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Deadline |
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September 2006
This year's AGM/quiz/summer bash was hosted by Oxford University Press who kindly put a
great deal of effort into demonstrating their wares. Resolutions of note included a big
thankyou to Angela Laurins for all her work in helping to organise this year's
conference and a commitment to establish an annual award for media librarians who've
achieved something of note in the field. Their achievement could be anything from
introducing new technology to preventing a unit closure to making a significant
contribution to a programme or article Of course the skills developed as AUKML chair can lead to unexpected places - check out Jill Tulip, formerly of this parish, at Sam Brick Entertainment to see how she's doing as General Manager of an international production company. Hope they know how lucky they are. Google still isn't going near the business of aggregation but there is now a news archive search available that brings together an impressive array of sources and makes good use of the standard Google Advanced Search option. First impressions suggest that although results are varied and well-ordered the value of the site is pretty limited to professionals - the best and most relevant results usually attract a fee and most of us will already have access to these sources through paid subscriptions. Still, it's impossible not to wonder where this might be heading despite the assertion on Search Engine Watch that the company "has no plans to become a content aggregator itself". It will be interesting to hear members' views on the matter - comments please to deadline@aukml.org.uk Conference may be a long way off ( see Diary Dates) but start hunting around now for goodies for the silent auction. Anything you can find that hasn't been snaffled by your free-loading colleagues will raise money for The Medical Foundation For The Care Of Victims Of Torture.
Insight with Bill Emmott at the Frontline Club
The Frontline press club - venue of last year's AUKML summer party - regularly invites journalists to share their opinions and experiences with their usual audience of articulate journalists. On Wednesday 17th May, John Lloyd of the Financial Times interviewed Bill Emmott, departing editor of the Economist. Emmott presided over a time of huge success, doubling The Economist's circulation to almost a million at a time when other publications were struggling to maintain theirs. Emmott's secret, in his own opinion, is that the Economist (which styles itself a newspaper rather than a magazine) took the place of the intelligent mass media when mainstream publications turned their pages over to celebrity and lifestyle content. The Economist sought out the readers around the world who missed serious analysis and international coverage from their other media channels. Despite the Economist's unashamed bias towards centre-right free-market fundamentalism, Emmott claimed that their readership covers all parts of the political spectrum. When asked to typify an Economist reader, he described a socially liberal, educated person, irreverent and interested in international issues who is more likely to be young than old. Indeed, at 38, the average Economist reader in the US is ten years younger than that of its competitors. The Economist's clever strategy contains no public service ethos. Preaching to an educated elite, they are not seeking to encourage auto didacticism or embrace a range of views. This perhaps explains why reading it sometimes feels like sitting next to a highly intelligent, opinionated dinner party guest - they are fascinating but it's impossible to like them. This impression is probably intensified by the magazine's uniform style, which Emmott attributes partly to editorial selection and rejection and partly to the illusion of anonymity created by the avoidance of bylines. And like the dinner guest, The Economist often gets it wrong, in Emmot's time supporting the invasion of Iraq, predicting oil prices dropping to $5 a barrel and a housing market crash. Emmott is not complacent about the future challenges facing all media, although he clearly relishes having presided over a staggeringly successful example of what was predicted to be the 'sunset medium' at the turn of the century. However, he considers the digital age to be one in which the Economist can flourish, predicting that the proliferation of information on the web creates an appetite for reliable and intelligent analysis. Given The Economist's track record thus far, this is perhaps one prediction he has right. Katherine Schopflin
Ever wondered where the next generation of Media Librarians are coming from? An event held in Broadcasting House in Manchester on the 12th May 2006 gives a clue. Ten BBC departments held an open day for three local junior schools to show the different skills needed to put on TV & Radio shows. Heather Powell signed up the Manchester Research Centre to take part and fly the flag for media librarianship. The day went well and lots of questions were asked and the children went away clutching a range of goodies including post-its and pens with old telephone numbers and the Researchers went home exhausted with all the questions but with the feeling of a job well done. A few weeks later magazine produced by the schools arrived at the BBC featuring letters and quotes from the children. Despite being up against the "sexy" side of broadcasting such as cameras, presenters and Pudsey Bear quite a few of the items related to the library, so the researchers must have made a good impression. Here are some of the pieces. How to be a Librarian at the BBC Job title: Researcher I like the pay but the hours look killing to me. Finally a question was posed: Watch out for batch of enthusiastic library students in twelve or more year's time all wanting to work in a media library.
Lindsey Sellors
MY INTERNET CAN YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU FIRST USED THE INTERNET? HOW OFTEN DO YOU GO ONLINE? WHICH SEARCH ENGINE DO YOU USUALLY USE? CAN YOU NAME ANY OTHER SEARCH ENGINES? NOW THAT YOU CAN SEARCH THE INTERNET YOURSELF, DO YOU THINK THERE IS STILL A ROLE FOR LIBRARIANS/INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS? NAME YOUR THREE FAVOURITE SITES ARE THERE ANY SITES THAT YOU FIND REALLY IRRITATING? HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN SO BORED THAT YOU'VE GOOGLED YOURSELF? DO YOU STILL USE OLD MEDIA? WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU MAKE TO IMPROVE YOUR EXPERIENCE OF THE INTERNET? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST PLEASURABLE EXPERIENCE WHILST SEARCHING ONLINE?
The 21st Century Information Professional - The 2006 AUKML Conference Conference details More information on our sponsors
Diary dates AUKML would love to invite some members from the past or active media librarians from the last 20 years to discuss how their roles and the profession has changed. If you know someone suitable please email: Meetings Secretary
Visit to Ask.com scheduled for late October - to be confirmed
Monday 13th November 2006: Open day for new information professionals at Friends House, Euston Road, London
Online Information 2006 ( non-AUKML event): 28th - 30th November, Olympia, London
7th December 2006 Christmas Party (as above)
Visit to The Daily Mirror archive - to be confirmed
Deadline is produced by Paul Fairclough from the library at Time Out Magazine with contributions from Elena Botterill, Anke Settgast, and Katharine Schopflin. Please send news, reviews and letters to: Paul Fairclough.
The opinions expressed in Deadline are not necessarily those of the AUKML.
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James Landale is the the Chief Political Correspondent for BBC News 24 and author of Duel - a true story of death and honour and Landale's Cautionary Tales - comic verse for the 21st century, both published by Canongate books.