Morning Bulletin: Gawker & MailOnline down weapons, Assange reckoning & Sky News integrity undermined
This morning’s bulletin runs with a typically varied assortment of happenings from an apparent truce between media foes Gawker and MailOnline to a day of reckoning at last for Julian Assange and questions being asked of Sky News integrity.
Campaign warns that boys’ body image could be taking a knock from advertising after quoting new research published by the Advertising Association. It found that parents, teachers and boys themselves were oblivious to the subliminal effect that such images could have amidst calls for advertisers to employ more diverse actors.
Business Insider reports on an interesting push at the University of California, which has begun suggesting students say ‘y’all’ instead of ‘you guys’ to avoid offending transgender and female campus goers one of a number of offending terms posted on its ‘Words that Hurt’ website.
Over at Ad Week comes news of a high altitude publicity stunt pulled off by Thinkmodo, which cobbled together a ridiculous golf cart jet pack – in which golfer Bubba Watson takes to the skies between rounds in the Oakley sunglasses branded aircraft.
AdExchanger reports growing frustration at Rovio Entertainment at the volume of ad fraud perpetrated against it by criminals mindful of its huge user base. This has seen it lose out on bogus purchases and fake clicks.
The saga of US swimmer Michael Phelps and his partially obscured Beats headphones concludes on the pages of Business Insider, which reveals that the medal regular has been forced to cover all the logos on his headphones after conspicuously omitting one on an earlier contest.
Retail Week picks up the pace with a look at the brightening fortunes of European e-commerce platform Zalando, which has seen sales growth of 25 per cent over the second quarter prompting it to upgrade its profit expectations for the year.
Reuters reports that Steinhoff has upped its offer for budget retailer Poundland, bidding £610.4m for the business or 227 pence per share, a 5 pence premium on the share price offered previously.
Reuters also notes that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, still firmly ensconced within the Ecuadorian embassy in London, can finally be quizzed by Swedish prosecutors after an attorney representing the South American state agreed to permit interrogators inside to quiz the suspect.
Sky News has been forced onto the defensive after questions were raised as to the veracity of its report on gun running, according to the guardian, which quotes Romanian officials as saying that a segment purporting to show presenter Stuart Ramsay at an arms deal was fabricated.
A possible downing of swords is on the cards between Gawker and the Daily Mail after the embattled media group agreed to reach a settlement after accusing the British paper of ‘ripping off the web’.