So now I'm looking up working abroad...

Okay seriously? I have had a sudden urge to work abroad lately. I have been looking on STA Travel for possible jobs, as this site seems really safe and I've heard good things about it. If anyone else know any good websites then please step forward!

BUT - If I did a teaching TEFL course in South Africa for example, (which is only two months), it would be amazing. However, I would have no money collected to go to Harlow College in October to do my Intensive Journalism Diploma! Dammit! 

This urge to work abroad or go travelling may have to wait until next year. I guess I should stick with what’s right and complete my diploma first, but I don’t even know if I’ll get in yet!

So in THAT case, if I don’t get accepted into Harlow College, I will use the money that I’ve saved up to do something else instead - like work abroad! 

If anyone else has worked abroad, or is currently working abroad, throw your advice my way!

Little epiphany going on here. If you are in a similar boat, please share with me so I don’t feel like the only one. 

Thoughts on starting a seperate travel blog? Becoming a feature writer/reviewer

HELP AND ADVICE WANTED!

I have major wanderlust and I’m always travelling. So I need to find what I can specialise in when it comes to my Journalism degree..

Hospitality - I’ve worked in the restaurant and hotel industry since I was 4 so maybe I can start reviewing places and becoming a critic?

Travel - I’m always going on holiday and I take pictures of literally everything (like a proper tourist) and I feel the need to write about my entire holiday in diary form or one event at a time in detail. The boyfriend and I aim to go skiing as well as Tokyo when we save enough money! I wish I started writing earlier because I would have had Australia and Florida and South Africa to write about also…Hopefully I will save enough to go back.

Food - I love food. I’m always dining out in restaurants and need to find more places that not many people know about. I could be a potential food critic on the side because of the knowledge of working in a 4* hotel and restaurant, as well as working in this field since the age of 14.

Culture - I’m a people’s person and I am always interested in different cultures and what they have to say. Hence travel and culture would be an interesting subject. 

I need some advice from anyone who has become successful in their speciality blogging, or anyone who has become a popular blogger. Help will be appreciated!

Amy x

The importance of the Inverted Pyramid

ALWAYS REMEMBER THE INVERTED PYRAMID!

Who? What? When? Where? and Why?

This will get you going for a successful telephone interview and a great article. 

Remember - The audience could stop reading at any time so it's best to stick with this method.

Random telephone interview notes...

This is just to jot down for myself. Take note if you wish!

It's just stuff to remember to ask whilst on the phone.

(In no particular order obviously...)

What, When, Where, Who and Why?
Is it worth sending a photographer?
Full name, age and address?
Was wondering whether you had a few minutes to talk about it?
Your position in your work place/club?
What does that involve?
Who else is involved?
Are you the main organiser?

Send those Press Releases my way!

press release
noun

plural noun: press releases

an official statement issued to newspapers giving information on a particular matter.

Press releases were probably the first thing thrown at me when I started working at the News Desk.
They seemed relatively easy. However, it was so tempting to just copy and paste the work into the system - then that would be considered laziness and possible plagiarism. We don't want that now do we.

The editor expected me to, well, be the editor of that piece! Grammar checks were essential, even the nitty gritty punctuation gets noticed, as well as changing the style of the article to fit our standard criteria.

Press releases can contain all the factual information about the event, the company and the people involved. Writing them up allowed me to look busy if I didn't have many telephone calls from the public asking me to write about their achievements / concerns / witnesses etc. It also helped improve my editing skills and proofreading.

Press releases are a quick and informative way to fill up a newspaper. (Not all of it of course, otherwise what's the point in us journalists?)

Here are ways for journalists to write up press releases:
6 ways journalists can use press releases effectively. 

AND here is the opposite - Information for all you PRs on how to write good press releases for us Journalists. I'm not saying we are the superior - we need YOUR help to add factual information into the stories!
Press Release writing tips

So I was asked to do a 'Vox Pop'

vox populi (ˈpɒpjʊˌlaɪ)

- The voice of the people; popular or public opinion

My editor asked me to do a Vox Pop during the lunch hour in Ipswich town centre, Suffolk, UK.

I didn't mind this of course, as journalists are supposed to have the confidence to ask anyone anything (within context).

I was asked to find 6 members of the public to gather their opinions on the new £3million design for Ipswich Cornhill. Their have been a variety of responses on the re-design of the town centre, luckily mine were fairly positive! I also had to make sure that they were residents of the area first as we needed local responses.

The first challenge was to gather the individual's attention. I knew this wouldn't be easy as I do feel sorry for the charity organisations trying their best to gather money for the charity. It's far more difficult to ask for money on the street so I had an idea to start my vox pop by saying:

"Hi there I was just wondering if I could grab your opinion for your chance to be in the paper? Don't worry I'm not asking for money, just a public opinion..." I then shove the newspaper article in their face (not literally) as well as the A4 sized re-design images given to me to show them. 

I felt that these people would compromise if they knew their opinion would actually count! So I emphasised what paper I worked for and that their view would appear within the article. This perked them up a bit and the phrase 'freedom of speech' came to mind. It was amusing asking them for their full name, AGE and whereabouts they live (not their exact address). It seemed like too much information to receive from them, but accuracy is key and it's just to make sure we're not making the whole thing up!

The second challenge was to try and take a photo of them. Some of them hesitated but were happy to have a typical 'mug shot' taken. Some didn't want one because of the company they worked for, which unfortunately meant that I couldn't use their opinion because I didn't have all the accurate information. That was one of the setbacks as they may have had really good views.

I was going to record their opinions via the voice memo app on my iPhone 4S. However, this was a silly idea as, even though my phone was at 60% battery, it died on me. How pathetic is that - having apps on the iPhone when they can't even handle them. However, that's a different matter I need to sort out. Next time a dictaphone will probably help, but I need to find one where I can plug in headphones so I don't annoy everyone else in the office. I need to research on a decent one. Any fellow journalists who could give me a heads up on good recording devices please comment below!

So, as an alternative, I used the notepad to jot down their quotes. This was also a challenge as I haven't fully learned how to do shorthand yet. I sound like a pretty useless journalist don't I! Blame my University for not providing the courses that would actually be useful for the everyday journalistic life! I'm ranting now, sorry. Back to the vox pop.

Even though it was during the Winter months, I enjoyed getting out of the office to train myself to grab people's attention and gather my own quotes. It felt good to cooperate and not just edit and re-write press releases. 

Note to self: 

• Get a good dictaphone or just a decent, up to date recording device as my iPhone is clearly unreliable. 
• Continue to learn shorthand
• Appearance must be professional during vox pops to make you look more legit 
• Have a camera on show or tell them you will be using not YOUR mobile phone but A mobile phone to take a clear photo. (preferably an Iphone with a good camera)
• Make sure the people you gather quotes from are a variety of ethnics/gender/age. It wouldn't look good if you only gathered quotes from 25 year old women. 

Click on this link for more how-to information: 

How to get the perfect Vox Pops

22 & not a clue: Decisions Decisions

22 & not a clue: Decisions Decisions: One extreme to the next is my preferred third gear, uncertainty being a comfortable second and worry a very reliable first. I am quickly...



This girl is an inspiration, as well as a bubbly Northern Irish lass who I met at Uni. It makes me realise I'm not the only one who's 22 and not a clue!

Shorthand time...

So far at the Newsdesk!

So here I am! Pencil skirt, hair up, wearing stilettos and ready to roll! As well as trying to understand what the hell my news editor is going on about. Why do uploading articles have to be such a complex process? It's OK I'll get used to it eventually...

I'm sitting here facing a computer monitor among all other publishers/editors/assistants in the News desk section, feeling rather professional. I've already had tea made for me twice, so I quickly jumped in there to do a tea round myself!

First thing this morning I had to go to a court case. Exciting stuff! I had a walk and talk with the crime reporter as we headed our way towards Crown Court, and went to an intense court case where I sat among the victims and the defendant's Mother, who was shaking her head and muttering under her breath over the final verdict. I felt like I was sitting there and invading their personal space, but don't mind me, I'm just doing my job! I've never been to a court case before so it was a new experience for me, I've only even seen the funny white wigs, intimidating faces, and black capes on television!

I've managed to write a few 300 word articles to put in the paper; taking longer than usual because I felt the need to be a perfectionist on my first day. However, things have developed since then. This is my fourth week at the news desk and I've been given more and more tasks to do, as well as five articles to be written in one day. Luckily most of them were press releases, which to me acts like a template in order to complete and correctly structure the full story. A couple have already appeared in one of the newspapers and I was so excited to see my name and email directly underneath it!

One of my colleagues kindly gave me a Teeline shorthand booklet for me to take home and learn. This is a huge boost for me as I would have to undergo a shorthand exam during this intensive 25 week course I have to do, i.e writing 100 shorthand words per minute...
This pissed me off big time because I have gone and completed a 3 year University degree on Journalism and News media, and I still have to do an extra course? Luckily my editor said he would pay the tuition fee, (if he still likes me that is...) I can't believe no lecturer told me about this course! Why did I waste my time?

ADVICE TO NEW JOURNALISM STUDENTS! - Look up the intensive course in Harlow first! Or do a Journalism degree at Bournemouth University where the degree is NCTJ approved. I went to Roehampton so this wasn't the case for me. Gutted. At least I still have a degree in my hand, as I actually need it to get into the post graduate intensive course!

Luckily I don't feel too much of an amateur here, as there are a variety of ages from around 22-60. (22 being me of course). There are a few more beginners today which seem to be getting along nicely so I'd best keep up with the good impressions!

I have my own direct line, my own desk and computer, as well as my own company email address and personal desktop. This is awesome.
Telephone inquiries have been a bit nerve racking, but hey, this is what journalism is all about!

I love wearing my fashionable office wear that has been hanging in my wardrobe for over a year, waiting to be worn! Even since I graduated all I have been wearing is black trousers, black shirt, and a black apron- near enough all day, everyday at my waitress job.

This is a brand new start for me, and hopefully this will kick start my career in Journalism! Now I have to find out what I specialise in, as well as gaining 100% confidence in myself to tread carefully to become a top notch journalist! There are so many rules though! Wish me luck!

And so my journey begins...

So I can finally put this blog to good use! (It's only been a YEAR since I graduated?!)

Last week I finally got myself a little job at a newspaper company in Suffolk. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say where it is yet as I don't want to lose my job the minute I've just started!

The editor fetched me from reception and took me into his little private office; I was expecting to be in there for 10 seconds.
I started worrying when the first thing he said was 'talk to me about your degree,' and 'what did you learn?'
I felt this was quite intimidating as he's probably one of many who feel that going to university is a waste of time. After I winged it without hesitation, he bluntly said 'this is how it is...' So I thought, well I'd best get my bags together and prepare to leave; but hang on, I soon realised that we were getting somewhere when he started talking about a 25 week intensive course in Harlow...

NCTJ Level 3 Fast Track Diploma in News JournalismHarlow College

He spoke about a few courses that I've never even heard of, such a the NCTJ (National council for the Training of Journalists) preliminary exams. He explained that fellow editors will look at this and will know that the candidate is more than capable of having anything thrown at them. I thanked him for being so honest, but I also explained that i was quite annoyed, because none of my lecturers told me about this intensive course, so I felt a bit disheartened with the thought that my degree was a waste of time. On second thoughts, my degree did give me a bit of a boost, otherwise I don't think he would have even given me this opportunity if I just walked in without a degree. So I suppose I can thank my degree to some extent.

I guess you do need some pretty good experience when it comes to trying to get a job in journalism. This is so the editors can see what you're capable of, instead of just being good at academic assignments without going out there and working under the pressure of real life journalism. You wouldn't get anywhere in this industry if you were a quiet mouse with high class grades. Charisma is an important part of it.

I've had to take this year to settle into my new house with the sister and become a full time member of staff in a 4* hotel/restaurant. This has allowed me to afford the rent, throw money into my savings, and say yes to anything leisurable and sociable. So all of this I can tick on the stability list; now it's time for the nitty gritty - concentrating on my future career.

Then I thought to myself, 'wow I actually need to go out and buy flattering office wear! (Oh what a shame that I need a new wardrobe!) As well as finding myself some stilettos that I can actually walk in, not just the ones I own for strictly clubbing use! I've been so used to only wearing black in my current job, so it's time to spritz things up a bit!

So now I'm going to be working 6 days a week. Luckily I am full of energy! I get bored easily if I have too many days off with nothing planned.

This job may be something small, but at least I'm getting somewhere! As well as finally receiving a job with some form of relevance to my degree!

I start on Wednesday. Wish me luck!