No More News of the World

The closure of the News of the World after 166 years has come as a huge shock to the worlds of politics and the media. The Murdoch family have acted swiftly to prevent further scandal engulfing the title, although there has been much speculation as to how quickly it will be before the Sun becomes a 7 day a week newspaper. There is coverage all over the internet this morning. The Guardian, which broke the latest series of revelations on the hacking scandal with its disclosure on Monday that Milly Dowler's phone had been tapped, has produced this interactive timeline of the phone-hacking scandal. Tbere is also coverage of the press' differing reactions to the story - the Times headline shown above is very telling as it is owned by the Murdochs' company. The Independent's headline is very direct - "Newspaper sacrificed to save one woman." - you can read more on this in its opinion leading article here. Clearly the arrest of Andy Coulson, ex-editor of the News of the World and ex-Downing Street communications chief, this morning keeps the story rolling, and keeps the political dimension open.

What is your opinion on all of this? Please let us know.

Snow, Football, and the Media

Passing a newsagents in snowy Chessington this morning, Nonsuch HP noticed the headline in the Daily Express, "NOW FOOD IS RUNNING OUT". Does this seem to anyone just a little bit irresponsible? The media has indeed got a duty to report events and the not insignificant problems the bad weather has caused, but the tone of a headline like this was surely excessive.

There is obviously plenty of grumpiness about the failure of the World Cup bid this morning, with some of the blame being put on the Panorama investigation into dodgy dealings in Fifa, which followed up a similar report in the Sunday Times a few weeks ago. These reports were specifically referred to by Sepp Blatter just before the vote, and do appear to have had some influence. Is this another example of poor judgement by the media (The Guardian's coverage of the Wikileaks data could possibly be another) or do the media have a duty to expose stories like this whenever they wish? Please add your comments below!

Decision Day

May 6 is finally here! As the nation goes to the polls, here is a selection of today's front pages, with some choosing striking images to get their message across.

In other news, a Nonsuch student appeared on "First Time Voters Question Time" last night and impressed the panel with her comments. You can catch her here - forward to 53 minutes and 20 seconds!

PS: Don't forget the mock elections today - vote today in the hall during lunch and the results will be announced on Friday

Brown and the "Bigoted" Woman

Gordon Brown has made the classic mistake today of forgetting to turn his microphone off after a difficult public encounter in Rochdale. Clearly frustrated, he described her as a "bigoted woman" but his comments were quickly out in the open. You can hear his comments and pretty painful public apology on the BBC site here, while the Guardian live blog gives a fascinating insight into how a "gaffe" story can turn into a media frenzy. Scroll down until you get to 12.56.

PS: Fast forward to about four minutes on the video above to hear the end of the conversation and Brown's unfortunate comments.
PPS: Nick Robinson's comments on the incident are here

Gordon Brown and Piers Morgan

What did you think about Piers Morgan's interview of Gordon Brown on Sunday night? The Prime Minister was certainly very candid about his personal life, particularly the death of his daughter Jennifer. He was rather more reticent when discussing his relationship with Tony Blair. Do you think this interview will be of benefit to him, or will people dismiss the programme as a cynical part of the election campaign? Are there any subjects you would have liked him to discuss? Do you think Piers Morgan did a good job? Comments below, please!

If you missed the programme, you can catch it here for the next month. There are also further clips here.

Christianity, the Navy and the Internet

There is a wealth of history programmes on television at the moment, particularly on the BBC. On Saturday BBC2 showed Tudor Historian Diarmaid MacCulloch's "History of Christianity", Dan Snow's "Empire of the Seas", the history of the Royal Navy, and "The Virtual Revolution", recounting the development of the internet. I'm not sure if everyone would classify the last programme as history exactly, but clearly the technological revolution of the last few decades is hugely significant. On top of that David Dimbleby is tracing "Seven Ages of Britain" through significant artefacts on BBC1, and Radio 4 continues its "History of the World in 100 objects". Is this overkill? There is clearly a great interest in history within the country, and perhaps it is easier to convey history through this media than say, maths, but will people tire of the subject if it continues to be produced at this rate?
If you've watched any of these programmes, or visited their websites (The 100 objects and Virtual Revolution ones are impressive), let us know what you think.

PS: Just spotted another one - the History of Chemistry on BBC4. Even science has to succumb to the history treatment!
PPS: The picture shows some of the examples of the 100 objects in the programme. If you click on it you can see a larger (and easier to read) version.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

There is now a link to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in the "Media Links" section. Click on that to access the last week of episodes. There will doubtless be plenty of reaction to the State of the Union address. Let us know if you catch any particularly good jokes or comments. Here's a link to the official US Website.