Gareth Harding

Gareth Harding

Ha ha journalism

Tags: , , , , News No comments
featured image

John Oliver and the rise of investigative comedy

It speaks volumes about the current state of journalism in the United States that it takes a 38-year old British comedian to draw attention to topics much of the mainstream media has chosen to ignore, using investigative reporting methods many of these organisations have long abandoned.

Take Donald Trump. A lot has been written and aired about the bombastic billionaire Republican presidential candidate. But when John Oliver – the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight – turned his fire on Trump Sunday, he touched a nerve that even other presidential contenders had failed to. After trashing Trump’s business record and denouncing the property magnate turned reality TV star as a “serial liar,” Oliver launched a campaign for the Donald to be referred to by his ancestral German name ‘Drumpf.’ By March 2, the #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain campaign was trending on Twitter and the episode had been viewed by more than 50 million people on YouTube.

This is the kind of crowd-pleasing trouble-making that has helped make Oliver one of the hottest tickets on American TV. Since April 2014, the British stand-up has used his satirical show to deal with some of the thorniest issues on the planet. Among the topics tackled: Net neutrality, the rise of Islamic State, Europe’s refugee crisis and corruption at the governing body of world football FIFA. Along the way he has interviewed luminaries and heavyweights such as whistleblower Edward Snowden and scientist Stephen Hawking. Read More

Clear Europe is Hiring

News No comments
featured image

Clear Europe is looking for a communication officer to join its small but growing team in Brussels.

We are searching for someone who is media-savvy, super-techy, passionate about communication and enthusiastic about working for an exciting start-up.You would be expected to produce presentations, update the website and social media, promote training sessions, market the company, write and edit copy for clients and attend events and conferences in Brussels. Plus the usual office stuff nobody likes but everybody has to do – invoicing, creating spreadsheets, doing accounts etc.

We are looking for someone with the following skills:

  • Native or near native English.
  • Other languages – particularly French.
  • Strong technical skills – especially social media & Wordpress. Ability to code a big plus, as are graphic design skills.
  • Communication/marketing experience.
  • Business nous and willingness to talk numbers.
  • Photography/camera skills.
  • Interested in politics & knowledge of EU.
  • Excellent writer – in English. Tender-writing experience a plus.
  • Ability to work independently.

This is a full-time position starting as soon as possible. Competitive salary based on experience.

Please send a CV and cover letter explaining why you want to work for Clear Europe and what you would add to the company to: Gareth Harding, Managing Director:  gareth@cleareurope.eu.

There’s more information about Clear Europe here: http://cleareurope.eu/

 

 

 

Ten Commandments for Conference Organisers

Tags: , , News No comments
featured image

Opinion piece by Clear Europe Managing Director Gareth Harding on why most conferences are so boring and ten ways to make them less torturous.

I hate conferences. Always have. Always will. Maybe it’s because of my fidgety metabolism and intolerance of bullshit-peddling. Or maybe it’s because, champagne and canapés apart, conferences are usually a colossal waste of time and money.

Either way, I highly doubt one of my death-bed regrets will be “I wish I had spent more time away from my loved ones listening to long-winded PowerPoint presentations in stuffy conference rooms.”
Read More

Explaining the EU: United in Complexity

News No comments
featured image

EUobserver article by Clear Europe Managing Director Gareth Harding explaining how needlessly complicated the EU is.

With over 20 years experience describing how the European Union works, what it does and what challenges it faces in speeches, articles, lectures and trainings, I thought I could explain what the EU is all about in terms that anybody could understand. How wrong I was.

In the last month I have given half a dozen ‘EU in an hour’ talks to visiting groups of American politics, journalism and international relations students – who are all extremely keen, bright and willing to ask questions. But almost invariably, the students leave the classroom flabbergasted at how needlessly complicated the EU is and suspecting that I have made up some of the Byzantine decision-making procedures just to mess with them.

Read More

10 Things You Need To Know About The EU Press Corps

News
featured image
Thanks to the 50-60 people who came to the launch of ‘Mapping European Foreign Correspondence‘ at the Brussels Press Club today. The book, which is edited by Professor George Terzis and published by Routledge, is the first Europe-wide study of foreign correspondents and their reporting. Many who attended the launch asked if I could send data from the chapter about the Brussels press corps, which I co-authored with Prof. Terzis. Rather than post my presentation, I have picked out 10 essential facts you need to know about the journalists who report on the EU. Unless otherwise specified, the data is from the ‘Directory of Journalists Accredited to the European Institutions’ issued by the European Commission in May 2012. If there are are any errors, don’t hesitate to tell us. Read More

Five Social Media Trends you Need to be Ready for in 2015

News No comments
According to research done by Duke University  in 2014, companies spend around 9% of their advertising budget on Facebook and Twitter ads, and that spending will increase to more than 13% in 2015.

social media spending trend
It’s obvious that companies understand that some of their budget needs to be spent on social media, but about half of the marketers interviewed stated they have a hard time justifying that investment because it doesn’t show much value. Read More

Get Training in 2015!

Tags: , , News No comments
featured image
Along with drinking less, eating healthier and going to the gym more, why not make learning a new skill one of your New Year’s resolutions? 

Whether you’re interested in learning how to shoot and edit video, master media interviews, speak confidently in public or use social media professionally we have a smorgasbord of courses designed to teach you the practical skills you need to communicate better. Read More

How to Shoot and Edit Video – Next Course 15-16/12

News No comments
featured image
Need video content for your site but don’t have shooting or editing skills and can’t afford costly production companies?

Our next open course on December 15 and 16 aims to teach you the basics of video storytelling and how to film and edit professionally.

The two-day course features practical tips from experienced TV journalist and trainer Herve Verloes on how to get the best shots, compose sequences, edit your stories and upload them to the web. Click here for more information. Read More

Next Course: Working with Journalists 18/11

Tags: , News No comments
featured image
Are you terrified of journalists and perplexed by the rapid changes taking place in the media? If so, you are not alone. Reporters can be pretty intimidating and the media landscape is in constant flux.

So how can you feel more at ease with journalists and more at home in the brave new digital media world?

The aim of our next open course on November 18 is to help you understand what makes journalists tick and how to work with them to get more and better coverage. By the end of the day we want you to feel more comfortable dealing with reporters and more confident writing press releases, pitching stories and doing interviews. Read More