Belfast restaurant Goodfellas is re-writing the rules about whether journalists can voice their opinions freely.

When Irish News journalist Caroline Workman criticised the pizzeria giving it a paltry 1 out of 5 and commenting that its staff were unhelpful and the chicken marsala was “so sweet as to be inedible” the owner decided to take legal action over “the hatchet job” of the reviewer.

Goodfellas won and was awarded £25,000 over the review last week, which was originally published in 2000.

The Irish News commented: “The outcome of the case raises profound questions involving the freedom of the press.” The National Union of Journalists described the verdict as “disturbing” according to the Guardian.

So where does it leave the boundaries between being able to voice an opinion and writing defamatory comments?

We must all hope the Irish News wins on appeal.

Anyone who has been on the Internet recently must have seen the new Webb and Mitchell fronted Apple Mac advert.

The idea, replicated in Japanese and US versions (or should I say our replicated version), pits Apple Macs in the guise of comedian David Mitchell against Macs personified by Robert Webb.

The advert shows cool Mac being used for fun while the PC is for dull things: nobody works on a Mac and no one play games on a PC. Really?

I think Charlie Brooker of the Guardian might have a point with his view that “the only way to have fun with a Mac is to poke its insufferable owner in the eye.”

The advert is less than convincing, especially the assertion that Macs are virus free. Viruses are supposedly confined to PCs! No they are not - they are conducted through the software not the operating system, and the software can be run on either. Have a look at the Mac virus attacks ad here.

The BBC does quite a good appraisal pointing out Apple have used Mitchell and Webb because of their popularity from The Peep Show. Yet, as they further point out David Mitchell (PC) was the likable and underachieving character and Robert Webb (Mac) was the sleazy dishonest character from the sitcom. The BBC says that Apple are trying to have it both ways. Charlie Brooker in his Guardian article sums up, “PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers.” Is the Guardian allowed to use such language?

I will leave the conclusion to this discussion to the Letterman show and YouTube.

Birmingham based PR outfit Groves Media has claimed on their blog that their city does not want to be seen as the second city of the UK!

That would equate to being second rate and Birmingham should not be seen as such. Why fight over the crumbs when London is the top city? To do so would, it seems, be purile in their opinion; let Manchester fight for that meaningless title.

Strangely, Groves comments section is now closed although this is true for many of their other entries. Is that second rate for a blog?

I hasten to write that the link to the Birmingham Post piece that triggered the non-story story is incorrect on the Groves blog. (Links do not have brackets). The link for my first rate readers can be found by clicking here.

The South Manchester Reporter has picked up on the recent entry about Toby Harnden, which featured on the Artisan blog on the 31st January, in this week’s edition of the newspaper.

The piece shows the real power of blogging and the changing balance of the media - small PR outfit interacting with senior US journalist for The Telegraph about a damaging piece written in the Guardian about him.

I would like to thank everyone who left a comment or linked or tagged the piece. Toby was given a rough deal that could have ended his career and perhaps we can redress, even if it is slightly, the hollow accusations and tarnishing of his credibility and integrity that he has faced.

If you want to read the story again or are a South Manchester Reporter reader and wish to read in full the original piece please scroll down. The newspaper piece begins to unravel the story near its end and so a cursory glance can make it look as though Toby was in the wrong. He is not. It is the bloggers who left personal attacks and newspapers that did not check out their story. Please read the entry here for the complete picture.

The Internet can be a difficult place to police and this includes blogs - maybe that is the story.

Comments and any tagging or linking is welcome. Let’s see if we can get the truth of the story out online.

From time to time it is tempting to look at a tender and think of whether it is worth having a go.

Jim Symcox, a Manchester based marketing consultant, tackles the subject on his blog. He points out that it is not completely the quality of the tender document that is key in many cases, but whether the company wants to do business with you. This could be based on location, rapport with sales team, on-going relationship or another reason.

So is it worth spending so much time on what can be lengthy and ultimately futile process?

If the organisation offering the tender is fair, it could be; it depends on your offering against the competitions and how well you meet the criteria of the brief.

If not, build that rapport or develop that relationship.

But how do you know who is fair and who is not? You don’t generally - that is why so few companies make tenders the main aspect of their new business development.

With so many newspapers giving away free copies in the city centre, the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Daily Post among them, and the redundancies that have affected the industry it has been an accepted conclusion that dailies are in decline.

The World Association of Newspapers claims that this assertion is wrong as quoted by the Press Gazette. The real picture is quite the reverse:

The number of dailies has risen above 10,000

2 million people are employed worldwide by dailies

European circulation has risen for the past 5 years

The newspaper industry is worth $180 billion worldwide

Do the dailies and Internet complement each other or is the Internet squeezing the newspapers? It is an interesting point and one that will divide opinion.

I am waiting with anticipation for Wednesday’s Party Animals - a drama that presents the world of lobbying in Westminster in its true light.

Broadcast for the first time last week, it follows the lives and careers of twenty something researchers and assistants in the corridors of power. It sounds like another This Life - not a bad thing in itself.

So is it really a drama about dysfunctional young professionals trying to get on with a career and relationships or a real look at the pursuit of power?

I have seen MPs who claim it is very real being interviewed on TV, but many people fail to be convinced - just one example here.

I missed the first episode but I hope to find out a little about how to get Artisan into political PR….I think your right, stick to what you know best.

Anyone that picked up Thursday’s Manchester Evening News might have thought Ronaldo was a lead story because of the continued speculation about a move to Real Madrid.

No, you couldn’t have been more wrong.

Ronaldo merited a lead story and a sizable following piece because he had parked his car across two spaces at the training ground. When asked to park it up more carefully he acquiesced to a steward’s request.

Ace Ronaldo - what a guy!

But why was such a no story a story?

Well, when Ronaldo decided to help get his club colleague Wayne Rooney sent off he rightly brought a lot of criticism on himself. He wanted to leave his club because of the perceived lack of support from Alex Ferguson and the abuse he was sure to get.

Yet, the situation from outcast to best player in the league, if not the world, is the new norm; the World Cup is forgotten.

How has this happened?

Ronaldo has played well, very well.

And his PR has been superb.

Instead of a major campaign after the World Cup, the PR team has slowly but surely, and extremely regularly, filtered through positive stories such as his desire to win trophies with Manchester United to show his commitment.

You might be aware of his team mates awe of him being regular news - that’s the ability and team contribution part. The latest story, whether fixed or not, shows he is a real nice guy - that’s the image part.

So another story of Ronaldo saving a cat in a tree or a snap of him helping an elderly dear across the road organised by the PR team - you bet.