it was cereals - that it keeps you coming back and is very engaging And so I started to imitate this, but in my own way too.

Check back tomorrow when I'll tell you why I am sick of every magazine that thinks it's funny putting 'hilarious' captions on every single picture.

Was this profound or was it banal - or somewhere in between?

Image: Britain in the year 400.

Walking on the moon

Hello again blogging world, I'm back from sunny Spain and the endless sleep deprevation, noise, beer, food and fun of Benicasim.

In the meantime a blog I wrote for the Guardian about music influenced by the Moon landings (what with it being the 40th anniversary and all) was published a couple of days ago.

Have a read here and if you feel the need, comment away.

Spain

Hello BLOG WORLD.

I am going away for a bit now, on a holiday to Spain, so will not be blogging.

I think staycation is a horrible portmanteau, it should be homeiday.

I should have a piece going live on the Guardian on July 21 in the music blog section.

Also going back to Cornwall for a bit too, which will be nice, and hopefully involve some boating, dog walking, waterside drinking and home cooking.

I must be going now.

News worthy

The old addage is, 'Dog bites man = no story, man bites dog = story'. Also, as you may know, local newspapers are dying out there, falling standards, fewer readers, smaller advertising revenues and so on. Quality seems to be shrinking too...

Example one: Woman can't find custard in any local shops.

Example two: Dead fish died of exhaustion.

Example three: Chair set on fire.

On one and three the comments from readers go on and on, mostly bemoaning the quality of the story, or making he-lar-ious puns on the stories. Perhaps the future of local news is to report nonsense and hope people's love of puns will run riot on the comments sections below. This would increase page impressions and encourage advertising spend. It's an idea.

Sprint finish

So here we are, just five days away from the London Marathon. It's been a hell of a journey.

I can vividly recall when I agreed to do it:

Int Shot: Two lazy people playing Pro Evo, a phone rings, I answer:

'Hello.'
'Hi Dan it's Will. Do you want to run the marathon next year? '(his voice intones 'this is just a token gesture, I don't expect you to say yes').
'Urm, yeah okay, why the hell not!'

A pause

'You do?'
'Yeah, do you have a place or something?'
'Er, yes, we can get places with the NSPCC.'
'Great, yep sign me up.'
'Oh...okay...'

Phone call ends.

Then four months later on a crisp September morning we set off on our first run. A full 800 meters around the block. We return exhausted, glistening with sweat, and having just been chastised by an old lady who said, 'come on keep going' as we laboured past her. (Where are you now O Mystic Wise Woman?)

Then it was, 'Did 20 minutes tonight and don't feel like I'm going to die. This is fun.' And on it went, 25 minutes, 35, 45, an hour! Then a 10k race at Finsbury Park (Time = 47mins 14 seconds), then another 10k back home in Cornwall - which became the basis for my first ever article on running - and was another 47 minutes, although on a very hilly course.

From here training intensified - 12 miles in 1hr 55 minutes felt like the end of the world, then I did a half-marathon in Watford - a lovely rolling, countryside course, and a sprint finish over the last 3 miles, passing hundreds of runners - a perfectly paced race and one of the best running moments to date.

Onwards! A 14 miler in the freezing rain, under-nourished, cursing every individual drop of rain that fell, but really knowing it was our own fault for not having prepared properly before going out - lesson learned, this is now a serious challenge and requires pre-run and post-run commitments. Fridge now forever stocked with sport drinks and cupboards bursting with Jelly Babies.

Then 16 miles, then a half-marathon at Silverstone. Race plan slightly off - too fast for 10 miles, although feel fine, then slow considerably over last three, to finish in a good time of 1.42, but think it would have been better if I had saved fuel for the end, rather than fading - another lesson learnt; the end if the hard part, not the start.

Then 18 miles - feel drunk on exhaustion come the end, but do realise we are running past the American Presidential house in Regent's Park and so next weeks 19.7 miler - a lot of hills on these runs too - sees us watching with interest as the police head hither and thither erecting anti-terrorist barriers and helicopters hover overhead. We carry on running, enjoying glimpses into London Zoo.

Then suddenly it's all over. Twenty miles is done and we've recovered. Now what? Now a party - to raise funds you see - and then that's it. A couple of eight milers ('nothing really', say the two runners who six months ago almost collapsed running 800m) and now we find ourselves simply counting down days, eating pasta dish after pasta dish, preparing for probably the hardest, but most anticipated challenge of a lifetime.

There's a lot I've left out too - the mid week evening runs over to Alexandra Palace with its stunning views of the city, the training day held by the NSPCC in January, the fantastic people I've met in the virtual world of Twitter who are also running the marathon, the strange sense that I'm actually rather enjoying all this running, the books I've read, the magazines, the times I've been on the JustGiving website the strange quirks of the body - give me Jelly Babies! - and the genuine buzz I've felt from raising over £1,500 for charityand the kindness of people in donating (especially in this credit crunch).

So - that's it. Sunday, 9.45am, 26.2 miles - what's left to say? Bring it on.

Run on

My first ever article on running was published in Cornwall Today this month - I'm very pleased with it and I hope to write more about running in the future.

If you click on the image you should be able to enlarge the image to a size that is readable. Alternatively click here.

Building snowmen to get on the news

Charlie Brooker's Newswipe was good this week, covering User Generated Content, or UGC to the media-savvy among you (or those with a penchant for acroynms). We heard a lot about UGC on our course in Cardiff - see - and so it was interesting to see what Brooker would make of it, especially with his ability to hit the target of his scorn repeatedly - X-factor for example.

It was interesting to hear his view that it's been since the death of Diana that the news has become far more interested in what we think and feel about particular issues despite the fact, as Brooker pointed out, it's not really news. The snow in Februray of this year gave him the perfect ammunition for this - showing the endless pictures of snow and snowman that the BBC showed throughout the coverage, despite the fact it's not really news at all. His clip of Jeremy Paxman's withering contempt for this practice was fantastic.

The rise of UGC is undoubtedly a good thing when it's used correctly and can add to the story - images of floods, fires, plane crashes, and so forth all can give a news story added value and an impact; Twitter has, as I have said, already shifted this up to another level. However, it is important that this isn't the story, it must be an adjunct to the story. Once the story has been covered, discussed, looked at and the days have rolled on it should, unless somehow continually relevant, be dropped / pushed down the schedules. Even if there are more people's opinions that can be gathered / pictures coming in it doesn't mean it should stay in the news agenda.

There's only so many snowmen you can look at.

It happens

It doesn't matter how many subs you have, or how important the industry says they are or are not, sometimes mistakes are made. I should point out, this isn't one of our publications.

Media

Media Monkey: Turning to to the Goody side. Well, says it all really.

Pressing issues

There's been some debate about the usefulness of the Press Complaint Commission recently, such as the case against here, and for here. Thanks to the ever-useful Twitter I found a very interesting article here agreeing that the PCC is broken with reference to a recent story on the Daily Mail website. It's a good point very well made.

Newspaper opinions

This blog started, years ago when on the Cardiff course - where I've just been back (see two posts down) - and here is an interesting article in the Guardian about opinions on newspapers from young people across the globe. When on our course we heard a lot about the future of print - and so it seems do the current lot - and it's still here and still moving into new areas. It is exciting isn't it?

Passing on knowledge

Friday saw an escape from London for the relative quiet of Cardiff to impart what wisdom 16 months of real world journalism have taught me on the current student of the post-graduate magazine option at JOMEC.

Although strange to be back in the old "mag lab", it was nonetheless enjoyable to be able to offer some tips and knowledge on what I have learnt, which focused mainly on business journalism, freelancing, and a few things on C.V.s and interviews.

Having had many speakers when I was on the course, some good, some bad, some indifferent, I tried to make sure I was honest and realistic about things, and that, like anything and everything, there are positives, negatives and moments of surrealism, to the journalistic profession, but that the course they are on does equip them to be able to handle all that is thrown at them. I should know, I do almost every single aspect of what I was taught, including page design, subbing, coverline writing, feature and news writing, the use of CMS, and, yes, blogging.

There's no denying the current job market is slim to non-existent, but I at least hope they took the fact that they are on one of, if not the, best journalism courses in the UK as some solace in their future endeavours.

Me 'ansome

New jungle found in Cornwall. Hooray! But there's no need to write the gardeners comments up in the perceived local accent of the place:

He said: "I was cutting back some bushes when I saw the most amazing jungle scene. It was like nothing I had ever scene before. I've been head gardener here for the last 18 years and didn't know a thing about it."

If only they'd listened

I'd not claim to know any of the ins and outs of the 'Credit Crunch', but this video is very illuminating. It's 10 minutes long but it's worth watching. It would be nice to know what those who laugh at Peter Schiff do now, and what they are suggesting now. If I was taking advice from them and saw this, I'd tell them to sling it.

How do you feel right now? Er...

Well done Lewis Hamilton. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, having been close to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, after having previously been leisurely gathering victory from a supermarket on the other side of town from defeat.

But why do the broadcasters have to shove cameras, microphones and dictaphones into the face of the poor chap the moment he finishes the most climatic and exhausting race of his life? Are we that desperate for people's immediate reactions to events? He'd barely exited the car before people wanted to know how he felt. His bewildered and exhausted face gave the answer: he didn't know. It was sinking in.

I'd rather let him enjoy the moment and be with his friends and family and then gather his thoughts and give a press conference than have to fight off quote-hungry journalists desperate for a snatched "yeah...it feels great...it hasn't sunk in yet."

The fucking hypocrisy of it all

Quentin Letts' recent, hateful, piece in the Daily Mail 'The 50 people who wrecked Britain' - or ruined on the third day (why they changed it who knows) - took exception with Stephen Marks at number 11, the owner of French Connection UK, or FCUK.

Letts riles, 'One of the most miserable, shaming, dog-dirt-nasty things about Britain today is the coarseness of language in public...children were confronted by the letters and presumed it must be all right to be suggestive and brassy and foul-mouthed.

Is bad language not often a precursor of other forms of anti-social and violent behaviour? If we do not protest about bad language, what hope have we of stopping thuggery and vandalism?

Thank God King Cnut never thought of going into the rag trade.'

Letts choosing there to shoehorn in a particularly bad and incredibly ‘foul-mouthed' and 'suggestive' pun, even though this is the very behaviour he claims has created the 'dog-dirt-nasty' Britain.

But wait! There's more!

As Private Eye have noted, the book of this utterly pointlessly endeavor, is entitled '50 people who buggered up Britain'. What's wrong with wrecked? Or ruined? I thought Letts was against such things, after all Marks' FCUK logo meant 'children [...] presumed it must be all right to be suggestive and brassy and foul-mouthed.'

I only raise these points because, as Letts himself says, 'If we do not protest about bad language, what hope have we of stopping thuggery and vandalism?' Too right, you won't catch me using coarse language.

Aaaaaaa

Great review.

A link

This is a very well-written and moving piece from someone who survived the Omagh bombing in 1998 and underlines the power that can be achieved through simple, plain, everyday language.