A weekly roundup of media news and talking points, sans effort

 

Thought for the Week

“If this bill goes through, it would be a disaster. Farmers would no longer be able to produce their own seeds. That’s the ultimate aim of the agro-industry.” Maria José Guazzelli, of Centro Ecológico, an organisation representing a coalition of Brazilian NGOs, commenting on news that the country is set to approve the use of ‘terminator seeds’, which do not reproduce themselves, forcing growers to buy new stock in preparation for every harvest, the consequences of which could be devastating to the planet’s food supply.

Weekly High

Here at Smoking Gun we appreciate a down to Earth attitude. Evidently so does Bargain Booze. The chain off-license launched its Christmas ad campaign this week, parodying one of the all-time quintessential festive adverts. The Ambassador’s Reception, Ferrero Rocher’s bastion of Yuletide cheer, has been reworked with scotch eggs and more than a hint of wit. We liked, and imagine you will too.

 

Weekly Low

OK, so we’ve already reported on this (yesterday), but nevertheless Newcastle United’s decision to offer journalists access to the team in exchange for payment must be one of the biggest PR fails we’ve seen in quite some time. Hats off to the press team for pure audacity though, this really did take some gaul.

Things that may happen in the next week

The United Nations will continue to pile pressure on India’s government to rethink its band on gay sex. Staff at the Daily Mail will probably celebrate after clocking up a rather outstanding 168 million visitors in November 2013 alone. The BBC Trust should continue to investigate why the broadcasting giant continues to under-represent women as programme hosts.

Just in case you missed it…

Google+ has launched +Posts, which work in the same way as Facebook’s sponsored posts and Twitter’s promoted posts. Read our take on the news here.

 
If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!