Newsnig8t

A balance sheet of the blog

1. A blog is born: We did not so much break the BBC rules when setting up the blog but shimmied through them like Tana Umaga. Having been assigned to cover the protests around Gleneagles I decided to do a "proof of concept" blog and show it to the editor. He liked it, our web editor got it signed off and that was it. Apparently the BBC bosses had just had a big awayday where they decided to stop being clipboard merchants and prioritise innovation, so no-one felt like nixing it. And yet there was nothing that said it should be allowed. As one person put it: "this is outside the BBC universe" - and I thought: that puts it rather well...

2 July...what it means, maybe

An extended first take on today in Edinburgh. Apologies for any typos and fuzzy logic. It is 1am and I am flying solo…

At 220,000 it was double the size of any demonstration that has ever taken place in Scotland. And yes, thanks to globalisation there were African farmers, Spanish anarchists and even English people on it… but the top-line figure is significant. Where I was standing at the end, at the front of the stage around 6.30pm, with Billy Bragg on stage and a Lothian sirocco whipping up discarded leaflets, it was obvious that the demo was heavily Scots. The sheer prevalence of Tennants cans among those gently swaying to the reggae-and-revolt music told you there were very many young Scottish people on the march...

That Sherpa meeting - the latest

I'm in Edinburgh now (with ace producer Richard Colebourn, pictured). Just done a down-the-line on Newsnight to the effect of the following: The political action pre G8 is in Lancaster House, London, where the so-called Sherpas, civil servants who prepare the summit, are in a last ditch meeting....

East of Eden....

Newsnight colleague Robin Denselow kicked off our weeklong Africa series leading up to the G8 by interviewing two Malian musicians who are both legends in Africa. It was the first time they had ever played together. He sent me the following e-mail:

"It may seem perverse to approach G8 from a musical angle, but this is an issue in which African musicians have become very much involved. Their problem is this. They are very happy that Geldof is putting on pressure through the wildly ambitious series of Live 8 concerts around the world on Saturday, but very upset that they have been - as they see it - marginalised from what is seen as the main event, the Hyde Park show (and indeed the other shows in Europe and the US)...

Is MPH becoming the perfect brand?

I went to a an invite-only Marketing conference today - nothing to do with the G8 but for my day job. Leather seats and a lot of men in suits, no ties, shirts with Harry Hill-collars, a smattering of Blackberrys. The subject was marketing in the digital age and the theme was "everything's changed". Because the internet has made people innately cynical, and more aware of ethical issues, people will only buy brands they relate to, that speak to their inner values: that's the theory. Brands have to do five things, according to the experts assembled:

1) Say something relevant about modern life

2) Act on beliefs, not focus groups

3) Be good at doing something that is good for people - and stick to it

4) Have integrity - "live the brand"

5) Never be boastful, sanctimonious or dull....

Now Alistair Cambell was supposed to be speaking at this event, about how New Labour has connected with the new marketing reality, and how the British and Irish Lions are such a brand. But it occurs to me that Make Poverty History is - in light of the criteria above - one of the cleverest brands ever invented. Mind you the organisers of the marketing event did warn that Point 5 was the most difficult to live up to...

What did the finmins achieve in London?

On Saturday 11 June the G7 finance ministers reached agreement on a debt relief proposal. Basically 18 countries will get a 100% write-off of multilateral debt stock: that is the money they owe to the IMF and World Bank. It's a compromise between the US and UK proposals. For the NGOs its just a start. For critics of debt relief, it will all be wasted if the issue of governance is not addressed. To read the full communique, click here.