Aditya Chakrabortty in today's Guardian about Facebook

Above: screen print of part of the on-line version of the article which can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/11/friendship-facebook-aditya-chakrabortty

Interesting article by Aditya Chakrabortty in today's Guardian about Facebook and how it is devaluing real friendships (although I thought his intro section was a bit lurid and not really relevant to the average Facebook experience).

I have tried several times with Facebook and can't get on with it. I find the structure and format too limiting. I suppose I prefer Blogger because it is very close to being a blank page.

There was research a while back that demonstrated you could only keep up a maximum of sixteen friendships at any one time. Add another sixteen "marginal" friends (ones you are either weeding out or bringing on) and possibly a Christmas card list of about thirty (not counting family) and that gives you a realistic social network of 62. So all the Facebook users who have "friends" of 100+ are not really fooling anyone.

This is not to denigrate the achievement of Mark Zuckerberg. Like Clive Sinclair and Alan Sugar who gave everyone in the United Kingdom the option of owning a computer, Mark Zuckerberg has given everyone the option of having their own website. And like the clunky old Sinclair QLs and AMSTRADs Facebook is aimed at the common denominator, with funky prompts and fun suggestions and shallow non-taxing interactions etc.

This suggests that social networking is likely to transmute into a more sophisticated and integrated facility, just as the old home computers have become the versatile machines we use today. Not sure whether Facebook are going to lead on this reinvention of social networking (they will need to invest heavily in social anthropology as they will only be able to match their products to society if they fully understand society). The usual pattern is for a new manifestation to come out of nowhere, hold the high ground for about five years, then fade away (until people say things like "Oh yeah, I remember Friends Reunited").

So possibly Facebook has only another twelve to twenty-four months at the top (is this a rash prediction?).

In his article Aditya Chakrabortty also savaged the idea of "bromance" which is an American social innovation that was typified in American society by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, but probably became better known in the United Kingdom through the influence of the MTV show The Hills.

Tim Berg had a 2010 success with Bromance which further popularised the social construct - the video can be seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWUC5Q0RCAA and was directed by Tobias Hansson.

The Hansson video seems to be an homage to the 2000 music video Lady hear me tonight which can be seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzpCcNdhy5w and was directed by François Nemeta (not sure where it was filmed - possibly Canada).

Declaring war

I am working at home because of the bad weather.

On BBC News 24 I am following reports of Business Secretary Vince Cable declaring war on Rupert Murdoch's evil empire.

This is wonderful news. How is it possible for Vince Cable to be embarrassed by this revelation? He should be proud of taking this stand.

There is now an opportunity for the government to demonstrate they are independent of Murdoch by publicly backing the Business Secretary (and privately forcing News Corporation out of London, using all the tricks governments have at their disposal).

News Corporation is an organisation antithetical to democracy.

It was inevitable that this moment would come.

Why hasn't Ed Miliband made a statement supporting the Business Secretary?

But no Newsnight tonight to give more analysis.

Jeremy Hunt on the Today programme

Interesting interview with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt on the Today programme this morning. Discussing the national provision of minimum bandwidth, it seemed as if the government sees the internet eventually replacing television and radio as the primary way in which people access programmes. It's obvious once you think about it. It would also be a very subtle way of dealing with Rupert Murdoch's extortionate Sky subscription packages as presumably you would just pay programme by programme (the BBC programmes remaining free of course).

Dateline London earlier today

Watching Dateline London earlier today I was puzzled why they regularly have a correspondent from Le Monde and yet never seem to have anyone from Le Figaro.

Also, why this obsession throughout the media with the American mid-term elections? They will have little practical effect on us. Is it because British journalists want an excuse for an expenses-paid trans-Atlantic trip?

The American elections in 2008 saw virtually every senior journalist rushing over to America (including the entire panel of This Week, with the programme broadcast from a sort of bar or cafe where everyone seemed to be sitting on uncomfortable-looking stools).

Since we are constantly told globalisation is going to change everything (everything) presumably there should be reduced coverage of American affairs and more emphasis upon the BRIC countries. This Week and Newsnight and Channel 4 News should be doing extended live editions from Brasilia, New Delhi and Moscow during their respective elections. And also covering in depth the lack of elections in China.

Sky Press Preview

Above: Wayne Rooney is presenting a new series on Sky 1, so it was unusual for him to get such negative coverage in the Sky Press Preview.

Last night, as I was prevaricating about whether to go to bed or not (this was about 11.30pm), I switched over onto the Press Preview on Sky News.

Guardian journalist Julie Bindel was giving the review, chatting to the Sky presenter (whose name I didn't catch) about the Daily Mail. Then they changed onto the topic of Wayne Rooney, and rubbished his recent performance as a footballer (Julie Bindel coyly hinting she might be a Manchester United supporter, although she refused to confirm this when pressed). Both the presenter and Julie Bindel said they couldn't see the point of hanging on to Wayne Rooney (ignoring any cultural significance he might have).

Is the Guardian newspaper waging some kind of campaign against Wayne Rooney?

Chairman of Global Radio is Charles Allen

Above: Global Radio in Leicester Square.

Global Radio is the largest commercial radio company in the United Kingdom. Owns Classic FM, the Galaxy Network and the Heart network. Also LBC radio which is a speech-based station (the phone-ins are very popular with lazy PRs who use them as an easy way to get exposure for their clients).

Heart dj Erica North famously once received a mass of white lilies from Blue singer Duncan James, a romantic gesture that attracted envy and attention in the media world (Duncan James had been a guest presenter on the station).

Chairman of Global Radio is Charles Allen. Supposedly "hard but fair" as an employer. Lifelong supporter of the Labour Party and a director of Tescos.

http://www.thisisglobal.com/radio/

http://lbc.co.uk/

http://www.officialduncanjames.co.uk/

Mark Roalfe executive creative director

Above: Greater London House on the edge of Camden. Egyptian-style art deco, it was put up in 1926. Converted to offices in 1961.

Greater London House (part of it) is the office of ad agency RKCR/Y&R. Mark Roalfe is their executive creative director. His work is widely admired throughout the ad industry.

http://www.rkcryr.com/rkcr.php

England vs Germany

I am very ill at the moment - I have a terrible sort of flu.

No appetite. I ache all over and have a headache if I move. All I can do is sleep.

Earlier today, after lunch (which I left most of), I went back to bed for two solid hours.

But I got up at 3pm to watch England vs Germany.

I don't care about the result. I will not read the Sports section tomorrow. In my view every one of the team played well, and I enjoyed seeing them performing at the highest level of international football.

And there is the compensating thought that however well Germany play and however well they perform they can never become the England football team (by this I mean they will always be the bad guys, the title of good guys is permanently reserved for England).

Towards the end of the match one of the commentators said "There will have to be an enquiry into this".

The commentators speculated how the England team members, individually so expert, could collectively fail.

Leaving aside physiological issues such as the effect of the climate and the altitude, the most obvious reason must be a failure of morale.

And a contributing factor in poor morale must be the behaviour of sports journalists. If you constantly tell a group of people they are rubbish and sustain this message over a period of decades, then the objects of this abuse will inevitably experience a loss of morale. In any other area of life the perpetrators would be guilty of psychological cruelty (and in certain workplace situations they would end up having to explain their behaviour in court).

It would be interesting to chart the performance of national teams in the World Cup together with the support they get from their respective media. Is there, I wonder, some Brazilian equivalent of Marina Hyde, constantly snarking about every single aspect of the national team's performance? Is there in Germany a coterie of journalists who, instead of finding new and interesting things to say, lazily recycle the old narrative of failure, knowing that by doing so they will bring about the very failure they predict?

National Magazine Company

Above: the National Magazine Company in Broadwick Street.

National Magazine Company publishes some of the leading titles in the United Kingdom including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and Prima. 63% of ABC1 magazine-reading women are reading NatMags publications.

Magazine advertising has many advantages – production standards are high (usually lavish full colour), the cultural environment is excellent, magazines tend to have a long life.

Managing Director of the National Magazine Company is Duncan Edwards. Generally respected for keeping up rates despite the recession. He has a lot of political soft power he doesn’t tend to use.

More: http://www.natmags.co.uk/

David Kershaw

Above: the world headquaters of M&C Saatchi in Golden Square - the agency doesn't have a nameplate on the building on the grounds that most people in the world of advertising will know where they are.

M&C Saatchi worked for the Conservative Party in the general election, and produced work that is generally acclaimed as being effective and well-targetted. The subdued vote for the Conservatives on 6th May is attributed to the expenses scandal rather than any failure to get communication messages across. Other clients include Coca Cola (featuring Wayne Rooney), RNID and Save the Children.

Chief Executive is David Kershaw, who is now probably the most influential adman in London.

Browbeat the media

A rare public example of how New Labour privately browbeat the media for so many years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gkHwU4DRA8

John Terry in the News of the World

Above: gigantic image of John Terry that appeared in the Guardian last year.

With predictable cynicism the News of the World (a Murdoch publication) has used the new ruling against super-injunctions to gain permission to publish a "scoop" of such intrusive personal nastiness that it is a wonder the writer Guy Basnett can get away with this sort of thing. Other writers have rushed to give their sanctimonious opinions, although it is unlikely that their own private lives would withstand the same degree of scrutiny. The story illustrates what is wrong with the British newspaper industry in general and the Murdoch press in particular.

The report (spread across several pages) details how England football (soccer) captain John Terry is having / has had an affair with the wife of a friend. Several grainy photographs illustrate this article. The views of John Terry's own wife are not clear.

The malicious glee with which this story has been received by journalists reminds me of Wtewael’s Mars and Venus surprised by the gods: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Mars_and_Venus_Discovered_by_the_Gods-Joachim_Wtewael.jpg

Sorry to quote Sir James Frazer two days running, but this in turn reminded me of what Frazer wrote about fertility rites surrounding ancient vegetation cults, and how they were later formalised into the legendary stories of classical antiquity ("…Mars was originally not a god of war but of vegetation... responsible for the harvest"). If we accept that John Terry is Mars in a new retelling of an old narrative, then this is how we expect heroic figures (who are different from mortals) to behave. If the narrative follows the set course John Terry will be untouched by the hysterical invective, will overcome his enemies, and will go on to "ascend to celestial heights" (however we interpret celestial heights in this context, presumably World Cup victory).

John Terry is already one of the most influential "role models" (I hate that expression) in the United Kingdom, and I can't see this episode damaging him in any significant way. If anything, his archetypal status has been confirmed (assuming I am interpreting Frazer correctly). It will be interesting to see how he overcomes this ritual setback-test and delivers tribal prosperity (not fertile corn and vines obviously, but possible a national "feel good").

I realise Frazer's work has been criticised, but the more I read him I am convinced that modern human behaviour has been determined thousands of years ago in the rituals of the prehistoric past. Everything is more or less fixed - attitudes, social organisations, the way we consume etc. Therefore the more we understand the past, the more we should be able to predict human behaviour.

You can get an idea of Guy Basnett's other work here: http://www.journalisted.com/guy-basnett

In 2008 Beyoncé Knowles produced this narrative which gives another view of the subject http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIkRiqxWcYU



Is Carole Malone the nastiest woman writing in journalism? Also, her writing is so bad and the things she says are so unsubstantiated. I hope the News of the World has given her a separate glassed-in cubicle - my idea of hell would be to share a general office with Carole Malone.

The Spectator

The snow and bitter freezing temperatures continue, disrupting distribution of goods and services and compelling many people to stay indoors (all I have done today is drink tea and read). Because of distribution problems The Spectator magazine has decided to give its most recent issue away free on the internet. A friend has forwarded me the link, so you can read it here: http://www.spectator.co.uk/spectator/



Above: I was in the House of Lords in November attending a Reception (not as glamorous as it sounds, just another pressure group meeting I was doing the PR for). I went into one of the loos and saw this copy of the Spectator, so the magazine is obviously read at the very seat of power itself. The loos at the House of Lords are disappointing - functional and banal, not at all the Puginesque thrones you might expect.

The Spectator is edited by Fraser Nelson, an alumni of Glasgow university. He is likely to become an influentual philisophical influence on the country if the forthcoming election goes the way everyone expects. In this week's failed coup against Gordon Brown he was interviewed by Radio 4's PM, describing the attempt as "inept".

Inept is really inadequate to describe the farcical events of Wednesday afternoon and evening. It was like the plot of the film Valkyrie. Thank goodness this is not a police state and Gordon Brown does not have access to piano wire.



Above: this was the cartoon in the Guardian following the failed coup. Note the subliminal headline underneath. Did they position this deliberately? (Michael White appeared on today's Dateline London and made a reference to dictator President Mubarak when discussing the plot against Gordon Brown).

Hamlet on BBC2

Yesterday I watched the televised Tennant version of Hamlet on BBC2.

It was an excellent production - the sets were well designed, the costumes modern, the camera angles clever (avoiding the stilted look some televised plays assume).

I had been a little wary of David Tennant as Hamlet, especially possible over-use of his ironic eyebrow, but actually he was also excellent. For me the crucial part of Hamlet is the Hecuba discussion, and David Tennant did this superbly well. Oliver Ford Davies as Polonius was very enjoyable.

David Tennant appeared barefoot in the production, and Jude Law also appeared barefoot when he played Hamlet at the Wyndham Theatre earlier this year, which made me check Shakespeare's text to see if bare feet were mandatory.



Above: picture I took at the end of the Jude Law Hamlet (which I saw back in July) - our seats were up in the Grand Circle, so the view was not good. The audience was seventy-five per cent teenage girls. Jude Law is probably the best Hamlet I have seen, even with the cramped view, and gave the Hecuba discussion its full meaning.



Above: the Wyndham Theatre in Charing Cross Road, photographed on 1st July 2009. The building was designed by WGR Sprague and opened in 1899. The interiors are some of the nicest in London.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/hamlet/characters/hamlet.shtml

Michael White's piece in The Guardian

I read Michael White's piece in The Guardian today about Philip Blond. It seemed to be a complete rip-off of an item from last night's Newsnight, even down to rehashing Danny Finkelstein's comment that David Cameron needs a range of think tanks so he can have a sort of pick'n'mix choice of intellectual ideas. When The Guardian practices lazy journalism I fear for the future of the free press.

Editor of The Guardian is Alan Rusbridger.

PS when I discussed Newsnight with Terry (our MD) he told me Danny Finkelstein used to be a "Liberal-Salad" in the 1980s.

The behaviour of The Sun

What an unpleasant publication The Sun newspaper is.

Despite all my misgivings about Gordon Brown (and they are many) he has behaved entirely creditably in writing personally to the next of kin of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and telephoning the mother concerned when he thought she had been upset.

The mother is obviously distraught with grief and her words should not be repeated to millions of onlookers, especially as she may regret them later on.

The behaviour of The Sun in this context has been disgusting.

It's difficult to know what to do about The Sun and other Murdoch publications. Occasionally I am in the same room (along with a hundred others) with one of the extended Murdoch family and I suppose I could throw a glass of tepid white wine over that person. I would be too inhibited to spit and swear (although that is what they deserve).

Just as nauseating has been the individuals writing to the Letters page of the Guardian condemning The Sun's support for the Conservatives - they were docile enough when Murdoch was giving his tainted support to Labour for the best part of a decade.

Chilling

James Murdoch, heir to Rupert Murdoch's evil empire, gave a speech yesterday at the Edinburgh Festival. Is it possible that when Rupert Murdoch finally goes he will hand his illicit political power to his son? It is not the BBC's ambitions that I would describe as "chilling".



Above: the article which James Murdoch wrote for today's Guardian was intellectually bogus and full of doublespeak. News International is an organisation that routinely corrupts the political process in the United Kingdom. There are very strong grounds for suspecting its employees have broken the law on a massive scale, and if this lawbreaking was authorised at a senior level then James Murdoch should be in a prison cell, not feted at the Edinburgh Festival.



Above: Newsnight has kept going through the summer with a number of "guest" presenters including Nick Robinson. The BBC is one of the few media organisations that has looked impartially at the mobile phone hacking scandal. The national press has maintained a collective silence on the issue (either through fear of Rupert Murdoch or because they themselves are implicated).



Above: one of the few journalists to cover the mobile phone hacking scandal was Lucy Mangan. All the big guns of the British press have remained silent, leaving this latter-day Adela Quested to speak out despite the pressure to keep silent (very real if unspoken pressure - it's unlikely News International will be offering her a job anytime soon). The power of the press today is comparable to the power of the unions in the 1970s, and one of the actions "Dave" should do as soon as he gets in (as soon as he gets in) is to destroy the power of News International through a media monopoly bill - otherwise News International will eventually destroy him.

The reaction of the police has been a disgrace

Since getting 'flu three weeks ago I have been unable to do much. I went back to work a week ago, but when I get home all I can do is rest. Consequently I have not been able to do much on this blog.

But I have been following the revelations in The Guardian about the way News of the World journalists have been routinely breaking the law to spy on people (hacking into phone lines). This is a story equal in importance to the MP's expenses scandal, but so far the coverage by other newspapers has been muted (which is very depressing as it probably means they are doing the same). The broadcast media have given the story some prominence, especially Andrew Neil's Daily Politics and This Week.

The reaction of the police has been a disgrace (and very disquieting in the suggestions that police take "payments" from journalists - what are these payments for, who regulates them, do they even pay tax on the income???).

John Whittingdale, Chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, will be interviewing News of the World editor Colin Myler, on Tuesday 21 July.

In my opinion the conspiracy laws should be used to put all the senior News International staff (including Rupert Murdoch) into a court and get a judge to sort it out (including any concomitant prison sentences).

The Daily Telegraph

Above: last Saturday's cover of the Daily Telegraph was a classic. The headline about Lord Mandelson was positioned alongside a terrifying picture of Christopher Lee playing Count Dracula (Christopher Lee received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours). Both Lord Mandelson and Count Dracula are known (for varying reasons) as "the prince of darkness".

Out of the jostling for position that has marked recent competition among the broadsheet newspapers, the Daily Telegraph has emerged as the clear leader. This is due to the Expenses Scandal "scoop" which has transfixed the nation, humbled the ruling elites, and delivered day after day of sensational stories (with a narrative theme, which is always good). Not sure how the circulation figures look, but for serious journalism the Daily Telegraph's reputation currently beats all comers.



Above: the entrance to the Daily Telegraph's offices in Buckingham Palace Road.

Owners of the Telegraph Group are twin brothers David and Frederick Barclay. They had a humble upbringing in Shepherd's Bush and gradually built up an immense fortune in property, retail and media. They live in a Quinlan Terry castle (which must be worth seeing, although it is never likely to be open to the public).

Chairman of the Telegraph Media Group is Aidan Barclay - I can't tell you much more about him.

Chief Executive of the Telegraph Group is Murdoch MacLennan. He has a ruthless reputation for getting rid of "deadwood". However, I'm not sure he is making the right decisions (I liked a lot of the deadwood - they added a unique charm to the publication).

Editor of the Daily Telegraph is Will Lewis. Wikipedia says he was educated at a London comprehensive. His brother has just become Gordon Brown's PR adviser (not a healthy development).

Oh, and I don't like Stephen Pile's columns - too smug by half.

I'm sorry I havn't a clue

I listened to the return of I'm sorry I havn't a clue on the way home this evening.

This used to be one of my two favourite radio shows (the other being the News Quiz).

The new chairman was Stephen Fry.

I wanted it to be the same, but it wasn't the same. Occasionally it was very funny, but a lot of the time it seemed to be a bit too self-knowing. It was an ironic version of an ironic comedy.

Also I felt Stephen Fry was the wrong choice of chairman. He is a ubiquitous presence on broadcast media, so that although he can be very funny, his funniness is acquiring a "vanilla" quality. It is disappointing the BBC couldn't find someone completely new.

As for the News Quiz, I used to laugh continuously all the way through. Then the chairperson changed and consequently the show changed (the panellists began talking to themselves rather than performing for the audience). Last Saturday I actually switched it off half-way through.