The dangers of science by press release...

An article published earlier this week in Spiegel Online informs the public that the smoking ban in Scotland resulted in a dramatic 17% decline in heart attacks during the first ten months that the ban was in effect.

In fact, I presented evidence that a 17% drop in heart attack admissions occurred in the 3 months prior to the smoking ban -- obviously, that much more drastic decline in heart attacks was not attributable to the smoking ban. Clearly, it is premature to jump to these conclusions.


Read the article here

British Library to put all 19th century newspapers online

The British Library is putting the finishing touches to a website that will give journalists and academics access to two million pages from 43 newspapers from the 19th century.

The library will launch its newspaper digitisation project next month, which will give readers access to electronic versions of every national, regional and locally important newspaper from 1800 to 1900. Though tailored for further and higher education students and academics, general readers will be able to log on for a small subscription fee.

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Northcliffe Media cuts headcount by five per cent

Regional newspaper publisher Northcliffe Media has cut its staff by five per cent this year, according to parent company Daily Mail and General Trust.

In a trading update this morning, DMGT said it had cut the cost of running its regional newspapers by £45m since last September.

Advertising conditions in the regional press are "slowly improving", the company said, with like-for-like regional advertising revenue in the past 12 weeks up 2.4 per cent on the same period last year.

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Sampson Fury at Son Story

Steve Sampson wasn't happy with the Edinburgh Evening News website who ran the story then changed it later, the top line wasn’t about the young man fined in court for assault, but who his father is.

And on hearing how his son had been reported, former Sun editor, Steve Sampson, exploded. “I am not the story,” he said. “I was Sun editor so long ago, The Beatles were No.1 and Scotland was going to win the World Cup. It’s just bad reporting from the agency [United News Service] that provided the copy.”

He continued: “Threats of rape and murder were made against girls in my son’s company. My son told the court he regrets violence being used against violence. That was wrong. But, frankly, these guys set upon some young men, ten years younger than them, and they lost.”

Read the 'New' Evening News story

Racing Post sold for £170m

Racing Post, British racing's only daily newspaper, is set to change ownership sometime next week in a deal believed to be worth in the vicinity of £170 million.

At last, the finishing line is in sight after a marathon nine months of negotiations with the present owners, Trinity Mirror.

The prospective new owners are a group of racing-friendly Irish investors coming under the banner of FL Partners. They have been advised on the venture by former Racing Post editor Alan Byrne.

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Trinity prepares Scottish free business title

Trinity Mirror is preparing to launch Scotland’s first free weekly business newspaper, Business7, on 5 October.

The new title will have an initial print run of 20,000 and be accompanied by daily news and blogs online at business7.co.uk.

The paper will be under the guidance of Trinity’s editor of Insider Magazine Alasdair Northrop, who takes the mantle of editor-in-chief. Jonathan Russell will take on the role of editor.

Business7 will be distributed by hand at major commuter locations across Scotland every Friday morning.

Mainline rail stations and airports will be particular hotspots as the paper attempts to reach 20- to 40-year-old, “work hard, play hard,” business professionals.

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Mash Makes it a Million

A satirical website, run by a former Scotsman columnist and a former Sunday Times writer, has racked up its one millionth page view - just five months after launch.

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His website The Daily Mash

News of the World Tommy Sheridan appeal on hold

An appeal against Tommy Sheridan's libel victory against the News of the World has been put on hold.

Judges agreed that the proceedings should be suspended at a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The decision, by Lord Justice Clerk Lord Gill, Lord Kingarth and Lord Wheatley, means the case will now be suspended until the Crown inquiry into perjury allegations resulting from the case is resolved.

Following the decision Sheridan, the leader of the left-wing Solidarity party and a former MSP, said he was confident the News of the World would not succeed in its appeal.

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Sports Appointment Expected Soon

The Herald newspaper is expected to announce - either at the end of this week or the beginning of next - the identity of the successor to sports writer, Mark Wilson, who is off soon to the Scottish Daily Mail.

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Scottish courts to reconsider camera ban

The Scottish judiciary is re-examining guidelines to allow judges’ sentencing statements in court to be filmed.

The current guidelines, set out by Lord Hope in 1996, prohibit the use of cameras in court in order to avoid threatening the administration of justice.

But the public information officer for the Scottish judiciary, Elizabeth Cutting – who already issues printed and electronic statements from cerain cases to the media – has said that filming sentences is the logical next step in a digital age.

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S1 - top Scottish brand?

A family of websites - including a jobs one - owned by The Herald publishers has been nominated among the best ever brands in Scotland - despite being on the go for just seven years.

s1 received the accolade as part of a series of awards commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Scottish Advertising Awards. Other nominees include Tennent’s, Irn Bru and Glenmorangie. s1 has 30 staff.

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Metro to Make Mark in Dundee

The free, morning newspaper, The Metro, hits the streets of Dundee for the first time today.

Up 'til now available on in Edinburgh and Glasgow (and the commuter corridor in between), the paper will be distributed at what are described as ‘strategic locations’, such as railway stations, bus depots and hotels.

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Publisher Says 'I Do' to Magazine Division

One of the fastest-growing newspaper publishers in the country has added yet another title to its portfolio.

Glasgow-based Premier Publishing - which has launched half a dozen free, local newspapers in the west of Scotland in less than a year - has just launched a wedding magazine.

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News International to pay out staff bonus

Permanent staff at News International will each receive a £679 profit-related bonus on October 1.
The bonus will be paid to most of the company's full-time staff members and many part-timers, but not those on contracts.

It is equivalent to 1% of the company's annual profit and follows the 4% annual pay rise News International gave staff on July 1.

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Call to be Made for Creation of Scottish Media Ombudsman

A call is to be made today for the establishment of a Scottish media Ombudsman, to replace the operation of the Press Complaints Commission and the broadcasting regulators, Ofcom, in Scotland.

Three years on from first having raised the idea, the Scottish Organiser of the National Union of Journalists, Paul Holleran, is to suggest the creation of a Scottish Media Commission this evening.

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Ian Gray Gnasher creator obituary

Obituary - Ian Gray

A long-serving scriptwriter for the Beano and Dandy, he invented Gnasher

Ian Gray, longtime scriptwriter for Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, the Bash Street Kids, Desperate Dan, Biffo the Bear and other perennial favourites from the Beano and the Dandy, has died after a heart attack, aged 69. He was also the co-creator of Dennis's wild and woolly dog Gnasher, and became something of a legend for his passion for animals, folk music and the countryside, and his exuberant sense of humour.
Gray was born in Arbroath, the Scottish town renowned for the smoked haddock delicacy known as Arbroath smokies. He was nicknamed Smokie Gray after them, and after a folk music band called Smokie Folk in which he later performed. He grew up reading the Dandy and the Beano, brought home by his father Walter, who was a reporter for DC Thomson's newspapers in Dundee and went on to become a subeditor on the Weekly News.

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News organisations to appeal contempt fine

Three news organisations are expected to appeal against a Sheriff's decision to fine each of them £1,750 for contempt of court after they published pictures of a footballer who was on trial on charges of assault and breach of the pace.

Sheriff J Douglas Allan said publication of a photograph of Celtic player Derek Riordan had created a substantial risk of serious prejudice to the trial of the footballer and his cousin, Keith Burrell, who also faced the same charges following an incident at an Edinburgh pub in December last year.

Both men were subsequently acquitted.

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Departure of Wheatcroft at Sunday Telegraph spells uncertainty for former Scotsman editor Martin

FORMER SCOTSMAN editor Iain Martin's future at The Sunday Telegraph looks doubtful following the unexpected departure of editor Patience Wheatcroft.

Martin, who is deputy editor of the Sunday paper, was on holiday last week when it emerged that Wheatcroft was leaving after only 18 months in the post. Not only has he been passed over for the top job in favour of Daily Telegraph deputy editor Ian MacGregor, he will have to adjust to the fact that daily editor Will Lewis is now editor-in-chief of both titles.

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World Cup picture row resolved at 11th hour

BOTH SIDES blinked at the last minute in the row over Rugby World Cup picture rights, just before the whistle blew on the first match between the French hosts and Argentina last Friday.

With Scottish newspapers, including the Daily Record, Sunday Mail, Scottish Sun, News Of The World and Sunday Herald, having decided to restrict use of pictures in support of the worldwide boycott by news organisations, everyone will have been relieved that a deal was reached.

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Free CD with The Herald

This Saturday The Herald is giving away a free ' Classical Experience' CD with the print edition.

You can hear excerpts from all five tracks on The Herald web site here

Sounds good to me...

Trinity Mirror to launch new title for business community

Insider Media, the business publishing division of the Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail, is to launch Business 7, a free weekly newspaper targeting the Scottish business community.
The 24pp title will be distributed across Scotland every Friday morning at commuter locations such as main line rail stations and airports.
Some 20,000 copies of the publication will be circulated, aimed at a demographic of 20- to 40-year-old business professionals, and will be accompanied by the website Business7.

The Trinity Mirror-published launch came about after it identified a market opportunity through the analysis of performance of current titles in its business portfolio.

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