A LARGE cast of characters in the Scots media receive a mention in diaries, published today, kept by The Daily Telegraph’s Scotland editor, Alan Cochrane.
And tongues will be wagging as to who is on the receiving end of his observations.
Cochrane writes, in the foreword to Alex Salmond: My Part in his Downfall: “This is not, and was never intended to be, an attempt at writing a history of the [Scots independence] referendum campaign. Instead, I decided to record not so much the everyday happenings as the campaign unfolded, but my own reaction to what was going on and the conversations I had with those involved in the decision-making process associated with what was, in every sense, the Battle for Britain.”
The book is published by Biteback Publishing.
And Cochrane adds: “I should like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me – whether knowingly or not – in compiling this diary. I owe a particular debt to my close friend and sometime colleague, Iain Martin. Other than Jenny, my wife, he was the only person who knew, right from the start, that I was keeping a diary. He gave me continued encouragement and much sound advice.”
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BEGINS the website, C21Media: “The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has confirmed that a tax break for UK children’s live-action television is to be introduced.
“The news comes after the UK government last year set up tax breaks for high-end television drama and animation made in the UK, which have had a positive effect on both industries.”
Read more, here.
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A COUPLE of places – free to members of the National Union of Journalists – are still available for a training course on law for journalists – taking place in Glasgow on Saturday.
Being hosted by the training section of NUJ Scotland, the course – being run by Francis Shennan – promises a wide curriculum, such as defamation, the Leveson Inquiry, case law, Twitter, the European Court of Human Rights and copyright.
For more information, email at joanm@nuj.org.uk, including for details of other courses being organised by the NUJ, as noted here on allmediascotland.com.
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THE funeral of the late football broadcaster and commentator, Arthur Montford, took place yesterday. And it’s the subject of a warm reflection, by feature writer, Mark Smith, in The Herald, here.
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BEGINS an announcement from STV, about its catch-up service: “The STV Player is now available on Xbox 360.
“The STV Player joins the Xbox 360’s world of entertainment services, enabling consumers to access a wide selection of digital content on demand.”
Read more, here.
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THE Guardian is reporting a probably inevitable dip in the sales of the pro-Scots independence newspaper, The National, which was launched last week to a sell-out demand.
Begins Mark Sweney, here: “Sales of Scotland’s first pro-independence daily, The National, dropped to 36,000 on Monday, according to unofficial industry estimates.
“Newsquest’s new tabloid was launched last week for a five-day trial to test reader enthusiasm, and by Thursday senior executives at the owner of the Herald & Times Group had taken the decision to continue publishing ‘indefinitely’ after sales exceeded expectations.”
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ALSO in The Guardian: “A group of MPs have backed a call by the National Union of Journalists for an inquiry into the future of local newspapers.
“They have signed an early day motion (EDM) put down by Gareth Thomas, Labour member for Harrow West, in which he laments the closure of his constituency’s weekly, the Harrow Observer.”
Read more, here.
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WRITES Greig Cameron, in The Herald: The former BBC Scotland head of news and current affairs, Atholl Duncan, has taken up a non-executive director position at the British Horseracing Authority.
Duncan is executive director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Read more, here.
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BEGINS The BBC: “Prosecutors [in Scotland] have set out new guidelines on whether messages posted on social media should be treated as a crime.
“Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland, said the test was simple: ‘If it would be illegal to say it on the street, it is illegal to say it online.'”
Read more, here.
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