Daily Archives: October 31, 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…