The nature of an ideas meeting

The ideas meeting. This is essential to my placement for without in the most basic of ways I'd have no stories to cover.

What is done in a news outlet meeting is for staff to pitch ideas for stories to follow up or editors to assign each reporter a story. When pitching an idea their a two things you need to remember-

1. Ensure you clearly understand what you're trying to pitch. For example for my card game story (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2010/12/lincoln-teens-frenzy-card-swapping-hobby/)  I wrote a note form script of what I was going and made sure I said 'I want to go to a card game tournament and speak to the participants'. Their have been instances in which I haven't properly prepared for a story pitch and the angle has thus come out as quite convoluted, for the student employment story my original angle was to look into the difficulty of employment and how fake job advertisements was adding to this problem, however due to a lack of preparation the idea may have come off as little formulaic and predictable (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/03/students-struggle-for-jobs-in-lincoln/ ).

2. Have a little preparation done. Going back to my student employment story if I had looked at some statistics of how students were fairing for employment or even looked further into fake job adverts maybe I could have pitched it in a stronger manner. Preparation was extremely important for my Bishop story since the nature of the interview was different from what I was used to. Me and a collection of journalists were only given a short period of time with the Bishop, this meant I had to research into what the Bishop stood for and look for anything unique to ask (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/11/new-bishop-of-lincoln-enthroned/ )

Focusing on the word I used in my last sentence 'unique' which in a more journalist like term means original stories. If I can I try to look for these stories since we live in a media saturated reality their tends to various instances of outlets covering the same stories. For example the Lincoln Christmas market-

http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/12/lincoln-christmas-market-ready-to-kick-off/ - The Lincolnite

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Traders-gearing-return-Lincoln-Christmas-Market/story-13938469-detail/story.html The Lincolnshire Echo

The Lincolnshire Echo-

http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/12/lincoln-christmas-market-ready-to-kick-off/

Chris Frost believe the key for finding off diary stories is 'keeping your eyes open for unusual happenings.' This is how I found my Indian street art story as he simply caught my eye whilst I walked past him (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/04/street-artist-brings-indian-art-to-lincoln/ )  

The head of headlining

With media outlets ever struggling to create a strong captivating headline story. This has even gotten to the point journalists have delved into the ethical grey (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8634176/Phone-hacking-timeline-of-a-scandal.html) to obtain an eye catching headline.  

Though it's on a smaller scale local news outlets also have the problem. Chris Frost writes on the nature of information people want to have in their news their are two types:

1. This kind of news tells us about our surroundings and environment that we need to survive. An example of this would be (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2012/01/cctv-appeal-over-sexual-assault-in-lincoln/) - though it may pertain strictly to Maslows hierarchy of needs this still informs people of Lincoln about the dangers on the streets. This kind of news tends to be breaking and what could be considered as 'hard' news, as demonstrated from the link above hard stories pertain to a serious subject.

2. This kind of news is about ourselves and, by extension, our fellow human beings. These kinds of stories are what could be considered on some occasions to be 'soft' news stories like for example the story of Karl Mcartney growing a goatee for the Movember event (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/12/lincoln-mp-grows-a-goatee-for-charity/ ) , this is soft as it does not directly relate to a serious event. However the story of a mother setting up a charity in honour of her childs death has the human element but relates to a very serious subject (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/12/my-babys-disorder-was-incompatible-with-life/ ).

To apply this to one of my stories and why this was immediately placed in an area of central visual impact (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2012/01/fewer-gift-pets-abandoned-in-lincoln/ ). The story could be considered as maybe a hybrid soft news story of point 1. Because the story concerns itself with the surroundings of the city (the animal population). Though the subject is serious it's not considered as serious as the story used in point 1 and fortunately my findings for the RSPCA story were more optimistic then those the CCTV story. Another reason the story was considered to be headline news could be attributed to the photo since it's unique and pertains to something which conotates 'cuteness' and again according to Roger De-Bank it includes someone doing something interesting.

The truth in interviewing

This week we've examined the ethics of interviewing. That's right another subject that's loaded full or moral questions.

As part of demonstration of the difficulties we face with interviewing Alex played us an interview with the lead singer of 3 foot ninja who name is Jordan and had difficulty putting across some sound byte suitable responses to his questions. He came off as uninformed and mumbled and stumbled throughout the interview.

Alex then played us the edited shorter version of the interview which then made Jordan sound like he just had a poor connection.

Three points to consider when editing an interview are:
1. Is the interview going to embarrass anyone ?- Has the interviewee slipped and maybe they deserve some kind of gate keeping to avoid unnecessary ridicule. An example of when this could have been avoided but because it was live was David Blaine interview with Eamon Holmes on GMTV after one of his recent stunts. He came off as dazed and confused and thus Holmes further probing made his come of as very dim witted.
2. A total P/R failure ? Does the interview come off as a complete P/R disaster and could be damaging to them or the station ?  An example of this could be Lady GaGa's interview with Johnathan Ross in which she was unclear and difficult when she asked about the nature of her lyrics.
3. Right person ? Is the interviewee even the right person to be interviewing, Jordan displayed that maybe he wasn't the most vital part of the band as he was unable to answer a lot of questions fully referring to another band member who seems to hold all the answers.

However sometimes these points have to over ridden in the public interest. An example could be the Richard Nixon and David Frosts interview which effectively destroyed the public image of Richard Nixon and exposed his illicit activities while he was President. Breaking it down with the three point system:
1. The interview was highly embarrassing for Nixon who arranged the interview and didn't expect such a probing nature from Frost. However this was about exposing his corrupt nature and failures in office.
2. Nixon had planned for this to be a P/R event which would sway public opinion in favour but Frost decided to stick to his ethical code and fairly conduct the interview.
3. Nixon was the right person to interview in a sense, however one of his subordinates may have more details on how the Watergate scandal was implemented. Though in a sense he was the architect of the scandal however secondary interviews could have cemented his point.

To conclude the nature of editing is influenced by the soft or hard news status of the interview. Maybe it doesn't matter that Jordans interview was cut down to remove some of the more dazed answers but it still put across the point he's possibly not the best interviewee. On the case of Nixon editing it was less of a finer tool helps to put across the sheer nature of the interviewee and expose in a sense the completely uncensored truth.

Again maybe the P/R nature of stations coming in again, the desire not to incur the wrath of a popular interviewee could reduce ratings of they can never get that person again due to poor interview. The fact is very few interviews are displayed to portray someone in a negative spotlight, people like Chirs Brown however displays very poor media training and allows his anger to dictate his behaviour adding to his already poor image.

The return post

So welcome back to the intrepid adventures I like to document on my blog (a slightly dated form of blog introduction but it just seems polite)

Today in our lecture Alex revealed the best way to enhance our marks was to dedicate sometime of our placement blogs (150 to 200 words) to critiquing our work. So the subjects for today will be an overall look at my performance in my blog so far.

So far the feedback from editor is that the nature of my ideas are strong subjects for features especially the ice cream story (which has yet to be published but will be in my portfolio), the type of stories my editor expects and I seem to be excelling at are off-diary stories. A definition to this is mentioned by Christ Frost 'These require the reporter to be more creative, thinking up ways to track down stories that are not going to be notified to newsdesk.'. When looking at the ice cream story I feel I've been creative enough to come up with a story no other outlet has covered. Though what has let me down for this story is not being able to find any other seasonal businesses to prevent the story from feeling like a promotion rather a then a look into the cities seasonal economy.

When looking further into what I could improve comes down to collating interviewee details. When it comes to interviewing I have found that in haste I have forgotten to obtain full names of subjects and various bio graphical information. According to Chris Frost 'interviewing allows you to find out the who, what, when where, why and how of the story', maybe with a little more detailed research into my subject could give my these details like correct spell, full name and job title etc. However for vox popping stories like I've recently done (but no currently published) in which I took to the streets of Lincoln and ask people did they feel the actions of the council are helping them feel involved in the 2012 Olympics I found that the ideas of Chris Frost explain clearly why I felt embarrassed and novice to ask for spelling clarifications of in haste forget to collate all details especially for one gentlemen who I forget to ask how his first name was spelt and what his last name was. What Frost said was 'The trite old phrase, 'There's never a second chance to make a first impression' is only annoying because it's true.'

Also maybe more persuasion is needed. Especially when it came to my interview with local author Hobb Whittons (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/06/blue-fire-burning-for-local-author/), the name is clearly a pen name and did not want to reveal his true identity. however conventionally editors like Andrew David recommend obtaining their name though respecting their wishes for it not be published to avoid any legal difficulties which may arise. This is even professionally recommended by the NUJ, point 7 of their code of conduct says- 'Protect the identidy of sources who supply information in confidence in the course of his/her work', though this is not on the level of whistle blowing it's still ethical to respect their wishes.

To ensure I do not continue to make these mistakes I will try to do more detailed research for pre-arranged interviews and ensure one of the first questions I ask are strictly biographical.

Now onto another subject I want to look a the unconventional skill set journalists may require.

Looking at the example of my work colleagues I am aware they quite up to date with modern technological trends and do freelance works for technology outlets thus they have another employable skill set on top of their journalism  and various other subjects degrees. Since my editor also has to deal with the business side of the website gives him another skill set.

This has now proposed the idea that maybe I should start cultivating a collection of unconventional but useful skills to help in my career. This could also lead me into a specialist subject though I will need to find a subject as Angela Rippon suggests 'That you know everything about', in a guest talk she described an encounter with a student who wanted to specialise in the entertainment industry but mentioned how they had limited knowledge of the later part of the 20th century something she believed to have limited their understanding as they did not know about what some people considered the best dancers of all time.

For skills however I believe my demonstration of photo manipulation has proven useful when I was on my BBC placement I was able to help a producer rotate an image when she was struggling to perform the task herself.

To conclude I need a specialist subject and skills. I think I will start to understand these slowly if I try to cover subjects which interest and try to experiment with different story treatments.

The trials I've planned for Ofcom

So this week is our visit from Lawrie Hallett who will be talking about Ofcoms roles as a media regulator. Our task is to create 10 questions to ask him. Though I came up with seven last week I've added three and this time I'm going into detail about why I'm asking them

1. How do you investigate a compliant ?- The word 'investigate' is used a lot to describe Ofcoms method of looking into a complaint however the media rarely looks into how this is done, though their may be a reason the media never cover this. Chris Frost writes on the story that 'finding stories that will delight the audience rather than inform', since the nature of the investigation could be quite tedious it may not 'delight' the audience. 
2. What powers do you actually have ?- Again my response to this questions refers back to point 1 and will cover point 3. Do these subjects 'delight' the audience ? Maybe not but these questions need to be asked as the Times editor Delane said on the subject of a journalists duty is to 'seek the truth'.
3. How do people make complaints ?
4. Currently what’s the biggest issue in community radio ?- Again covering this with point 5 as I work for Siren we've been told crude language is currently something Ofcom are looking into for community radio however I believe their should be more Ofcom would be looking into. Delane may say that journalists find 'the truth as near as he can attain it' so here's my chance to obtain it fully.
5. Is Siren obeying guidelines ?
6. Looking at how print regulatory body the PCC (Press Complaints Commission) is coming under scrutiny do you think Ofcom should take print regulation ?- With the idea of self regulation coming under scrutiny with the Hackgate scandal it may be biased to ask Ofcom this but it would be good for balance to a possible to story to ask them, this also ties in with point 8.
7. Do you believe regulation can go to far ? especially with the Stop Online Piracy Act  (SOPA) being criticised by many as given power to the wrong people ? Jim Sterling sums up the dangers of this act well (warning video contains very crude language)- http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/4993-Sony-Nintendo-EA-and-SOPA it goes back Platos summary on authority 'who wacthes the wacthmen ?', how do we know regulators are regulating for the public benefit ?
8. Looking at Hackgate, do you think Ofcom's form of regulation is strong enough to not to fail ?
9. Can see you see the community spirit passing through to other media platforms ?- Again covering this with point 10 SOPA is  the basic response to the Internet becoming a backbone in today technological society but has little or no  authoritative regulation and usual platforms for regulation can't cut it for such a vast and available format.
10. Do you feel the progression of technology with make regulation easier or more difficult ?

Ofcom coming

So for this week I’m going to be talking about our super special guest lecture we have next week which exclusive to all use super brilliant FDA students.

Lawrie Hallet of Ofcoms Radio and Planning and Licensing team main duties surround community radio and examining community radio stations to ensure their suitable for broadcast.

Looking into the realms of theory this is a good idea as according to Christ Frost ‘It is important that you should have an understanding of the codes of practice and guidance and how the apply in the media in which you work.’

This means that we should be aware of the codes and regulations which monitor our work.

But to fully understand the significance of Lawrie and Ofcom we should take a look at how Ofcom describes itself-

‘We regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.
We make sure that people in the UK get the best from their communications services and are protected from scams and sharp practices, while ensuring that competition can thrive.
Ofcom operates under the Communications Act 2003. This detailed Act of Parliament spells out exactly what Ofcom should do – we can do no more or no less than is spelt out in the Act.
The Act says that Ofcom’s general duties should be to further the interests of citizens and of consumers. Meeting these two duties is at the heart of everything we do.’
As you can they can be desribded as the level below legal action and deal with what could be considered more menial areas of the media.
What the group primalriy does is again best taken from their website-
What we do
Our main legal duties are to ensure:

• the UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband;
• a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
• television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;
• people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material;
• people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and from having their privacy invaded; and
• the radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.

Now to back to Lawrie. As mentioend earlier Lawries job is to primarily to montior community radio. Currently one of the most key issues of his job is one if the key things Ofcom monitors which is  ‘people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material.’ This of late has been a key issue for Ofcom, since there is no watershed for radio swearing is aloud on at anytime. However the controversy comes in that explicit versions of songs are being played and rude langague being used in general.

My plan for this talk is to actually interview Lawrie. So here are a few questions I’ve already thought of.
 

Curently on their website Ofcom list under their items they do not do which are-

What we do not do
We are not responsible for regulating:

• disputes between you and your telecoms provider;
• premium-rate services, including mobile-phone text services and ringtones;
• the content of television and radio adverts;
• complaints about accuracy in BBC programmes;
• the BBC TV licence fee; or
• newspapers and magazines. – With the current criticism and belief the PCC has failed to regualte the print industry due to it’s lack of power and body made up of editors and products able to opt out make it ineffective. However Ofcom has been given the powers to fine and regulate the media industry for at least TV and Radio.

1. How do you investigate a compliant ?
2. What powers do you actually have ?
3. How do people make complaints ?
4. Currently what’s the biggest issue in community radio ?
5. Is Siren obeying guidelines ?
6. Looking at how print regulatory body the PCC (Press Complaints Commission) is coming under scrutiny do you think Ofcom should take print regulation ?*
7. Do you believe regulation can go to far ? especially with the Stop Online Piracy Act  (SOPA) being criticised by many as given power to the wrong people ?

Mission statement dissection

For this weeks blog I’m going to take a closer look at the Lincolnites mission statement and add in a little theory to see how it fits in with professional journalism practices.

So to kick things off here is the Lincolnites mission statement, which acts as an explanation of the target audience for the website:

Mission statement

The Lincolnite aims to deliver timely, accurate and relevant information to everyone living, working or studying in Lincoln.

The one thing I noticed that was missing from this statement was any reference to social classification. However making an educated guess and looking again at the platforms they offer their stories upon. The website is available as an Iphone app and also has functions which allow stories to shared through social media, one which go further to identify the class of reader is the ability to share stories on career website Linkedin. According the NRS social model the readers of the website could be placed in the C1 category above. What has lead me to this conclusion is that everyone in this category and above are ‘administrative professionals’. Commonly these kind of jobs require high end technology and technical expertise like having an Iphone and using a computer. So since the website offers an Iphone app and is available only in the internet lead me to this conclusion.

Looking further in the realms of theory Chris Frost writes that ‘Most national newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets these days have very clear ideas about exactly who their publication is aimed at. This is little more difficult on the local scene, where the temptation is to aim at everybody in the geographic area.’

Though the Lincolnite may have done this in they’re new statement they do adhere to a more specific audience through their stories in the method of a local newspaper would, again Chris Frost writes ‘Newspapers need to attract on the new-stand and so will attempt a unique selling point if possible.’, the Lincolnite achieves this by having reporters cover unique stories like local card game tournaments (http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2010/12/lincoln-teens-frenzy-card-swapping-hobby/), which may not necessarily appeal to C1 and above but serves a USP because no one else covered it at the time.

When looking at rival print product The Lincolnshire Echo which covers national news like the 9/11 terror attacks places caters to all the NRS categories.