Unit Reflection

Blog Post: Unit Reflection

One of the most memorable things I have learnt throughout this unit is a wide range of skills in News Reporting. From writing basic hard news stories through to council and court reporting, press releases and even feature writing, I feel very confident in producing all types of news stories. The two visits to both a Magistrates court and a Crown court also gave me fantastic experience in live journalism.

My experiences in print and online were also very enjoyable. I was given the opportunity to create a blog, which helped motivate me to continue writing in my own time. Producing a full sized tabloid news spread during our print classes also gave me a great insight into what print would be like in my second semester if I were to choose it as one of my two options, and also valuable experience in using Adobe InDesign.

As for the broadcast units, radio was thoroughly enjoyable in both writing radio news stories to getting to spend time in the radio studio. Unfortunately, though, 10 minutes just didn’t seem enough to get a real taste of radio journalism. The same can be said for my two lessons of T.V. I got no time in the studio what so ever, and we were doing mostly the same practical work as in radio: recording and editing Vox Pops. This makes my decision as to what units I want to do in my second semester more difficult.

If I could go back and do the unit again I would have spent more time on my blog and wrote more regularly than I have done. I would also have liked to widen my content to not just reviews, but profiles and features. I also would have spent more time in the radio and T.V studio’s to help inform my unit choices for next semester.  

TV Voxpop

Today I finally had the time to spend in the editing studio and I finished my first TV package!

Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights

A review of Frankie Boyle's new comedy: Tramadol Nights. Showing on Channel 4 at 10PM on Tuesdays.



"I don't mean it to sound horrible but.."



When I think of Frankie Boyle, borderline unacceptable and proud of it immediately spring to mind. And that’s exactly what Tramadol Nights is: the darkest of dark comedies created in the most hellish recesses of an unconscionable glaswegian brain.  

Strictly ‘adult only’, this new show is unique in that it blends hilariously distasteful sketches with Frankie’s notoriously harsh stand-up. Think Russell Howards good news but instead of a happy good news story at the end you get told to go fuck your selves until next week.

Back and bearded, Frankie opens the show with very off the cuff banter with the audience, and in true Boyle fashion he gives the front row a heavy grilling. Topics for discussion about funny news stories have become commonplace in other T.V comedies, and Frankie has followed suite. But not in a ‘Have I Got News for You’ way, more like turning human interest into complete filth, a notable example being a child birth story into having sex with pensioners. If you’re not offended in some way after the first five minutes you must be insane.

What one would assume not fit for broadcast is the exact essence of Tramadol Nights’ humour. How many other comedians could get away with references to fingering Susan Boyle on a Scottish field trip and developing a theory on stage that Michael Jackson created the moonwalk so that he could “move towards children while it looked like he was moving away.” Oh yes, celebrities are ripe pickings for this fearless comedian. Moving swiftly onto the death of Jade Goody, he exclaimed that Jack Tweed (her widowed husband) was the luckiest guy in the world because as she had cervical cancer she got “thinner and better looking and her pussy got tighter.” With lines that make the audience look ashamed to laugh it’s no wonder that he’s no longer featured in Mock the Week.

As for the sketches, they are if anything even more funny than the jokes. Hilarity ranging from cartoon mice being slaughtered by traps to a professor who has the ability to time travel by wanking with his students are just some of the clips shown. Mockery of the disabled and the Scottish as well as casual racism and plays on religion are, of course, all included. Frankie even mocks himself, opening with describing the show and his shaggy appearance as “like a children’s T.V channel, looking like a fucking tramp.”

Overall, though, I found the show to be hilarious yet inappropriate… to say the least. If you don’t mind incredibly crude jokes and, frankly, worrying comedy sketches, then this is not one to miss! I warn you though, it’s not for the faint hearted.

Radio News Writing

This week in our most enjoyable radio sessions with Martin Fletcher we were taught how to write news stories suitable for radio broadcast.

In particular, they had to be very brief, simple and to the point. No more than 4 sentences is a suitable length, with each sentence being 2-3 lines long. As with most writing in journalism, the opening line had to attract the reader’s attention and include no unnecessary details.

Martin also stressed the point of each story having to be in a Times New Roman font and at 16pt in size, with the date, title and the writer’s initials at the top of the page. I found the lecture to be very informative, giving us some great feedback, and most importantly, it was fun!

Here are the stories I constructed:

Crime

07/12/2010 - SM

Surrey police are urging residents to help locate criminals from their online most wanted list.

By visiting the Rogues Gallery online, people will have access to pictures and CCTV footage of offenders wanted across the county.

The website includes those involved in crimes such as attempted murder, burglary and drug importation.

Members of the public can then submit information anonymously to both Surrey Police and Crimestoppers.

Source:

http://www.surrey.police.uk/media/news_item.asp?area=12&itemID=13472

Pigs as Presents

07/12/2010 – SM

Surrey County Council and the RSPCA are warning people of the consequences of buying micro pigs as presents this Christmas.

The miniature animals may be small at birth but they soon grow and can often be too big to keep as house pets.

Animal health inspectors say that there are strict rules about where pigs can be kept and what they can be fed, to prevent diseases such as Foot & Mouth from spreading.

Celebrity purchases such as Paris Hilton’s have fuelled their popularity this year, despite costing around £700 each.

Source:

http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Council+warning+over+micro+pigs?opendocument

Trip to Parliament

A view from the front of Parliament at night

Ever since studying Government & Politics back at A-level I had always wanted to dabble with a bit of political journalism, so you can imagine my enthusiasm when Steve Miller announced a journo-only trip to our very own houses of parliament.

The day began with a cold... very cold, 6AM wake up before meeting the group at Farnham station to catch one of the 'commuter trains'. Naturally, it was still pitch black and each carriage was completely packed with London business-types, and as it happened only two of us managed to saddle a seat (me being one of them). Now it was always assumed that one of us students would sleep through their alarm and miss the train, but it sure was funny to watch Ben run onto the platform as the train slowly rolled past his windswept face.

Due to some clever train switching at Aldershot on Ben's behalf, however, we only had to wait at Waterloo for about 15 minutes. After an overpriced coffee at Costa and with our full team, we set off walking (thanks to ANOTHER tube strike) across Westminster Rd Bridge, marvelling at a few photo opportunities of the famous Big Ben in all its glory.

Upon arriving outside Parliament and surviving their vigorous security checks, our all access tour began. Unlike most others I had already visited both the Commons and the Lords, but I absolutely love the political and historic significance of it all, so it was no skin off my nose... unlike the bleak walk across the Themes.
I think the most noteworthy parts of that tour were being able to stand on the front benches of the Commons and take stance upon the debating table as if I were Cameron or Miliband myself, and being told that Michael Jackson once requested to purchase the queen's ornate gold canopy and throne... only an American aye.

After a disappointing no-show from deputy political editor of the BBC, James Landale, and instead listening to Steve Usher's rather interesting tails of his past journalistic career, we decided to call it lunch. As tempting as my memories of the caramel apple and white chocolate muffins are, £3.50 is just a bit dear, so half of us headed back over the frozen bridge to reap the benefits of our student cards in McDonald's.

We were then given the privilege of sitting in the public gallery of the Commons and watching Farnham's own Right Honourable Jeremy Hunt answer questions from members of the house on the subjects of Media, Culture and Sport. They were mostly uninteresting and difficult to follow, examples being broadband Internet and the tourism industry in Wells, but it was indeed something special just being there. We also got to witness the 700 year-old tradition of the Speaker entering the chamber, who was followed by clerks carrying swords and the queen's symbolic two-foot mace.

Following on we then had a Q & A session, which was mostly just A, with Lib Dem MP for Colchester Bob Russell. Surprisingly, he told us about his original career path in journalism within various newspapers, and announced he was the fastest typing MP, encouraging us all to learn our Shorthand to keep up with the 220 words-a-minute Hansard reporters (lol). But he knew we were all dying to ask him the burning question of university tuition fees, so he came right out with his statement before we could even badger him! In true political fashion, he didn't answer the question with complete clarity, and made his statement "I will stick to the pledge" (meaning the original, reduced fee's), being careful not to respond with a forthcoming yes or no. Still, though, many a man in his position wouldn't even give us the time of day, so I am grateful for his appearance.

We rounded the day off with a nice cold ale at St. Stephens Tavern, which was literally a minutes’ walk from Parliament, courtesy of a very generous Steve Usher. All in all, it was a great day.

Tuition Fees Voxpop

What do you think of the government’s decision to raise university tuition fees for students?

Today we were tasked with scripting, recording and editing vox pops on a subject of our choice. My group chose to ask the people of Farnham for their opinions on the rise in tuition fees. Most people in the town centre didn't want to talk to us… but I managed to get a few goodns’.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, some sort of technical error has broken my finished mp3, and without time to create a new one I am forced to upload a member of my groups instead. All will be explained in my unit evaluation.


Tuition Fee's Vox by musicconsumer

A Day In Court



Court Reporting

The front of Woking Magistrates Court



Today we were given the opportunity to visit Woking Magistrates Court for some live action in court reporting. Ready and eager to flex our shorthand muscles and after turning up an hour early (thanks Joe!) we saw three different cases, ranging from drink driving charges to a more serious case on possession of indecent photos of children. As soon as we had a story we were given permission to leave, and after about an hour we did just that.

Here are my two stories of the day:

Vandals’ vengeance

Vandals have pleaded guilty to three charges of harassment and damage after seeking vengeance on a school caretaker, a court has heard.

Leon Garman, 26, of Bonsey Lane, Addlestone, and another defendant who cannot be named due to their age were charged with harassment and two counts of vandalism at Woking Magistrates Court on Thursday the 21^st of October. Mr Garman pleaded guilty to all charges.

The two defendants tried to lure caretaker Dillan Dirani out of his home by saying that the school he worked at was on fire. When Mr Dirani refused to open his door he was threatened and harassed, said Julien Hunt of the prosecution. Garman shouted: “My names not Andy its f***ing Leon, I’ll f***ing kill you,” “I would have set you on fire (if you came outside),” said Mr Hunt.

The defendants later returned to the house drunk and begun vandalising Mr Dirani’s BMW car with sandbags before damaging his front door, said Mr Hunt. Police identified Garman’s fingerprints on the car following investigation.

Garman’s defence attorney David Castle said that Mr Dirani had been sexually harassing Garman’s partner who worked as a teaching assistant at the school. He added that Mr Dirani attempted to engage in “sexual liaison,” and made “remarks about her figure.” She later resigned her position as a result of the harassment, said Mr Castle.

Garman was fined a total of £180, with a further £70 in fees to the court and a £15 surcharge, to be paid by the 4^th of November 2010.

Caught out: Possession of indecent photos of children

A defendant has been committed to Crown Court after denying 11 charges of possession of indecent photos of children, a court has heard.

Ian Henderson, 60, of Teazlewood Park, Leatherhead, has been charged with 11 offences relating to the possession of indecent photos of children at Woking Magistrates Court on Thursday, October 21.

Henderson pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been granted unconditional bail awaiting trial. The court session is set for November 19, 2010, at Guildford Crown Court, Surrey.

Nightlife In Farnham

Nightlife in Farnham: The Debate.

If I had a pound for every time I heard a second or third year complain about how dull they thought a night out in Farnham was... well I would probably be down the Jolly Sailor taking advantage of their £2.25 a pint of Cheapsberg instead of writing this review. It probably doesn’t help that I’m having the most boring Sunday night of MY LIFE after wandering up and down the high street trying to find a pub that could offer me and my mates a burger and a beer for under a 5er – in the end we settled for a Fosters top and some cheesy chips... god I miss Wetherspoons.

Indeed, a lot of the older lads must have run these pubs dry while moving through to their later years. Heck, after three weeks of fresher’s I’m starting to feel the same! But there are always opportunities to have a good laugh and a great night; you just need to be at the right place at the right time. The fresher’s pub guide in the late student magazine (soon to be started up again by my class) gave us the low-down on where to be and even provided a little map with colour-coded icons. Pubs like The Mulberry or William Cobbet do pretty excellent student nights with cheap beer and multi-buy offers, and on the other hand there will always be the ‘old man’ pubs that aren’t particularly student friendly (Yes, I’m thinking of you The Hop Blossom).

Then there are the mid-way bars like the infamous Slug and Lettuce, or even the Queens Head with its ridiculously welcoming candle lit wooden tables and warming open log fires, that aren’t actually reluctant to let us crowd up the gaff but just don’t have any cheap drinks or event nights, nor do they have many students (or even young people).

Price is another major factor in this topic. I mean, who in their right mind would spend £3.60 for a pint of lager at the Wheatsheaf when trying to juggle a tight budget courtesy of their massively late student loan (cheers student finance!) when the Mulberry is giving out Snakebites for two quid and a free shot of Apple Sours on entry? Now, it doesn’t get any easier when you have to move out of the student village after your first year, having to pay for bills ON TOP of rent and pushing your intoxicated body to its limits by walking miles away from the town centre (Farnham is deceptively big).

With that said, nightlife as a fresher was pretty sweet. We loved stumbling around in the dark in search of these pubs that are rather inconveniently placed as far away as possible from the University to hit the student nights, and the SU is normally open till about 2 AM on Thursdays and Fridays, just a few minutes’ walk from the halls. The only problem is though, that in Farnham, it’s got to be Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On any other night you might as well cut your losses, order a domino’s and get into bed. Contrary to the rest of the country, the weekends are rather lifeless.

All in all though, I’m yet to be convinced that the nightlife in Farnham is really as disastrous as many people think it is. My guess is that they’re just out of touch.

 For me and my friends, we’re still loving it.  

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Amstell's Amstell

A review of Simon 'Never Mind The Buzzcock' Amstell's new comedy series: Grandma's House, showing on BBC2 at 10PM every Monday.

The cast of Simon's new comedy

The title of Simon Amstell's new comedy is rather fitting, because if I wanted to witness such an awkward exchange of opinions between quintessentially British elderly relatives I would indeed visit my grandmother's house for a spot of afternoon tea and a weekly dose of French-bashing.

A rather intentionally dull comedy with a setting that reminds me of another stereotypical English household (yes, I'm looking at you The Royal Family), Grandma's House gives you a sneak-peak of Amstell’s conventional mum and grandparents - along with other not so welcome guests, who are quite predictably contrapuntal to Simon's homosexually liberal charm, not to mention his casual ‘Topman’ Indie dress sense with skin tight jeans, man-bag and shaggy brown locks that go hand in hand to make him stick out like the British National Party at an equal rights protest.

With numerous references to the infamous Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Amstell's loveable talent of taking the piss out of celebrities turns its attention to his mother’s new fiancé and other uncouth characters. But despite how much I enjoy the witty remarks and subtle sarcasm, I found he takes a while to settle into his stride and take flight, and his acting to be lacking in substance until the later stages of the episode. This inevitably left the majority of the opening episode featuring a timid and shy performance that was drowned in an onslaught of humdrum conversation about Simon wanting to leave the show and peruse a more fulfilling life... Perhaps as a bald headed Buddhist in Thailand, as the story goes.

One of the obvious problems with this programme is the irksome similarities between Simon and his character, Simon. The Simon we know is playing Simon, who is in fact the same as both the real Simon and the pretend Simon, but who is actually the real Simon, so my reference to the real Simon playing the character Simon as pretend Simon is actually wrong, because they are both just Simon. Buzzcock’s Simon and Grandma’s Simon. See what I did there? Confusing aye. Leaving all that Simon business aside though... and despite the awkward stage presence Amstell seems to carry, I did actually enjoy the whole ‘ordinary’ ethos of the first episode. If you can put up with a slowly developing narrative and endless British cultural references, it’s worth checking out the next episode!

Video Intro

Introduction

Well hey there!

Although there must be hundreds, thousands.. in fact, hundreds of thousands of would-be, budding Journalism students eager to flex their writing muscles and ramble on about subjects ranging from your bog-standard local pub review to titles as diverse as the very audience I am currently typing to, I do hope you amazing new-media types will take a moment to check out some of the writing I intend to produce and show you all. It'll be worth it.. honest!

The entire purpose of this blog is for my work to be monitored and assessed by my course lecturers at the lovely University for the Creative Arts, but it is a great way for me to get feedback from others on my writing and critique’s. So please, do not hold back! Future entries will include reviews on Music, Film and T.V programs. One should expect a weekly update, at least.

So without further a due, I present the 29284573758353'millionth university students blog!