Have you been the victim of the UK police's misuse of stop-and-search powers (many photographers have been stopped in their usual line of duty, reporting news, or even just shooting a wedding, despite reassurances that this will stop), and if so, what did you do about it?

Perhaps you didn't know you could do anything, but in an entertaining piece in The Guardian this week, comedian and activist Mark Thomas details how he managed to prove his own experience of stop-and-seach was unlawful.

Thomas was stopped in September 2007 outside an arms fair in the Docklands in London after he attempted to walk past the police with an "over-confident manner". No kidding.



He writes:

"Although protesters are often targeted for stop and search, often claiming these are unlawful, they seldom seem to put in official complaints. So with the help of solicitors at Fisher Meredith I brought a complaint against the police. Being Britain the first step in a complaint against an official body is for the very body you are complaining about to investigate itself. And lo the police did find themselves innocent."

So he took his compaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and to his own surprise, it delivered a verdict that the stop and search was illegal, stating that "it would appear that the officers had misinterpreted their powers under Police And Criminal Evidence Act (PACE)".



Thomas concludes:

"It is in the cases where they get it wrong that attitudes towards police are sharpened and the rights we feel we have as citizens practically defined. So I am writing to the police requesting a formal admission of liability on the part of the commissioner and damages for assault and false imprisonment".

The Convention offers "a call to all concerned with attacks on our fundamental rights and freedoms under pressure from counter-terrorism, financial breakdown and the database state".

Image © Lawrence Schiller

'It's all been a bit of an eye-opener' commented our writer Lucy Davies on her article on Lawrence Schiller, and who can blame her. Schiller made his name in the 1960s with a project on acid freaks that, even now, disturbs. Women with dirty feet laugh hysterically on the sofa, women losing their minds cry - apparently unheeded - on the floor. 'When my husband and I want to take a trip together,' commented one subject. 'I just put a little acid in the kids' orange juice in the morning and let them spend the day freaking out in the woods.'

But if his subjects were losing it, Schiller was not. He kept a clear head in the druggiest parties, and used sheer ingenuity to win his first big commission. Life magazine was unwilling to run anything on LSD because there was no scientific data on it, so Schiller persuaded Time to run a story on the drug's medical properties then went back to Life. It's a timely reminder for today's recession-hit photographers - pitching for work sometimes means overcoming rejection and refusing to take no for an answer. Read all about it in this week's BJP - it's free online.

And also free online are: a Canon EOS 5D MkII vs Nikon D3x shootout, a Sigma 50mm lens test, an investigation of ophthalmic photography and a profile of an ad campaign by Nick Simpson. Enjoy!

Picture (c) David Kilpatrick

Sigma set out to rewrite its reputation with a new standard lens - the first radical redesign of a 50mm prime in decades. David Kilpatrick puts it to the test, and he is impressed...

In this week's BJP, Julian Lass talks to Nick Simpson, the guy who came up with an off-the-wall idea for Focus-on-Imaging's annual ad shoot - a pompous photographer appropriately named Justin Focus. For the past two years, the character has been used for the event's press ads, catalogue covers, online videos and on-site materials, including a Justin Focus exhibition stand.

This year there are four new promo-videos. You can find them here:
http://www.focus-on-imaging.net/jf/jf-main.htm

A couple of weekend ago I met up with one of my favourite portrait photographers, Brian Griffin, and he told he was planning to go to Michigan to shoot a personal project. So, I asked if he'd share some comments about his progress with you on 1854.eu. And he agreed:

At present I'm over here in Michigan USA doing a personal project on the labour movement. Yes, believe it or not a self-funded piece of photography in these less than certain times. When things are quiet I just take myself off to do my own work or else I'd be crawling up the walls.
I'm over here staying in a B&B, nothing fancy. Bought myself some cheap amateur tungsten lights in downtown Ann Abor. The box says "ideal for beginners". Three 1500w heads, umbrellas and stands for $150. No assistants, just me humping around in the snow my Mamiya 7's, Tri-X film and Phase One Camera. Left all my lighting equipment back in London and traveled light.
Having a day off I decided to go to Hell, just to see what its like. Pretty boring actually. The real one is probably far more interesting. Its a small village 30 minutes drive south of here. I then took myself off to the Detroit Institute of Art for some inspiration and to see the Henry Fuseli painting Nightmare.

Just gearing myself up for 10 days portrait photography starting next Tuesday.

Brian will be speaking at The Hub at Focus-on-Imaging on his return. He is scheduled for 4-5pm on Sunday 22 February.

"Barack Obama was sworn in on 20 January with a historic mandate for change. Extraordinary times call for bold actions and visionary ideas. Big government is back. Hopes are for an administration that is not only more progressive, but also smarter.

"This could be good news for the arts—as long as they can build a convincing case that they serve the public interest."

That's the view of The Art Newspaper in its look at the future of cultural policy under the new regime.

I got this email from Martin John Callanan this morning. Can anyone explain this extraordinary icy phenomenon?

Here is some important news I must share with you.

Late last night I began hearing reports of strange icy objects in a part of east London (UK) commonly referred to as Victoria Park. It was too dark to investigate and the park was locked until this morning. At dawn I set out to investigate, having only just returned to my office, this is the first email I write. What I discovered was so strange and unusual the first step was to upload the documentation to my website and contact you as a matter of urgency.

Within what appeared to be a rather contained area of roughly 200 acres coinciding remarkably with the boundary of Victoria Park, I found and recorded more than 300 occurrences of what I refer to as “ice balls”. These are roughly spherical objects ranging from ~30cm to more than ~150cm diameter. For now, until more information becomes available to me, I must surmise these “ice balls” are similar in origin to hail. Perhaps this exaggerated scale is the latest phenomenon associated to our rapidly changing climate.

Martin has posted his documentation online.

(Note than martin is currently Artist in Residence at UCL Environmental Institute.)

As if it's not tough enough out there for the creative industries, advertisers and marketeers are facing pressure to justify their activities promoting companies bailed out by the US government.

The thinking seems to be that ads and promotions are an unnecessary expence, rather than a revenue generator, which is bad news for the freelancers creatives commission – such as photographers.

"The conundrum: To drive much-needed sales, Tarp recipients (Troubled Asset Relief Program funds) must spend on marketing," writes Advertising Age. "But that's tough to do when some lawmakers, the media, and perhaps a section of the general public seem to denounce marketing or advertising as an unnecessary expense."

How about a bail out for the photography industry?

In my Comment in this week's British Journal of Photography, I asked readers if they'd take part in a future survey into how the recession is biting, and to supply any anecdotes about how business is going. I've had many responses – all of them detailing extensive fee cuts, rights grabs and a massive downturn in the amount of work available.

Email me at bjp.editor@bjphoto.co.uk if you're a pro photographer living in the UK or Ireland and would like to take part. Put 'fee survey' as your subject heading.

Amateur Photographer published today a summary of the BBC Radio 4 Law in Action programme in which reporter Clive Coleman interviews solicitor Rupert Grey of media specialist law firm Swan Turton about the increasing number of incidents pitching police officers against amateur and professional photographers.

The interesting point Grey makes is that '[The officers] are entitled to stop and search, look at what you have got and that is the limit of authority under that section. What appears to have been happening after that is they have, in some cases, arrested and then de-arrested the photographer. In other cases they have seized their material. In one case they deleted the material - and that is, in itself, a criminal offence.'

Grey added: 'It is really important that we are vigilant about our right to take photographs and our right to record and our right, as a photographic profession - as the press - to bear witness to the lives of ordinary citizens in this country. The moment the police or the state start interfering with exercise of that right - in ways other than are justifiable - then it is time for citizens to begin to say "hold on a minute, we just need to get this in perspective".'

The journalist also talked to the Association of Chief Police Officers who used the party line: 'Police Officers may not prevent someone from taking a photograph in public unless they suspect criminal or terrorist intent. Powers to stop and search are strictly regulated by law and once an image has been recorded, police have no power to delete or confiscate it without a court order.'

We heard that one before.

Read the full transcript at Amateur Photographer.
To listen to the Law in Action show, click here.

Photographer Jon Furniss gets up close with Jack Nicholson, image © Richard Young

How close the stars do you need to be to get celebrity shots? This close. Jon Furniss is one of just five or six photographers welcomed into the celebrities' lives, shooting behind the scenes at parties and premiers rather than papping them on the street.

Why are they given this access? Because although the celebrities hate harassment, they also need publicity; and while the magazines and newspapers don't want to be sued, they also need to feed the public's seemingly insatiable desire for celebrity shots. The solution is carefully orchestrated reportage, in which strictly-vetted photographers enter into a modern-day gentlemen's agreement to show the stars at their best in return for premium access.

'I always make them look good and I only take photographs when they know I am there and they are happy to be photographed,' says Furniss. 'You build up a relationship with them, and I wouldn't want to be known as the photographer they couldn't trust.'

It's a fascinating cross between freedom and control, and you can read all about it in this week's special report, The Insiders.

News of the upcoming mass photo-taking event planned for Monday 16 February is reaching the national newspapers, two weeks after the BJP revealed that a new law, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, will make it easier for police officers to stop photographers from taking pictures of them.

Today, The Guardian has an article about the whole situation. They interviewed Jeremy Dear, the National Union of Journalists' general secretary, who said:

"Police officers ... believe they have the power to delete images or to take editorial decisions about what can and can't be photographed. The right to take photos in a public place is a precious freedom. It is what enables the press to show the wider world what is going on."

BJP will be represented at the event on Monday, and we will bring you live coverage, with images, via this blog and via our Twitter feed. Check back on Monday 16 February from 10.30am (London Time).

To read more from The Guardian, click-here.

The World Press Photo contest is the one of the most important photojournalism events of the year, together with the Visa Pour l'Image professional week in September in Perpignan. This year it's the contest's 52nd occurrence. The World Press Photo winner will see his or her iconic image published in hundreds of newspapers and magazines around the world. The categories' winners and runner-ups will also benefit from the extra exposure. A good example of that phenomenon is Vanessa Winship, who after winning the Portraits, Series category went on to receive the Sony World Photography Awards and have her Sweet Nothing images exhibited at the Photographers' Gallery and Host in London.

This year's results are expected to start coming in at 10am (London Time). Follow our Twitter feed here and this blog for live updates and the winning photos.

Chen Qinggang a Chinese photographer for the Hangzhou Daily newspaper has won the Spot News Single category for his image of rescue troops carrying an earthquake survivor in the Beichuan County on 14 May.

The picture shows an armed officer moving through a home in Cleveland, Ohio, following eviction as a result of mortgage foreclosure.

UPDATE: Here is the series of images Suau shot for Time magazine. It's worth a look.

Tomorrow, Monday 16 February 2009, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 will come into force, potentially making it a crime to take a picture of members of Her Majesty's armed forces, including constables.

The Act amends the Terrorism Act 2000 regarding offences relating to information about members of armed forces, a member of the intelligence services, or a police officer. The new set of rules, under section 76 of the 2008 Act and section 58A of the 2000 Act, will target anyone who 'elicits or attempts to elicit information about (members of armed forces) ... which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'.

The penalty could be of up to 10 years in prison. While BJP does not believe the Act will result in the imprisonment of photographers and photojournalists, we believe the Act could be abused by some police officers who are already loosely using Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to prevent photographers from taking pictures in public places.

So, we have joined the National Union of Journalists' call for photographers to make their voices heard at a media event on 16 February in front of New Scotland Yard. The plan is simple, turn up with your camera and exercise your democratic right to take a photograph in a public place.

The event starts at 11am. For more details, visit www.nuj.org.uk and the Facebook event page.

If you are not in London, we invite you to check our Twitter feed from 10.30am (London Time) on 16 February. We will be reporting live about the event with pictures and up-to-the-minute updates. Find it here.

Time magazine initially commissioned Anthony Suau’s series shot in Cleveland, one of which won this year's World Press Photo of the Year title. However, the US publication only published two of his images, choosing to put the entire series online on its website. However, European publications picked up the work. Speaking to BJP on Friday, just after he won the World Press Photo of the Year title, Suau said that French magazine Le Monde 2 had done the best work with his images.

We spoke with Laura Schmid, Le Monde 2’s picture editor about Suau’s work.
‘We first wanted to publish Anthony’s work in March last year in a special issue dedicated to the US. We had a large article that explained the issues facing the US and it started with Cleveland. But since the article didn’t focus solely on Cleveland we didn’t use Anthony’s images,’ she said. ‘Then we saw that Time only used two images by Anthony’s and had decided to start the photo essay with an image of the Chigago Mercantile Exchange. I was intrigued. Time really helped him, he had real support from the magazine, but I was astonished they didn’t publish the entire essay.’

Le Monde 2 decided to pick up Suau’s images later that year.

‘In September, after the crisis really hit, we wanted to take a different approach than other magazines who focussed too much on Wall Street and its traders,’ Schmid added. ‘We wanted to focus on the people realy affected by the crisis. You can say anything with the picture of a stock trader. Showing these images has no human value.’

They were finally published in Le Monde 2’s 04 October 2008 issue.

‘What I found extraordinary was this cop going into these houses like a snipper. It’s breathtaking. This could happen to any of us, we could be the next ones evicted. It’s these images that speak to people. I’m very happy he won the World Press Photo.’

Today, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 comes into force, potentially making it a crime to take a picture of members of Her Majesty's armed forces, including constables. The National Union of Journalists has called for photographers to make their voices heard at a media event on 16 February in front of New Scotland Yard. The plan is simple, turn up with your camera and exercise your democratic right to take a photograph in a public place.

BJP's news editor Olivier Laurent is there to report live on the event. Follow the latest developments thanks to our Twitter feed here or on Twitter.com/1854.

More than 300 photographers gathered in front of New Scotland Yard on Monday 16 February to protest a new Counter-Terrorism Act that potentially makes it a crime to take photo of police officers and armed forces. Read our full report here.

BJP's Marina Scukina was there to take photos of the event. View the slideshow below.

While BJP posted some of its photos of today's event against the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, there are a lot more photos now available on sites such as Flickr. Here are the links to a view sets worth a look.

Scotland Yard Photo Rights Rally by Simon Bradshaw
I'm a photographer not a terrorist by photourbanism
Photographers meet up in London by Snapperjack
Photo protest by blinkofaneye
Photographers' Rights Rally by Antony Bennison

And of course, check ours here.

Photography specialist and BJP contributor Sue Steward published a really interesting and I'd say very moving article in The Observer magazine on Sunday.
A meditation on photographing her mother after the older woman's death, it included references to Annie Leibovitz (who photographed Susan Sontag after her death) and Japanese photographer Miyako Ishiuchi (who photographed her mother's belongings after her death, and whose work is shortly going on show at Michael Hoppen).

Liz Elliot at The Neurostimulation Technology Portal writes something quite interesting about the colour Magenta: it does not exist.

A beam of white light is made up of all the colours in the spectrum. The range extends from red through to violet, with orange, yellow, green and blue in between. But there is one colour that is notable by its absence. Pink (or magenta, to use its official name) simply isn’t there. But if pink isn’t in the light spectrum, how come we can see it?

She concludes that magenta is in fact a construction of our brain that tries 'to bridge the gap between red and violet, because such a colour does not exist in the light spectrum. Magenta has no wavelength attributed to it, unlike all the other spectrum colours.'

Read it here.

Photograph © Jonny Hyams

Young photographer Jonny Hyams' work goes on show in the Association of Photographers' Gallery this week, part of his prize for winning Vice Magazine and Crtl.Alt.Shift's recent competition.
Hyams fended off competition from photographers all over the world, who submitted images exploring Gender, Power and Poverty. He went to India this January to photograph the SANLAAP project, which works for the rights of women and children. Images from the project will be on display from 19 - 27 February, alongside Hyam's original winning picture and entries from the other 15 finalists and the judges involved, including Ben Rayner, Valerie Philips and Vice's photo editor Alex Sturrock.
'When you look at the news these days it's either stuff about idiotic celebrities or doomsday reports about how the world's bankers are all going to hell,' says Vice magazine's editor Andy Capper. 'Past the mainstream media scrum there's a whole world out there of human stories that to me are far more important than famous people or money. The reason why we're involved in this campaign with Ctrl.Alt.Shift is to let people know about the work they're doing in parts of the world where basic human rights are still being totally ignored. Please take time to look at what's going on here.'

A reader sent this video of the photographers' gathering in front of New Scotland Yard on Monday 16 February. The author, Marco La Nave, followed other cameramen and was able to film the interviews Mark Thomas and other photojournalists gave to networks such as Sky News and the BBC. Very interesting video.

Pierce Brosnan's production company is said to be developing a movie on the life of photojournalist Robert Capa.

According to Reuters, Paul McGuigan, director of Lucky Number Slevin, is expected to take the helm. The movie will follow the life and death of Capa, born Andre Friedmann in Budapest. Capa is most famous for his images of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. He co-founded Magnum Photos.

He was killed in 1954, when he stepped on a land mine while covering the Indochina War.

The fear of terrorists falls over the innocent yet again, this time across the Atlantic, as New York’s police forces arrest photographer Robert Taylor. The New York Times article ‘No Photo Ban in Subways, Yet an Arrest’ tells his story of a wrongful arrest and its costs to taxpayers.

Taylor was stopped by a police officer citing ‘a nonexistent rule’. He was taking photographs on Subway station in Bronx. “He told me I couldn’t take the pictures. I told him that’s not true, that the rules permitted it. He said I was wrong. I said, ‘I’m willing to bet your paycheck’.” Taylor told The New York Times.

In handcuffs, Taylor was delivered to the Transit District 12 police station, and a warrant check was run. “They were citing 9/11,” he said. Taylor has been charged with accounts of disorderly conduct and impeding traffic.

According to the article, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed a ban on photography in the subways twice within the last five years but the idea was dropped as it encountered opposition. “Even so, people taking pictures in the subways are regularly stopped by the police and asked to let the officers see their images or to delete them,” writes columnist Jim Dwyer.

Rule 1050.9 (c) of the New York state code says, “Photography, filming or video recording in any facility or conveyance is permitted except that ancillary equipment such as lights, reflectors or tripods may not be used.”

Dwyer also recalls last year’s lawsuit with a medical student who was using his vacation to photograph every subway stop which cost the city $31,501.

Financial Secretary, UAW Local 651 (c) Brian Griffin.

Brian Griffin, the Surrealist influenced portrait photographer best known for his images of post-punk musicians of the 1980s, is currently working on a personal project in Michigan – in many ways a complimentary study to his celebrated book Work from London's Broadgate development – and he's agreed to keep 1854 visitors updated on his progress with occasional posts and pictures. Here's his latest entry...

My moustache continues to grow as my head rests on the pillow at night, in my guest house in Ann Arbor, the once home to Iggy and the Stooges. I'm slowly metamorphosing into a Michigan Auto Worker, to the accompaniment of the horns of the freight trains that pass nearby throughout the night. Snow falls, snow thaws, snow falls.

I feel I'm photographing the work mates of my late parents, also factory workers, as on this trip I mix with so many workers and retirees of an industry that is going through massive upheavals.

On Wednesday at one of the Flint, Local UAW buildings they celebrated "White Shirt Day", which is the anniversary of the 1936/7 Sit-Down strike. A very moving moment occurred when 3 to 400 of them from all ages linked hands and sang a song of solidarity. A tear ran down my cheek.

I feel this is the first pure documentary piece of work that I've done since art college days, which will continue my ever evolving project on America.

It's snowing again and I'll be off up the freeway to Flint like a fisherman, hoping in my case of catching a good image. Sometimes I return with nothing but that is the beauty of the quest, and that is why I continue to go back.

See his last entry here.

Image © Michael Walter (www.michaelwalter.co.uk)

What started as a simple collection of images for the Perpignan Festival by members of the Luna collective has become an ongoing, online magazine, showcasing the works of creative photographers such as Bruno Stevens, Olivier Culmann and even Martin Parr.

Lunatic is Karl Blanchet's brainchild, born of his discontent with classic photojournalism. The project is an example of 'creative contemporary photojournalism. The idea behind Lunatic is that there are interesting photojournalists who can write with their cameras,' he says. 'They are able to make you think, to make you feel with their photos.'

Ghana Night © Karl Blanchet/Luna (www.karlblanchet.com)

Encouraged by the success of the second issue (more than 20,000 readers from 60 different countries), Lunatic, which is co-managed by Eric Hilaire, picture editor for The Guardian, has now published its third issue.

It presents an original selection of Martin Parr's images that convey a recurrent theme, that of 'photographing photographers photographed'. A typically 'Parresque' subject that reminds us that photography is both social practice and practised reflex,' Blanchet says.

There are also seven other photography projects by Markus Lokai, Lihee Avidan, GMB Akash, Carolyn Drake, Michael Walter, Gregoire Bernadi and Blanchet.

Check them out at www.lunaticmag.com.

Picture (c) Brian Griffin

Brian Griffin, the Surrealist influenced portrait photographer best known for his images of post-punk musicians of the 1980s, is currently working on a personal project in Michigan – in many ways a complimentary study to his celebrated book Work from London's Broadgate development – and he's agreed to keep 1854 visitors updated on his progress with occasional posts and pictures. Here's his latest entry...

I always find that its best to stick to a maximum of 6 pints in themed pubs, else you get the trots!

Over the weekend, on the Sunday we were entertained by Will Bennett on the baby grand, playing some exquisite self-composed pieces at our guest house. His mother Sue, learning of my project on the auto industry, kindly informed me that her brother Ray worked up in Flint at AC Delco as an ideas man, and gave me his address.

After phoning Ray I made my way through a snow storm to his house set in the middle of the countryside. Twin Peaks (the film by David Lynch) immediately sprang to mind.
We sat and talked and talked amongst the stuffed chickens and furry toys to the music emanating from the real parrot and living budgie. For anyone keen on details, the budgie's name is Birdie and the parrot is Bella. Ray and his dear wife Jan were most welcoming, with Ray filling me in on some of the reasons behind the demise of the auto industry in Flint. Ray became the "Man in the Gloved Hand".

After 3 weeks away I'm on my way back, so be seeing you all at Focus on Imaging (click 'The Hub' banner here) this Sunday.

The UK's largest photographic trade show, Focus-on-Imaging, is back to Birmingham. It feels like nothing much has changed - the show is still on in Halls 9 and 10 at the NEC, and most manufacturers are still around - but, the show, now in its 20th year feels different this year, almost as if it had a facelift.

Talking to many manufacturers today, for the show's first day, it seems that the audience is different this year than previous year. In tough economic times, the people who made the journey to the NEC - some as far away as France or Germany - are more dedicated to the art of photography and are ready to invest their time and money in new products and offers.

According to Focus' organisers, the number of registered visitors - and last minute ones as well - are up from last year, which is a good sign for the like of Canon, Nikon and others that have been forced, over the past few months, to raise their prices as the value of the Pound plummeted against the Yen.

However, new products have been scare, especially among the major manufacturers. It's not surprising. Canon, Nikon and Sony, to cite only the main ones, have released over the past six months an impressive array of professional digital products (the EOS 5D Mark II, the D3x and the Alpha 900 are just some of them). Focus gives the opportunity to many British photographers and enthusiasts to get their hands on these products, and hopefully will lead to many sales during the show's three remaining days.

BJP will continue to report from the show until it closes on Wednesday, but we can say that the "new" and rejuvenated Focus is a success!

Last week, we reported that curator Yasmina Reggad was asked to remove a video and photography montage designed by Brazil-based artists collective Cia de Foto because it included sexual imagery. Reggad is curating an exhibition in Derby’s Guildhall gallery as part of the Collectives Encounter project showing during the Format festival, which opens next week.

Read the full story here and the Derby's City Council's response here.

Now, you can view the censored work here:

To celebrating its 90th Anniversary, Olympus has launched its own space project (i.e. a marketing coup).

Last November, Olympus supplied its pro digital SLR, the E-3, a dust-proof and splash-proof camera (not that there is a high-risk for the camera to be exposed to water while in space), to the Japanese astronaut Dr. Koichi Wakata, who is now in the ‘Kibo’ (meaning ‘hope’), the Japanese Experimental Module on the International Space Station.

Wakata will engage in the mission of becoming a space photographer and documenting status of the Earth for several months. According to Olympus, the resulting images will be released ‘in various different forms’.

The project focuses on the environmental situation of the Earth today and speculating its possible image of ‘tomorrow’, thus increasing the awareness of the consequences of Global Warming. To see Wakata's pictures, visit olympus-space-project.com.

Over the past few weeks, we have had a lot of emails from our readers about problems with the RSS feeds for both our main website and this blog. While, the RSS feed for 1854 has been fixed (thanks guys for letting us know about it), the one for bjp-online.com is still a mess - all articles have the same synopsis and random content that shouldn't be on a RSS feed shows up.

I'd like to say that we'll be able to fix these issues shortly, but that would be lying. Our website was designed back in 2000 (yes, nine years ago) and it starts to show (to be frank it started to show in 2004 I am sure!). At that time, RSS did not exist in its current form. The feed was only added a couple of years ago as an add-on fix.

But we're currently working to have it fixed, but that will probably take a couple of months, as we will have to deal with the site's entire architecture. In the meantime, if you do want to be updated as soon as a new story is published on BJP Online, you have one other option: Twitter.

You can follow our latest update here: http://twitter.com/1854.

Today, Press Gazette is reporting that OK magazine is making a fortune thanks to Jade Goody's wedding pictures. The magazine paid £700,000 for the exclusive rights to the images. Now, OK's editorial director, Paul Ashford, is telling Press Gazette that more than two million copies of the special issue will be sold.

OK's average circulation, according to ABC, is 508,504. So, OK is expected to generate an extra £4.4m in sales revenue! Talk about getting your money's worth!

Read the interview here.

That's a photo taken by Annie Leibovitz. Find something wrong with it? Look at Sam Mendes' sleeves. Now, we wonder how much did Vanity Fair pay Annie Leibovitz for this, and more importantly, how come no one at VF realised the obvious Photoshop disaster?

More at Photoshop Disasters.