For our coursework we were set a question about analysing the legal pitfalls for those who use the internet to attack reputations or express opinions.

There are so many areas within this concept of internet defamation that it’s hard to know where to begin.

For the purposes of the essay, I focused on “libel tourism“, that is to say people coming to places like the UK to sue over information posted abroad, even if they are not British.  That they have a reputation here (if it can be proven) is enough to establish that a wrongdoing aka tort has occurred within the jurisdiction.

In discussing libel tourism I examined the problem of the multiple publication rule which is vastly at odds with the US single publication rule.  I also examined the meaning of defamation and explored how people can prove they have a reputation worth protecting here in the UK as well as the small problem of language.  Someone posting a word in the US may find themselves in court here because that seemingly innocuous word has a very different meaning in the UK.

The Justice Minister Jack Staw has announced that if a Labour government wins the election he will pass a bill amending current English libel laws.

In health and science reporting, the current climate is stopping people questioning and engaging in discussion.  Dr Ben Goldacre, who writes the blog Bad Science, has joined the Libel Reform campaign.

On the homepage for the campaign he is quoted as saying:

In medicine, especially, we can do great harm,even if we intend to do good:  our ideas only improve through critical appraisal, and any law that stifles this is a danger to patients and the public.

It’s an interesting field of law that as a media professional I intend to follow very closely from now on.

It was really interesting to see the drive by the Welsh Assembly to recognise the contribution of the nurses and carers who work with vulnerable people. Especially after this week’s report by the Royal College of Nursing Wales which showed a high level of dissatisfaction among general nurses across the country who feel lack of funding and understaffing is directly linked to quality of patient care and patient mortality rates on wards.

I spoke to two of the nurses from a team at Cardiff and Vale Health Board just after they won the award for best contribution to in-patient care at their dementia unit.

They were delighted to be recognised and surprised.

You can listen below:

At the moment there is a call for health authorities and charities to make parents in Wales more aware of the early symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.  You may have seen the ITV Wales opt out last night.

Early symptoms of Type 1 diabetes can often be confused with other illnesses or dismissed as temporary ailments.  They include excessive drinking, peeing, weight loss and constipation.

More than 1400 children in Wales have Type 1 diabetes.  Disturbingly 10% (121) of these children were only correctly diagnosed are arriving at hospital in a critical condition.  25 more children have Type 2 diabetes.  (For the difference between the types you can go here).

I spoke to the Director of Diabetes UK Cymru, Dai Williams, today about misdiagnosis in children.  Mr Williams’ son was 13 when, six years ago, a GP put his weight loss and constipation down to poor diet.

I was given ludicrous instructions to give him more fibre because he [the GP] thought I wasn’t feeding him properly.

I also spoke to a Pediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse (PDSN) who works for the Cardiff and Vale NHS Board who is concerned with late diagnosis of diabetes and children coming into hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis as a result.

We can’t stop children being diagnosed but we would like them to be well at diagnosis rather than critically ill.

PDSN Cardiff and Vale NHS

I wanted to see how children who have been diagnosed live with the condition.  I went to a primary school in Roath to talk to a teacher who has one pupil with Type 1 diabetes.  She was trained by a PDSN and the parents of the child to look for symptoms incase the child’s blood sugar drops.

The teacher told me she felt confident after being fully briefed but if there were to be another pupil with diabetes she or another teacher would have to be trained to support the different needs of that specific child. 

The individualised approach to supporting diabetic pupils is emphasised in the 2007 Welsh Assembly consensus guidelines on diabetes.

Once I started to read into how basic things like holidays or parties are potential minefields for parents with diabetic children I saw how debilitating diabetes can be for children. 

Hopefully the campaigns at the moment will increase awareness and parents will know to consider diabetes as a cause of any common symptoms of illness.

The Millenium Centre lit up red to mark the start of British Heart Foundation month

For our radio production day today I worked on stories exploring  Salt Awareness Week and British National Heart Foundation Month.

I spent last night down at the Millenium Centre watching the red lights that will be lit all month for British Heart Foundation month. 

This morning I spoke to the press officer trying to work a story around salt affecting heart disease so I could combine both stories.

11,000 people die a year in Wales from heart and circulatory diseases.  The press officer told me it’s the biggest killer and while smoking is the top cause, salt comes a close second.

The most disturbing fact I learnt today, after talking to a nutritionist, is that most of the culprits that contribute towards a high-salt diet are staples – things like bread and breakfast cereals.

It’s true that every week is an awareness week of some sort, especially in the field of health and wellbeing but cervical cancer claims so many lives and yet is preventable.  Has the Jade Goody effect worn off?

A nurse here in Cardiff told me that following Jade’s death, the increase in women coming to the surgery where she works meant test results were taking a long time to come back but now the backlog has calmed down and the expected time is the usual 6 weeks after having a smear test.

In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland women are invited for smear tests from the age of 20 while in England the age is 25.  There was a campaign to reduce the age in England following Jade’s death but it remains unchanged.

Jack Bauer lives in the basement of the Bute building

I survived the role of TV producer today.  Phew.  3 bulletins went out – 11am (3 mins), 1pm (5 mins) and 5pm (8 mins). They all went out on time and ran to schedule which I was super pleased about.

Some great writing, treatments and packages.  We covered the careers fair, estyn report, child poverty statistics, the  Britain’s Got Talent auditions, ONS figures on recession, sport and weather.

As well as producing I was the vision mixer for the first two bulletins.

I was really pleased with day but any advice would be REHEARSE REHEARSE REHEARSE, our final bulletin had super content and had I cracked the whip to get in 2 or 3 run throughs, it would have been spectacular and the whistles and bangs of graphics and a live two way would have been super slick.

Oh and don’t do what I did and think you can get away with shooting all three weathers in one go in the morning because the afternoon has different lighting to the morning and your tutor will catch you out.

The chocolate fountain more than made up for missing Charl and Gavin

“Ooh they’ve even got gateaux” said my aunt Dellah as we sat down at the table in the Golden Well Chinese restaurant in Bridgend after having a look around the buffet .  The buffet, according to Aunty Dellah, my cousin Darren and his boyfriend Fred is new.  So we go up for that…..several times……

I was sad not to have spotted Charlotte Church but I am not surprised this is one of her favourite haunts.  The best prawn toast I have ever eaten.  Fact.

Driving back to Ogmore-by-Sea in the dark we pass stone cottages lining the country lanes.  The sound of the sea as we reach my cousin Andrew’s house is soothing.   High up on the hill, overlooking the dark expanse where the sea is, its nice to be out of Cardiff, getting some coastal air.

We take our post dinner tea and coffee in the living room over Dale Winton presenting a gameshow on the National Lottery or Lotto.

In the corner of the room is a large birdcage with Peaches, a 7 year old canary.  I forgive Peaches his dishevelled mohawk-like feathers and erratic behaviour.  He was only expected to live to 3.  The old timer skips and jumps around beneath the clock on the wall.

At my feet are three unruly poodlelike mutts jumping up and down and clawing at my tights.  “Bichon frise” says Dellah when I ask what kind of dog George is. 

“Bichon frise…..french circus dogs”

“Is that what they told you…”  I say as Dale tells the man from Labroke Grove that he won’t be going home with a cheque.

Peaches the canary was a brilliant hue of red in his youth

Progressive radio station Air America has filed for bankruptcy.

Another sad indictment of the climate for old school media.

Sadder still that Radio has always appeared to me to be the medium that would survive new media sorcery. 

As long as people drive to work,  radio will be needed.  There is something about engaging in a live broadcast that can’t be replecated by an ipod.  As I said a few posts ago radio is also a vital emergency service in times of disaster.

But the closure of AA is not unique.

A couple of years ago Channel 4 invested a lot of money in setting about the launch of several digital stations – E4 radio was one.  Unfortunately it never got off the ground and C4′s license for digital radio stations may have expired by the time it does figure out how to make radio a viable option.

Like other traditional broadcasters, Air America  worked hard to reinvent itself, hiring digital experts to devise online strategies and connect with listeners.  It got itself a Facebook acount, a Twitter feed, blogs and a team of web developers to create a slick new website. 

In November 2009, Air America’s Director of Digital Strategy, Jennifer Nedeau, blogged about what what Air America were trying to do to take the radio into the new media world;

Extend the two-way conversation beyond calls into the radio show or e-mails to the show hosts. Each show host should have their own Twitter account and Facebook Page, which can help recruit listeners to participate with the show and distribute blog posts afterward.

When possible, radio guests should be invited on-air if they also come with an online presence. When booking experts, find out if they are on Twitter, Facebook or have an e-mail list, and ask if they will share a clip from the show with their social networks after.

Listen to what is going on in the social Web and react in a timely way. If a popular topic is being discussed, make sure your content reflects that and connect with the opinion leaders online and on-air.

Leverage the larger company brand on social networks to direct links, drive traffic, coordinate customer service and act as a mouthpiece for the different brands underneath it.

Sell engagement, not just impressions. When pitching new radio affiliates, make sure to include Twitter followers and Facebook fans. These platforms extend the reach of the microphone and help drive listeners.

Measure your brand constantly. While it can take months for radio ratings to come through, you can tell what is working and what isn’t online immediately. Track the good, the bad and the ugly reactions to your brand and make sure to tweak the online strategy when appropriate.

So why wasn’t this enough?  Today the AA website states:

…….audience fragmentation as a result of new media technologies, are often saddled with crushing debt, and have generally found it difficult to obtain operating or investment capital from traditional sources of funding. In this climate, our painstaking search for new investors has come close several times right up into this week, but ultimately fell short of success.

With radio industry ad revenues down for 10 consecutive quarters, and reportedly off 21% in 2009, signs of improvement have consisted of hoping things will be less bad. And though Internet/new media revenues are projected to grow, our expanding online efforts face the same monetization and profitability challenges in the short term confronting the Web operations of most media companies.

What price salvation now?  I take back what I said I few posts ago.  Hold that PR job…..