AT THE DOCTORS...

I have to say, I'm liking this observational form of journalism, I seem to be doing it in my head a lot.

Here's something I wrote out on my phone while I was waiting to be called by the nurse.

Waiting for the nurse. Late as usual. Four kids make incessant noise with their toys. So aggravating. To my right, a TV with advice on skin cancer and diabetes. So grim, is this what's in store? One trip a year, then one a month, then one a week. I don't think I could handle too much medication. Certainly couldn't handle too many trips to this place. A picture of a needle. I hate needles. I always get nervous at the doctors or the dentist or some place like that. Why?

I was only waiting five minutes or so. It seems so much longer when you're in a place like that. Just think what I could have moaned about if I had half an hour there...!

OFCOM CODE: 10-MIN TUTORIAL

Chris Horrie's tutorial on the OFCOM code. We will be refreshed and tested on the code this week.

'THE GRAPES OF WRATH' IS A WORK OF JOURNALISM

It is irrelevant that 'Grapes of Wrath' was fictional, it was solely based on journalistic research and articles.

The plight of the Joads that he told in the book was a means of raising awareness of the hardship that families faced during their migration to California.

Although it was clearly an innovative work of journalism, Steinbeck's literary genius was recognised when it won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962.

'The Grapes of Wrath' shows that journalism can sometimes reach a point when it becomes art, (I now know why we are based in the Faculty of Arts!)

The book is one of the first examples of 'campaigns' in journalism that can be seen frequently in today's papers. The most recent high-profile campaign is for the people of Haiti who suffered a devastating earthquake a few weeks ago.

They are often given catch names, such as 'Helping Haiti' in The Sun.

'The Grapes of Wrath' did have its critics. It was believed by many that it was a work of propaganda, but later research found that conditions were in fact worse than those portrayed in the book.

YEAR TWO TUTORIALS

Tutorials: Tuesday 26 January...

CLICK HERE TO SEE YOUR TUTORIAL TIME.

WINOL: NEW JOB ROLES

CLICK HERE to check the new jobs that were assigned today.

WINOL embarks on a new journey with the second years taking over News and Sport from the third years.

Will the 'What's On' guide die? Is it the last of the famous Stu Appleby hand gestures? Will the autocue ever work?...

...All will be revealed!

WINOL (WEEK 4)

Another frustrating week at WINOL.

On Monday, I used the morning to try and get on the guest list for live music at the Railway and Joiners. It proved quite difficult as it seemed the relevant people only arrived at the venues in the afternoon.

In the features conference, we discussed the disappointment of not putting what’s on guide up on the site. I realised I should have pushed production to do this. But the usual procedure of producing the script and getting hold of accompanying creative commons pictures was still good practice. I've been in contact with a lot of local bands on their MySpace to get permission to use their pictures.

On Tuesday I came in with my script but problems in the studio continued. After countless takes, Paul’s ‘Date with Fate’ was done perfectly but had no sound when it came to editing. Therefore, that and my what's on guide was left until the following day.

On Wednesday, by the time that the studio was sorted, it was time to film the bulletin so ‘Date with Fate’ and what’s on had to be scrapped.

On a positive note, I watched the bulletin and Cara presented very well. Rob Kirk from Sky News was very impressed with our efforts and it was fair to say it was the best bulletin yet.

WINOL (WEEK 3)

Week 3 of WINOL was full of 'technical difficulties.'

I arrived to hear, as expected, that my latest listings post had been mangled in the conveyor belt system that is Joomla. For the second week running, I had to spend Monday morning sorting out the spacing and web links in the what's on guide temporarily signed in as an administrator.

As time consuming as it is, I am the listings man and have to tell the good people of Winchester what's going on at all costs!

We hit more 'technical difficulties' on Tuesday when my what's on video guide was meant to happen. I read out the featured listings in one take, only to get back on Final Cut Pro and find there was no sound! It emerged that there were problems with the tape decks in the studio. We had to wait until Wednesday for it to be fixed, so the listings and 'Date with Fate' feature had to be put on hold.

On Wednesday, a new sense of optimism filled TAB 9 as the studio was fixed and we could go and film!

'Date with Fate' proved a huge success amongst ravenous WINOL 'employees,' especially when put up against the what's on guide. I'm only assuming this, as nobody bothered to post it up on the site this week.

Oh, I do enjoy 30-mile round trips for nothing!

It wasn't all doom and gloom on Wednesday though; while 'Date with Fate' was marvelled in, I managed to compile the week's text version of the listings tucked away in the opposite corner of TAB 9!

Newsflash! Today, on the 7th December, my review of Vagina Monologues (that I worked so hard to get a press pass for) has finally been approved and posted on WINOL!

This comes exactly THREE WEEKS after I went to see the show.

So, as you can see, everything is going well...

WINOL (WEEK 2)

WINOL is well and truly up and running. The same could be said for me.

On Monday, I had two weeks worth of listings that hadn't been put on the site, so I used the morning to push them onto the site. The what's on section is slightly unique in the way that it does not need to be checked for grammar or whether it is decent or not. It was just my job to push it onto the site.

I missed the features conference in the afternoon with permission from Chris to help out Grant on the sports team. The Winchester City manager Stuart Hussey happened to live very close to my house in Southampton, so I took him to his house to help him film an interview with him. At the start of WINOL, Chris said the sports team was small in number, so I was glad to be able to help out.

As per usual, I had my what's on feature filmed on Tuesday. The piece as a whole is coming together well week-by-week. I am getting used to the style of script needed for what's on, and how it should be delivered in a lighter way than the bulletin, for example.

For the first time, the what's on piece was put after the main bulletin, instead of a stand alone item. Chris must have thought that it was worthy of being associated with WINOL's 'flagship,' so I'll take it as a compliment.

Overall, the WINOL site is a bit rough round the edges but is getting tidier thanks to discussions in the debriefing. The new 'flannel panel' has also improved the front page aesthetically.

WINOL (WEEK 1)

The features team seem to be getting into a rhythm on WINOL now after the two dummy editions.

As the weeks go on, I feel a lot more comfortable that I am able to deliver what is expected of me when it comes to Monday afternoon's conference.

On Monday evening, me and Kayleigh went to watch Vagina Monologues at the Mayflower in Southampton. Not only was it an enjoyable show to watch, but something of a luxury to have got access to the press area with the 'proper' journalists. It was pleasing to meet the press officer in person after making myself known via the phone; being given the password to their press centre was also an achievement.

The free drink wasn't too bad either!

Chris asserted that he wanted my what's on video piece to be permanent feature. After last week's 'debut,' I was more comfortable in front of the camera and matters improved on the technical side as well. Inevitably I could be more natural when recording and the editing could be better, but things are progressing well.

As Tuesday is now used for the planning and execution of the video feature, I now use most of Wednesday to do my main job, the full local listings. I am now in the habit of knowing where to look to compile the listings - I even know a lot of the web addresses for local venues off by heart! In many ways this is the easiest part of my job, but it's also the most fiddly.

In terms of WINOL as a whole, the website is coming together well. The bulletin actually gets recorded now and the ticker actually has news on it (only joking guys)!

Oh, almost forgot: it might help if the listings go on the site some time before the event takes place!

WINOL: WHAT'S ON GUIDE

WINOL (DUMMY EDITION 2)

This week at WINOL was more hectic, but a lot more productive.

On Monday, the features news conference was more brisk and it appeared the team had better material to bring to the table. I worked closely with Jon and he was more than happy to preview and review the events I found for him.

I also asked Chris about the possibility of getting press passes at local venues, and we agreed that there would be no harm in asking. So when I went home, I rang the Mayflower Theatre's press office and was pleasantly surprised at my success. I managed to get two press passes for 'Vagina Monologues' on Monday 16th.

This week had a high focus on the ongoing battle between journalists and press officers (especially our own), so I was extremely pleased to win one over.

I was happiest with the what's on video piece that was recorded on Tuesday. It was practically my first time in the studio not including training sessions, and I enjoyed the session with Leanne, Rich and Matt. We faced the usual technical difficulties with the sound, lighting and the auto-cue, but once these issues were resolved, it took a relatively low amount of takes to get it right. A bit disappointing that I haven't been able to see the result of my efforts, but a learning experience nonetheless.

Joomla was up to its usual mischief again. Once I had done this week's listings and submitted the article, it came up with a message saying 'session expired!' So there's a time limit to produce an article is there?! Anyway, less said about Joomla, the better.

Roll on next week.

WINOL (DUMMY EDITION 1)

As expected, this year's Winchester News Online started with a few issues to deal with.

Chris, in his typical style, piled the pressure on the whole team on Monday. He made it clear from the outset that we would all have to pull our weight to make it work. He also emphasized the importance of always bringing relevant ideas to the table in news conferences.

There was some confusion at the features news conference on Monday afternoon. As it was the first one, most of the team weren't aware of the preparation that was needed. It may have been beneficial if the first conference was used to as an opportunity to explain what would happen in them every week, and to share contact details. However, being thrown in at the deep end usually helps in the long run, and the requirement of delivering material at set deadlines was made clear.

As Features Listings Editor, my main task for most of Tuesday was to fill the 'What's On' section of WINOL. I was pleased with the listings I created and submitted the article hours before the deadline, but there were problems with it, as pointed on by Production Editor, Rich Taylor.

He pointed out that, although I put the events in chronological order, the reader-friendly element was lost and it would have perhaps been better categorised by type of event. So I went away and revised the listings accordingly, which Features Editor Alice Rimes was pleased with.

EUROPEAN UNION DEBATE

HUTT COMMENT (Haha!)

Whether you think the EU is simply a papered-over Fourth Reich or a promising state that has improved European relations, it is a very contentious issue in the U.K.

If you believe this country can survive on its own, then why do we need our aspects such as law and currency modified by, essentially, people from other countries. In recent times, the U.K. has pretty much been stable enough to make up its own mind on matters, rather than relying on somebody in, say, Sweden to make it up for us.

However, if you're an elderly person living in Portugal and how your country has changed for the better, then you're clearly not going to have much of an issue with being part of the European Union.
On the other side of the coin (euro or pound?! Up to you!), if you are a middle-aged right-wing Briton who is proud of your country's heritage, why answer to Europe at all?

From a nationalistic point of view (which I adopt a significant amount of the time), I wouldn't like to see the EU having too much of an affect on me as a "Southampton boy" or "southerner" and so on. However, I suppose it already has with the influx of Polish workers here in the south who are prepared to work for less - not great in social or economic terms, but if they do their job better than an Englishman for half the price, it would most definitely be the Polish person who would get the job - every single time.

In short, a lot of this comes down to national tradition; I would much rather deal in sterling during my loathsome 8 hours a week at work than use a currency that has no sentimental value to me whatsoever. But, without wanting to offend the likes of Estonia in any way, the EU is one of the very first milestones in their short history in any case, thus little nationalistic pride to be lost - even if Brussels and Strasbourg have the final say more often than not...

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