Monthly Archives: October 2008

Editorial endorsements

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The Economist has made up its mind. I’d forgotten how it ‘voted’ in 2004 and went to check in the archive. Turns out that the magazine had anticipated the question and provided a page on previous endorsements.

Here’s how they went:

2004: John Kerry
2000: George W. Bush
1996: Bob Dole
1992: Bill Clinton
1988: No endorsement
1984: No endorsement
1980: Ronald Reagan

The only thing that’s slightly weird is the standfirst on this year’s endorsement. “America should take a chance and make Barack Obama the next leader of the free world.” Er, does that mean that electing a 72 year-old unstable ignoramus with a VP who couldn’t locate most countries on a map would be a safe bet?

I love the Economist. Its journalism is terrific. But its editorial line is often potty.

What to do on the web when a presenter leaves

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James Cridland has some interesting reflections on the dilemmas facing BBC bosses following the Ross/Brand fiasco.

When a high-profile radio presenter leaves your station, it often poses a particular point of dissent between the website editor and the station management. “I want him off the website”, the edict will inevitably be. “Delete every single image of him.” And that’s understandable. But, sometimes, not the right plan.

During my time managing the content of the Virgin Radio UK website, I had a number of these events. Presenters came and went; some under a £75,000-Ofcom-fine-shaped dark cloud (hello, Jon!), some after a period of much publicised absenteeism, and some because they wanted to move to a different station…

The We Generation

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Interesting essay on Strategic News Service.

A new generation is about to seize the reins of history: the Millennial generation. Born between 1978 and 2000, the Millennials currently include 95 million young people up to 30 years of age – the biggest, most diverse age cohort in the history of the nation. In 2016, they will be 100 million strong and positioned to dominate the American political scene for 30 to 40 years.

The Millennial generation has already begun to emerge as a powerful political and social force. They are smart, well-educated, open-minded, and independent – politically, socially, and philosophically. They are also a caring generation, one that is ready to put the greater good ahead of individual rewards. And they are already spearheading a period of sweeping change.

For our new book, Generation We: How American Youth Are Taking Over America and the World Forever, Eric Greenberg sponsored a major research study into the characteristics of the Millennial generation. It was conducted by Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications, one of the most respected research organizations in the U.S., and included both extensive oral and written surveys and a series of in-depth focus groups. The Greenberg Millennials Study (GMS) offers the most detailed portrait available of the attitudes and values of today’s youth, and we’ve supplemented it with extensive research into other indicators of the behaviors and beliefs of the Millennials.

The GMS began with an in-depth national survey of 2,000 individuals of mixed gender, aged 18 to 29, conducted from July 20 to August 1, 2007. The study also included a series of 12 geographically and demographically diverse focus groups, conducted during the first week of December 2007. Each group focused on a particular demographic subset of the Millennial generation.

Taken together, the 12 focus groups captured a unique cross-section of various slices of the Millennial pie and provided some vivid personal stories and testimony to flesh out the more general observations made possible by the broader survey.

This research revealed that the Millennials are very different from Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, and are now creating a new politics in America.

Shorting Volkswagen

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One shouldn’t laugh, I suppose, but you have to admit that what’s been happening to VW’s share price is a hoot. Here’s the FT report:

Volkswagen briefly became the world’s largest company by market capitalisation on Tuesday after an extraordinary surge in its share price driven by a near-panic by hedge funds and other traders to stem losses on positions betting on a fall in the stock.

The extent of the surge, which has led to sharp criticism of German capital markets, triggered intense market speculation that it could force the collapse of hedge funds and heavy losses for investment banks.

VW’s share price rose 82 per cent to €945 following Monday’s 147 per cent jump, leaving it with a market capitalisation of about €287bn ($360bn).

At the stock’s intra-day peak of €1005, its market capitalisation exceeded Exxon before the US oil company started trading yesterday.

It seems that hedge funds, reckoning that VW shares were bound to fall, borrowed them and sold them short. What they apparently didn’t realise is that Porsche and the State of Saxony between them owned or had options on 95% of VW shares. Frantic bidding for the remaining 5% resulted in crazy valuations of a car manufacturer that is — like all its peers — facing a bleak short-term future.

Heh, heh.