My Journalistic Journey
The learning adventureArchive for February, 2013
Infinite wisdom and Carbon Rozie!
The last two weeks have been fantastic.
I have started my three-month internship at Permaculture magazine and from day one it has been eye-opening, inspirational and made me smile.
Everyone in the office are lovely. It’s a small team with a wonderful family atmosphere. They all made me feel at home straight away. I am always kept busy, never bored which is a wonderful feeling. I feel like I have slipped into the family, as if I have always been there. I have even been nicknamed Carbon Rozie by one person which is amusing.
I received some brilliant news in my first week which hugely raised my confidence. The Chichester Observer who I had worked with previously, offered me a freelance position. I was deeply flattered but had to turn it down because I had committed to the lovely Permaculture magazine crew and they had committed to me.
This actually turned out for the best because less than a week later I was offered two days paid work with Permaculture magazine along with three days a week interning. And because they were so positive about me working there in the future I explained my offer from Chi Observer and they seemed very pleased I had stuck with them.
I have learnt so many new things in the space of such little time. They run the Permaculture magazines website which I learnt to navigate and upload onto. They run Permanent Publications, a publishing company which is really interesting. I have been uploading their new books and authors to the page, writing their bio’s and learning how to use wordpress websites. I’ve learnt how to link pages and even to their Green Shopping website so people can buy the new books, finding them through the different sites.
In my second day I had a news piece published on the site which was incredibly exciting and have edited, photoshopped and even read a pre-published book so that I can interview the author tomorrow. ‘Tres cool!’
I have also learnt a huge amount about Permaculture which was what I was looking forward to the most. To have everyone around me with so much knowledge and so many resources, I feel like a very lucky sponge at the bottom of a beautiful tropical sea in Indonesia or Thailand. I am surrounded by beauty, wonderful people and I am soaking in everything they say so I can learn as much as possible.
It has definitely been an inspiring and interesting first few weeks and I am so happy to wake up everyday looking forward to what it will bring.
I am a REAL journalist
My journalistic adventure has definitely hit a high point over the last two weeks. I have enjoyed everyday.
Last week I was working for Chichester Observer, a weekly paper which was brilliant. Everyone in the office was lovely. A small, friendly family. I got stuck in straight away, writing a Youth Matters piece about my new allotment.
My week was filled with phone calls, emails and interviews. I managed to write an interesting piece about a women who has moved to the area, starting up a local fitness group in the Singleton area. She has a background of pilates and fitness, with a fitness centre in Ascot that various celebs attend.
The Chief reporter took me along on an interview which was really interesting. I watched her taking down her shorthand with awe, it was so neat and she was very quick. She still managed to keep the conversation going too, although that wasn’t too difficult because the person we were meeting was lovely. He was quite happy to sit and talk about his brilliant adventures and quirky anecdotes.
I learnt a lot at the paper and enjoyed being at such a friendly and small business. It was good to write local news that I knew and understood, and because it is a weekly paper, it was great to see the difference from a daily.
By the end of the week I felt like a real journalist. I’d had articles published with a byline and my previous weeks work experience had come through, with a double page spread the following week.
I ended the week very happy.
2013 and the new page begins
Wow, so it has been a long time since I last wrote.
Half way through the BJW course and everything suddenly went chaotic. PA revision had to be done every night, intense shorthand practise and keeping the portfolio on track.
After a hell of a lot of late nights, near PA hatred and relief I have made it through the tunnel and into the light.
Christmas and New Year were a welcomed break, giving me a chance to relax for a week.
After a last-minute panic I have handed in my portfolio and have actually finished my NCTJ Journalism course. So far, without the portfolio marks I am on Gold Standard which is a massive relief. So hopefully we will hear the portfolio results and be ready for the next stage. The scary stage. The stage of finding a job.
My first step has been this week of work experience at The Argus. I was very nervous at the beginning of the week. I really didn’t know what to expect. But it has been great.
I came with a few ideas and kept myself busy most days researching and writing up stories I thought would be newsworthy. Everyday the news desk have given me a couple of stories to write. Some easier re-writes of Press Releases and others that have taken the whole week to perfect through new phone calls and emails.
I have had my comment piece about war printed in the soapbox Thursday with name and picture which was fantastic. A couple of other small write ups have appeared and I believe a feature about a Biodioversity action plan will feature in Mondays paper so I will definitely have to buy that and check it out.
All in all it has been a good week. I have enjoyed watching the reporters, making phone calls to their contacts, researching stories and all with a bit of banter and laughter.
I have especially enjoyed the later afternoons as it gets close to deadlines. I like hearing the news desk check the status of each story and the urgency for stories to be finished.
I have learnt a lot about local paper news and will hopefully learn more next week at my next placement.
My Journalistic Journey 