Tips for journos #2
Sort your data. There’s no point in collecting information if you can’t find it later. This is all the more true for electronic information, of which you’re going to be amassing gigabytes and gigabytes in the form of text files, videos and audio.
Here are some ways in which to keep a semblance of order in your digital archives:
_ Install Google Desktop Search. It’s much faster than your operating system’s native file search function and even indexes e-mails in Outlook.
_ Give folders and files memorable names. Example for files: “Year Month Date Keyword”
_ Don’t lose important data to hard drive failure or a leaky coffee cup. Make regular backups of all important files and e-mails, and store them in a separate location.
The Revo Ikon review
My complete review of the Revo Ikon Internet radio is now online here.
Defamation of religions
Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC, has introduced a resolution in the U.N. Human Rights Council to condemn defamation of religions. It’s not the first time. Almost exactly a year ago the OIC successfully introduced a very similar resolution. Here’s what I wrote at the time: UN body OKs call to curb religious criticism
Mont Blanc range
Mont Blanc range from Les Houches 14-03-2010 15-55-48
Tips for journos #1
Always review your notes: in between the scribbled quotes and hasty records of who, what, where, when and why, you’re likely to find information that could be useful at a later date.
Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses should obviously be salvaged before you dump or archive your notebook. Quotes you didn’t use immediately but might fit into a later story are also worth keeping. And, finally, you might have noted down some oddity, some hitherto unknown connection that will lead to a whole new piece which moves the story forward in an interesting way.
Bottom line: don’t dispose of your notes until you’ve gleaned everything you can out of them.
Swiss corporate bonuses
Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung has published a list of the managers who received the highest bonus payments for 2009. Here is the top 10:
- Daniel Vasella, Chairman of Novartis, CHF 42 million
- Franz Humer, Chairman of Roche, CHF 16.4 million
- Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche, CHF 12.1 million
- James Schiro, former CEO of Zurich Financial, CHF 11.8 million
- Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestle, CHF 10 million
- Johannes de Gier, CEO of GAM Holding, CHF 7.8 million
- Peter Brabeck, Chairman of Nestle, CHF 7.5 million
- Alfred Schindler, Chairman of Schindler, CHF 7.4 million
- Hansjoerg Wyss, Chairman of Synthes, CHF 6.7 million
- Patrick de Maeseneire, former CEO of Barry Callebaut, CHF 6.2 million
3 good estate agents in Berlin
When buying an apartment in Berlin it’s important to deal with the right kind of estate agent: honest, knowledgeable, reliable, friendly. I’ve had the fortune of meeting mostly good estate agents in Berlin, but of course some are still better than others. Here are three that I can recommend without hesitation, even if I haven’t actually bought a property through them.
_ Ulrike Stübner at ImmoSky Berlin always has interesting apartments you won’t find advertised by others. She focuses on the north, particularly Tiergarten, Mitte, Wedding, Prenzlauer Berg.
_ Renate Schwarz seems to specialize in smaller apartments in the Tiergarten/Wedding area. Some very neat little 1930s flats in Bauhaus-style blocs. Tel.: +49 – 30 – 428 007 08
_ Britta Jakobs and her husband are a kind of knowledgeable couple who seem to cover Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg, Wedding. www.jakobsinfo.de
Browser choice in brief
Have you received a Windows Update asking which Internet browser you would like to install as default? Here’s a brief description of the top 5:
_ Internet Explorer: The market leader, this browser is unfortunately still very clunky despite some innovations in recent years. 4/10
_ Firefox: The challenger, this browser is a serious threat to IE because of its modular features allowing all kinds of plug-ins including the killer application “Ad Blocker”. 7/10
_ Google Chrome: The newby, this one is light and fast but lacks some of the more sophisticated functions of Firefox. Best for low-power machines such as netbooks. 6/10
_ Opera: The afficionado’s choice. Opera has some unique features and a dedicated following, but sometimes trips up on key browser features, though through no fault of its own. 6/10
_ Safari: An Apple product and therefore flashy but restrictive. 4/10
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About
Musings of a wire reporter in Geneva. Feel free to contact me with your questions about journalism, Switzerland, or anything else I write about on this blog.
