Why cinema is doomed: The picture house has weathered the storm of piracy, but the real cliff edge is still to come October 5, 2017 In April of last year, AMC, on the verge of buying out Odeon and becoming the largest cinema chain in the world, announced it was considering allowing people to use their phones during screenings. Its CEO, Adam Aron, justified this by saying, “When you tell a 22- year-old to turn off their phone, they hear [...]
The London underground: How the underground music zines of the 1960s helped to define the counterculture | City A.M. October 4, 2017 Although I grew up in London with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Joan Bakewell, the day I discovered the underground press, to use the vernacular of the day, “blew my mind”. Since 1975, I’ve collected printed materials associated with the British underground press, an anarchic phenomenon that provides a fascinating alternative history of the [...]
No-el delivery: Christmas shutdown on the cards as union votes in favour of Royal Mail strikes October 3, 2017 A key hurdle preventing a Christmas shutdown of Britain’s postal service was today removed as Royal Mail’s main union backed industrial action. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents 110,000 postal staff, today voted in favour of strike action with 89.1 per cent approval for the motion. Some 73.7 per cent of the membership voted [...]
Germany, ‘Jamaica’, France & the UK – a European update October 2, 2017 The German elections could be a game changer. It is still too early to tell what impact they will have on future German and European policy, but the immediate reception they are receiving in Germany suggests it could yet prove profound. Germany But, first things first. After an unconvincing campaign, Merkel was re-elected Chancellor for [...]
Swedish design creatives in Malmo and the surrounding Skane region are challenging Stockholm for the crown October 2, 2017 For ancient history buffs, it’s Rome or Stonehenge; for foodies, it’s Le Marais or Tuscany; for design nerds, home is Sweden. There’s something about its laidback charm, its rustic, uncluttered décor that’s universally appealing. But there’s a feeling that its capital, Stockholm, has lost a little of its moxie. Sky-high property prices and an ultra [...]
The changing face of careers: How to plan for an un-retirement September 27, 2017 Trish Wheaton, former global managing partner of one of the world’s largest communications groups, is grateful that she could work for 30 years in advertising — an industry notorious for employing youthful ‘mad men’. While she wasn’t surprised when told that her time was up at age 65, she also wasn’t ready for a [...]
It’s all fun and games, until Labour crashes the economy September 27, 2017 Labour is “war-gaming” crashing the economy. That’s not the exaggerated spin of the hysterical mainstream media – it’s the words of shadow chancellor John McDonnell himself. McDonnell told Momentum activists at a Labour conference fringe event on Monday night that “people want to know we’re ready” for the chaos that could hit if the party [...]
Trivago buys German artificial intelligence startup Tripl to add machine learning to its platform September 26, 2017 Holiday search firm Trivago announced today it has acquired the assets of Tripl, a machine learning travel start-up from Hamburg. The acquisition, which took place for an unspecified amount, is set to add personalization technology to Trivago’s platform. Read more: Trivago’s ad campaign is hitting home, but has it altered brand perception? The technology gives [...]
Report finds Labour responsible for three-fifths of online anti-Semitism, as tensions surface ahead of conference vote September 26, 2017 Labour has been accused of having the worst record on anti-Semitism of any political party in the UK, ahead of a vote to determine whether members should be expelled for holding such views. The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) has this morning published an independent analysis of four million social media posts which contained anti-Semitic content. [...]
A weakened Merkel leaves EU integration on the back-burner September 26, 2017 Europe’s politically supercharged year has ended with a jolt of excitement as Germans went to the polls on Sunday. Dubbed a “sleep campaign” and all different shades of “boring” by the German media, it was widely expected that markets would react with a big fat “gahn” (German for yawn). However, what we got was a [...]