editorial principles

editorial principles

As the editorial team of Swerve.com (in the simulation exercise), we identified the following editorial principles:

a) Public interest and the Public’s right to know:

We believe in these two core principles. However, we would avoid broadcasting defamatory content. We would strive to oreserve human dignity and avoid showing footage which would infringe on viewers’ sensibility. Defining human dignity and what acceptable footage is would have to be done on a

We comply to the jourmalist’s code of ethics (MEEA).

b) truth and accuracy

We will attribute our sources, respect copyright as well as other licence policies in place (ie Creative Commons). In the case of confidential sources, this confidentiality has to be justified (political refugee for example). The person’s identity will be disclosed only with the editor for a final (discreet) information check.

All sources must be reliable. Wikipedia is considered a “blog”, not a reference source.

Myspace and Facebook-related information will be used sparingly, respecting the dignity and privacy of members. No pictures shall be published directly from members’ profiles.

c) Ethical values

People’s personal details will not be published in any of the content. We will strive to avoid publishing defamatory content, and respect privacy.

d) Editorial independence

We believe in fair comment, and providing a platform for free expression. We encourage (healthy) debates.

Disclaimer: we do however reserve ourselves the right to remove comments which do not comply with our ethical values.

e) User engagement

Out of respect for our readers, we will strive not to drown our content in a sea of adverts, and not review “sponsored packages” on our site. Sponsored ads will appear on relevant pages: for example, car ads on the car reviewing page of swerve.

synopsis review:

Here is the original synopsis.

Aussie music has a history of conquering the charts: AC/DC, Kylie, John Butler Trio. Now a new wave of indie bands is taking the world by storm (Operator Please, The Presets, Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, to name but a few).

Support: the feature will try and uncover the mechanism behind this success. How do Austrade, the Australian Music Association, and the Australia Council contribute? What kind of financial or technical backing and marketing expertisedo bands get (if any)?

The Media: What roles do local and foreign radio stations play in promoting bands? Are record stores part of the process? What role does the Internet play? Who sets up street teams abroad? How does print media come into the equation?

Road trip: The touring experience. Meeting new fans, playing in different venues: what makes playing abroad special for an Aussie band?

After discussion, it would seem there is  not much interest in this topic (ie “the mechanism behind indie Australian bands’ success abroad”) and that finding sources may prove quite challenging.

It was suggested that I try and narrow it down to the reason behind the success, by contacting sources abroad for example.

I will therefore narrow down the feature to a more “human” and colourful vision of the question (as opposed to an investigative aspect).

This should make it more accessible to a wider readership as well.

converse, still on the ball…

…the shoe manufacturer’s tradition of bouncing back.

Converse is said to produce the world’s best selling shoe, the “All Star” or “Chuck Taylor”. Towards the end of the sixties, after decades of being a monochromatic shoe, it diversified its offer and reached a new public: footgear could now match school team colours for example.

The American brand has a history in conquering new markets, both voluntarily and involuntarily. In 1941, the company joined the war effort by producing military apparel. It became the staple accessory for a number of subcultures: the greaser and rockabilly in the 1950s, punk rockers in the late 1970s. The shoes were adopted by the grunge movement in the early nineties.

However, the heat was on when the competition -namely Nike, Adidas and Reebok- started turning out new, cutting edge designs. This ultimately led to the loss of its traditional monopoly as producer of the official National Basketball Association shoe: the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

Over the years, the shoe had been narrowly linked to a variety of musical trends, however, failure in its original identity is what led to the company’s downfall.

It seems quite surprising, in the light of these events, that the brand has lived to see its hundredth birthday.

Following the bankruptcy, Converse changed hands, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of long-standing rival shoe manufacturer Nike. All its production was relocated, from US-based plants to Asia, sparking much controversy.

Since the nineties, Nike had been the target of fiery criticism and protest as the poor working conditions and low wages in these sweatshops were exposed. The company strived to clean up its act by complying with regular inspections of its factories for example.

Yet Converse’s link to Nike remains relatively un-publicised. On Nike’s website, a brief paragraph presents the old school brand, however, on Converse’s, no mention of its affiliation with the product heavyweight is to be found, not even in its timeline.

Some see, in the case of “America’s Original Sports Company”, an example of brand dis-synergy.

Once they’ve merged, often big brands use their notoriety to boost smaller brands in the portfolio, they work on creating what marketeers refer to as synergies. In this case however, the parent brand Nike is kept quite seperate, possibly in a bid to not tarnish Converse’s popular image.

The punk revival and emo culture rekindled the craze for the legendary shoes at the turn of the century. They even conquered a new fringe of the population when advertised as vegetarian or vegan shoes. Certain enlightened consumers felt torn between the desire for “fashionable” footware and the thought they might be, unwillingly, supporting sweatshop labour. Very similarly designed “vegan-no sweat” are now widely available. Treading the fine line between ethics and counterfeiting perhaps?

fashion with sole 2

Marquis M.Converse came up with the idea of rubberised footwear in response to harsh winters and to counter slips and spills. From the start, in 1908, it was intended as unisex and trans-generational gear.

When talking about Converse shoes, most people are referring to the All Star. The canvas and rubber shoe was created in 1917 to try and capture the basketball market. It seems to have succeeded to that effect by becoming the first shoe to be endorsed by an athlete, basketball player Chuck Taylor. The brand then went on to sponsor the first Afro-American basketball team.

I doubt, however, that the thousands of Sydneysiders spotted sporting the shoe are diehard NBA fans, despite cable television’s success. So why are people still wearing them today?

My question was met with rolling eyes and a polite smile as if the answer were ludicrously obvious. “They’re a comfy teenage shoe”, said a young shoe saleswoman, whose store doesn’t actually carry the brand.

Is that all there is to it? The brand is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary this year. Platypus shoes in Paddington and Hype on Pitt Street are taking part in the commercial celebration with life-size cut-outs of sports, fashion and pop-culture icons gracing their window displays…

Fashion with sole?

Having celebrated local and foreign designers and their cutting edge trends, Australian Fashion Week is coming to a close. Not having been personally invited, I will probably have to keep my eyes peeled for new items in window displays for the next few months.

All designer trends do not make it past the catwalk onto the street, however. It seems the only way haute couture or fashion designers have of making it into the common man’s wardrobe is by catering to big chain retailers like Target.

In past years, it seems that mainstream fashion has been a string of revivals, more or less revisited. To such an extent that the hip umbrella phrase “vintage” has become a household word to designate ripe old gear or seemingly ancient pieces. Pieces which have probably been inspiring designers anyway…

And then there are some trends people just can’t get enough of. Take the omnipresent Converse shoe. It’s not a revival. It never really went away.

This casual observation soon became mind boggling as I started counting them on my way up Broadway and along George Street.

There they were, flocking around the UTS entrance, rushing to and fro Central Station, darting off towards Paddy’s or stampeding towards the CBD.

An even more dizzying experience proved trying to photographically capture the canvas and rubber-soled shoe. Being sport footwear, proud owners have the unpleasant tendency to scamper off. Perhaps I should have chosen the less practical high-heeled ankle boot…

nosemonkey’s eutopia part 2

“Nosemonkey is the meaningless pseudonym of J Clive Matthews - a writer, editor and online content consultant whose work (mostly on film, travel, history and politics).”

This year the London-based blogger has been one of the five men shortlisted, among Europe Editors of the BBC and the Economist for the inaugural UACES (University Association of Contemporary European Studies) -Reuters Reporting Europe Award. The winner will be announced at the end of this month!

His previous blog, hosted on Blogger, was named Europhobia, which apparently caused some confusion as to what his stance on the EU was. He himself tends to admit his undecidedness on the issue.

Having delved through a number of the posts, what is interesting is that JC Matthews doesn’t really have the pretence of breaking the news, yet he isn’t simply commenting it either. He seems to strike a balance between the two, raising an issue and often debating the pros and cons. One gets the impression that his posts are based on first-hand knowledge and a tendency to be a bit of a news junkie.

Tis not to say that Matthews’ blog is boringly neutral either. He does state uncompromisingly unilateral opinions and constantly brings humour into the equation. In certain particularly brief posts he will poke fun at a politician.

He has a sneaky way of placing his links, inserting them into what appears like a random expression which will actually lead the unsuspecting reader to an official report, a blog or another of his posts (on Nosemonkey or elsewhere).

The comments the blog receives tend to reflect the even-handedness (but not always). The post in itself is not a be-all end-all and the debate often continues.

He sometimes includes other people’s posts in his blog and has compiled a lengthy directory of blogs he finds relevant. Two days ago he posted a list of links to various articles. What I guess is refreshing is that he does seem to go that extra mile in bringing up to date news and analysis of the far from “glossy” aspects of European policy.

His most recent posts include a rant on WordPress 2.5 and Firefox, former Czech president Vaclav Havel’s potential assets for EU presidency, and a quick note to the Olympic protestors.

nosemonkey’s eutopia part 1

Finding a political blog which does not focus on the US Primaries and upcoming elections is virtually impossible on Technorati, which is why I ended up doing a simple Google Blog Search with the keywords “European politics”. This took me to the intriguingly named Nosemonkey’s EUtopia. With its blue and gold background (a subtle reminder of the European flag), the page seemed at first quite classic.

Exploring the blog’s form…

I soon realised that hyperlinks as well as scrolling menus were embedded everywhere in the sophisticated layout. If you are interested in a non-partisan view on European politics (as the blog is subtitled), you feel like a kid in a candy store.

There are multiple headings and rss feed buttons waiting to be clicked on. The headings can be divided into roughly two categories: background information on the blog, and editorial content.

The former contains a link to the Home page, a presentation of the blog, and finally an extensive list of testimonials, including award nominations, compliments, and references made to the blog in the media.

The latter contains separate categories for Britain, Europe, and the Rest of the World, as well as a Best of and Featured sections. Media and various miscellaneous pieces fit into a category dubbed Zzzzzzz….

The blogs are of various lengths, some quite long, all riddled with hyperlinks, some composed solely of links and brief summaries of the points of interest of the linked pages. On the right are the archives of both posts and reader comments.

To say the blog is entirely void of images may be an exaggeration. They are, nonetheless, quite rare, usually icon-format, closely cropped pictures of newspaper pages, flags and politicians, which act like graphic tags rather than serve as illustrations to the pieces.

The reader can, at times, feel a bit overwhelmed by the quantity of text. It is probably the quality and relevance of the text and it’s global content which have won the blog such broad recognition.