On Tuesdays over the course of the next month minimum I will be carrying out work experience at Mansfield 103.2 in different areas of radio production.
Tuesday 10th May 2011
This day consisted of sitting in with the news team and helping produce bulletins to go on air.
I began the day sitting in and watching the staff read the news on air, anticipating the day ahead. Once we returned to the news desk I was left to research a story about a new Tesco store being opened in Market Warsop, following this I constructed the bulletin and produced a voicer for when the story aired.
Later on in the day I carried out an interview with Kevin Hopkinson of Bolsover council after we'd received a press release that morning about the possible sale and regeneration of their Offices. I then edited the interview and saved 3 parts of the interview which were suitable for use on air and best described the actions taking place in less then 25 seconds. After recording and editing the telephone interview I had to write the bulletins to go with the interview clips.
My final task of the day was to create a bulletin about a local bus driver who had won an award, so I wrote the copy and produced the voicer to go with the news story on air.
I have a copy of all of the pieces I have written during this experience for future reference.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Saturday 14th May- Update of Final Lectures
Introduction to Professional Writing
This final lecture allowed me to recap what I have learned throughout Introduction to Law and Public Affairs, which has certainly allowed me to grasp the concepts I had learned previously.
I have also completed the 6 different written pieces for my portfolio and have found an interest in different areas, especially documentary making and children's fiction.
Professional Development in Journalism
For this module over the holiday I attended Derby Magistrates court for experience as it was part of our development process and personnal learning. It was interesting to see how courts worked and viewing other journalists in action in the court was certainly an eye-opener.
The final lecture for this module was one of the best to date. We carried out our own Media Conference with a member of Derby constabulary, asking questions and using press releases to write and update a shooting story bringing it to life and making it more colourful with quotes.
Introduction to Law and Public Affairs
This lecture is probably the most simple of them all to describe as we just answered a multiple choice test to see how much has sunk in.
This final lecture allowed me to recap what I have learned throughout Introduction to Law and Public Affairs, which has certainly allowed me to grasp the concepts I had learned previously.
I have also completed the 6 different written pieces for my portfolio and have found an interest in different areas, especially documentary making and children's fiction.
Professional Development in Journalism
For this module over the holiday I attended Derby Magistrates court for experience as it was part of our development process and personnal learning. It was interesting to see how courts worked and viewing other journalists in action in the court was certainly an eye-opener.
The final lecture for this module was one of the best to date. We carried out our own Media Conference with a member of Derby constabulary, asking questions and using press releases to write and update a shooting story bringing it to life and making it more colourful with quotes.
Introduction to Law and Public Affairs
This lecture is probably the most simple of them all to describe as we just answered a multiple choice test to see how much has sunk in.
Friday, 1 April 2011
Friday 1st April- Lecture Catch-up
Monday 21st March & Monday 4th April 2011 - Digital Publishing
This is a module which is difficult to write about, but I have a plan. Dreamweaver has been the main focus of this module, as we have had to create our own newspaper website which works. This is why rather than retyping everything we have studied or looked at in lectures I am going to photocopy the notes I have made on how to carry out different tasks with the software.
Thursday 24th March & Thursday 7th April 2011 - Introduction to Professional Writing
Over the last few weeks I have learned how to write both speeches and children's stories. With speeches the aim is to get the audience involved, e.g. make it personal by adding anecdotes and using the word "you".
Children are one of the most difficult audiences to write for and this is because you need to get their attention and hold it. The story needs to focus on plot and turning points rather than character building when writing for younger children.
Friday 25th March & Friday 8th April- Professional Development in Journalism
These last two lectures have been focused on our writing skills and different writing styles. I've learned a lot about my own ability as a journalist, especially when writing for news features.
When writing my own feature after interviewing a colleague I used plenty of humour and descriptive language to keep the piece colourful and memorable.
Important skills I have learned considering my writing include; how to write news storys as new information is brought to light, how to write a news feature and keep the readers attention and how important the questions are which you ask during your interview with people.
Features of a news story and how to write one
-Short, to the point introduction.
-Short paragraphs, usually one sentence, no more than 2.
-Quotes, essential to support story
-The people interviewed matter, make sure the people interviewed are involved, include professionals if story is related to a certain sector or political party, e.g. NHS spokesperson
-Keep the story unbiased, follow your angle but make sure you include the counter argument no matter how small the space is its given.
-Use the WHAT triangle
Writing a news feature
-Quotes, important in bringing the story to life, using words straight from the mouth of the interviewee.
-Build up to the point/ angle, unlike writing a news story the piece can explore other areas and build up tension before the initial point is made.
-Descriptive language, helps the reader to invision what they are being told.
-Humour, can help grip the reader's attention and generally make them laugh.
The final week before Easter the lecture focussed on laws which affect what a journalist writes.
Over the holiday I have several things to do for this module. These include visiting the local magistrates court to find a story and to write it, and to also carry out some extra reading into McNaes essential law for journalists.
Friday 25th & Friday 8th April - Intoduction to Law and Public Affairs
Still don't know how to write about this topic apart from saying what I have learned each week. I have an idea, which is too re-type notes made in class on each topic covered and upload them in a similar way to Dreamweaver notes; this way I will be able to access them whenever I need them, no matter where I am.
Looks like I've got plenty of tasks to keep me going over the summer once I have met my deadlines.
This is a module which is difficult to write about, but I have a plan. Dreamweaver has been the main focus of this module, as we have had to create our own newspaper website which works. This is why rather than retyping everything we have studied or looked at in lectures I am going to photocopy the notes I have made on how to carry out different tasks with the software.
Thursday 24th March & Thursday 7th April 2011 - Introduction to Professional Writing
Over the last few weeks I have learned how to write both speeches and children's stories. With speeches the aim is to get the audience involved, e.g. make it personal by adding anecdotes and using the word "you".
Children are one of the most difficult audiences to write for and this is because you need to get their attention and hold it. The story needs to focus on plot and turning points rather than character building when writing for younger children.
Friday 25th March & Friday 8th April- Professional Development in Journalism
These last two lectures have been focused on our writing skills and different writing styles. I've learned a lot about my own ability as a journalist, especially when writing for news features.
When writing my own feature after interviewing a colleague I used plenty of humour and descriptive language to keep the piece colourful and memorable.
Important skills I have learned considering my writing include; how to write news storys as new information is brought to light, how to write a news feature and keep the readers attention and how important the questions are which you ask during your interview with people.
Features of a news story and how to write one
-Short, to the point introduction.
-Short paragraphs, usually one sentence, no more than 2.
-Quotes, essential to support story
-The people interviewed matter, make sure the people interviewed are involved, include professionals if story is related to a certain sector or political party, e.g. NHS spokesperson
-Keep the story unbiased, follow your angle but make sure you include the counter argument no matter how small the space is its given.
-Use the WHAT triangle
Writing a news feature
-Quotes, important in bringing the story to life, using words straight from the mouth of the interviewee.
-Build up to the point/ angle, unlike writing a news story the piece can explore other areas and build up tension before the initial point is made.
-Descriptive language, helps the reader to invision what they are being told.
-Humour, can help grip the reader's attention and generally make them laugh.
The final week before Easter the lecture focussed on laws which affect what a journalist writes.
Over the holiday I have several things to do for this module. These include visiting the local magistrates court to find a story and to write it, and to also carry out some extra reading into McNaes essential law for journalists.
Friday 25th & Friday 8th April - Intoduction to Law and Public Affairs
Still don't know how to write about this topic apart from saying what I have learned each week. I have an idea, which is too re-type notes made in class on each topic covered and upload them in a similar way to Dreamweaver notes; this way I will be able to access them whenever I need them, no matter where I am.
Looks like I've got plenty of tasks to keep me going over the summer once I have met my deadlines.
Friday, 18 March 2011
Friday 18th March- Lecture Catch-Up
Its definately been a while since this has been updated. This is due to essay writing, as I've had four deadlines over the last three or four weeks. So now its time to continue where I left off and attempt to keep it as up-to-date as possible.
Thursday 17th February- Thursday 17th March... Introduction to Professional Writing
There have been numerous sessions which need to be documented. This includes sessions on soap storyline writing and pitching for documentaries. There was also a reading week and a week in which I visited Format Photography festival (this was for another module so I'll discuss it further down).
Soap writing wasn't really something I was personally interested in and to be honest still isn't. But I learned a lot about how to create interesting characters and storylines which will keep an audience interested.
Documentary pitching was definately more exhilirating and something I found interesting and would enjoy doing. It is important to find an idea which is novel and carry out much in depth research. Experts are important to make the documentary substantial and using regular people bring a personal element to it. It is important to have a large pitch of at least 2 or 3 pages for a documentary that is merely 7 minutes long, 10 pages are recommended for an hour long documentary. It is important when trying to get commissioned to give the commissioner a lot to envision. You want them to really picture the programme, and bring it to life from what your telling them.
Friday 18th February- Friday 18th March... Professional Development in Journalism
For this module it was important to visit our correspondent patches, so I attended the Format Photography Festival launch on Thursday 3rd March. While there I conducted interviews with many people, ranging from photographers, volunteers and visitors to the attraction. It was interesting to disover how many people were involved and what their thoughts were on the event and how the area can benefit from the events taking place around the city. This could be an option for my 1,500 word new featuree (major assignment for this module).
A session on writing for newspapers was really useful in helping me revise what I learned in Introdution to Journalism last term. How to write news for print, The WHAT triangle, using quotes, the order in which to write and what angle to write a news story from. Through shortening stories from 250 words to 100, to 50 and finally to 25 allowed me to pick out the most relative information to include. Also through a mock news desk scenario I produced a piece on a plane crash which was edited 4 times as more information became available, slowly but steadily making the piece more substantial and news worthy.
Friday 18th February- Friday 18th March... Introduction to Law and Public Affairs
Lectures for this module related to contempt of court and defamation, which are options for our major assignment for this module. This will be updated after todays lecture, as we are still currently covering this.
Monday 21st February- Monday 14th March
Although I've learned a lot in these lectures about using photoshop and dreamweaver to create a newspaper website there isn't great amounts to write on here. I have planned and produced my masthead for the site and the rollovers for this. I am also now able to control the heading and paragraph styles, although this is relatively simple once you've learned it because dreamweaver does the bulk of the work for you, this will allow my to keep the styles precisely the same throughout. I am yet to figure out how to get a search bar to work and then how to create the full final pages.
Thursday 17th February- Thursday 17th March... Introduction to Professional Writing
There have been numerous sessions which need to be documented. This includes sessions on soap storyline writing and pitching for documentaries. There was also a reading week and a week in which I visited Format Photography festival (this was for another module so I'll discuss it further down).
Soap writing wasn't really something I was personally interested in and to be honest still isn't. But I learned a lot about how to create interesting characters and storylines which will keep an audience interested.
Documentary pitching was definately more exhilirating and something I found interesting and would enjoy doing. It is important to find an idea which is novel and carry out much in depth research. Experts are important to make the documentary substantial and using regular people bring a personal element to it. It is important to have a large pitch of at least 2 or 3 pages for a documentary that is merely 7 minutes long, 10 pages are recommended for an hour long documentary. It is important when trying to get commissioned to give the commissioner a lot to envision. You want them to really picture the programme, and bring it to life from what your telling them.
Friday 18th February- Friday 18th March... Professional Development in Journalism
For this module it was important to visit our correspondent patches, so I attended the Format Photography Festival launch on Thursday 3rd March. While there I conducted interviews with many people, ranging from photographers, volunteers and visitors to the attraction. It was interesting to disover how many people were involved and what their thoughts were on the event and how the area can benefit from the events taking place around the city. This could be an option for my 1,500 word new featuree (major assignment for this module).
A session on writing for newspapers was really useful in helping me revise what I learned in Introdution to Journalism last term. How to write news for print, The WHAT triangle, using quotes, the order in which to write and what angle to write a news story from. Through shortening stories from 250 words to 100, to 50 and finally to 25 allowed me to pick out the most relative information to include. Also through a mock news desk scenario I produced a piece on a plane crash which was edited 4 times as more information became available, slowly but steadily making the piece more substantial and news worthy.
Friday 18th February- Friday 18th March... Introduction to Law and Public Affairs
Lectures for this module related to contempt of court and defamation, which are options for our major assignment for this module. This will be updated after todays lecture, as we are still currently covering this.
Monday 21st February- Monday 14th March
Although I've learned a lot in these lectures about using photoshop and dreamweaver to create a newspaper website there isn't great amounts to write on here. I have planned and produced my masthead for the site and the rollovers for this. I am also now able to control the heading and paragraph styles, although this is relatively simple once you've learned it because dreamweaver does the bulk of the work for you, this will allow my to keep the styles precisely the same throughout. I am yet to figure out how to get a search bar to work and then how to create the full final pages.
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Wednesday 16th February- Lots of Lecture Stuff
Well it seems to have been a while since I last updated this, so lets take a look at what I've learned over the last week and a half.
Friday 4th and Friday 11th February- Introduction to Law and Public Affairs
So the first week we looked at the hierarchy of the court system, which looks a little like this.
Magistrates Court -> Crown Court -> High Court -> The Court of Appeal -> The House of Lords
Following the lecture I now know about the different undertakings in each court and how cases get to be held in a certain court depending on the seriousness or the appeal. Following this we carried out a mock court hearing on theft, with the verdict not guilty.
The definition of theft: To take the item in question and intentionally permenantly deprive the owner of it.
The lecture on Friday 11th February was about the role of the Judiciary. We looked at how different case are seen differently in the courts e.g. difference between bike and motorised vehicle being rode/ driven around a park. I also now know how different cases from the past can be used to support a defence in court, e.g. R Vs R, a rape case between a seperated wife and husband, who were not divorced but living apart for numerous years.
Thursday 10th February- Introduction to Professional Writing
The focus of this lecture was press releases, to equip us with the skills to carry one out if we decide to do it to include in our major assignment, a portfolio of 6 pieces of work including the front page of a blog. Following this lecture I know fully understand that a press release is to make it clear for the public to understand what a certain product or organisation is about, to raise the profile of it, to get a message across and to keep the organisation in the public eye.
I now know how to find the right story that is of interest to the public, and how to write it based on the medium it is for and what needs to be included. I also know contacts are important, you need reliability.
Friday 11th February- Professional Development in Journalism
Todays lecture was about our minor assignment, which involves sitting in on a Cabinet Council meeting, in order to write a report of a public meeting. A man visited us from the council to discuss the agenda with us and which items we may find more useful. We did an activity based on a 2005 agenda from which the Labour party proposed to cut home care charges, from this we were to write a headline and opening. After reading the agenda and the financial implement section I decided to write the story from a negative perspective due to the fact cuts here meant tax rises and money being used from elsewhere. My headline was- "Tax rise feared as home care charges axed". I believed this was the more controversial angle and would be what the press would use to draw the public in, as tax increases and budget cuts elsewhere would affect more people. This was in fact the angle the press did take on the story.
Monday 14th February- Digital Publishing
After completing lectures on the minor assignment of comparing online and print newspapers, including advantages and disadvantages we were eased into the use of Dreamweaver and Photshop to create our major assignment; a working website containing a home page, three sub categories and one main story.
Sketching up and looking at layouts for both the page and masthead is how we have begun, after deciding our paper should be of the broadsheet variety. The masthead has been kept simple, with black and white text, along with the navigation.
Tuesday 15th February- Council Cabinet Meeting
It was interesting to see how one was carried out, although without the full advantage of shorthand it was difficult to keep up with what was being said and making notes to correspond. Now I have my notes for this, I will choose to cover one of the 31 items on the agenda for my report on a public meeting.
Friday 4th and Friday 11th February- Introduction to Law and Public Affairs
So the first week we looked at the hierarchy of the court system, which looks a little like this.
Magistrates Court -> Crown Court -> High Court -> The Court of Appeal -> The House of Lords
Following the lecture I now know about the different undertakings in each court and how cases get to be held in a certain court depending on the seriousness or the appeal. Following this we carried out a mock court hearing on theft, with the verdict not guilty.
The definition of theft: To take the item in question and intentionally permenantly deprive the owner of it.
The lecture on Friday 11th February was about the role of the Judiciary. We looked at how different case are seen differently in the courts e.g. difference between bike and motorised vehicle being rode/ driven around a park. I also now know how different cases from the past can be used to support a defence in court, e.g. R Vs R, a rape case between a seperated wife and husband, who were not divorced but living apart for numerous years.
Thursday 10th February- Introduction to Professional Writing
The focus of this lecture was press releases, to equip us with the skills to carry one out if we decide to do it to include in our major assignment, a portfolio of 6 pieces of work including the front page of a blog. Following this lecture I know fully understand that a press release is to make it clear for the public to understand what a certain product or organisation is about, to raise the profile of it, to get a message across and to keep the organisation in the public eye.
I now know how to find the right story that is of interest to the public, and how to write it based on the medium it is for and what needs to be included. I also know contacts are important, you need reliability.
Friday 11th February- Professional Development in Journalism
Todays lecture was about our minor assignment, which involves sitting in on a Cabinet Council meeting, in order to write a report of a public meeting. A man visited us from the council to discuss the agenda with us and which items we may find more useful. We did an activity based on a 2005 agenda from which the Labour party proposed to cut home care charges, from this we were to write a headline and opening. After reading the agenda and the financial implement section I decided to write the story from a negative perspective due to the fact cuts here meant tax rises and money being used from elsewhere. My headline was- "Tax rise feared as home care charges axed". I believed this was the more controversial angle and would be what the press would use to draw the public in, as tax increases and budget cuts elsewhere would affect more people. This was in fact the angle the press did take on the story.
Monday 14th February- Digital Publishing
After completing lectures on the minor assignment of comparing online and print newspapers, including advantages and disadvantages we were eased into the use of Dreamweaver and Photshop to create our major assignment; a working website containing a home page, three sub categories and one main story.
Sketching up and looking at layouts for both the page and masthead is how we have begun, after deciding our paper should be of the broadsheet variety. The masthead has been kept simple, with black and white text, along with the navigation.
Tuesday 15th February- Council Cabinet Meeting
It was interesting to see how one was carried out, although without the full advantage of shorthand it was difficult to keep up with what was being said and making notes to correspond. Now I have my notes for this, I will choose to cover one of the 31 items on the agenda for my report on a public meeting.
Friday, 4 February 2011
Friday 4th February 2011- Introduction to Professional Writing and Professional Development in Journalism
Introduction to Professional Writing
The first lecture of Professional Writing discussed blogging, Rhetoric and advertisements. After this lecture I feel comfortable being given the job of finding a way to sell a product. The sticky language to use throughout advertisement campaigns is now something I feel I can definately use to my strength.
For example, to sell a product such as Pontefract Cakes (an example we used in class) we would run through the alphabet discussing words to sum up the product, which are positive and would persuade people to buy it.
A= Amazing, Awsome...
B= Bold...
C= Curious...
D= Delicious...
(The example above gives an idea of the first process to be carried out)
Once the favourite description have been chosen I would then work on these, turning them into more lengthy descriptions, or phrases that would be memorable for an audience watching a commerical.
Professional Development in Journalism
Being a budding journalist it is important to know "what makes news" and the news values behind what makes the story newsworthy to it's audience.
The news values include; frequency, threshold, meaninfulness, unexpected, uniqueness, elite, negativty, unambiguity, continuity, compostion and personalistion. Others say it can also include sex. It is usual for stories to contain a number of these values.
These values are what sell a story, for example if it's local news, is negative and unexpected then if printed in a local newspaper will sell the product.
I believe with the support from what I have learned in this lecture that I have the confidence to find and execute a news story of interest. This is definately a skill which I can keep in mind for a future in the career I wish to have.
The first lecture of Professional Writing discussed blogging, Rhetoric and advertisements. After this lecture I feel comfortable being given the job of finding a way to sell a product. The sticky language to use throughout advertisement campaigns is now something I feel I can definately use to my strength.
For example, to sell a product such as Pontefract Cakes (an example we used in class) we would run through the alphabet discussing words to sum up the product, which are positive and would persuade people to buy it.
A= Amazing, Awsome...
B= Bold...
C= Curious...
D= Delicious...
(The example above gives an idea of the first process to be carried out)
Once the favourite description have been chosen I would then work on these, turning them into more lengthy descriptions, or phrases that would be memorable for an audience watching a commerical.
Professional Development in Journalism
Being a budding journalist it is important to know "what makes news" and the news values behind what makes the story newsworthy to it's audience.
The news values include; frequency, threshold, meaninfulness, unexpected, uniqueness, elite, negativty, unambiguity, continuity, compostion and personalistion. Others say it can also include sex. It is usual for stories to contain a number of these values.
These values are what sell a story, for example if it's local news, is negative and unexpected then if printed in a local newspaper will sell the product.
I believe with the support from what I have learned in this lecture that I have the confidence to find and execute a news story of interest. This is definately a skill which I can keep in mind for a future in the career I wish to have.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Monday 31st January- Digital Publishing
So what did I learn today... the difference between broadsheet and tabloid readers, surely by now we should know this. We looked at how newspapers and online equivelants are laid out in relevence to the target audience.
The final part of the lesson, much more useful. Looking at how we need to set up the folders for creating a website, ready to begin next week. By next lesson we need to have a group sorted for the major assignment and the folders set up ready to begin. Hopefully soon I will be able to attempt the process of making my own website, I may start playing with the software this week in preparation.
Starting now I will be reading books in order to complete my minor assignment essays for the end of February. Time to prep these essays then.
The final part of the lesson, much more useful. Looking at how we need to set up the folders for creating a website, ready to begin next week. By next lesson we need to have a group sorted for the major assignment and the folders set up ready to begin. Hopefully soon I will be able to attempt the process of making my own website, I may start playing with the software this week in preparation.
Starting now I will be reading books in order to complete my minor assignment essays for the end of February. Time to prep these essays then.
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Friday 28th January 2011- Introduction to Law and Public Affairs
Well that was complicated. Best get onto Blackboard and actually reread what we learned today, and see if any of it sunk in.
So basically there's three sectors involved in making new laws, the Government, Parliament and the Monarch. So far so good, now after here I'm a little bit lost with these Parent Acts and what not. So I best get doing a bit of back ground research myself. New target; I will understand the gobbledeegook this man told me.
So basically there's three sectors involved in making new laws, the Government, Parliament and the Monarch. So far so good, now after here I'm a little bit lost with these Parent Acts and what not. So I best get doing a bit of back ground research myself. New target; I will understand the gobbledeegook this man told me.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Week 1- Friday 28th January 2011 (Professional Development in Journalism)
This is a log which is going to be kept throughout my university career from now (Year 1, Semester 2). It's is going focus on what I have learned in each lecture, what else I personally want to research more into and targets I am personally setting for myself.
The plan is to update this regularly in response to previous lectures and allow me to prepare for future CV production and job applications. I have chosen to do it in the form of a blog rather than a word document as it will encourage me to keep it up to date. So I apologise for posting irrelevent information to my original blogs, but it is the best source for me.
Todays session was based on employability skills required for journalism related jobs, but also looking at generic skills and attributes which are transferable. These key skills included; time management skills and organisation, dedication, communication skills, interpersonal skills, objectiveness, self-reliance, industry awareness and the ability to work as part of a team.
Following the discussion based on these skills and attributes we hosted interview scenarios in pairs, covering these attributes. The idea was that we would see what questions were difficult to answer and how to combat these. This links to the production of this learning log, which will allow us to access evidence we have in support for applications in the future. Using this blog I will be able to access the skills and attributes I have and through what process I gained them, supplying me with example and evidence of what I did throughout my degree.
Following this session I am going to continue writing this blog, updating it as often as I can, preferably after each lecture. Although this isn't the most exciting topic in the history of blogging, feel free to follow me on my journey to becoming a journalist ;)
The plan is to update this regularly in response to previous lectures and allow me to prepare for future CV production and job applications. I have chosen to do it in the form of a blog rather than a word document as it will encourage me to keep it up to date. So I apologise for posting irrelevent information to my original blogs, but it is the best source for me.
Todays session was based on employability skills required for journalism related jobs, but also looking at generic skills and attributes which are transferable. These key skills included; time management skills and organisation, dedication, communication skills, interpersonal skills, objectiveness, self-reliance, industry awareness and the ability to work as part of a team.
Following the discussion based on these skills and attributes we hosted interview scenarios in pairs, covering these attributes. The idea was that we would see what questions were difficult to answer and how to combat these. This links to the production of this learning log, which will allow us to access evidence we have in support for applications in the future. Using this blog I will be able to access the skills and attributes I have and through what process I gained them, supplying me with example and evidence of what I did throughout my degree.
Following this session I am going to continue writing this blog, updating it as often as I can, preferably after each lecture. Although this isn't the most exciting topic in the history of blogging, feel free to follow me on my journey to becoming a journalist ;)
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