When Politics, Media and Business collide

I heard a fascinating interview with Lord Mandelson, the British Government's Business Secretary this morning, on Radio 4's Today programme.

In the interview Lord Mandelson claimed the Sun newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News International, is collaborating with the Conservative party to undermine the incumbent Labour Party administration. In return, he suggested, News International had promised some sort of kickback should the Conservatives win the election.

Lord Mandelson also claimed that coverage of anti-government stories in the Sun would be covered on TV by Sky News, also part of the Murdoch stable. Then, perhaps bizarrely, he claimed this would force the BBC to cover biased stories, which in turn would threaten its impartiality.

It was a remarkable allegation for a senior politician to make, and there's more coverage of this and subsequent comments Lord Mandelson made in an article from The Guardian Online. You can read more here.

As we get closer to a general election in the UK, the rate at which mud is slung is bound to increase. Today's salvo is interesting because it's a timely reminder that despite falling circulation figures and savage cuts, the power of the printed word still has clout and can't be discounted.

A question of trust

It's always a risk relying on Wiki based sources for reliable information.

Wikis have the potential to be fantastic collaborative learning tools, but they need to be overseen by someone who's watching the History button, to ensure any changes to text are made in good faith, and not for malicious purposes.

The fact that anyone can alter the content on web-based Wikis in the public domain means they aren't reliable secondary sources of information, however high they might appear in search engine results.

This week's dodgy edit comes courtesy of the British Conservative Party, who altered the death of a grand master, in order to score a cheap political point. The BBC video below explains all.

Tories admit to Wiki-alteration

news.bbc.co.uk

It's my party politics and I'll sing if I want to

A wonderful piece of journalistic sarcasm has swept across my path.

In the UK the Guardian newspaper represents the liberal left of the political spectrum (Labour Party), while the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, owned by Associated Newspapers, represent the right wing (Conservative Party).

An article on the Guardian website reveals, with some mirth, the fact that Associated are launching their own record label. 

As the article's author Paul MacInnes puts it, 'as if belonging to one industry with a death wish wasn't enough, now the Mail wants to get into another!'

It's true that newspapers face a challenging future, with an economic downturn, and increasing numbers of readers becoming online audiences for information, analysis and entertainment.

However, diversity isn't a bad idea, although it's a fair point to ask if a news publisher can cope with the challenges of the music industry - where most outfits with the exception of Apple have struggled to build a solid user base.

What made me smile though about the article were the many politically motivated comments that follow from readers; looking for song titles that the new record label could release.

A few examples: 

Nothing's Gonna Change My Dislike of the EU

It's the End of the World as we Know it (And I Feel Outraged)

Witty stuff to end a long Friday. Enjoy.