Sam Hinton-Smith
Sam was responsible for Demos’ media relations activity from 2004 to 2006.
"news"
Sam Hinton-Smith has 21 items tagged with this theme. Find more on this theme : » show items from across the site
- What the media think the media are doing to our politics Last week's Demos event on the Media and Democracy is continuing to generate debate. There's an opinion piece by Bill Hagerty in today's Independent, reacting to Demos Associate John Lloyd's proposal to establish a media institute. Lloyd's thesis builds on the ideas he developed in his book What the media are doing to our politics. from : samhintonsmith 24th January 2005
- Bentley on Bush DC columnist Ronald Brownstein argues that Bush will only succeed in promoting democracy across the globe if the US adopts a less unilateralist approach to international affairs - and one in which the cause of spreading democratic values isn't seen as a uniquely American responsibility. Bentley concurs, saying, "The credibility of a [pro-democracy] movement can only be based on support from broader communities than Bush represents."Brownstein also points to the success of the European Union's... from : samhintonsmith 25th January 2005
- Is social engineering back in fashion? Government policy on housing is founded on the principle of promoting socially engineered communities, according to an article in Housing Today quoting Paul Skidmore (registration required).The article points to measures such as those mooted in the Policy and Innovation Unit's 2002 report on Social Capital (360k PDF), and the 'Home Zones' initiative - changing the use of residential streets by measures such as traffic calming and encouraging children to play in streets by making them safer.The... from : samhintonsmith 26th January 2005
- Back to the future - liberation technology? Today's Daily Telegraph carries an article on Wingham Rowan's concept of national e-markets, an idea he first mooted in Liberation Technology, one of Demos' first publications, and later developed in Guaranteed Electronic Markets.Ten years on, and despite the success of the likes of eBay, it strikes me that the Internet has tended to reinforce the existing corporate-dominated structure of markets, rather than encouraging the kind of locally-based, community-controlled trading spaces advocated... from : samhintonsmith 27th January 2005
- Existentialism and brainiac specs: a day in the life of Demos The long-awaited 'day in a life' piece on Demos is in today's Independent. It follows Indy journalist Ed Caesar's recent visit to our pad in London Bridge. For those who've ever wondered what and who Demos is, it should serve as useful snapshot of life here. And despite the best efforts of our fast-talking Head of Development to bamboozle the poor chap, Ed seems to have found the experience interesting and genuinely eye-opening.The blog gets a well-deserved mention on the eve of its second... from : samhintonsmith 2nd February 2005
- Howard's Way Tom Bentley gives his views on the highly effective campaigning strategy adopted by Michael Howard in recent weeks in today's Telegraph. By using the style and tone of single-issue campaigners, the Tories are for the first time since 1997 (and arguably 1993) able to present themselves as being more 'in touch' with popular opinion than Labour.Later this week, Demos will publish Manufacturing Dissent: Single-issue protest, the public and the press, written by journalist Kirsty Milne. It examines... from : samhintonsmith 14th March 2005
- Manufacturing dissent? Yelland argued that newspapers aren't 'manufacturing' dissent, they're merely tapping into a vein of public opinion. All well and good but, unlike politicians, it's not clear who newspapers are accountable to. And, more to the point, who should step in when newspapers overstep the mark. from : samhintonsmith 17th March 2005
- Westminster sourcery The prospect of open source policymaking is explored in yesterday's Guardian, in an article on the Demos/Young Foundation report Wide Open. Recent attempts to create a more transparent and responsive policymaking process like the use of pre-legislative scrutiny are a step in the right direction, as myself and others argued in a Hansard Society collection last year.But the open source model offers real potential to enable those far removed from the Westminster scene to help to shape policy, not... from : samhintonsmith 22nd April 2005
- More source? Here's more on Geoff Mulgan and Tom Steinberg's pamphlet on the future potential of open source, Wide Open. Geoff wrote a comment piece in yesterday's FT, and there's been some further pick up on the widening horizons of open source elsewhere. from : samhintonsmith 2nd June 2005
- Sir Bob's 'flash moment' Madeline Bunting, in today's Guardian, points to the success of Bob Geldof, Bono and their Live 8 cohorts in creating a 'media spectacle' - which has more in common with marketing, advertising and PR techniques than traditional campaigning. She cites Kirsty Milne's analysis of the Countryside Alliance and others in Manufacturing Dissent, published by Demos earlier this year.Sir Bob's flash moment has certainly given the impression of a lot of support for the Make Poverty History campaign. And... from : samhintonsmith 20th June 2005