Category: Journalism

Well, gosh. Apparently, someone in the US has published a memoir that wasn’t entirely true. Astounding. Who’d have thought it? Even Oprah was taken in by it. Now there’s a lot of soul-searching going on in the book publishing industry. But apparently, in the US, publishers’ margins are so small, they can’t afford fact checkers, unlike on the magazines.

It’s a different world, isn’t it? ‘Fact checkers’ on magazines? It’s an entertaining concept to most British journalists. In the UK, we rely on the sub-editors to check facts. But it’s a rare sub indeed who actually does this (and an even rarer sub who’s given the time to do it). Certainly, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who have checked the facts in my articles over the years. I actually need far more fingers to count the number of incorrect facts that various subs have added.

But fact-checking in the book world? Whoever heard of that? Surely that takes the fun out of half of them? Would Piers Morgan’s ‘memoirs’ have been half as entertaining if they’d been true or if you hadn’t known before reading them they’d they be a bunch of porkies? Sure, you don’t want a maths textbook to be making stuff up, but most books – even the non-fiction ones – are supposed to be partial and subjective. I, for one, doubt there’s ever been an autobiography that’s been entirely truthful. Doesn’t everyone know this already? So why the mock shock?

Still, some guy is suing the publishers of this particular book for $50 million, he’s so appalled that the book wasn’t non-fiction as claimed. You can see why US publishers might get alarmed about this kind of thing.

I don’t know what will happen if this particularly litigious naif ever sees Fargo, but it won’t be pretty. And if he ever gets started on ‘Dr’ Gillian McKeith’s output…

Just spoken with one of the receivers at Ernst & Young and here’s the Highbury payments situation from their point of view

1. There’s a single ring-fenced fund that covers all work commissioned from mid-December onwards. If you completed work for Highbury from then onwards and you have purchase order numbers to confirm the commission, you can still submit invoices to Jordan House, 47 Brunswick Place, London N1 6EB, marked for the attention of the receivers, and they should be paid.
2. Any invoices from before mid-December are unlikely ever to be paid by E&Y, but they’re looking through them to decide which are eligible for payment from the fund

I’ve got two contact points at Ernst & Young for you if you’re a former Highbury freelancer chasing money:

0207 608 6300 (ask for the receivers when calling)

and

Maggie Mills

Ernst & Young

1 More London Place

London

SE1 2AF

Tel: 020 7951 9802

Hope they prove useful.

Subscribers to Model Boats and eight other former Highbury titles now owned by Encanta Media received a flyer yesterday saying the editors, management and staff have all joined Encanta Media and that they have plans to develop all the titles.

So that’s good news for one group of former Highbury staff members, anyway.

Press Gazette has a little bit more on the Highbury saga today. A few notable quotes from Imagine MD Damian Butt that corroborate some previous entries here:

Growing tech publisher Imagine has swooped in on 24 computing titles at Highbury Entertainment — most of which were originally set up by the Imagine management team — but said this week that many had been “severely damaged”, possibly beyond recovery, in Highbury’s final days.

and

Imagine MD Damian Butt said this week that liability for the debts had not been passed on to Imagine with the sale, adding: “Imagine already works with a large bank of freelances, many of whom are owed money by Highbury.

”All we can do is continue to ensure they are dealt with in a professional and punctual manner, and are paid on time to help restore their confidence.“

So, basically: expect a number of titles to close; expect no money if you’re a Highbury freelance looking for payment from Imagine instead.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Tom Ferrick Jr levels the blame for the latest US journalism row on freelances in his latest column. Notable quotes:

Freelancers are the coolies of modern journalism. Many work for low fees, often juggling four or five assignments to make one meager paycheck. Temptation can be high – especially among those think-tank wonks, who consult with private companies, get grants for research from corporations, and write op-ed pieces, all at once.

In the old days, when reporters got paid a pittance, they often supplemented their salaries with similar jobs. They also were open to accepting free booze, meals, tickets and other emoluments from their sources.

Any of that sound familiar? Ah, British journalism: beyond the American pale.

If indeed that is the problem, there is an easy solution to this: pay freelances more money. I, for one, will get behind that, no trouble.

While the antics at Encanta and SMD/Remnant have been filling this blog of late, the situation with Imagine is still developing. Many are curious as to what’s going to happen to the former Highbury Entertainment staff (and, erm, freelancers). This is the latest from someone on the ground who wishes to remain anonymous.

According to a meeting with the HR consultancy firm that Imagine have employed and reps from the NUJ and our accounts and HR departments, they are looking to make approximately 70 redundancies, which is obviously a large proportion of staff. Even more concerning for freelancers is the fact that they are planning to axe all but 13 of the titles that they have acquired.

What’s shocking me is that the majority of staff haven’t been given this information, and it seems to be down to the NUJ to keep us informed. Their plan now is for everyone to participate in one-on-one interviews with these consultants to justify our own jobs so that they can decide which positions to make available, and we will then have to reapply for our jobs.

I haven’t verified any of this with Imagine or the NUJ (this is a non-paying blog and with taxes just around the corner and a big Highbury-shaped dent in my bank account, I have a lot of money-earning to do), so don’t take it as gospel. Nevertheless, the re-interviewing procedure has been confirmed by other sources, so that part’s almost certainly true.

Having been through a couple of redundancies myself, my heart goes out to you ex-Highbury guys. I really hope it all works out well for you.

SMD Publshing is still trying to keep a low profile, but has now revealed its true identity. It’s registered a domain name, smdpublishing.co.uk, and here are the interesting registration details.

Domain name:

smdpublishing.co.uk

Registrant:

Remnant Media

Registrant type:

UK Individual

Registrant’s address:

The registrant is a non-trading individual who has opted to have their address omitted from the WHOIS service.

So although they’ve been rather naughty by claiming they’re an individual and refusing to provide an address, Remnant Media has finally given us proof that they’re behind the purchase of Front, Hotdog and DVD World. Assuming, of course, that someone hasn’t just filed a claim for the domain name as a bit of shrewd cybersquatting and put Remnant down as the owners for the Hell of it (Nominet doesn’t do much by way of checking domain name applications).

Potential visitors to The International Woodworking Exhibition 2006 will be delighted to hear that it’s to go ahead on the 17-19th February 2006 as planned. How do we know? Because Encanta Media is sending out emails to let everyone know. Apart from text at the bottom (written in black on a black background) about various matters to do with administration, we get confirmation that Owen Davies is the managing director of Encanta Media:

The Joint Administrative Receviers contract only as agents of the Company without personal liability.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales authorises M.E Mills to act as Insolvency Practitioner under section 390(2)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986 and The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants authorises R Bailey to act as an Insolvency Practitioner under section 390(2)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The Yorkshire Post has managed to piece together the details of the Encanta/Brush Colour deal. Note the fact that a former Ernst & Young practitioner is behind Endless, the buy-out firm involved.

PS If you have problems with the link, go to the home page of the Yorkshire Post‘s site, then look through the business section.