Tag Archives: terrorism

How should broadcast news journalists interview and talk about extremists?

Over the weekend I spoke to veteran ex BBC journalist Robin Lustig, Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness for an insight into Germany’s media and Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney’s 2012 senior strategist for 2 articles I wrote for The Guardian and The … Continue reading

Posted in Germany, journalism, Media, Politics, Radio, Religion, TV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The trouble with superheroes taking on terrorism..

I love superhero comics and they’ve never been handled with more love than by writers and filmmakers who grew up on them too. And yet.. And yet.. In the latest Captain America Civil War film, when a terrorist bomb goes … Continue reading

Posted in Comics/graphic novels, Film, Media, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Richard Dawkins & the humanist’s dilemma: When faced with Islamic State does “moderate” religious discrimination really matter?

This piece first appeared in The Big Issue magazine – journalism worth paying for. Available from street vendors UK wide or subscription. Blackwell’s bookshop in Oxford has 3 and a half miles of books. It’s a wonderful place. The deputy … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Crime and Justice, History, Media, Religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

But it’s news… Some questions about Woolwich coverage

Ā I’ll be discussing questions about BBC TV’s news coverage of the horrific Woolwich street murder of a young soldier on Newswatch with the head of the BBC Newsroom, Mary Hockaday on Friday May 24th. This blog post lays out some … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Justice, journalism, Media, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 47 Comments

Murder, Mirth and Care Bears: The uses of an Oxford English degree

Photo copyright and courtesy of: Ian Fraser at Virtual Archive Writing for news bulletins, writing for standup comedy, writing murders for tv drama, writing for comics and fantasy gaming novels. These were some of the uses to which a group … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Education, Media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How The Middle East Became Another Planet

From Flash Gordon’s Ming the Merciless with his harem and his war rocket Ajax, to Frank Herbert’s prophecy-obsessed desert tribes in Dune battling over a valuable resource, the Middle East has always been another planet to western science fiction creators. … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Culture, History, Politics, Religion, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can we laugh about this? Race on film

I spent an hour with the Film Club charity in Battersea Park School in South London today,(I’m a trustee) discussing the treatment of race and racism on film. It was Anti-Racism Day, apparently. I chose clips from a sample of … Continue reading

Posted in Children, Comedy, Education, Film, Media, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Afghanistan: NATO’s 10 year feminist experiment

This is some of the further detail from my feature for today’s Guardian that was not in the final edit. It makes reference to two majorĀ  reports on women and Afghanistan put out this week by Action Aid andĀ  Oxfam. … Continue reading

Posted in Education, journalism, Politics, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Second World War and 9/11

Something happened to Time and our concept of War over the past decade. The Second World War, which still fascinates children today, saw global power shift one way and then the other; a clear victory over Axis (of Evil) power. … Continue reading

Posted in journalism, Politics, Religion, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Libyan exile’s tale.

How must the events unfolding in Libya look to exiles? Today I met Jalal Shammam, a Libyan exile who was protesting outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984 when someone inside opened fire. In an interview for the PM … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Justice, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment