McIntosh's speech at University of Westminster

Meanwhile, in the blog jungle...

One of the reasons I have never been interested in blogging before is lack of trust and time. I mean, I would do something properly, or I wouldn’t do whatsoever. There are really too many blogs in the cyberspace nowadays, and their number seems to double each minute. However, blogging is also a very efficient way of gathering good, reliable and newsworthy information.

Do you want some examples? There we go...

Worldchanging.com comprises a global network of independent journalists, designers and thinkers covering possible solutions to today's environment problems. I particularly like the section where they state: “Our things define us. What we buy, what we use, what we keep and throw away, what we waste, and what we save: the stuff that surrounds us and flows through our lives is a key indicator of the kinds of lives we're living.”

Globalvoicesonline.org has news and opinion pieces from all over the world, even from places often ignored by the big media organizations. The searching engine is very useful, allowing us to choose by area, country or subject.

Even the old and reliable Encyclopaedia has gone to the blogosphere. Have a look at Britannica.com/blogs

I am sure there are plenty of other good examples. I will leave to yourself to find the bad ones. Believe me, it is much easier.

Illustration: bihu.in

A Year in Tibet: A Tale of Three Monks

I rarely watch TV after dinner, but it was worth it to switch it on last night. I was lucky to come across an episode of A Year in Tibet: A Tale of Three Monks. Peter Firstbrook produced this BBC Four series on how Tibet’s ancient past is influencing the future of its people. Perhaps, it would be better if said in the other way round. Tibet’s new generation, represented by monk novice Tsephun, is clashing with the country’s old traditions.

Watch it here.

Photo:bbc.co.uk

Wanderlust prints issue 100

“The name says it all – you’ve either got it or you haven’t. And once you’ve got wanderlust in your blood you’ve got it for life.” – Paul Morrison, co-funder, who died in 2004.

Wanderlust is the best monthly travel magazine in the UK. Its readership ranges from 25- to 35-year-old single people looking for activity-based adventure holidays to older, empty-nesters looking for soft-adventure and cultural experiences. Know more about Wanderlust readership here.

Future is dark for The Herald

The head of editorial development for The Guardian Unlimited alerted last Thursday for the coming closure of The Herald. Neil McIntosh talked to University of Westminster students on the economic crises haunting several newspapers, the importance of blogging and his new job at The Wall Street Journal.

“The Herald is in real trouble,” he said, mentioning Emily Bell’s previous warning on the collapse of five national papers. McIntosh believes The Scotsman doesn’t have a better fate. According to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, over the last year The Herald had a fall of 8.87 per cent to its 61,948 daily circulation, while The Scotsman dropped its distribution to 49,841, which represents a decrease of 8.35 per cent.

Asked about The Independent, McIntosh replied: "They are losing a lot of jobs and cutting costs. No one is really suspecting it will close but the sales aren't doing anything great at The Independent.” Roy Greenslade wrote recently in his Guardian blog about the “terrible financial mess” The Independent was facing: “It has also failed to attract as large an audience to its website as its rivals, mainly because its short-sighted management refused to read the runes and invest early enough in online development.”

Talking on journalism and blogging, McIntosh was emphatic: “It is a place where you can show what you can do. You can build a reputation even before having a job,” he said. However, The Guardian’s editor added that just blogging is not enough: “A blog should be carefully maintained as your CV, but more regularly updated”.

McIntosh is leaving The Guardian next month to The Wall Street Journal, part of the powerful Murdoch empire. He admits: “Quality journalism is what attracted me to work there in the first time. There is a lot of ambition there”.

Photo: Sophie Borazanian