Leveson Inquiry

After news broke in 2011 that some employees at News of the World had been hacking phones, including that of murdered school girl Milly Dowler, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a public inquiry would be set up once the police investigation had finished. On the 13^th July 2011, Lord Justice Leveson was named chairman of the inquiry, looking at the culture, practices and ethics of the British press as well as allegations of phone hacking and police bribery by the News of the World. After initial discussions, briefings and seminars in September and October 2011, the hearings were opened on the 14^th November and concluded on the 24^th July 2012.

In November 2005, complaints from royal court officials about voicemail messages being intercepted by News of the world sparked the first inquiry into phone hacking. This came after the paper published a story about Prince William suffering a knee injury and led to the arrest of Clive Goodman, the then Royal Affairs editor, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in 2006, who were sentenced, in 2007, to 4 and 6 months respectively.

In February 2010, a report from the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee said it was "inconceivable" that managers at the News of the World did not know about the practice of phone hacking, then, in September that year, the New York Times published an article claiming Mr. Coulson knew his staff were carrying out illegal phone hacking and raised questions about the depth Scotland Yard’s investigation into the case. He was interviewed as a witness by police investigating phone tapping in November but was not cautioned or arrested.

At the beginning of 2011, police opened a fresh investigation into phone hacking after accusations from several celebrities and politicians from which they identified more potential victims of hacking whilst reviewing files relating to the original 2006 case. News of the World admitted, in April, it had a role in phone hacking after two of its journalists and a former editor, Ian Edmondson, were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voice messages. In June, it was confirmed that the police investigation would also look at allegations of computer hacking by News of the World. July witnessed the revelation that several crime victims’ phones had been hacked, most notably that of Milly Dowler who was murdered in 2002 – the deletion of her messages misled her family and police to believe she was still alive. It also saw the announcement by David Cameron of two inquiries, one to be led by Lord Justice Leveson into news ethics and another into phone hacking and unlawful conduct which will commence after the police investigation concludes.

After the opening remarks for the inquiry on the 28^th July 2011 and several briefings and seminars throughout September and October, hearings began on the 14^th November with the first witnesses being called on the 21^st. Lord Justice Leveson and his panel of six assessors, each a media expert, heard from a variety celebrities, crime victims, politicians, journalists, newspaper executives and the police over the course of the 8 months of interviews which examined the presses relation with the public, the police and with politicians. Arguably the most compelling interview was with the parents of Milly Dowler recalling their relief and hope when they thought she had accessed and deleted some of her voicemail messages. Other interesting discoveries from these interviews included the revelation that a former official who investigated potential breaches of privacy by newspapers for the Information Commissioner being told to back off because the press was 'too big' to take on and the frequency of text messaging between Rebecca Brookes and David Cameron and his confusion over the acronym “L.O.L.”

Leveson concluded the inquiry on the 24^th July stating he would have his report, including his recommendations for press regulation, finished “as soon as I reasonably can”. During the inquiry, several journalists have been arrested, and many subsequently charged, in relation to phone or e-mail hacking in conjunction with police inquiries. Once these have concluded, the second inquiry into the extent of illegal or improper practices at News International can commence.

Despite the Leveson inquiry having only just concluded, the effects are already being seen within the press. A media commentator, Professor Roy Greenslade, has suggested that ‘kiss and tell’ stories have almost entirely vanished since the inquiry began which shows that the style and type of story within papers have already started to change. As well as this, Lord Hunt, the Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), has announced that he plans to replace the PCC with a new regulatory body which could impact on the way journalists work.

Despite Lord Hunt’s announcement, it has yet to be decided how the PCC will be changed. It has been criticised for being funded and regulated by the corporations it is supposed to control. However, many of the suggestions for an alternative system include the use of government legislation which could hinder the press’s freedom to report on political and legal failings or scandals. This could mean that news such as the politicians’ expenses and the cash for influence scandals are less likely to be investigated as political figures would have greater control over the types of stories in the press. The system being backed by papers, however, would continue self-regulation but involve new powers to investigate wrongdoing and fine papers up to £1 million. It would not help those who fall victim to the improper conduct from the press as the fine is likely to only apply to “systematic errors” meaning victims who deserve compensation would still have to take their own action against newspapers which, according to Max Mosley whilst giving evidence, only the richest one per cent of the population can afford. What is unlikely to happen is the imposition of a new Ofcom-style regulator for the press, which would force papers to provide balance in all of their stories forcing them to be impartial and therefore ending their ability to back political parties and potentially hindering them in starting campaigns for justice or legislation, as Lord Justice Leveson has revealed he would be “surprised” if this route was taken and Prime minister David Cameron said whilst giving evidence that he felt that newspaper campaigns can be “extraordinarily important and powerful.” Any new regulations are, however, likely to ensure that blogs and web casts are policed more thoroughly so that online content meets the same standards and follows the same laws as newspapers and are held accountable when this is not the case.

The Cabin in the… Wait, what? – “The Cabin in the Woods” Review

***Contains Spoilers***

Generally speaking, I am not the greatest fan of horror films. This is largely because I don’t find them scary and I dislike their lack of subtlety and plausibility. However, the advertising campaign behind “The Cabin in the Woods” lead me to believe that someone out there had finally created a clever and original take on the horror film, exploring how films of the genre could be made by murdering real people and passing it off as fiction (stripping away the one glimmer of hope that helps you sleep afterwards) in a way that uses metaphors the issues with things such as the industrialisation of modern filmmaking and mass, popular culture.

 I could not have been further from the truth.

It seems that horror films are really made to satisfy men with a lust for gore and sex and lack the mental capacity to concentrate on a plot more complicated than “a monster kills of loads of stereotypical characters who try and sleep with each other and some might survive,” though they probably don’t know the meaning of the word “stereotype” (or possibly even “characters”) which is probably why my dream of metaphors and satire went right out the window along with subtlety and originality within the first twenty or so minutes. In fact, the thing that was meant to make the film stand out made it awful. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t believable and, now I really think about it, it wasn’t actually that gory. I mean yes, there’s a lot of blood but then you’d also see lots of that at a hospital or if you go to one of those “give blood” drives. Admittedly, it wouldn’t necessarily be smeared all over the walls but the setting ‘room littered with bodies and filled with red sticky-ness’ is totally over used and has lost its impact on the modern audience.

The film’s defining characteristic of “it’s actually real” has turned out to be its biggest let down. Instead of adding to the fear or giving the film some kind of deep meaning it actually detracts from the horror. Each time they cut back to the ‘studio’ you are, more or less, told what’s going to happen next and given plenty of time to get over the last the scare, if you found one. It more closely resembles a spoof than an actual film, which would be fine but that’s not how it was marketed. The conspiracy aspect of the film would be scarier and more believable if their reasoning behind it was actually possible…

Now, it is physically impossible for me to try and explain this without giving it away, so if you don’t want the film spoiled then leave this post now with the knowledge that I thought the film, over all, was incredibly disappointing though possibly just because I’d had considerably higher expectations for it.

Right, as you’re still reading this I assume you don’t mind me totally ruining the ending of the film. One of the characters that was previously thought to have been murdered to death (technical term) suddenly returns and having convinced her that his conspiracy theory was correct, helps the only surviving character to get into the studio by hacking into the controls of the monster elevator. Already sound unconvincing? It gets worse…

The reason characters in horror films always fit a stereotype and why they need to be killed is to satisfy ancient Gods that have been trapped in the Earth. Yes, you did indeed read that right – sacrifices to Ancient Gods. If you hadn’t picked up on that vibe from what was said throughout the film (and if you’re a typical horror film fan, you probably won’t have), Sigourney Weaver (yes, actual Sigourney Weaver) appears right at the end to explain it all just before she’s eaten by a zombie… and then the world explodes. Yeah, again you read correctly. The earth is destroyed at the end because, y’know, that DEFINITELY adds to the realism.

So, over all, I found this film to be horrifically disappointing; it’s unrealistic, unsurprising and underwhelming, but at least it gave me something to write about.

Have you seen this film? Got an opinion? Add a comment!

Media Assessment

Convergence in ‘The Independent’ – A News Media Case Study

In 1986 the Newspaper ‘The Independent’ was established. Whilst this paper is still fairly popular to consumers, the company has had to adapt to changes in the news media environment which has led to the convergence of this text. It has developed a website, an app for phones, Facebook and iPods and has its own profile on Facebook and Twitter.

Originally, news stories that would appear in papers could have happened a few days ago so its audience were a little behind in terms of information however, with developments in technology, particularly the internet, news and information can be accessed instantly. However, the time it takes to create, print and distribute newspapers mean that the articles contained within them are always several hours behind current information and events. To compete with media that can provide more instant news, papers such as ‘The Independent’ have begun using new media to allow their audiences to receive stories quicker as well as to access a greater audience.

One of the most recent developments in new media is the micro-blogging site ‘Twitter’ which allows “for the online and instant dissemination of short fragments of data from a variety of official and unofficial sources,” which is to say that the site lets its users create short stories, often headlines with links to detailed articles on other websites, which can be shared instantly with its followers via the internet. This system turns its users into prosumers as they can both read and produce their own texts as well as share other people’s texts with others. This creates an interactivity that is not seen in old media; users can reply directly to the producers of content and allows people to share their views and the views of others in a way that can be made as selective as is desired. Twitter is also useful as a way of finding news stories for papers as it enables all its users to “obtain immediate access to information held by all or at least most, and in which each person can instantly add to that knowledge” so that people can share events as they happen with users and add details as they find them which is useful both to papers and to users as they can find out information quicker.

The Independent’s twitter feed is divided into different sections in much the same way as the newspaper itself is, for example separating media, politics and world news into different parts of the paper as well as different twitter profiles. This allows its audience to receive information only about the parts of the news they find of interest and lets people with a specific interest to find their Twitter profile who may not have normally been part of the audience for the paper. The use of Twitter in this way is often seen from either a technological determinist or liberal perspective. Technological determinists would suggest that we use this service as we have adapted to want more immediate news because the technology has evolved to support this whilst those using a liberal perception would suggest that as we have needed more instant information, the technology developed to fill this gap. However, you could look at this from a free market model and suggest that when these technologies developed, the owners of such sites and the industries that use them have marketed them to consumers as useful in an attempt to generate greater profits.

The most obvious example of convergence is probably seen in the use of website links in the Independent’s Twitter and Facebook feeds; within their posts on these two sites, they often include the wed address to the article on their website. This allows people who have an interest in the story they are promoting to find out extra details but also serves the purpose of driving more people to the site which means that they can create a bigger profit from their advertising on the site. This suggests that the use of micro-blogging sites is to quickly update its audience whilst the website is for detail as well as serving as the way in which the paper generates money for providing these services. The news site also allows people to comment on the story but in a “generally filtered or moderated form of participatory communication” compared to Facebook and Twitter as the website is controlled by the company itself so they are able to remove any content that they feel is inappropriate with greater ease.

The other feature The Independents uses on Facebook is their app. This allows Facebook users to show their friends what articles they have been reading, show app users what articles are popular both with their friends and the world and suggests articles that might be of interest. The app links Facebook users directly to the article on the website, again driving up views and profitability, and allows users’ friends to see that they have read these articles and provides them with a link to these articles. This is beneficial not only to The Independent, as it allows them to access a greater audience, but also to consumers as they are able to keep up with trends of information, giving them the gratification of information as well as integration and social interaction both through the use of commenting on texts and through being able to discuss articles with friends and share this information and their opinions with others.

Apps are also available on other platforms, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and mp4 devices such as iPods. Often to access these there is a subscription fee and it is through this that The Independent make their profit. However, the development of this can be seen through other perspectives rather than just free market. As the audience for newspapers are largely commuters, it can be seen that these professionals desired an easier, more compact and less time consuming way of accessing articles which lead to the development of these apps. It can also be seen from the technological determinist perspective that we now access the news in this way as this is how the technology has developed and we have adapted accordingly to make use of it.

The Independent have also recently begun a sister paper ‘The I’ which reflects the modern use of technology to access news in its format; it uses a lot of the same information and pictures as The Independent but changes the order and the level of detail to suit both its target audience and the values it portrays. Articles are grouped into pages according to their relevance to one another, much like how online articles contain links to others that are likely to be of interest or are relevant to what is being read, rather than necessarily by their importance as is traditional in newspapers.

To see this, you can compare the way in which the same story appears in both papers and on their website. Looking at the story about Vince Cable’s feeling over the BskyB saga, ‘The Independent’ uses less images and a longer headline compared to ‘The I’. The story is also more detailed and, unlike ‘The I,’ does not have a related story directly next or underneath it. The website uses a more similar headline to ‘The Independent’ but the style and depth of the story more closely resembles that of ‘The I.’ It also has links down the side of the article to popular and related stories, which again is more like ‘The I’ than ‘The Independent.’

It also interesting to compare The Independent’s use of new media and convergence to that of ‘The Times’. The way in which these two newspapers have decided to use technology is similar but they are using different models to create their profits – whilst access to most of The Independent’s online content and apps is free, ‘The Times’ charges a subscription fee to access both their website and apps. This means that they may create a greater profit from their audience but they have limited the size of the audience they can reach compared to The Independent.

The Independent has made use of new media both to create greater revenue and reach a wider audience. The development of new technologies has meant that their articles can be accessed anywhere and by almost anyone and instantly, which has led to changes in the design of their paper, the creation of ‘This I’ and the greater use and importance of their website, social networking feeds and applications for mobile devices.

Bibliography

Bardoel, J & Deuze, M. (2001). Network Journalism: Converging Competences of Media Professionals and Professionalism. Australian Journalism Review. 23 (2), 91-103.

Deuze, M. (2003). The Web and Its Journalisms: Considering the Consequences of Different Types of Newsmedia Online. New Media Society. 5 (2), 203-230.

Hermida, A. (2010). Twittering The News. Journalism Practice. 4 (3), 297-308.

Oblak, T. (2005). The Lack of Interactivity and Hypertextuality in Online Media. Gazette: The International Journal for Communication Studies. 67 (1), 87-106

Pavlik, J. (1999). New Media and News: Implications for the Future of Journalism. New Media & Society. 1 (1), 54-59.

Sunstein, C (2006). Infotopia: How many Minds Produce Knowledge. Oxford University Press. 219.

HCJ catch up

Well, I had intended over the past 4 weeks to do one HCJ post a week to catch up on the ones that I have so far failed to blog about, but that clearly didn’t work, so I’m smushing (technical term) it all into this one. Enjoy.

German Idealism

German idealism derives from an antithesis and dislike of British Empiricism and was influenced by the Romantic Movement.  It is based on the idea that metaphysics as a possible/worthwhile activity.

Kant, “the anti-Hume” according to my notes, tried to prove that all knowledge comes from experience but not through generalising observations through pure logic. He says that our knowledge is also based on ideas that are, in a way, instinctive and not logical.

	A Priori	A Posteriori
Analytic	Triangles have three sides Bicycles have 2 wheels	???
Synthetic	7+5=12	Dogs bark Fire burns

Hegel believed that the only thing that does not change is that things change. He came up with the idea that all things have a “geist” or ghost form so that though things change/decay, it is still that thing. For example, though you grow older and change, your still you therefore you must have a geist.

Schopenhauer suggested that suffering is essential to life and is caused by will which makes people pursue things that leave them feeling unfulfilled and unhappy. He thinks that a good man goes against will and nature.

Scepticism

The 4 Great sceptics:

1.       Marx – class ideology, economics
2.       Nietzsche – morality, culture
3.       Weber – power, legitimacy
4.       Freud – sexuality, irrationality

                            all believe there is no absolute or definite truth and that all experience is seen from a certain perspective. They all also think that the clouding of the enlightenment lead to cultural pessimism.

Weber & Bureaucracy

As there was no revolution as Marx had desired/predicted, there was a rise in the German state and social democracy (i.e. very bureaucratic, efficient and rigid in structure) which was then copied in England, France, America, etc. This type of state lead to the creation of the middle class and more jobs. However, it also leads to greater separation between employer and employee.

Bureaucratic plans are rationalised to the public who obey due to their authority (domination and legitimacy)

1.       Traditional (family, ritual, etc. – honour & dignity)
2.       Charisma (‘magical’ powers, religion, personality, costume & ceremony)
3.       Legal-rational/bureaucratic (qualification, routine, professionalism)

4 fundamental types of social action:
1.       Instrumental-rational action – rational/useful
2.       Value-rational action – good practice
3.       Effectual-emotional  affirmation/disaffirmation – emotional
4.       Traditional orientation – society

Nietzsche

Nietzsche separates reality from what is perceived using Greek Gods Apollo and Dionysus. Apollo, a god of light, dreams, knowledge and reason, represents idealism whilst Dionysus, god of wine, madness and ecstasy, is the chaos in reality however, neither can exist without the other. Greek tragedy relied on the conflict between Apollonian and Dionysian perception to create the struggle and misfortune needed for the genre.

From the reading it is clear that, at the time of writing his book ‘Birth of Tragedy’ at least, “Nietzsche believed all people suffer, but that the Greeks (and therefore the Germans, who he considered to be the most superior race since the Greeks themselves) suffered the most.” It is interesting to consider that these two ages are amongst the most fruitful and influential in terms of philosophy however, would his opinion of this be different if he were from a different country.

Additional thoughts on Anti-Semitism

In seminar, we discussed in what way others might have thought the Jews would alter their society. To me, I couldn’t see why they were threatened – after research and discussions with a friend of mine, I came to realise that, whilst Judaism differs in some aspects such as diet, there were few differences that could dramatically change their culture as the religion suggests that only those born into the religion need to practice it. Unless you are born to a Jewish mother, you are not truly Jewish therefore there is no sense in others of the time, or even now, being worried about being converted or having their culture altered. After a long chat over facebook with my friend, we concluded that the only real and justified (in a warped sense of the word) reason for this prejudice is ignorance, which is true even in today’s society and of many other religions or cultures.

We also discussed an aspect I left out of my paper which is the way in which different people reacted to conquerors at the time. From my understanding of the reading, most civilians were happy to accept their new ruler as long as they were not made inferior (e.g. enslaved) whilst Jewish people were more concerned about protecting their practices rather than their freedom – as long as they were able to follow the rules they were given by God, they did not mind (to an extent) being made to work.  This could have lead to people resenting them as they did not stand together to protect their freedom.

Let Them Read Cake

As I haven’t blogged in ages, I thought I’d write a quickie on cake seeing as baking has become one of my methods of procrastination (along with cleaning and slaying virtual dragons) to get back into the swing of it all.

Now, I realise a lot of you may just buy your cake in a box – either ready-made or in just-add-most-of-the-ingredient-you-would-have-used-anyway form – but I can assure you now that making it from scratch is both incredibly satisfying to know you baked something so delicious and a billion times better tasting than any other way of getting cake into your mouth.

The magic rule with cakes is that you use equal amounts of butter, caster sugar and flour* and, if weighed in ounces, half as many eggs. So, if you use 6oz of all the other ingredients, you’d need 3 eggs (which makes about the right amount of mixture to make around a dozen fairy cakes).

* To make chocolate cake, substitute about 1/6 of the flour for cocoa powder

Method:

·         Pre-heat oven to 180°C

·         Beat flour and sugar until creamy

·         Sieve in 1-2 table spoons of sugar and add 1 egg and stir in thoroughly

·         Repeat until out of eggs

·         Sieve in remaining flour and stir well

·         Pour mixture into greased  tin or cake cases

·         Bake until knife comes out clean when cake is stabbed (or, alternatively, until the cake springs back when lightly prodded.

Compared to other cake mixes (both supermarket-own and well-known brands), homemade cake tastes better – it’s lighter and fluffier and, if cooked properly, never tastes oily or powder-y.

Anyway, have fun cooking whilst I eat cake and try and motivate myself into writing a serious blog – until next time!

Anti-Semitism and the Dreyfus Affair

Whilst some consider anti-Semitism to be a more recent problem, this form of prejudice actually has a long history which is described by Bernard Lazare in his book “Antisemitism: Its History and Causes”.

Lazare was born “Lazare Marcus Manassé Bernard” in June 1865 but later swapped his first and last names. He was the eldest of four children and part of the bourgeoisie; his family founded one of the first successful French textile mills. His family was Jewish but were not very religious. He was a literary critic and political journalist as well as on of the first to defend Dreyfus during the Dreyfus affair. He died in September 1903, aged 38, leaving authorisation to republish “Anti-semitism: Its History and Causes” with a preface stating "my opinions have changed on many points".

According to the first chapter of “Antisemitism: Its History and Causes”, Jews met hostility where ever they settled and deliberates the possibility that, in fact, they were “the cause of their own ills” considering that they inhabited a diverse range of places and were met with the same prejudices despite each country having its own distinct ideas, laws and values.

Lazare continues to say that, though many consider this to be solely due to religious wars, this was not the case and that it was in fact because Jews were unsociable due to their political and religious exclusivity. This essentially means that people disliked Jewish people because they were not part of their culture and, perhaps were jealous of this. It certainly could also suggest that they were not well understood by others and therefore people disliked them out of ignorance. This perception could be implemented to a variety of other, more modern, religions or groups such as the current trends of Islamophobia, homophobia and even gang culture.

He then discusses how Christianity came to be popular as it used Jewish networks and resources, such as synagogues, whilst trying to separate itself from Judaism, resulting in many Jews being converted. He continues to say “Without the existence of Jewish colonies Christianity would have encountered much greater obstacles; it would have had greater difficulties in establishing itself.” However, tensions began to form between the two religions which resulted in both separating themselves from one another. This is particularly noticeable in Christianity as before, Christianity drew upon many of Judaism’s ancient laws however, under the influence of St. Paul, the Church decided to “rid itself of Jewish particularism, to break the narrow chains of the ancient law, so as to be able to spread the new one.” However, this resulted in resentment and Holy wars which only served to enforce anti-Semitic ideas within Christian society.

In chapter 11, Lazare begins by stating that, at the time, “There are about eight million Jews scattered over the face of the earth, nearly seven-eighths of which inhabit Europe”. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics there were 13,421,000 Jews worldwide in 2009, most of which lived in Israel or America.

He continues by dividing Jewish people into different ethnicities and suggests “that the race is not an ethnologic unity, i.e., that no people is a descendant of common parents, and that no nation has been formed from the aggregation of cells of this kind” which is to say that as they do not seem to have a common ancestor and therefore are only a race in the sense that they share the same values. However, he suggests that they still as a nation as they are still united by their religion and that nations exist as long as there are common beliefs and interests.

Having said that during the Middle Ages, Jews were led, by “internal and external causes, proceeding from economic and psychological laws …to become almost exclusively traders,” Lazare says that nations at the time found it easy (and desirable) to shut off the Jews from the rest of the country, isolating them further. Countries all over Europe came up with the same or very similar legislation that allowed them to keep Jews imprisoned in “Jewries” which stopped both sides understanding each other’s cultures. This was also seen in the time between the Reformation and the French Revolution, where it is described that Jews were “cooped up in the ghettoes … they were retired from human society, and, for the most part, lived in a state of lamentable and heartrending abjection.” He suggests that this separation strengthened their beliefs and practices, though it did create deterioration in the Hebrew language. He also implies that this dedication to their religion kept them trapped in their secular ‘prisons’ as the reason that nations excluded them was fear that the Jews would alter their culture.

With this historical background in mind, The Dreyfus Affair almost seems inevitable; following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, the Jewish community became a scape goat for the country’s loss.

When a secret French document was found in a bin in the German Embassy, after growing tension between France and Germany, the French government needed someone to blame. Hastily, they accused Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew from one of the French provinces that had been taken over by Germany. This split the country into Dreyfusards, who maintained his innocence (largely Socialists, Jews and Republicans), and Anti-Dreyfusards who believed him to be guilty (the Army, the Catholic Church and monarchists).

Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was court martialled and found guilty of treason. He was exiled to Devil’s Island in 1894. Another officer looked into the story and found the army’s conclusion to be wrong. When he reported this to his superior, his theory was dismissed. The real culprit was the put on trial and acquitted to preserve the military’s integrity.

Emile Zola, a famous French writer and journalist, wrote an article titled “J’Accuse” (which roughly translates to “I accuse”) which named those he thought were involved in the conspiracy. For this, he was convicted of Libel and sentenced to prison but instead fled to London. Following this there were riots and Jews in France lost their citizenship.

The military then see the flaws in the case. One soldier tried to forge evidence to support their original case and is caught but committed suicide before it is brought to trial. They then tried Dreyfus again but still found him guilty.

Eventually, Dreyfus was pardoned and released under “extenuating circumstances.”

Conway's Time of the Month - Review

I am hoping that this review will begin a new culture of arriving fashionably early – arriving at Concrete at Pizza East on Thursday for Conway’s Time of the Month dead on half 7 for the opening of the door meant that as you walked in, you had the ability to sit anywhere, get straight to the bar or meet the comedians sat in the corner by the stage. Even though very few people were there, the atmosphere was already buzzing and you could just tell it was going to be a good night.

I was not wrong.

As the show is celebrating its first birthday, the venue was decorated with balloons and glitter which gave it a relaxed yet exciting party atmosphere as soon as you walked. However, I think this would be true of any room this show would be hosted in; with dance anthems playing and the beautiful host Eleanor Conway constantly walking around and chatting with audience members, you feel involved before the show even begins.

The seating’s layout is all close to the stage so even those at the back are still visible to the comedians, making it impossible to escape being dragged into conversation at some point in the night, willingly or otherwise. This is great though because it makes each night totally unique and vaguely reminiscent of a tamer Late ‘n’ Live. My one criticism of the venue, and perhaps of the night in general, is that whilst the main idea of the evening is audience interaction, the way in which the seating is laid out means that groups tend to stay secular where as it could be changed around to allow for conversation between everyone which could add to the friendly atmosphere and make people feel more comfortable in sharing secrets an anecdotes, not that any encouragement seemed particularly necessary.

Eleanor Conway acts as both an excellent talk show host and hilarious comedian, really encouraging you to talk without creating pressure or expectation and has the brilliant ability improvise with whatever is said, keeping you laughing at things you never realised were funny. Her discussions with the acts after their sets are entertaining and interactive and help stitch the show together.

First act of the evening, Eric Lampaert, is rather like a French Russell Brand; his quirky, bordering on metrosexual, appearance fits well with his style of comedy. Weaving in his cultural heritage with observation and audience interaction, Lampaert’s genre of comedy is accessible to a diverse range of people which is great at bringing the crowd together.

Ed Gamble’s set was highly entertaining and a brilliant example of how each night is totally different as well as proving his ability to improvise and deal with heckling in a way that is entertaining for the rest of the audience though unfortunately this meant that a large portion of his set had to be abandoned. However, Gamble kept the audience both on side and laughing throughout.

Rob Beckett’s style makes a great change from the standard self-deprecating stance taken by most comedians. Instead he uses family anecdotes and observation about things that everyone can relate to, making the audience feel included. His set was smooth and seemed well-rehearsed which is particularly impressive as all the material was new.

Finally, Sara Pascoe finished the evening with excellent new material in her usual observational style. As a female comedian, she doesn’t find herself trapped by this as many do and comments on life and society in a way that it can be observed by either gender, making her hilarious and leaving the audience wanting more.

All in all, an excellent gig with a great blend of side-splitting sets and eccentric audience interaction that will leave you laughing the whole way home.