The 'i' Newspaper review

I have been buying the 'i'paper from The Independent most days sice it's release.

 

I was an increasingly occasional reader of all papers but mostly a reader of none. This is because I get annoyed with biased opinions not in columns but in the articles themselves. Of course the Independent is supposed to be just that. But of course it is not unbiased. Granted its not overly influenced by it's proprietor (Alexander Lebedev) like other papers are. But the paper does have a feel of a left wing biased. I find The Independent isn't quite as bad as the other papers when it comes to the stories themselves. They also often do a little for and against outline which seems fair.

 

So why mention the Independent when reviewing the 'i' newspaper. Well the 'i' takes highlighted articles and opinions from the Indy and includes them in its 56 pages.

 

 

The layout

 

Upon opening the paper your see the News Matrix. You can get an instant glance at the headlines and the articles within the 'i'. Your also see the letter from the editor (Simon Kelner), which can be about anything although it is usually a defence or explanation of the 'i'paper (early days).

 

The Matrix is a fair amount of fun. Today (16th November) for example there is the celebrity fight club which gives a hand bag rating and also allows someone like myself (who knows nothing about celebrity) to at least cover my back in conversations at work. Today there is a list of the biggest ever bonuses and every day there are some nice touches just like this. As a fact man my really like Number of the day, which list facts and figures. For example today the numbers of the day are 2:1 ratio which new sellers of homes outstrip mortgage approvals, £40m the amount spent on lawyers by the MOD, 472,000 number of people employed by Tesco in its stores around the world, 16 the passages in George W Bush's memoir that have been alleged to be plagiarised.

 

The paper is split into News, Views, TV, IQ, Business and Sport and a page of games.The coloured contents table of page numbers is listed on the top of every page for ease. Most sections have their own matrix.

 

The news itself has a world section (Panorama) with short details on the world events, articles from the Indy and Caught *& social which is two pages of Caleb pictures and gossip. Everything in the paper is short and concise, you won't find any articles over two pages.

 

The views section has the Opinion Matrix, a from the blogosphere highlight and @i which is a letters page sent in by email, text,Twitter and Facebook. The views sections is contained within the News section and has a couple of Independent comment articles. The matrix here has short comment on the world news with a their view and our view for some of the topics (normally two).

 

TV section (centre pages) has a personal TV selector which simply highlights the evenings TV with comment on each split by program type. The bottom part has a listing of the main terrestrial channels plus Sky and another chosen channel. limited space has meant that satellite and radio programming is missing although there are highlights for both.

 

iQ is the other bits and pieces you normally expect to find in a paper such as health, fashion, music reviews and the arts. There are other little added extras such as ispy (Celebs again) and ibuy which is a small review of products an where to buy.

 

Business section again has a matrix and outlook forward by David Prosser, from the business pages which looks at world papers, buy sell for recommended share dealing, the diary and a small collection of city highlights including gobal indexes, sterling to Euro,Dollar gold price etc. There are no listings of share prices.

 

Sport has a handy sports matrix a few good Indy articles, results and fixtures but doesn't have a list of horse races like most papers only a 'Turf' section that covers horse racing but lacks detail.

 

Games section is on one page with Sudoku simple, intermediate, advanced, maths puzzle, crossword and throughout the whole paper I only found one conic strip.

 

 

Any good?

 

I think this paper is fulfilling the gap in the market it has identified. That gap is me and others like me. I don't have that much time to read a paper. I read online news on my Iphone, Watch 24 hour news but don't buy a paper and I'm active online mainly through the phone. What puts me of papers is the price (The 'i' is 20pence), The size and the heavy handed opinions. I don't feel the 'i' is forcing opinions down my throat or going for outrage. It's also nice to not be embarrassed by reading an article while having a pair of fine boobs glaring out from my paper.

 

The paper of course lacks detail, lacks games and lacks celebrity gossip, this is not a bad thing for everyone. So if you want that detail your going to have to upgrade to a more expensive paper. The 'i' makes up for it as I have the time to see the headlines and know some detail across a good range of stories. the paper is an easier read, rather than flicking through lots of paper. The selection of articles are interesting, well thought out and put together and not long SA's.

 

This papers knows you don't have time in this modern world so the matrix's throughout covers most of the detail. 'I just want to know what's going on' you cry and your find out quickly. This paper is designed with the online world in mind while not being online itself (apart from the Independent website).

 

This paper is not for everyone. If you want opinions that reinforce your view or you need to know more about Xfactor and need to see a pair of boobs or indeed want a paper that will use up your whole morning then this is not for you. If you get 'The Metro' because you like it rather then grabbing it because it's free and the only thing on offer then this is not for you.

 

If you want a quick read that is cheap and of decent quality I would recommend the 'i' paper. There aren't any morning paper alternative out there anyway and certainly not for 20p.

 

News efficiency 5/5 , Boobs 0/5

Independent PPC Robin Smith for Wokingham Q&A‏

I recently meet Robin Smith who is one of the Independent Candidates for Wokingham. He applied to stand in the Conservative Bracknell open primary. I asked him some questions and here are his answers.

1. You are a Conservative councillor. Are you now an independant councillor?

I am. You can find my rationale here http://tinyurl.com/robinsmithelection


2. Are you standing against John Redwood specifically or are you standing for other reasons?

Both reasons. Mr Redwood is calling for more of the same that has got the world to where it is today. But then again so are all 3 parties. THAT is why I'm saying it is a wasted vote voting for them. And a useful vote voting for me. See the link above for more in detail.

3. John Redwood has stated on his leaflets that you cant have a Conservative Government without a Conservative in Wokingham. Does this stop Conservative leaning voters from voting for you?

Why not ? He is treating his core voters as idiots by saying this. And they are indeed dumb if they buy this lie which a child could see was untrue. But I expect they will, so yes in answer I will lose votes on the basis that people have chosen not to think. I would ask Conservative voters why they are so partisan when their children will never be able to afford a home if they elect him. For me, I'm not about power. I want to see a Free State. We will not get it if we continue to vote for the main 3.


4. Did you consider or did you apply to the Conservative Party Open Primary selection in Bracknell?

I did indeed. But first I had to get approved by party HQ. It was the best job application I had ever made, I called in a lot of friends to help me and spent a lot of time on it. And the Conservative Party HQ treated me with utter disrespect in response. Just as they did with Mark Ashwell. This is one of the more minor reasons I decided on the independent pathway. I did want to go for Bracknell.


5. Given that John Redwood holds a number of directorships do you think MP's should hold these positions and would you?

This question came up in the hustings too. My response was, how can any human being work 80 hours a week in parliament, hold down two jobs and still have time to think. It is not possible, while still functioning as a servant of the people. And evidently this can be seen to be true, with his failures and also for all MP's. Government has failed consistently. They are all "Too busy to think". No I would not do that. I would only hold only to my Systemic Fiscal Reform Group think tank activities which help form my manifesto.


6. What would be your mainpoliciesto halt any future expenses or allowances abuses ?

Elect leaders of integrity, not managers who are experts at helping the voter reconcile deeper prejudices. This is something in our power to do. We just need to cross the right box.



7. What other 3 main policies would you like to see introduced on behalf of the constituents?

Would you mind following this link http://tinyurl.com/robinsmithelection
* Abolish taxation
* Reform Banking and the issuance of money
* Cut financial services NOT health, social services and education


8. How can you make a difference in Parliament as an independent and a difference in Wokingham?

call to restore planning decisions to those who create the value in the local community, the people ,
call to restore trading decisions to the independent traders and entrepreneurs ,
This is an activity I am currently frequently engaged in anyway . 


9. Do you have a big idea?

Yes. This is a soap box topic for me. I call it the Free State, where both the people trading freely and the government protecting that natural right can finally work in harmony. See here for full detail.


10.During your campaign so far have you had any interesting incidents or events?


Yes. When I resigned from the party I was expecting to get a hammering. But I received more grace from the members than I have ever done since joining. That gave me great hope. Something lies deeper in all of us that is naturally good. Also that people tend, though not naturally, to seek what is in it for themselves when you talk to them, prior to what is in it for the whole. This is central to he failure of politics here in the UK. It is a result of deliberately scaring people with false ideas about wealth and security. Look in the paper, you can see it everywhere. I tend not to read papers now and would suggest others ignore them too.


11.How are you funding your campaign as a Independent?

During the dotcom bubble I made a million. At the time I thought that was because I was a smart fella. Look at me! Somewhere along the path to today I discovered that it was stolen money. I had not earned it all by any means. I have some of that surplus remaining. For the past 5 years I have spent it on 2 things. Bringing a message of economic justice to the people. And riding bikes competitively.



12.What is your strap line to persuade the people of Wokingham to vote for you?

I'll leave you with what I say when people ask why I am doing this. It applies to all people, rich or poor, black or white, happy or unhappy. There is great hope if we only choose to pause... and examine the simple facts carefully.


The people are being fleeced, plain and simple. By persistently unjust social institutions and failed government. The main Three are proposing more of the same if we elect ANY of them. Voting for them once again is therefore a wasted vote. By standing I want to send this simple message as clearly as possible to the electorate. I propose real reform to change this. My hope is that a big shock to the mainstream will wake them up and they will adopt this systemic change. My task will then be done. We have a vote May 6th. We have the clear choice to sweep them away. Don't waste that chance.

My thanks to Robin Smith for being kind enough to answer my questions. Mark Ashwells Q&A can be read here