Evening Standard relaunches with 650,000 giveaway

The London Evening Standard has relaunched today with 650,000 copies being given away for free.

The advertising campaign leading up to the relaunch had the paper apologising for ‘losing touch’ with its previous editorial stance under the ownership of the Daily Mail, but the campaign, along with today’s relaunch, is perhaps more likely to alienate current readers than it is gain new ones.

I have only ever bought one copy of the Evening Standard, and that was about a month ago at St. Pancras, at about 10pm one evening. The vendors were announcing that it was available for 10p – I personally wouldn’t buy it for anymore than that, having read copies left on the train in the past. I hate the drivel in the London Paper and the London Lite and I don’t really think the Evening Standard has been much better. If I get the chance I’ll pick up a free copy today, but I wouldn’t pay 60p for it.

Lampard’s phone-call earned him the respect of millions

I won’t have been the only football fan (or non-football fan for that matter) who was impressed to learn of Frank Lampard’s phone call into “London’s Biggest Conversation” to counter claims from DJ James O’Brien that Lampard had failed to support his two children since he split up from his fiancee.

You can hear the conversation here, or read the full transcript here.

It seems to have become accepted that famous people have their lives discussed in public and mostly it is harmless and/or ultimately ignored by the celebrities. But Lampard has every right in this instance to be more than a little annoyed with a DJ who comes out of this situation very badly. Lampard does incredibly well to keep his cool and he makes his points well, disproving the stereotype that footballers can’t string two words together. 

It is one thing discussing a celebrity’s life in public, but discussing their children, and the welfare of their children, is plain wrong. I thought James O’Brien would have known better than to take everything he reads in the red-tops as gospel. Obviously not.

Personally I detest the side of journalism that likes to discuss all aspects of any one famous person’s life in the media, but fair play to Frank Lampard for standing up for himself. Hopefully journalists working in the gutter will think twice in future.

Darling’s attempts to help the unemployed will only help those with no intention to work

I was one of many who were eagerly-awaiting today’s budget, but, as expected, I was left disappointed.

In a budget which Labour claim will “build on the strengths of the British economy”, Chancellor Alistair Darling revealed that from January 2010, under-25s who have been out of work for a year will be offered a job or a training place, with bursaries for those in training. That’s all very well on paper, but what about those who need help now? If I am still out of work come next January I will be a) extremely depressed and b) even more annoyed at the lack of government help for those in my situation.

There are already far too many people in this country who claim jobseekers allowance with no intention of ever getting a job. The Government’s scheme will only give these people another way to live off the state -while honest, hard-working citizens carry on suffering.

There are many more aspects of the budget, available at a glance here. I have neither the space nor the time to comment on everything – but it says a lot about the state of this Labour Government that Darling’s prediction for the UK economy was way out. Surprised? Thought not.

Budget 2009

Wednesday’s Budget is one of the most keenly awaited in recent years, with many keen to see what the government will do next as it attempts to kickstart the economy.

It’s being reported today that proposals will include a £50bn package to try and get the housing market moving, something which would involve HM Treasury underwriting £50bn of new mortgage=backed assets. 

Furthermore, it is anticipated that the temporary rise in the starting point for paying stamp duty (it rose from £125,000 to £175,000 at the last budget) could well be extended – surely good news, but critics will argue that the rise is not big enough.

Arguably the hottest topic of Budget 2009 will be what measures Brown, Darling & Co will be taking to help the 2 million+ who find themselves unemployed. Lord Mandelson has promised that the Government will ensure that jobs are created in hi-tech and green industries, but I for one am interested to see how the Government will help other sectors. 

Incidentally – I’m not one to miss the chance to massage my ego – I will be appearing on these virtual pages on Wednesday afternoon and in the old-fashioned edition on Thursday (available from all good newsagents), giving my reaction to whichever help is offered to jobseekers. 

I remain cynical, but hopefully that’ll change come Wednesday afternoon.

Are the police power-hungry thugs?

Of course they’re not – well, not all of them.

The Guardian reports today that the officer who attacked Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests could face manslaughter charges.

The news comes after a second post-mortem examination revealed that Ian Tomlinson did not die of a heart attack as the first post-mortem had suggested, but instead of internal bleeding to the abdomen. Ian Tomlinson had not even been involved in the protests, but was trying to innocently make his way home having spent the day helping his friend, a London Evening Standard vendor. 

Perhaps this incident shouldn’t surprise me. It’s not the first time police have been criticised for heavy-handedness. Indeed, Nicola Fisher has also today accused police at the G20 protests as being heavy-handed, after she was caught on film being struck across the face and the leg. Ms Fisher doesn’t look particularly threatening to me, so I fail to see why a trained police officer felt the need to use excessive force. 

As a football fan, I have myself witnessed police officers being extremely and unnecessarily violent towards innocent people. Not all football fans are, believe it or not, thugs – but maybe the police are told something different. Similarly, not all protestors are wanting to cause violence for the sake of it – they are instead exercising their right to free speech. But, again, maybe the police are told something differently. 

It’s not surprising that police officers are often referred to as ‘jobsworths’ or ‘thugs’ themselves. Unnecessary and heavy-handed violence should not be tolerated – be it from members of the public are police officers. It would be a sweeping statement to call all police officers power-hungry thugs – but this is a two way street, and if the police don’t want to be called such things then they need to stop making sweeping judgments on football supporters or protestors themselves.

“It’s so bizarre that we were convicted”

It seems to me that the Swedes behind The Pirate Bay don’t really understand why they’ve been sentenced to jail and ordered to pay massive fines. 

It is of course imperative to put on a mock Swedish accent when you read the quotes from Peter Sunde in the BBC’s article. The guy’s obviously very deep when it comes to his emotions: “It’s a bit weird”.

Obviously, piracy and breaking copyright laws is a serious issue, but the music industry has changed a lot and I’m certain there are still massive changes to come. Radio 4 this morning described Spotify as the future – this obviously isn’t true, it’s the idea that’s the future, not specifically Spotify.

Personally, I’d still rather buy an album than listen to it for free and have the annoying ads interspersed throughout. But that’s just me.

Dominos in the Do-Do

These videos have got people all over the interwebs talking about Dominos. 

The stunts, which resulted in the inevitable sackings of ‘Michael’ and ‘Kristy’ from the North Carolina Dominos store, will have come as an unwelcome warning to Dominos about the power of social media. First the employees posted the videos on YouTube, then people on Twitter were discussing it, and then it was picked up by both the BBC and FOX News.

Dominos has issued a warrant for the employees arrests, and has assured customers that the food was never served. But then I’m sure they’ve said before that they use only healthy ingredients. 

Dominos has still not issued a public apology on their corporate website, and it is of no surprise to me that Dominos’ share-price has fallen by 1.8% since the incidents. That, Mr Corporate Big Shot, is why you need to wake up to the powers of social media.