Will.I.Am to remix ‘My Generation’ for Haiti

Black Eyed Peas and Solo artist Will.I.Am has said he’s been commissioned by Pete Townsend himself to remix Tho Who’s 1965 track My Generation with new lyrics to fit ‘his generation’ and will also feature former Guns ‘N’ Roses guitarist Slash. Read more

Slumdog success gets mixed reaction in India

Slumdog Millionaire took eight Oscars at Sunday’s ceremony but its roaring success has provoked mixed feelings in the Indian media.

Its use of the word “slumdog”, in particular, has provoked fury in some Indians who claim it portrays a negative stereotype of their homes. Simon Beaufoy, the film’s screenwriter, said: “I just made up the word. I liked the idea. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.” Read more

Hard times for US journalism

Just as is happening here in the UK, the burgeoning importance of the internet as a news medium, and the continuing recession, is beginning to have serious repercussions for the American print media.

Recent months have seen the publisher of the esteemed Chicago Tribune filing for bankruptcy, resulting in the resignation of its editor, and the credit rater Fitch claiming that the American press is in such a bad financial state that some US cities could be without a single daily newspaper as soon as 2010.

The Wall Street Journal, the New York-based financial bible, has shed 25 journalistic jobs after parent company News International announced a 42% drop in operating income for the last quarter of 2008.

Sunderland journalist Ray Nichols, whose son Adam works for the Murdoch-owned New York Post, said: “The American industry reflects a similar climate to what we have in Britain. There is a new momentum now with the crisis.”

But he held out some hope for those who want to work in the US one day. “The American industry is tough to get into, but if you have any kind of track record in Britain then it goes a long way in America,” he said. “New York has a fair proportion of UK print journalists because they are trained in shorthand.”