A weekly roundup of media news and talking points, sans effor
Thought for the Week
“Wow. Everyone caved. The hackers won. A complete and utter victory for them. Hollywood has done Neville Chamberlain proud today.” Actor Rob Lowe, commenting on Sony’s decision not to release The Interview, a movie centred on a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, following threats of terrorist action in cinemas from the organisation Guardians of Peace.
Weekly High
In an unprecedented display of compassion and understanding, in the wake of the terror attack in a Sydney Lindt cafe, Australians launched an impromptu #Illridewithyou campaign on social media, sending out a message to Muslims in the country that they were not being blamed for the actions of extremists. If only we all followed suit things might look a little different right now.
Weekly Low
I complete contrast to our Weekly High, Uber, the taxi company that doesn’t really seem to understand PR properly, decided that the hostage crisis in Sydney provided the perfect excuse to charge people far more money than their ride home should have cost. Lots of customers got very angry, the firm backtracked and offered refunds, but the damage is already done.
Stories to keep an eye on
According to research from Crowdtap, 76% of people used social media in some form for gift ideas this Christmas.
David Dinsmore, editor of The Sun, has been named 2014’s Sexist of the Year, and will receive a ‘No More Page 3’ t-shirt from the feminist coalition, End Violence Against Women, as a result.
An advert for the hit TV series Walking Dead has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency because it shows extreme violence and is featured on a website used by children.
