Consumers’ demand for Apple’s iPad in the UK leaves people gasping for more
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If like me you are an avid consumer of the latest technology, a technocrat whose love of technology has taken over the daily routines of life and not being completely satisfied and content until the object of affection has been safely purchased and in one’s possession. The withdrawal symptoms, and sleepless nights – fantasying, wanting the new object of seduction, its immaculate and pristine surfaces and well publicised features, its technological capabilities and demand. The temptation exceeding anything else that may have been released. Its stylish computability lusted after through endless days and sleepless nights until the day of purchase. But others also want it, you are no longer alone, you are now a part of a technocratic collective group. The news that Apple were releasing the iPad travelled to the ears of geeks everywhere (including mine), wanting to produce copious amounts of Word documents on its user interface, print after print after glorious uninterrupted print. The old trusted laptop discarded, advertised on e-bay for a fraction of the cost as it becomes technologically a relic of the past, its technological capabilities in question compared to that of the iPad. The storage capacity and its slim frame packaged with so many delights that await approval from its owner.
Its glass bound front face, titillating and teasing with its aluminium frame making it lighter – weighing in at 0.68 kg, the added advantage of an oil repellent screen becoming a necessity, especially when it comes to the daily fondling of the device. The built-in (IPS) I-Plane Switching technology allows for multiple views of the document, where panning and zooming are essential. It does all this effortlessly in an orgasmic climax that leaves you gasping for more. The iPad’s – 9.7 in screen, much smaller than a conventional laptop, but it’s staying power – an incredible 10 hour battery life guarantees satisfaction in various in door and outdoor settings without interruption from prying eyes. It comes as standard with the iWork suite, making presentations and spreadsheets a breeze and the iBooks reader allows you to purchase and read numerous e-books on the go. Its easy handling and petite features will mean hours and hours of touching, feeling and caressing. Its 1GHz Apple A4 CPU processor makes it more than just a pretty face. However, it is still not a serious contender for the Apple Mac or any other laptop that is currently on the market. It is essentially a tablet computer that has the confidence to be an app’ magnet with thousands- upon-thousands of lovely devices to enhance the enjoyment and pleasures that derives from within it. It aims to please. The iPad is easily compatible with the iPhone and iPod and runs on the iPhone Operating System, processing, analysing, connecting and synchronising gadgets and internet connections effortlessly. But before you seriously consider throwing away your other laptops or tablet computers, there are a few things that you may want to consider; the lack of Flash support can be a major issue especially for the video enthusiast – who hordes video as though he or she were a representative of Sony. If you are a multi-tasking geek who loves to email and listen to music at the same time, you may well feel disappointed and slightly let down. Finally, it will only run programs that are approved by Apple.
Students rebel against the hike in tuition fees as politicians dismiss empathy in their decision making in order to decrease the country’s deficit.
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There have been significant changes these past few months with regards to university funding from the Government. The new Government headed by the coalition has introduced drastic and rapid strategies in an attempt to reduce the economic deficit the country is facing. The changes were fundamentally rapid – all that the previous Government stood for was being dismantled and replaced by a Tory led Government that were keen and enthusiastic to introduce changes now in order to turn around the ailing economy that had been affected by the banking crisis and the previous Government’s mishandling of it, this was their argument. As though it was Labour’s mess that they were cleaning up and not the bankers who had lost billions on the roulette table. First on the list, as it were, was the reduction of public sector jobs within the health service – nurses, social workers, care assistants, the non-essential staff had to be forcibly removed and deployed elsewhere, again the argument was for the reduction of the deficit. The unions pandered to their members annoyance at the impeding news that job security which once had been guaranteed was no more. The previous Government’s tolerance for protestation, increases in wages for public sector workers had been resolved through negotiation between unions and officials. This was new, alien territory and there would be no compromise or change of direction from this new Government. Indeed, Government departments or quangos as they are affectionately called were also not immune to the wrath of the new policy – the fully fledged, life-long employees of the UK Film Council were lined up and executed, the creative community were alarmed. Then cuts in Arts Council funding were next on the agenda with some smaller arts communities disbanding altogether, the areas becoming ghost towns with the occasional tumble-weed where once thousands of arts enthusiasts had congregated in rabid anticipation of a performance. The art galleries remain closed and boarded-up, once they housed effigies of long forgotten, dead iconic rock stars, portraits of so-called community cohesiveness were according to previous officials a distraction for those misled youth who may have pledged their allegiance to local crime gangs, if it were not for these projects. Now all that remains are graffiti sprayed buildings which attest to some creative spark. Next on the coalitions diary was the introduction of severe cuts to education funding. Teachers protested, their banners lovingly created out of material acquired from the colleges art department. The mantra of “What do we want? When do we want it ?” blaring through a loudspeaker attached to a rather enthusiastic designated leader of the union whose revolutionary jacket discriminatingly speckled with numerous badges, a seasoned veteran of the conflict. His or her minions proudly pronouncing them as a gallant soldier of the socialist revolution. They had conveniently forgotten that it was the Labour party who had introduced tuition fees as part of their policies to tax education. Their indiscretion forgiven.
Meanwhile, in Whitehall, the Government remained calm as though Gandhi was leading the protests. But soon, as the the final decision by the coalition gathered speed – the mobs would fire their hippy leaders and resort to militant action – looting, pillaging and burning all that represented the establishment. Poor Churchill’s statue had been used as a urinal by an inebriated student whose imploding bladder had taken control of his senses. One decadent hippy child, whose sexuality by the Daily Mail was in question had been swinging as though he was Tarzan on a union jack, it was no surprise that he was promptly arrested and executed in front of a firing squad, despite his pleas of remorse. He claimed it was stupid and that he was overtaken by a demonic spirit that had taken control of his being and forcibly prompted him to swing and shout “Ahhh Uaaaa”. The judges were not having any of it. He was as custom would have it, fined with an exorbitant amount, being a son of a pop star particularly in these sticky situations can be quite a blessing in disguise, had it been anyone else – they would have inevitably languished in a cockroach and mouse infested Victorian prison, tortured daily by electrocution applied to the testicles by rather eager, sadomasochistic Ex-RAB prison guards. The demonstrations were touted as being non-aggressive, organised by concerned lefty students whose parents may or may not have been ex-hippy student leaders back in the 1970s, “Make love, not cuts, man” as one banner proudly stated. There were foreign tourists – eagerly snapping away at surrounding, pigeon defecated architecture unawares or not concerned about what was happening in their midst.
Some are legitimate protests, others are drug and drink-fuelled and indeed anger sodden affairs. This militant behaviour and volatile anger may have, presumably been honed and encouraged in community rehabilitation projects and five star youth detention centres which allowed the party-crashers to infiltrate the so-called peaceful protests for their own hatred towards the Government. In essence, it could be seen as a desperate crowds attempts to cause as much destruction as possible in order to force the despots, I mean Government to change their policies. There was also the anger and resentment of easily misled Lib-Dem supporters who believed the rhetoric of their demi-gods, suddenly becoming surprised and astounded by the turnaround in policy decisions once their affectionate leaders had been elected and proudly took their place in secondment to the Tories. The abolishment of tuition fees becoming a highly unlikely prospect now or in the distant future – the document presumably, shelved and gathering dust in the coalition attic somewhere, where one day it may be found by curious aliens – once humanity has become completely extinct by the H1N1 virus.
These are testing times for the Tory High Command who are becoming increasingly unpopular as the dreaded cuts spread infecting the less privileged. The culmination of these protests resulting in the anarchic destruction of Charles and Camilla’s car – desecrated by unruly vandals – fully-armed with an assortment of pink spray cans, the damage unrepairable. The future king and queen left fearing for their aristocratic lives, scared to even venture out to purchase a loaf of bread – unless they are accompanied by armed S019 guards, who have a licence to kill policy. We live in dark times.
The protests continue, orchestrated by spectacle-wearing social media geeks whose reactionary stance is discredited by politicians, teenage angst and allegations of police brutality are the usual missiles hurled at the press in these trying times.
Saw 3D: Is this really the ‘Final Chapter’?
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The final instalment of the successful horror film franchise opens with a public scene in daylight which is a slight departure from the previous films which involved scenes within dark disused warehouses and buildings away from the public display. The opening scene centres on two mutual friends – Ryan (Jon Cor) and Brad (Sebastian Pigott) who become conscious after what ever substance that was administered to them wears off – as they regain consciousness they discover their wrists bound to a table with a saw in the front of a shop window with their lover Dina (Anna Lee Greene) suspended above another saw. They have to make a decision regarding saving her or saving themselves. It can be inferred from this that Jigsaw’s trap seemed to have been designed to punish the girlfriend from cheating in the most brutal, dramatic and public way possible.
The two creators of the Saw franchise are both Australian – James Wan wrote and directed the first Saw film in 2004, he partnered with fellow Australian and friend, Leigh Whannell, who contributed to the writing and then they pitched the film idea to Lionsgate studios. The first film cost over $1 million and accumulated $55 million at the box office once it was released. The current film in the series, Saw 3D, reportedly cost $17 million, but the script, written by Patrick Welton and Marcus Dunstan seems rushed and the acting melodramatic with scores of extras contributing to the victims of Jigsaw’s fiendish eleven traps, a slight increase from the previous films within the series. This suggests that director, Kevin Greuert may have sacrificed good acting and story lines with over-the-top gore effects as a substitute, resulting in two-dimensional acting with an over abundance of unknown extras in short torture scenes, there are no character build-ups, no acknowledgement of who they are, which results in a patchwork of random scenes of violence followed by flashbacks. Again, there are further deviations, with the plot focusing more on saving other people unlike the previous films which contradicts the whole series where the scenarios revolved around self-survival. In one of the scenes, a self-proclaimed, so-called survivor, Bobby Dagen’s (Sean Patrick Flannery), dishonesty and lucrative book deals based on his fabricated accounts of being one of the survivors leads him into a world of deception and celebrity status. There is no acknowledgement to the ordeal or circumstances of the survivors except brief extracts suggesting that these previously unknown survivors seem to be afterthoughts and not in par with the rest of the series. Unlike most of the films within the franchise, the gore and blood-lust is maximised with numerous body parts flying in the direction of the camera, creating a subtle three-dimensional effect as close-up shots pan to implements piercing flesh. It becomes repetitive and is certainly no substitute for a good storyline and plot which this film lacks.
The continuity of the story is however there from the previous film where Jigsaw’s, (Tobin Bell) accomplice – detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) had been tricked and placed in a reverse bear trap by Jigsaw’s ex-wife, Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), only to escape and seek revenge for her betrayal. But first he must eliminate detective Gibson (Chad Donella) who has vowed to protect her and bring Hoffman down. Hoffman’s obsession with Jigsaw is realised through a serious of flashbacks and audio messages in remembrance of his hero’s legacy, so too, are the mention of past characters within the series – one survivor from Saw III, Dr Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes), is briefly featured. In the previous Saw films – Dr Gordon had been chosen by John Kramer (Jigsaw) because of his sexual involvement with one of his medical students at the expense of his family. He along with another victim became participants of one of Jigsaw’s traps, which involved Gordon killing the other man within a specified time limit in order to save the lives of his family if he failed to do so. In the end he disobeyed Jigsaw’s wishes and amputated his own foot to escape. Jigsaw saves him and he becomes one of his trusted allies, helping to construct some of the elaborate traps. For Jigsaw, Gordon is also an insurance policy in case Hoffman decides and succeeds in killing his ex-wife – Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell). In Saw V, Hoffman’s connection with John Kramer (Jigsaw) are revealed through flashbacks. The murder of his sister by her boyfriend compels Hoffman to execute him by using a trap after he is freed from jail due to a lack of evidence against him. Subsequently, the murder gets blamed on the Jigsaw killer. Jigsaw finds out that Hoffman had framed him and confronts him – eventually they come to a compromise with Hoffman agreeing to become his assistant.
There are significantly more torture scenes within Saw 3D than the previous films – again suggesting the the focus was more on splatter than psychological thrills. There was also not much originality with the trademark reverse bear trap becoming a repetitive and preferred instrument of torture which had been evident within other scenes within the series and so too were some of the indoor scenes involving property rigged with explosives that were reminiscent of Saw II. In the penultimate ending, Hoffman, realising that Dagen is a fraud sets about devising a series of tests that would involve the protagonist solving a number of intricate puzzles to save the life of members of his family and acquaintances, which culminate in the final puzzle involving his wife. The distinction between Hoffman and Jigsaw’s personalty is evident here in that Jigsaw would never contemplate on seeking some kind of revenge on Dagen for his deception as in order to do so would undermine the whole ideology of self-promotion. The lasting and probably most memorable scene of the film involved the construction of an elaborate car trap where the participant, a racist – is literally glued to his seat as his car slowly heads towards another unwilling victim who is placed in the path of the vehicle. Whether this would be a fitting ending to one of the most successful horror franchises is debatable. Is this really the Final Chapter?
The Box Office figures both in the UK and US show the popularity of the film in the weekend it was released on 29-31 October 2010. Both the UK and US figures show Saw 3D in first position in the first week it was released. It did considerably well in the US raking in $22,530, 123 in sales for the week, compared to the UK where it accumulated £3,600,083 for the week. This can be partly attributed to the number of multiplex cinemas that each country has – with the UK having far less than the US resulting in higher weekend gross figures. The seven Saw films within the franchise had been released consecutively from October 2004 with the final one being released on 29-31 October 2010. The combined franchise netted over £848 million worldwide with 30 million DVD sales, according to Lionsgate studios. Also, in 2009 the Japanese firm Konami Digital Entertainment released, Saw : The Video Game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The tables below show the gross figures for each of the Saw films and what position the series fits in within relation to other franchises.
The Winter of Discontent : consumer spending and confidence before the introduction of the austerity measures.
Is consumer spending and confidence on the decrease?
The bad weather has certainly not stopped people from heading to the shops to purchase last minute Christmas presents or groceries. People are braving the extreme cold in their pursuit to make this Christmas one to remember. As an observer, what becomes apparent is that you notice people with lists in shopping stores ticking away items or on their mobile phones arguing and debating about the necessity of such condiments. They seem to be a frequent sight in such places, but on Christmas there seems to be more of them. “But darling, do we really need a whole block of cheddar when a few slices would do?” Indeed, even at this time of year people of all religions and denominations are purchasing extra stock to fill up their freezers or larders come Christmas when most retail outlets will be closed because of the festivities.
But despite this continued resurgence, particularly towards Christmas time, spending is inevitably high. But what about the months in-between? Well, according to the Nationwide, consumer confidence was on the decline where in November it dipped to “its lowest level since March 2009”. They suggest that this reflects on consumers’ confidence in spending where they will spend less in December 2010. And also, Market research company GfK NOP carried out research on behalf of the European Commission in 2010. The study was carried out from the 3 to 12 December. They found that consumer confidence had significantly decreased with low confidence particularly in personal finance “over the last 12 months” and the next proceeding 12 months. It also found that peoples’ confidence over the state of the economy “over the last 12 months” and the next proceeding 12 months where low. Nick Moon, Managing Director of GfK NOP Social Research, said: “At the moment consumer confidence is being propped up by one thing – a belief that the run-up to Christmas and the VAT hike is a good time for big-ticket retail purchases. This element of the index has distorted the overall index to make it appear static when in fact it is teetering on the brink. Every other measure has fallen and without this one positive, consumer confidence would have fallen to its lowest level in one year. Of course, the real test will come in January when festive spending ceases and the VAT increases come in. Then we will finally see the full impact of how consumers are reacting to the first wave of austerity measures.” The VAT rate presently stands at 17.5 per cent, in January it will rise to 20 per cent.
However, some retail sectors may possibly be affected but consumers are still spending on essential items, such as groceries. This has inevitably resulted in an increase particularly for supermarkets. Earlier in December Tesco said that their combined sales for the group increased by 8.8 per cent for the thirteen weeks ending in November 2010.
But what exactly are people spending their money most on? Well, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) during the third quarter of 2010, recreational and cultural events “grew by 2.5 per cent” as well as food and non-alcoholic drinks which increased by 1.6 per cent. People were also spending more on footwear and clothing because of the extreme weather conditions. This increase according to ONS is partly due to people spending less on overall transport and housing costs.
Online activity
In contrast, PayPal have predicted that approximately £9 billion will be spent by consumers online due to the extreme weather conditions which have particularly hit high street sales in December. According to the group, “three quarters (77 per cent)” of the people that they surveyed said that they “plan to shop online for all or some of their gifts this Christmas”. They say that this increase is down to people saving money with 63 per cent saying that products and service online are cheaper, 37 per cent saying that it is because of free delivery, and 29 per cent saying that it is quicker and more convenient. Rob Skimmer, Consumer Affairs Manager, at PayPal, said: “Christmas is an expensive time of year and most of us want our money to go as far as possible. Shopping online is a great way to bag a bargain.”
According to Interactive Media In Retail Group’s IMAGE Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index from May 2010, online sales had increased with consumers spending around £4.4 billion on goods. Chris Webster, Vice President, Retail Consulting and Technology, at Capgemini, said: “Online retail is seeing continued high growth levels of 13 per cent as more and more retailers are using an online channel to attract a new market and retain existing customers.”
The surge in internet purchasing, or e-commerce as it is more affectionately known as – is also reflected in the ONS figures for the retail sector, which show that food sales were 3.3 per cent higher than in 2009 and that non-food items had increased 3.7 per cent higher than last year. Also according to the ONS figures, the “weekly value of Internet retail sales in November 2010 was £660 million , which was approximately 10.5 per cent of total retail sales”.
Source: Adapted from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Retail Sales November 2010.
Single people are relying less on traditional dating methods
More people are opting to join online dating websites in an attempt to improve their chances of finding a soul mate.
Most people regard finding a soul mate as the most important aspect of their lives. But finding Mr Right or Miss Right can be a lengthy process for some, while for others these first encounters with the opposite sex or in some cases the same sex can culminate in a full commitment followed by matrimony. It seems as though the traditional search for a soul mate has become more technologically enhanced by the numerous websites that boast successful unions with couples who have found that ‘special someone’ from around the world.
Traditional v online dating
Yet the traditional, approved and tested methods are still very much important, especially in orthodox families where religion plays a key part in the identity of the household. However, even this unique audience is catered for by the Internet, which boasts numerous websites focusing on religion and caste, particularly sites aimed at Indians. One, such site, Shaadi.com, has profiles of potential partners, with even a search engine that allows potential suitors to customise their search based on religion, caste, education, employment and location. It even allows family members of the daughter or son to advertise on their behalf. One couple, Aleksandr Burkov from Russia and Sarika Singh from India met each other through the website. Burkov who resides in Russia exchanged email messages with Sarika, thousands of miles away in India after viewing each other’s profiles on the website in 2008; they wed in December 2010.
Burkov, said on the website:
“It was the most special moment of our lives when we met each other on Shaadi.com, the 7th of Nov 2008. We live in different parts of the world, in Russia and India; have different culture, customs and traditions. It was very interesting to get to know a lot of things about each other. And after some time getting in touch via email we decided to meet each other in person.” There are countless other success stories, but how does online dating differ from traditional dating methods?
According to a study published by the Department of Psychology in 2007, by Larry Rosen et al from California State University – on the differences between traditional and online dating. They found that: “Traditional dating most often begins with spatial proximity and physical attractiveness, followed by an investigation of similarities and interests and then personal self-disclosure. Dating usually begins once a week and may accelerate after a time. In contrast, online dating usually begins with a flurry of e-mail messages back and forth with early self-disclosure by both parties.”
Additionally, according to loveguide.me, online dating is far more effective in that it allows users to view profiles of potential suitors at the click of a button from registered members from around the world. It is also less inhibitive compared to face-to-face confrontations and that most dating websites match potential partners up with similar interests. Online dating they suggest is far more effective compared to blind dates with safety being another aspect that is important as opposed to traditional dating methods which may not be too concerned with safety, whereas online dating sites enforce ethics codes and in some cases conduct criminal checks. It is also affordable, despite the small membership charges compared to spending an exorbitant amount of money on numerous blind dates which may or may not lead to finding a soul mate. However, even with online dating sites there is no guarantee that you will find the partner that you want, but if you lead a very hectic life, as most professionals do – then it could be another way of getting to know people.
This is reflected in the popularity of online dating, which can be determined from a recent survey conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey in 2009-2010 for Match.com which found that 36 per cent of people aged 18-24 and 23 per cent of over 65s agreeing that it was a good place to find a partner. It also found that 17 per cent of the couples, 1 in 6, had met their partners on an online dating site and decided to commit to marriage. And in 2010, “More than twice as many marriages occurred between people who met each other on an online dating site than met in bars, at clubs, and other social events combined. According to the survey, “1 out of 5 single people have dated someone they met on an online dating site”. And “1 out of 5 people who are in a new committed relationship (including marriage), met their significant other on an online dating site”. Furthermore, a poll conducted in February 2010 by the BBC World Service “showed that 30 per cent of web users regard the internet as a good place to find a boyfriend or girlfriend”. The poll involved interaction from 11, 000 internet users across 19 countries. The results of the poll reveal that Pakistan and India were the highest to regard internet dating as a “good place to find a partner”. Other countries where high proportions of internet users feel the same way include, “Ghana (47 per cent), Philippines (42 per cent), with fewer Americans (21 per cent), South Koreans (16 per cent), British (28 per cent), and French (27 per cent),” who thought it was a good idea.
Dating disaster
However, there are some disaster stories. According to Scot McKay, a dating coach and founder of X and Y Communications in San Antonio, Texas, who has published several books on the subject of dating, including, “Deserve What You Want”, “How To Manage Your Wildly Successful Dating Life”, “Twiduction: How To Meet Women On Twitter” and several other books. McKay described his date with a Lebanese teacher, he said: “Noticing her glass was empty, I refreshed it for her. The glass was empty again the next time I looked over to her. Right then, she skipped over to me, threw her arms around my neck and started biting me with a giggle. But when I wasn’t paying attention she had found some vodka. I had cooked her dinner at my place, but she was nowhere to be found. It was then that I remembered that she excused herself to the bathroom. I went to check on her and she had vomited (thankfully with tremendously accurate aim) into the commode and was presently passed out on the floor. I ended up eating dinner alone.” However, six months later McKay found the love of his life online, Emily McKay, they are happily married and have three children together.
Men’s Confidence
Confidence is also another issue that faces men particularly when it comes to asking a woman out on a date, using the traditional methods of courtship. According to a recent survey by Parship, Europe’s largest online dating service – whose study involved examining the personality profiles of 5,000 Europeans; it found that 47 per cent of men who had been single for long periods had blamed their lack of confidence in approaching the opposite sex in traditional courtship settings, 42 per cent attributed it to shyness, 34 per cent to fussiness and 31 per cent “to not being attractive enough”. Their findings suggest that “over 5 million men in the UK” lack the confidence to approach a woman and that UK men are the least confident in Europe. Maybe, this psychological aspect has something to do with why men and women find it easier to communicate online as opposed to face-to-face meetings. But eventually at some stage in the online relationship they will have to meet up.
Bianca Mercer, Parship’s County Manager for UK and Ireland, said: “Men should remember that although an aura of self-confidence can be very attractive, as far as women are concerned, attraction has much less to do with looks (a six pack is certainly not required!): it’s the person within that counts.”
Also, according to Sonika Tinker, a relationship coach and expert and author of “Seize your Opportunities: Living a Life Without Limits” and founder of LoveWorks, a relationship company in America. “When singles meet, they don’t really see each other; they talk but don’t feel heard, reach out but don’t feel connected. There is so much judging, assessing, impressing, withholding, deciding, wanting and needing going on that no one is really being with each other and there is little space left for authentic , joyful, intimate relating,” she said. Maybe, online dating sites are a good way to break the ice?
If you do decide to pursue online dating, then join a reputable website like match.com. And finally when you eventually do decide to meet your online date – there are a few things you may want to consider;
- Make sure the meeting is in a public place with lots of people around.
- Never tell you date where you live or go back to your place.
- Make sure someone knows that you are going to meet your date.
- Take your mobile phone with you, so people who you have told can contact you.
- Never drink too much, make sure you are alert at all times.
- Take a photo of the online date with you to make sure they are the same person.
Private lives exposed : Privacy
Everyone is entitled to a private life. But when should that be an exception? There have been a number of recent cases that highlight how privacy can be both costly to either newspapers or corporations and detrimental to individuals whose reputations are at stake. The publication of numerous cases has brought privacy to the attention of everyone including journalists and newspapers. In 2007, Liz Hurley, Arun Nayar and Hugh Grant sued two photographic agencies, Big Pictures UK and Eliot Press for using telescopic lens to secretly take photographs of them on holiday in the Maldives. Consequently, the photographs that they took they later sold to the News of the World and Mail on Sunday who published them. They decided to take the matter to the High Court, arguing that the photographs were taken without their knowledge and intruded on their privacy. The court awarded them £58, 000 in damages.
During the same year, Max Moseley, head of the Féderation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) took the News of the World to the High Court after they published a story, headlined, “F1 Boss has sick Nazi orgy with 5 hookers”, it was accompanied by the sub-heading, “Son of Hitler-loving fascist in sex shame”. The article accused him of participating in an sadomasochistic orgy with five prostitutes dressed in Nazi regalia and was accompanied by covert video footage and pictures of him indulging in these sessions on their web site. Subsequently, on the 6 April there was a follow-up article, headed “Exclusive: Moseley hooker tells all: My Nazi orgy with F1 boss”. Moseley successfully sued the newspaper for breach of privacy and intrusion into his private life, he also claimed that it could be implied that he supported fascism and Nazism, which he adamantly denied. He was awarded damages of £60,000. Judge Eady said in Moseley v News Group “the claimant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to sexual activities (albeit unconventional) carried on between consenting adults on private property” and he found “that there was no evidence that the gathering on 28 March 2008 was intended to be an enactment of Nazi behaviour or adoption of any of its attitudes”.
This along with other libel cases, resulted in an inquiry into press regulation by the House of Commons, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the same year. This was also an issue back in 1993 – when the then Government commissioned a report on the self-regulation of the press. It was headed by Sir David Calcutt, who stated that “self-regulation was not working and recommended that the Government should impose statutory regulation” on the press. But this was back in 1993, when the PCC was still in its infancy, it has certainly come a long way since then. The popularity of the regulator can be judged by the number of complaints that it had received from the public in 2008 – which were 4,698. It had been an all-time high and an increase by eight per cent from the previous year for the regulator. This is a breakdown of the figures – 721 did not breach the code, 102 were resolved by the newspaper after they published an apology, 552 were successfully resolved and did not require further action. And 24 were “adjudicated and upheld” with 21 “adjudicated and not upheld”. The complaints that received the highest out of all the categories were concerning privacy. In 2011 the regulator is planning to incorporate a new web site that will list all the complaints that it deals with, including – upheld complaints, resolved complaints and all instances where the “newspaper has offered sufficient remedial action”, something that previously had not been included. These changes are a result of an independent review on its governance that was conducted in July 2010.
In September 2010 Christina Trimingham an ex-BBC press officer and journalist sued Associated Newspapers when the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday published eight articles about her affair with Liberal Democrat, cabinet minister Chris Huhne. Trmingham said that the newspapers invaded her privacy when they published details of the affair and made allegations about her sexual preferences. She accused the newspapers of violating the PCC Editor’s Code on privacy, which states that:
“Everyone is entitled to respect for his or her private and family life, home, health, and correspondence, including digital communications. Editors will be expected to justify intrusions into any individual’s private life without consent. It is unacceptable to photograph individuals in a private place without their consent. Private places are public or private property where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
However, the PCC Editor’s Code has no enforcement powers, unlike Ofcom, to force journalists and editors to comply with the code of practice. But they can conduct adjudications to bring individual journalists and editors to account for their actions, resulting in fines and even dismissal by the newspaper if they are serious to warrant such actions. There is also this public perception of the PCC where several editors of national newspapers have seats on the board. Most notably, Paul Dacre who is the editor of the Mail and editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers responsible for the Mail on Sunday he is also chairman of the Editor’s Code Committee of the PCC. In an interview with Nick Davies of the Guardian on April 10, when Vanessa Perroncel was asked about whether she should have complained to the PCC, she said: “There are too many newspapers editors who sit on it. From these same newspapers. It’s a conflict of interest. Who would trust them?” This by all means is not restricted to Perroncel’s perception of the regulator, but others including Max Moseley have stated the same. The PCC have tried to create more transparency in their operations by publishing the minutes of adjudications and decisions, which has helped somewhat.
In a speech to the Society of Editors in 2008, after his newspaper lost a privacy case against Moseley, Dacre, said: “The British press is having a privacy law imposed on it, which is, I would argue, undermining the ability of mass circulation newspapers to sell newspapers in an ever difficult market. I am referring of course, to Justice David Eady who has, again and again, under the privacy clause of the Human Rights Act, found against newspapers and their age-old freedom to expose the moral shortcomings of those in high places.” Mr Justice David Eady retaliated, in a speech at the Intellectual Property Lawyers Association in 2008, saying: “The media have nowhere to vent their frustrations other than through personal abuse of the particular judge who happens to have made the decision. It has become fashionable to label judges not as independent but rather as unaccountable and as hostile to freedom of speech.”
The Daily Mail received further criticism when in 2010, it published an article by Jan Moir that criticised the death of Steven Gateley, which received 23, 000 complaints to the PCC. The complaint was not upheld by the regulator, they argued it was Moir’s own opinion as a columnist on the circumstances leading up to the death of Gateley which was speculative in nature. This particular complaint was more focused on accuracy and defamation of the deceased and not privacy. But its relevance is important, in that it – reflects on the PCC and the public’s perception of the voluntary organisation on handling complaints effectively.
There were several other cases involving the breach of privacy in 2010. These included, the News of the World publishing a front page story on 24 January 2010 that said that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were separating and that custody of their three biological and three adopted children would be contested in a court. It also said that Jolie had hired a specialist divorce lawyer, Sorrell Trope, who had prepared the separation documents that were signed by both parties. It later emerged that Trope denied ever representing the couple let alone preparing any documentation and that both Jolie and Pitt denied they were separating. They both demanded an apology and retraction on the grounds that it was inaccurate, misleading and breached their privacy. The newspaper failed to comply, which was a breach of the PCC Editors Code, and resulted in them being awarded undisclosed damages.
In October 2010, Vanessa Perroncel, a glamour model was accused of having an affair with the Chelsea and England footballer, John Terry. Several newspapers published details of the affair in January. Perroncel decided to take matters into her own hands and wrote letters to seven of the newspapers that had been responsible for spreading the story to desist from publishing anything else that she alleged was untrue. Two newspapers published an apology and correction, the News of the World and Mail on Sunday wrote: “Miss Perroncel has since informed us that she would have preferred her personal information to remain private and it was untrue in any case. We apologise to Miss Perroncel for any distress caused.”
To conclude, judging by all these cases, it seems that the PCC Editors Code is not seen; especially by the tabloids as being that important as the majority of the privacy cases seem to originate from articles in these newspapers. Also, the numbers of cases adjudicated and upheld by the PCC are relatively low and the 23, 000 complaints by the public after the Moir article in 2010 was not even upheld. This does not bode well to the PCC’s argument that its actions are independent of the newspaper industry, which it is dependent on.
However, Susan Hall, a senior partner at Cobbett’s law firm, said: “Privacy law in the UK is terribly confused. It derives from a patchwork of legal areas, including the Data Protection Act, the Human Rights Act and common law breach of confidence. Which is applicable but is heavily dependent on the specific facts of each case.”
Birmingham Post & Mail (BPM) interviews & work experience.
Monday 25 October 2010
This is my first day at Birmingham Post and Mail (BPM) at the Fort Dunlop Centre in Birmingham. I was very much looking forward to the experience. I arrived at the destination on time and met my contact, Lyn, who led me through to the main office. My first impression of the building was astounding; it looked very much contemporary and stylish. Apparently, BPM had only recently moved here in 2008. Prior to that, they were located in the city centre.
My First impression of the office complex resembled what I had envisaged a newspaper office to be — lots of newspapers piled high near workstations that consisted of either one or two monitors. I later found out that these workstations were occupied by various editors, from Features, News etc., who were busy editing and arranging the stories for print. Incidentally, Trinity Mirror (the group that own BPM), also produce other publications including; The Birmingham Post, Mail, Mercury, and supplement magazines including — The People, Post Property, and The Look. In this office complex, all these publications are merged. Therefore, it was not surprising to observe that journalists and editors were expected to write and edit for all three publications, as well as, write features for the supplements.
I was part of the editorial team and was put to work immediately; my first feature consisted of a 2000 word article about property. Alison Jones, editor for the Birmingham Post’s — Post Property supplement gave me my first assignment and brief to produce a double spread feature on Southam, in Warwickshire. The brief outlined that I had to write-up, conduct research, interview people and source pictures. The deadline for this was on Wednesday at 4 pm.
I managed to nearly complete the article, but was still waiting on estate agents, whom I telephoned asking about property in that particular area. They hopefully will get back to me with the pictures and information before the deadline on Wednesday afternoon. In the meantime, I was busy working on another article about Halloween — this was a short article, around 350 words and was completed today. I should explain more about the computer software that I used — Adobe InCopy and InDesign, was the standard software that most journalists and editors were using. This was accompanied by an in-house data base system, rather like an intranet.
It was quite efficient, in that it allowed reporters to save copy in draft format — directly onto the database where others can observe or comment on the work, including the editor, in my case it was John Marsden, the Assistant Content Editor who overlooks the editorial and production side of the Birmingham Post and Mail. Apparently, he has been working in newspapers for over twenty-years and was rather a nice chap, very hard-working and thorough.
Tuesday 26 October 2010
This is the second day of my work experience. I arrived early at the BPM offices in Great Western Arcade to meet with Ross McCarthy, BPM’s senior court reporter and then we headed to the Queen Elizabeth Courts in Birmingham.
A varied number of cases were heard here — including; murder, rape and fraud. The Queen Elisabeth has about seventeen courts located within its building complex. I observed a number of other reporters taking notes, presumably from other regional newspapers. As with most crown courts — the legal teams — prosecution, defence and the judges all wear black gowns and wigs, unlike magistrate’s courts. There is also a difference between the crimes that have been allegedly committed by the defendants — in crown courts — crimes such as murder and rape are heard here, whereas minor crimes, such as — theft, assault, etc., are heard by the magistrate’s courts. I was seated in Court 8, where a woman was allegedly accused of killing her three-year-old child.
The prosecution called a number of experts — including forensics, doctors and the police. They were cross-examined by the prosecution and defence about the possible causes of death of the child and the character of the defendant who was accused of perpetrating the acts. It was quite horrific, listening to the details emerge. But as a journalist, it was necessary to report on all the facts, even if they were quite horrific and appalling.
Wednesday 27 October
Today is the deadline for the Southam Property feature. Everything is on schedule, just need to contact a few experts and obtain some quotes and source some photographs, according to the brief, I need six. I had already previously contacted a number of estate agents on Monday — but it seemed that some of them did not want the free promotion, judging by the lack of any information that they failed to provide me with. I had already estimated that there would be significant delays as a result of their inability to honour a simple request for information. It must be acknowledged though, that in some instances estate agents’ need to obtain permission from the owners of the property before they are allowed to honour such a request. However, such was my determination and perseverance, I had a plan B. This allowed me to complete the story, source the photographs and obtain the quotes, all before the deadline.
Thursday 28 October 2010
Alison handed me my second property feature brief, this time on Alcester in Warwickshire. I had to conduct research, interview people, and source photographs. The deadline for this was Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, in-between, I conducted some research and interviews for a news story on Diwali celebrations — the deadline was the same day as the Alcester double feature. I was becoming a rather busy bee!
Friday 29 October 2010
This is the final day of my work experience at BPM. I finished the news story on Diwali celebrations for print and online for tomorrow’s publication, just need to interview some people for the Alcester piece and then everything will be complete. I used my initiative and suggested to the Property Supplement editors, on possibly obtaining quotes from councillors within those principalities. I thought it would add a different perspective and when they agreed, I was immensely pleased. The councillors, and people I spoke to — for both the property features, were very helpful, despite their busy schedules. In some cases, it was a matter of convincing, even prompting some councillors to open up about their experiences. But on the whole, I found the councillors rather interesting and nice people who were determined to improve the areas they represented.
I finally finished all the work that was assigned to me — two, 2000 word Property features, and several news stories for the Birmingham Post and Mail before the deadlines. I will certainly never forget BPM and the seasoned journalists and editors who made this a valuable and enjoyable experience that will stay with me for years to come. I want to especially thank; Mark Cowan, Grant Tempelton, John Marsden, Jason Skarratt, Will Oliphant, Neil Elkes, Lyn Davis, Jasbir Authi, Alison Jones, David Brookes, and Stacey Barnfield.
Public sector workers’ protest in Birmingham after the publication of the Spending review.
A group of public sector unions gathered in solidarity after the publication of the Comprehensive Spending Review at 5pm on Wednesday 20 2010. Public sector protesters included, nurses, social workers, teachers, and students, who will be hit hard by the Tory Government’s proposed cuts to public sector spending and funding.
The Protest was organised by the Right to Work group, an umbrella organisation that comprises of various different public sector unions which was launched in 2009. The first protest was held outside the Birmingham City Council offices on Victoria Square and the marchers then moved to the second Birmingham City Council offices on Newhall Street.
They were also joined by Labour Councillor, Chaman Lal. Nick Burke, a Social Worker and a member of UNISON described the “cuts as being disgraceful” and jeopardising front line staff and essential services at a time when such services are needed. Another public sector employee, a Higher Education Lecturer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I am here to show solidarity because we are against what the Government are going to do. We are against the fact that this will affect peoples’ livelihoods, and we are against the fact that there is such polarisation of inequality growing between those people that are allowed to take bonuses and accumulate their wealth, on the one hand, and people who are being disenfranchised and dispossessed on the other.”
Sue Blackwell, from the University Colleges Lecturers Union, which represents; lecturers, library staff, computer technicians and administrative staff in universities and colleges, said: “Our members are fighting over our pensions, we are fighting against the pay cuts because the employers have offered us 0.4 per cent when the rate of inflation is about 4.8 per cent, that is a pay cut.
She added: “Most of all, we are fighting over jobs. We are up against a government that is planning to cut the funding of teaching by 80 per cent and overall university funding by something like 67 per cent — that is a slaughter of Higher Education and if we do not fight — colleges and universities will close.
“Maybe they will be bought up by the private sector. I think that is what this government wants and we are fighting a management that is complicit with the government. That is doing nothing to fight these cuts and the attacks on our pensions. If you are made compulsorily redundant, which is increasingly likely in the current climate. You will no longer be able to take an increased pension. So it will be cheaper for our management to make people redundant. Management will not have to bear the costs.”
Poppy, 21, a second year student at Birmingham University, said: “I remember a few years ago — the Labour government, said, ‘education was a right not a privilege’, now it has become more of a privilege. A couple of weeks ago, our vice chancellor sent out an email telling us that one of the reasons that we should support the change in education funding — is that it will not affect us and my response to this is that I am not that selfish and that is why I am marching today.”’
Chris Jarvis, 18, a supporter, said: “I am completely opposed to the government’s draconian programme, which will threaten the fabric of equality that we have in this country.”
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has said: “Simply borrowing money from China to buy the goods they make for us may be Gordon Brown’s idea of Britain’s economic future, but it is not ours. Under the next Conservative Government, our tax system, education and national infrastructure will help British firms out-compete others in the world, not hold them back. We will build a more balanced economy which does not depend so heavily on the success of financial services, and where all parts of the country share in the gains. The bedrock of this new model will be the stability and low interest rates that come from a credible plan to reduce our record budget deficit, protect Britain’s credit rating and give taxpayers value for money.”
Mark Littlewood, Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “If up to half a million public sector workers are about to lose their jobs – and perhaps as many private sector workers who are dependent on public sector projects – we need to make it as easy as possible for companies and businesses to re-employ them. This, combined with a firm commitment to cut taxes rather than increase spending as economic circumstances improve, is the best way to insure against a double-dip recession and to build on the still fragile recovery.”
Birmingham City Students Union plans protest in Birmingham and London after the publication of the Browne Review.
Birmingham City Students’ Union will be organising two demonstrations against the proposed cuts to education funding and the increase in tuition fees. The demonstrations have culminated with the recent publication of the Browne Review:
“The current system puts a limit on the level of investment for higher education. As a consequence we are at risk of falling behind rival countries. Our proposals introduce more investment for higher education. HEIs must persuade students that they should ‘pay more’ in order to ‘get more’. The money will follow the student,” said the report.
This will allow universities to increase their fees as teaching budgets are cut by the Government. The protests are a reaction to the report which the union says will prevent “students from ordinary middle and working class backgrounds” from applying to university.
The union has planned to protest and lobby MPs on Wednesday 20 October at 5pm in St Philips Place, Birmingham and on Wednesday 10 November in Central London. They will be joined by the National Union of Journalists (NUS).
The Browne Review also states that education institutions’ will be monitored in their attempts to provide education for all groups, including the less privileged.
“No one should be put off from studying in higher education because they cannot afford the cost of living while they are studying. HEIs will be evaluated on how well they are doing in providing fair access to all.”
Union President Tom Thompson said: “The proposed fee increases are another blow to students already being hit left, right and centre by government cuts. They will let the rich universities and students race ahead.
“We urge students, their families and all those involved in education to get behind the campaign against cuts and fee increases and to support the NUS demonstration on 10 November.”
