Category: Other

For a guy who grew up being obsessed with A Flock Of Seagulls, it’s with mixed emotions I have taken yet another bird band under my wings. But Manchester’s Doves are becoming one of my absolute favourite bands and my expectations on their third album “Some Cities” were extremely high, maybe too high. The new album is slower, more laid back than the previous two and lacks the kind of majestic grinding tunes like their debut EP Cedar Room or distinct pop songs like Your Shadow (Lost Sides), Caught By The River from The Last Broadcast or Catch the sun from Lost Souls. But it’s a strong album nonetheless which definitely grows on you. The first single to come off the album, Black & White Town, is Doves at their best and several other songs like Sky Starts Falling are certainly up to scratch with their best work. Some compare the album with Oasis, which I think is way off the mark. Had Oasis managed to put out an album of this quality they might still be slightly interesting. “Some Cities” jumped right into the number one spot on the UK album chart this week and rightfully so, I strongly recommend it. My grade: 4/5.

Mediekritik.nu, a media watch site where readers can send in comments on articles, debate and hold journalists responsible for what they write, will for some time be operated on a minimal level and the discussion forums will be closed. The site has been up and running for three years and published 600 critical articles, but the individuals behind the site need time to evaluate and propose changes to the site. Due to these changes, Stig-Björn Ljunggren who is an expert in political science, proposes that Sweden needs a special place on the web for rebuttals, where citizens can publish an opposing view of events covered in traditional media. Personally, I feel that many blogs today serve as media watch dogs and the need for a centralized place for rebuttals is very limited. The network effect of the blogosphere probably has greater influence as a media watch dog than any single rebuttal site can have.

Microsoft has started distributing press releases via RSS. I’m sooo way ahead of you 😉

Can journalists become too powerful? Yes of course. We often say that along with our peers, media is the most important source for citizens to shape an opinion of the state of our society. But media concentration, conglomeration, consolidation and corporatism puts the power of media into a declining number of hands. So when DSM for the 30th time announces Sweden’s 100 most influential opinion leaders, there is reason to reflect why the list looks like it does.

DSM (Debatt Sanningssökande Mediakritik) surveys every year what individuals are most influential in the debate in Sweden. The questionnaire is sent to 300 journalists, which ones is not disclosed. They are to select 12 individuals they think most shape opinion in Sweden. Not surprisingly, they vote for other journalists. On this year’s top 100 list, 17 of the top 30 are journalists (in bold below). Then the list is being sent to media where other journalists write about how influential they are (more than 40 articles today about the list). See a pattern?

Media then present this without disclosing that journalists are the only source. PJ Anders Linder of Svenska Dagbladet for example writes on his blog “[The list] is established by opinion leaders who vote for each other…” Not exactly true is it? The text would have a whole different ring to it if it stated that “journalists vote for each other”, right? On another place in Svenska Dagbladet the list is presented as being voted by “300 people who’s profession is to follow the debate in society”. TT falls in the same trap. How absurd. It is called journalists, and I think your readers deserve to know.

Why is this a problem? Well, if anything, it serves to uphold the view of media as the key influencer in society and that itself is a problem. Politicians can be voted out of office, but with few alternatives on a highly concentrated media market, it is harder to “get rid of” media influencers that we disagree with or for one or the other reason would like to see stripped off their power. This list should be considered a journalist lobbying campaign, nothing else. And second, who voted is not disclosed. Was it 150 journalists with a certain agenda? Was it more journalists from established media that responded, and then voted on themselves? We don’t know.

1. PERSON, Göran
2. REINFELDT, Fredrik
3. JOSEFSSON, Janne
4. BERGSTRAND, Mats
5. GUILLOU, Jan
6. MELLIN, Lena
7. OLOFSSON, Maud
8. WOLODARSKI, Peter
9. LUNDGREN, Nils
10. SCHYMAN, Gudrun
11. EKDAL, Niklas
12. GREIDER, Göran
13. ADAKTUSSON, Lars
14. CARL XVI GUSTAF
15. NUDER, Pär
16. BERGSTRÖM, KG
17. ISAKSSON, Anders
18. OHLSSON, Per T
19. BODSTRÖM, Thomas
20. WALLSTRÖM, Margot
21. LEIJONBORG, Lars
22. BLIX, Hans
23. KLEIN, Helle
24. LINDER, Anders PJ
25. GRÖNING, Lotta
26. HEDVALL, Barbro
27. NORBERG, Johan
28. WETTERSTRAND, Maria
29. ABRAHAMSSON, Maria
30. MARKLUND, Liza

Tidningen Ångermanland don’t buy the propaganda. Well done. SVT notes that journalists are the source. And journalist Dan Josefsson wrote about this in ETC already in 1998.

Footnote: 3 of the top 30 are also bloggers, see links.

Update: #29 is also a journalist, I missed that one. Thanks Johan.
Update 2: It was Dan Josefsson, not Janne, who wrote the article in ETC. Thanks Bengt.

Today I went out of my way to get hold of a copy of Doves’ third album Some Cities, that was released in Sweden today. And I tell you, it was in the kind of weather you’d be close to insane to go out voluntarily in. Anyhow, after listening to the CD on my stereo I threw it into the PC to listen while I was doing some writing. About a third of the back of the sleeve is covered with warning texts about CD copy protection, so I was unsure if I would be able to play it on my PC. The first thing that happens is that this warning note is shown. Now, it’s not that I don’t trust record labels, but I’m just not up to installing a number of undefined files on my computer, not in these days of DRM paranoia. So I clicked “Cancel”.

The fine part? The record played beautifully anyway. A review of the album will be posted tomorrow, hopefully.