Economics teaching failing students and society, says Prof

University economics departments around the world are failing their students by ignoring the real-world effects of their discipline, among them rolling financial crises and environmental destruction, according to Professor Clive Spash. “It’s basically a failure, we’re training economists who don’t understand the real economy,” said Spash, Chair of Public Policy and Governance at WU Vienna […]

Making case for Quakers to reach for their phone cameras

I’ve been working with UK Quaker organisations over the last couple of years, first as a journalist writing article series for the weekly magazine The Friend and latterly in various initiatives aimed at encouraging Quakers to speak their work to the world as citizen journalists. I like spending time with Quakers – those I’ve encountered so far […]

Media bias against Scottish independence laid bare

Yet another example of why Twitter is a hugely useful source of information. @DrDavidPatrick turns up as a follower of my @PatrickChalmers account – so I take a look at his profile. Up pops his excellent short film cataloguing and analysing the media coverage – sorry bias – of a year’s worth of newspaper coverage […]

Fraudcast News reading and Q+A, London, Aug 1

Friday August 1, 2014 St Mary’s Community Centre, Upper Street, Islington N1 2TX. 6.30pm to 9.00pm When Patrick Chalmers hit on becoming a foreign news correspondent, he dreamed of somehow helping advance the cause of social justice around the world. When he eventually landed that dream job, he soon realised it had little to do […]

Popular savvy about finance – more than just money

  Geoffrey Ingham, a Life Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge has weighed into openDemocracy’s Just Money debate with a worthwhile article called: “Whose money is it?” He talks about how money is created and the way that relates to power. The piece is part of a wider series run by OurKingdom to mark the publication […]

Comment faire face au fascisme?

Yannis Youlountas parle de son film “Ne vivons plus comme des esclaves” – un documentaire qui fait le tour des actions, des journaux alternatifs, des radios rebelles et lieux d’occupation et d’autogestion qui se multiplient dans une Grèce en crise. Pourquoi une mise en ligne gratuite? Youlountas souhaite que l’accès gratuit au film participera à […]

News to make the rich richer

I wrote this comment in response to the following article by the World Association of Newspapers and Newspaper Publishers. Thomson Reuters can hire all the new journalists it wants but won’t change anything fundamental about its daily news file. Sorry about that. The agency deserves its reputation as providing a service that helps rich people […]