Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter » Podcast

Political blogs and how people read them: Sunday Salon Webchat 8pm #onlinepolitics

Matt Wardman — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:18:52 +0000

Following on from last week's experimental webchat about how different people make a small or a large income from their political blogs (debate starter, actual webchat) for 10, I am running another one this evening at 8pm.

There will be a Sunday Salon tomorrow (June 6th at 8pm), looking at different aspects of linking, promotion, how people read blogs and the interaction of blogs and Twitter.

The chat will be hosted at the Wardman Wire using CoverItLive.

As a discussion starter, this post includes a podcast interview (35 minutes) I recorded earlier this week with Dan Levy, who manages the UK website of Wikio.

We covered everything from the history of Wikio to how the rankings are compiled, how the Wikio service is used, and what developments will be happening in the future.

Any help in promoting the event is welcome.

If you add a comment below I will email you with a reminder in future.

(Note: you may need to click through to the full post to listen to the podcast if you read this excerpt in a feed reader).

Political blogs and how people read them: Sunday Salon Webchat 8pm #onlinepolitics is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

JEEcamp 2010: Interview with Paul Bradshaw of Online Journalism Blog. By Matt Wardman

Matt Wardman — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:00:50 +0000

Paul Bradshaw

has run a conference "Journalism, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship" for independent and mainstream journalists interested in "making a living from journalism in the era of free information".

In this interview, Paul explains to Matt Wardman what the aims and achievements of JEEcamp have been, and reflects on how his own blogging activities over 6 years has opened up opportunities for him personally.

JEEcamp 2010: Interview with Paul Bradshaw of Online Journalism Blog. By Matt Wardman is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Podcast: The legal basis for the Iraq War and Lord Goldsmith’s opinion. By Charon QC

Matt Wardman — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:30:00 +0000

At the Wardman Wire, we have teamed up with Charon QC to do a continuing series of political podcasts.

This is a conversation with Carl Gardner, a former government lawyer in Tony Blair’s administration and author of the Head of Legal blog, about the legality of the War in Iraq.

The legal analysis turns on United Nations Special Resolution 1441. Yesterday Sir Michael Wood, Legal Adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was quite specific in his view that war would be unlawful without a second resolution. The Foreign secretary, Jack Straw, rejected Sir Michael’s advice. Elizabeth Wilmshurst, a deputy legal adviser at the FCO, was of the same view as Sir Michael Wood and, indeed resigned, so strong was her conviction that the war was unlawful.

Philippe Sands QC of Matrix Chambers and Professor of International Law at University College London has long been of the view that the war in Iraq was illegal and published a book to that effect some time ago. There are few supporters of the revivalist theory put forward by Lord Goldsmith at the Iraq Inquiry hearing today – but Carl Gardner is one lawyer who does. The podcast is a discussion between us rather than a traditional interview style podcast.

Podcast: The legal basis for the Iraq War and Lord Goldsmith’s opinion. By Charon QC is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Shami Chakrabarti podcast interview: The Human Rights Act, By Charon QC

Matt Wardman — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:00:15 +0000

We have teamed up with Charon QC to do a series of political podcasts for the Wardman Wire. This is an interview with Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty.

Shami Chakrabarti gives her thoughts on why the Human Rights Act is so important and outlines Liberty’s key role in the successful campaign to defeat proposals to increase the period that terror suspects could be held without charge to 42 days. She also discusses the role of the judiciary in upholding democratic values and gives advice to young lawyers interested in working within the field of human rights and civil liberties.

Shami Chakrabarti podcast interview: The Human Rights Act, By Charon QC is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Blogs, Twitter and a more accessible Media. Podcast interview: Mark Thompson, of Mark Reckons blog

Matt Wardman — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:40:57 +0000

We have teamed up with Charon QC to do a series of political podcasts. This podcast is an interview with Lib Dem Blogger Mark Thompson.

Mark is a relatively new blogger, who has quickly come to a reasonable level of prominence in the blogosphere. In this interview Mark talks about himself, and how his blog has developed. We also talk about how blogs, and particularly Twitter, have made the national media more "permeable" - and what happens to nuances when blog stories are covered in the media.

We also think about choosing names for blogs, and why it's a bad idea to try and compete in the search engines with the Head of the BBC. I also explain why I chose the name Matt Wardman when I started writing my own blog in early 2007.

Blogs, Twitter and a more accessible Media. Podcast interview: Mark Thompson, of Mark Reckons blog is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Podcast: The inside track on a complex Employment Tribunal – USDAW Legal Department (Matt Wardman)

Matt Wardman — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:28:24 +0000

I have previously reported that a negotiated settlement had been reached and now implemented in the Employment Tribunal action between 32 ex-employees of the former-SPCK bookshop chain, and the Society of Saint Stephen the Great, now controlled by the Charity Commission through an Interim Manager. I have done a podcast interview with Christine Peacock of the USDAW Legal Department, who has handled the employee cases (and the cases of paperwork) for the last couple of years. This interview aims to show some of the complexity of the case, and to give an inside view of the process. Here it is: For people who are new to this story, the background to this interview is that I've been involved with others in a campaign to place a spotlight on the mismanagement and asset-stripping of the chain of 25 bookshops which used to go under the name of SPCK, by the brothers J Mark and Philip Brewer. This blog has a very detailed account. A community of campaigning bloggers, and a wider international network based mainly on Facebook and other social media sites, has had a role in this over a period of more than 2 years - gathering information, helping to expose a fraudulent bankruptcy attempt, keeping the Charity Commission on the case, and maintaining a spotlight on the case. But this still has a long way to run - notably because there are still many small businesses who were simply never paid, and because compensation payments still have to be made - though that can be expected now that the Brewer Brothers no longer control the charity. There are more complex aspects such as what happened to pension and national insurance contributions which the Brewer Brothers never passed to the correct recipients. And then there is the matter of bring Mark and Philip Brewer to some sort of justice, and making sure that those who need to learn the lessons from this debacle do just that. It is one more signifcant step forward, however. The two Facebook groups are We Support Dave Walker (who was "Cease and Desisted" after 18 months of objective reporting; his blog is here), and A group for all those people who mourn the tragic demise of SPCK Bookshops, which still have a combined membership of well over 500 activists and supporters.

Podcast: The inside track on a complex Employment Tribunal – USDAW Legal Department (Matt Wardman) is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Podcast interview with Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor. Assisted Suicide, Supreme Court. By Charon QC

Matt Wardman — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:34:54 +0000

At the Wardman Wire, we have teamed up with Charon QC to do a series of Politalks political podcasts.

This is an interview by Charon with Charlie Falconer, a former Lord Chancellor, on assisted dying and the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom .

Lord Falconer put forward an amendment to the Suicide Act, which was defeated in the Lords recently.

Secondly, the interview discusss his thoughts on the reasoning behind establishing a new Supreme Court and the direction it may, in time, take.

Lord Falconer became Lord Chancellor In 2003, with the remit of abolishing the office. His reform included the creation, for the first time, of a Supreme Court for the UK, the creation of a commission to appoint judges, making a full-time independent judge the Head of the Judiciary for England and Wales, and introducing an elected Speaker for the House of Lords.

Podcast interview with Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor. Assisted Suicide, Supreme Court. By Charon QC is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Ultra-local community renewal. Interview with Mark Jones, of Pleasley Hill Plight. Politalks Podcast

Matt Wardman — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:56:23 +0000

We have teamed up with Charon QC to do a series of political podcasts for the Wardman Wire. Mark Jones is an activist in the small community of Pleasley Hill, in Nottinghamshire. The blog Plight of Pleasley Hill has been set up to draw attention to the work of a small group to revive a sense of community in a small area of terraced housing comprising 3 streets and approximately 125 people. This initiative launched in early June 2009. I have interviewed Mark for Politalks because I am interested in very small scale regeneration undertaken by communities themselves, and I think that doing things on a *really* small scale is one of the keys to rebuilding local civic society and politics. By "really small scale" I mean in groups and localities which are small enough for everyone to essentially know all their neighbours. In this interview, Mark talks about the aims of their project, and the good and bad experiences in trying to work with their local authority as a very small group. There is much worth listening to here for Local Councillors and Community Development officers. Direct download link for Mark Jones interview.

Ultra-local community renewal. Interview with Mark Jones, of Pleasley Hill Plight. Politalks Podcast is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Interview with Radio Journalist Mathew Hulbert: Midlands Politics and Media. (Matt Wardman)

Matt Wardman — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:30:53 +0000

Today, I'm talking to Radio Journalist Mathew Hulbert, who works for a commercial radio station - Touch Radio - in the Midlands. Mathew covers an area including Donington Park, Tamworth and Staffordshire - one of the Counties where Labour was devastated at the 2009 Local Election , falling from a leading position with 30 seats to being the 4th party with just 3.

We talk about local politics, the prospects of UKIP as a force in local politics, and the future for local media in competition with the BBC, citizen commentators and online radio.

Mathew Hulbert writes the blog The Time for Justice is Now, and contributes to the Wardman Wire,

Interview with Radio Journalist Mathew Hulbert: Midlands Politics and Media. (Matt Wardman) is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter

Politalks Podcast: The Importance of Jury Trials: Interview with “BabyBarista” Tim Kevan by Charon QC

Matt Wardman — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:05:58 +0000

We have teamed up with Charon QC to do a series of political podcasts. this one is looking at the importance of Jury trials (Charon Lawcast 143). Direct link to podcast. Four men accused of being part of a gang that stole £1.75 million in a raid at Heathrow face the first criminal trial without a jury [...]

Politalks Podcast: The Importance of Jury Trials: Interview with “BabyBarista” Tim Kevan by Charon QC is a post from: Politalks: Podcast and Newsletter