Richard Lance Keeble

John Mair

Megan Lucero

Data journalism: Past, present and future Foreword by Simon Rogers, Head of Google Data Lab8 This is the third in the Abramis Data Journalism series and twenty first in the acclaimed 'hackademic' series. As ever with a new collection, there are new authors and fresh perspectives. A vast range of topics is covered - including the Panama Papers exposE, the role of data journalism in the recent UK general elections and referenda, the challenges facing DJ in China and Russia, and an overview of the history of DJ in the US and UK - while experts provide tips on improving DJ skills. The authors include some of the world's leading data journalists - and top academics, trainers and activists in the field: Mar Cabra, Lucas Batt, Paul Bradshaw, Adam Cantwell-Corn, Harry Carr, Erin Coates, Aasma Day, Shiting Ding, Peter Geoghegan, Leila Haddou, Kathryn Hayes, Bahareh Heravi, Jonathan Hewett, Eliot Higgins, Bella Hurrell, Teresa Jolley, Marie Kinsey, Sixian Li, Joseph O'Leary, Isabelle Marchand, Claire Miller, Petar Milin, Rob Minto, Martin Moore, William Perrin, Damian Radcliffe, Gordon M. Ramsay, Simon Rogers, Sarah Rose, Jonathan Spencer, Anastasia Veleeva, John Walton and Hugh Westbrook. Editors John Mair is the series editor of the Abramis 'hackademic' books. Professor Richard Lance Keeble has co-edited many of them with him and is the author or editor of 36 books. Megan Lucero is the Director of the new data journalism hub at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Martin Moore is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power at King's College London.

Past, Present and Future

Data Journalism

The idea of the journo-coder, programmer-journalist, hacker-journalist, journo-programmer (the terminology is undecided) is gaining ground as data journalism develops both in Britain and internationally. Programmers are coming into newsrooms, journalists are venturing further into programming and there is some blurring where the two meet. Data journalism (DJ) is certainly becoming the Big Buzz Story in the media but so far little has been written about it. This new, jargon-free text, edited by John Mair and Richard Lance Keeble (with Teodora Beleaga and Paul Bradshaw), provides an original and thought-provoking insight into DJ. The first section, with contributions from Teodora Beleaga and Simon Rogers. explores various definitions of DJ; in another, experts, such as Paul Bradshaw, Nicola Hughes, Daniel Ionescu and Pupul Chatterjee provide some useful tips on developing DJ skills. Tom Felle interviews a group of international data journalists and finds they all argue their work can play a crucial democratic role in holding the powerful to account Andy Dickinson wonders if the growing field of sensor journalism offers an insight into what comes next for DJ Jacqui Taylor, Bella Hurrell and John Walton focus on data visualisations AEndrew Rininsland argues that anyone "willing to learn D3 will find they are given an unparalleled ability to create visualisations that bring data alive" Arthur Lashmar shows how an international consortium of journalists used DJ skills to expose the use of offshore tax havens by the world's rich and famous Other chapters are provided by Chris Frost, Liz Hannaford, Jonathan Hewett, Gabriel Keeble-Gagnere, Damian Radcliffe, Yaneng Feng, Qian Li and John Burn-Murdoch

One investigative journalist, the Guardian's Nick Davies, digging away over two years, has almost brought the Murdoch empire crashing to its knees. His reports of phone hacking at the News of the World unveiled some very unethical practices. The Guardian was also responsible for many of the biggest scoops of recent years: for instance, investigating the killing of mews vendor Ian Tomlinson at the G20 demonstration in London in April 2009 and collaborating with WikiLeaks in 2010. Andrew Jennings, again working almost alone with the BBC's Panorama over several years, brought down FIFA vice-president Jack Warner and brought that organisation into disrepute. Maybe reports of the death of investigative journalism are premature. This text brings together the writings of top international journalists and academics. They include: Bob (Watergate) Woodward, Donal (Undercover) MacIntyre, Mark (Secret Policeman) Daly, Paul Kenyon and John Ware of the BBC's Panorama, Pulitzer Prize-Winner David Cay Johnston, Paul Bradshaw, Philip Knightley, Adrian Quinn, Kevin Marsh, Eamonn O'Neill and John Tulloch. Sher Baz Khan looks at the troubled state of investigative journalism in Pakistan, Homson Shaw and Hugo de Burgh focus on China, Daniel Ruiz on Guinea-Bissau while Neil Fowler examines the local UK press. Students Sean Carson, Shane Croucher, Tom Farmery and Sean McGrath add to the mix.

Dead Or Alive?

Investigative Journalism

George Orwell remains an iconic figure today - even though he died in 1950. His dystopian novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" depicts a Big Brother society in which the state intrudes into the most intimate details of people's lives - and, not surprisingly, it became a constant reference point after Edward Snowden's revelations. The word Orwellian is constantly in the media - used either as a pejorative adjective to evoke totalitarian terror or as a complimentary adjective to mean displaying outspoken intellectual honesty. Interest in Orwell's life and writings - globally - continues unabated. Beginning with a Preface by "Richard Blair," Orwell's son, "George Orwell Now!" brings together thirteen chapters by leading international scholars in four thematic sections: - Peter Marks on Orwell and the history of surveillance studies; Florian Zollmann on "Nineteen Eighty-Four" in 2014; Henk Vynckier on Orwell's collecting project; and Adam Stock on 'Big Brother's Literary Offspring' - Paul Anderson In Defence of Bernard Crick; Luke Seaber on the London Section of "Down and Out in Paris and London"; John Newsinger on Orwell's Socialism; and Philip Bounds on Orwell and the Anti-Austerity Left in Britain - Marina Remy on the Writing of Otherness in "Burmese Days" and "Keep the Aspidistra Flying"'; Sreya Mallika Datta and Utsa Mukherjee on Reassessing Ambivalence in Orwell's Burma; and Shu-chu Wei on Orwell's "Animal Farm" alongside Chen Jo-his's "Mayor Yin" - Tim Crook on Orwell and the Radio Imagination; and editor Richard Lance Keeble on Orwell and the War Reporter's Imagination "Peter Stansky," in an Afterword, argues that Orwell is now more relevant than ever before.

George Orwell Now!

Sue Joseph

This book examines the history, theory and journalistic practice of profile writing. Profiles, and the practice of writing them, are of increasing interest to scholars of journalism because conflicts between the interviewer and the subject exemplify the changing nature of journalism itself. While the subject, often through the medium of their press representative, struggles to retain control of the interview space, the journalist seeks to subvert it. This interesting and multi-layered interaction, however, has rarely been subject to critical scrutiny, partly because profiles have traditionally been regarded as public relations exercises or as ‘soft’ journalism. However, chapters in this volume reveal not only that profiling has, historically, taken many different forms, but that the idea of the interview as a contested space has applications beyond the subject of celebrated individuals. The volume looks at the profile’s historical beginnings, at the contemporary manufacture of celebrity versus the ‘ordinary’, at profiling communities, countries and movements, at profiling the destitute, at sporting personalities and finally at profiling and trauma.

Journalism and the 'Human Interest' Bias

Profile Pieces

David Swick

Charles Dickens, celebrated novelist and journalist, believed that his greatest ability as a writer was to make people laugh. Yet, to date, humor has been strangely marginalized in journalism, communication and media studies. This innovative book draws together the work of seventeen writers to show that, starting in the 1640s during the English Civil War, and continuing through to the present time, humor has indeed been an important ingredient of journalism. Countries studied include Australia, Britain, Canada, Chile and the United States. The Funniest Pages is divided into four sections: «Seriously Funny, From Past to Present,» «Unsolemn Columnists,» «This Sporting Life» and a final section, «Have Mouse, Will Laugh,» which looks at humor in online journalism. Chapters examine Joseph Addison, Richard Steele and the birth of social and political satire; Allen Ginsberg, Mad magazine, and the culture wars of the 1950s; John Clarke and the power of satire in journalism, and more.

International Perspectives on Journalism and Humor

The Funniest Pages

To what extent did George Orwell's involvement with British secret intelligence influence the writing of Nineteen Eighty-Four? How crucial was his friendship with David Astor, the millionaire owner of the Observer, with his background in intelligence and the Special Operations Executive, in the making of his great dystopian masterpiece? Has the role of Julia - who conducts a passionate, secret affair with anti-hero Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four - as a possible Party spy engaged in a honeytrap operation, been marginalised too often? These are just some of the questions highlighted in George Orwell, the Secret State and the Making of Nineteen Eighty-Four which brings together 24 fascinating, original and often controversial essays by Richard Lance Keeble - to mark the 70th anniversary of Orwell's untimely death at the age of only 46. In addition, the text examines: Orwell's attitudes to sexuality reflected, in particular, in his essay on the sexy seaside postcards of Donald McGill; Orwell's humorous writing in a range of texts including Homage to Catalonia (his account of fighting alongside the Republican militia during the Spanish civil war in 1937), 'Some thoughts on the common toad' and his 'As I Please' columns in Tribune; Orwell as a literary journalist focusing on his extraordinary prep school memoir 'Such, Such Were the Joys'; Orwell as the inventor not only of Cultural Studies but also Journalism Studies; Orwell as a film reviewer, and Orwell as a proto-blogger. John Rodden, the leading authority on Orwell's legacy, comments: 'Keeble's provocative collection of essays represents an original and significant contribution both to Orwell biography and literary criticism.' D. J. Taylor, the award-winning biographer of Orwell, comments: 'Richard Keeble is an indefatigable guide to the latest developments in Orwell Studies. I read George Orwell, The Secret State and the Making of Nineteen Eighty-Four with both profit and pleasure.'

George Orwell, the Secret State and the Making of Nineteen Eighty-Four

Journalism Beyond Orwell adapts and updates pioneering work by Richard Lance Keeble to explore George Orwell's legacy as a journalist in original, critical - and often controversial - ways. Though best known as the author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell was, throughout his career, a journalist. The essays in this collection explore Orwell's important legacy: as a practising activist journalist critical of the dominant media; as a polemicist, essayist and novelist constantly concerned with issues relating to war and peace; as a literary journalist determined to make 'political writing an art'; and as a writer who warned of the growing powers of the secret state. Through this highly individualistic essay collection that connects Orwellian themes to modern journalism, Richard Lance Keeble explores key topics, including: Orwell the 'proto-blogger' How Orwell put his political economy critique of the corporate press into practice Information warfare in an age of hyper-militarism The manufacture of the myth of heroic warfare in the reporting of the Afghan conflict The debates over the theory and practice of peace journalism The ethical challenges for journalists reporting on conflict The crucial role of the alternative media The pleasures and pitfalls of the celebrity profile This collection will be of particular interest to students and researchers in journalism studies, English literature, media, intelligence studies and international relations.

Journalism Beyond Orwell

In 1990, Bill Porter set up the International Communications Forum (ICF) as a body to campaign for higher ethical standards in journalism. By his death in April 2009 the ICF had become a major international organisation. Media Values brings together the writings of 27 experienced international journalists and artists to celebrate Bill Porter’s life and reflect on the values that he promoted through the ICF.• Bernard Margueritte argues that the moral leadership provided by men such as Bill Porter can inspire us all to work for higher standards in the media• Fabrice Boulé advocates the role of the media in conflict resolution.• Alan Channer stresses the role of the theatre as a force for good• John B Fairfax traces the impact of proprietors on newspaper history• Carol Goar explains how she learned some risks are worth taking• Martyn Lewis promotes solution-oriented journalism• Rafael Marques de Morais assesses media standards in Angola.• Natalya Skvortsova suggests its time for journalists to admit their mistakes• Bob Webb argues that all journalists have a duty to challenge racism.One section of Media Values concentrates on the new ethical dilemmas facing journalists in the age of the internet. Magnus Linklater for instance, argues that, while the advent of the internet and 24/7 news operations are changing the face of journalism, there is no reason why the industry should abandon the principles on which it is founded. Other contributors include John Bond, Małgorzata Bonikowska, John Carlisle, Charles Chasie, Simon Cohen, Gordon Graham, Grigory Gundarin, Henry Heald, Michael Henderson, John Munro, Olga Noskova, Hugh Nowell, Danko Plevnik, Michael Smith, William Stainsby, Faustina Starrett, Tomáš Vrba and Hugh Steadman Williams.

Richard Lance Keeble

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