In My Opinion: Bill Heaney: Time to drop the Mr
WHY do newspapers feel it necessary to call an accused person Mr when he first appears in court? We get this all the time in some newspapers and it looks incongruous. Is it really necessary that we...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Iain Macwhirter: How do we preserve diversity of opinion in...
PERHAPS it’s the end of the recession, perhaps it’s just Spring, but there’s a perceptible air of relief in Scottish newspaper offices this April, at least among management. Johnston Press, which own...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: David Sawyer: In PR, the world’s a-changing
JUST now is an interesting time to launch a PR company. Times have changed in the world of public relations. Social media is reinventing the profession and it’s no longer enough to just offer...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Bill Heaney: Journalists don’t have crystal balls
THERE was a lot of feedback the other day on social media when Beattie Communications said – read it here on allmediascotland.com – they were having difficulties recruiting talent to their operation,...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Claire Wood: Digital business is booming; how can Scotland...
A Summer of sport looms. The Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup are just around the corner. And with six months to go ‘til the Referendum, all eyes are on Scotland. Which seems like a good...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Lauren Pennycook: The time is now to support neighbourhood news
THE traditional business model for local news is increasingly unviable. Research conducted by the Press Gazette – which found that more than 240 local newspapers, throughout the UK, had closed between...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Robin MacPherson: What might independence do for Scotland’s TV...
THERE are many reasons why film and television in an independent Scotland could be bigger, better and benefit audiences, the economy and our wealth of creative talents much more than it currently does....
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Neil Braidwood: PPA reinvents itself
THE annual conference of the Professional Publishers Association is always a major date in the magazines calendar, but this year’s event promised more – from the venue in an industrial basement in...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Paul Hughes: Looking ahead to the launch of STV Glasgow
IF social media is anything to go by, then the public’s expectation of the new STV Glasgow channel – being launched next week – is that it will be back-to-back episodes of Take the High Road and...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Billy Briggs: Investigative journalism in Scotland
IN November this year, some of Scotland’s top journalists will gather in Edinburgh for a conference on investigative journalism. Keynote speakers will include Paul Hutcheon, investigations editor at...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Alisdair Gunn: The digital opportunities are out there
ON a sunny day at the end of last month, more than 400 of Scotland’s most talented digital experts and entrepreneurs gathered in Glasgow for the sector’s flagship annual conference. D14, delivered by...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Richard Lewis: On the future of broadcasting in Scotland
RECENTLY, I chaired a debate at the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Sport Committee that looked at the future shape of broadcasting in Scotland. As convener of the committee, I was keen to...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Sarah McDaid: Should an industry’s highest honour be a male term?
WHY does being the best still imply being male? In many industries the highest honour bestowed upon a professional still involves a patriarchal term? Take our industry, that of public relations. Six...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Gavin Mochan: Scotland’s growing job market is good news for...
THE upcoming referendum on Scottish independence has dominated the news in recent months. Behind the headlines, Scotland’s job market is improving all the time. The national debate has encouraged...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Ryan Falconer: Why media pros should be multi-skilled
THE years since the invention of the internet have been a boom time for the media industry. It may not look that way to certain sections of the industry, however, because it has also been a time of...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Rick Instrell: All pupils have a civic right to media education
THE Association for Media Education in Scotland (AMES) believes that all pupils have a civic right to media education. Media study should not be an optional add-on but central to the conception of what...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Lauren Pennycook: Six lessons for Neighbourhood News
FIVE years ago, it was predicted that half of the UK’s 1,300 local and regional newspapers would close between 2009 and 2014. While obtaining exact figures for the number of local newspaper closures...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Colin Kelly: The freelancer’s guide to London
SO, you’ve got some work in London? Nice one. But before you go charging down and get all dazzled by the bright lights and celebrities – take a moment to think about the impact this might have on your...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Fiona Davidson: Why the NUJ-backed modern apprenticeship in...
RUMOURS of the journalism industry dying are grossly exaggerated; digital times are exciting times for the media industry. While print or ‘dead tree’ sales decline (with a few exceptions), access to...
View ArticleIn My Opinion: Bill Farrar: Taking the case for advertising to Holyrood
WHAT would Scotland look like without advertising? Our streets would be less colourful, certainly, but it’s the effect on our economy, our businesses and our society that would be most dramatic. It...
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