Tag Archives: media

Making news in the “fake news” age

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Samira Ahmed

These are links to further reading from today’s Kingston University journalism/media lecture. Newswatch – on the Theresa May speech/cough – to see the connection between audience, traditional BBC news and the impact of “viral” social media on traditional news. The … Continue reading →

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The Prisoner: An Anglo Saxon poetic meditation

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Samira Ahmed

Was meditating on the enduring power of The Prisoner TV series for Matthew Sweet who wrote a rather excellent piece about its 50th anniversary. If you’ve read it you know I  came up with a thesis that it has more … Continue reading →

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Oh Boy! Why certain Radio 1 DJs are missing believed wiped

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Samira Ahmed

If you sat down to watch a night of lost pop music TV shows from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, what would you expect to find?  Fun, nostalgia, eye popping colour and experimentation, some great music. What I didn’t expect … Continue reading →

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The making of The Stars of Sergeant Pepper

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Samira Ahmed

What are Mae West and Diana Dors doing on the cover of Sergeant Pepper’ Lonely Hearts Club band? If you feel you’ve heard too much already about the 50th anniversary of  the record, then fear not. Producer Luke Doran (who … Continue reading →

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How to win the coming culture war in 2017

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Samira Ahmed

A version of this article first appeared in The Big Issue magazine in January 2017. Journalism worth paying for. Available weekly from street vendors or subscriptions here. History rarely falls into neat numerical decades. I would assert the 1980s (yuppies, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Film, Media, Music, Politics, Radio, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How should broadcast news journalists interview and talk about extremists?

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

Over the weekend I spoke to veteran ex BBC journalist Robin Lustig, Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness for an insight into Germany’s media and Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney’s 2012 senior strategist for 2 articles I wrote for The Guardian and The … Continue reading →

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Ladybird books: Constructing the future past of modern Britain

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

I used to visit a beloved university English professor  and his wife. He had won the Military Cross for hand to hand combat in the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945 but never talked about the terrible things he’d seen. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Culture, Design, Environment, Germany, History, Media, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

We’ll get the President we deserve: Suzan Lori Parks on Hillary Clinton & America’s woman problem

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

“You’ve consumed too much of the Kool-Aid that the man has been serving you.” Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Susan Lori Parks came into the Front Row studio last week to talk about When Father Came Home From The Wars opening at … Continue reading →

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Why Nerve is the selfie generation’s Desperately Seeking Susan

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

Discussing Nerve and immersive gaming in film with Naomi Alderman on BBC Front Row on Radio 4 on August 11th and iplayer after.  The Green Dress. I knew I’d seen it somewhere before in New York the moment it appeared … Continue reading →

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When Cathy met Ken: Revisiting Cathy Come Home in Brexit Britain

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

The other night I watched Ken Loach meet Cathy – or rather the young actress Elle Payne, playing Cathy in a Cardboard Citizens’ staging of his 1966 landmark TV play Cathy Come Home. The production featured many actors with experience of homelessness. … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History, journalism, Media, Politics, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments