John Oliver on Native Advertising. Just the truth

John Oliver's comment on Native Advertising is spot on, I'm afraid. I am continually looking for the "powered by" logo. It is seriously eroding trust! Love the Camel sponsored NBC News bulletin.

The rise of the writer's guilds in Spain and USA

The Listening Post on Al Jazeera tends to focus on those producing hard news. But as this item from Spain proves, the disruptive nature of some of the small startups is starting to have effect in Spain. The big broadcasters have huge overheads (studios, transmitters, large production teams). And yet they don't practice investigative journalism - it's all event reporting. So what happens? You see the rise of the social commentators. And when stand-up comedians turn out to be excellent political commentators (e.g. John Oliver), then the audiences find them and follow. Oliver's piece on FIFA for instance just says what everyone is thinking, and yet mainstream media doesn't cover. Why does it work? Because its a tightly written story using the most powerful weapon there is: humour. 6 million views for an item segment on YouTube is good for a show that only started in April.



Oliver is brilliant because he's remained humble. He still takes part in a weekly podcast called the Bugle. Hope success doesn't alter his character.

John Oliver - Rising Star, Brilliant Writer

I really enjoy the work of John Oliver, the British comedian who is doing some brilliant political writing and stand-up in the US at the moment. Most people know him from his work on the Daily Show from Comedy Central. Especially during last summer's absence of John Stewart.



 But in fact he has a career going back to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2001. He was also prominent in the UK around 2005 in the Mock the Week show.



And now he's left to start his own weekly show in HBO - Last Week Tonight.

His interview with the former head of the NSA General Keith Alexander is going to be a classic.



Fewer people know that since October 2007, John Oliver has co-hosted The Bugle, a weekly satirical comedy podcast, with Andy Zaltzman. Originally produced by The Times of London, it is now independent. The show is downloaded over 500,000 times a month.

I think Oliver uses the Bugle to try things out. It is extremely funny- and the insights they come up with are well ahead of anything you find on mainstream media. In short, John Oliver has great talent which wasn't recognised in the UK. And fame has not done much to change the man. He is still sounds like a genuinely nice person. I hope he can keep up the pace.