Just slightly embarrassed myself...

I was talking to my news editor about what title to put for my article.

Title.

Title....

He said "oh you mean the headline"

Idiot.

Oooooh big words...!

So I feel really thick when I hear big words used by other reporters, so I have kept note of these words and will add to it every now and then...


ADVERSE - Unfavourable, harmful, preventing success
AUSTERITY - Budget cuts, reduce budget deficits during adverse economic conditions 
DEFICITS - The amount by which something, especially a sum of money, is too small
DISPUTE - A disagreement or argument
INQUEST - Formal investigation
MAGNANIMOUS - A sense of forgiving
PREDILECTION - A preference/ special liking
PRONOUNCED - Very noticeable or CONSPICUOUS - Clearly visible 
SUBSEQUENTLY - Afterwards

Good Journalism words to use:

Allegedly 
Just to clarify
Police are appealing
Regarding

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

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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...