Thought for the week

“It is not about privacy. It is about money, money, money.” Lord Prescott on The Sun’s decision to print pictures of Prince Harry, naked with girls in Las Vegas.

Worth the paper it’s printed on?

Light news success stories in the papers this week included…
…posh guy Benedict Cumberbatch complaining about people ‘posh bashing’, with 18 articles giving him a podium, far more than the two which ran on the Independent Police Complaints Commission launching an external review into the death of Sean Rigg…
… Miley Cyrus cutting her hair, a world event covered in 7 headlines, in contrast a former News Of The World Scotland editor was charged with perjury and appeared in 4…
…and, finally, Radio 1’s decision to do away with sung jingles during its breakfast broadcasts, as covered in 4 stories, whereas Argentina’s former President began his corruption trial and was only features in 1.
(Source: Journalisted)

Weekly high

Big TV news Stateside as satellite provider Dish Network drops AMC, along with its flagship shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. In response the channel made this add, and set up this website to raise awareness of its plight.

Weekly low

Bad news for Tesco and ASDA, as both supermarkets are accused of selling tap water- valued at 1/3 of a penny per litre, as bottled water- sold at 17p per litre. There’s no case for false advertising, just plenty of unhappy customers that won’t forgive so easily.

Three things that may happen next week…

An Indian court could rule in favour of removing commercial tourism from areas containing tiger reserves in order to protect the endangered animals. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il may receive an invitation for ‘ice-breaker’ talks with China, his first state visit anywhere since assuming power in December. Seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will face a furore Stateside after failing to mount a defence against renewed doping allegations.

Dates for your diary

Wednesday 29th August-Sunday 2nd September- Manchester; Abandon Normal Devices @ Various venues- four days of new cinema, digital culture and art will take over the city, including a drive in movie theatre filled with scrap cars.
Thursday 30th August 2012- Manchester; Northern Soho @ TBC- everyone from web designers to marketers are invited to discuss creativity in the region and how to make the industry stronger. Preceded by a mentoring session for new businesses, click here for more details.
If there is a success story, blunder, or tweeting town you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!