Headline Spews and our story has been featured in a special interview on a parenting website! One of the great things about becoming a dad blogger has been connecting with others doing the same – and one of them is Jamesy Mulhern, based in Ireland, who featured us in his ‘Fantastic Fathers’ section. Read the…
Category: Headlines
Covering GCSE results day made me wonder what madness Albie would face in 16 years’ time…
GCSE and A-level results days are a hugely stressful time for students, teachers and lecturers alike – but they’re no fun for journalists, either. This year was my first set of results days in an editor role, providing a peek at the logistical nightmare which comes with the territory. How do we cover a dozen…
Behind the scenes on newspaper deadline day – as the baby threatens the dreaded pox
I was just a day into riding solo without my boss at work on Monday when Hanna announced Albie had suspected chicken pox. “He’s running a fever over 38 degrees Celsius’, she helpfully exclaimed, asking what was wrong with him, as if running the office practically single-handed wasn’t challenging enough and I had also mastered…
How changing jobs has improved family life – and going it alone at work
It’s a Tuesday at 9pm and the local Liberal Democrat councillor has arisen from his seat for the 13th time of the night, to groans from the Tory benches. All but one or two members of the public have dragged themselves away from Corrie to watch democracy in action – and until recently one of…
Big plans like IKEA highlight how little we know about the system stacked against us
When I told colleagues I’d voluntarily spent Wednesday evening at one of the biggest council meetings our area had ever seen, I’d not seen as many bemused faces since the week before when I walked home from work, forgetting I’d driven in. The vast majority of the hundreds of meetings I’ve covered have been spent…
‘It’s coming home’, IKEA might be coming and less sick is coming from Albie’s gob
It must be a while since I’ve updated this blog. My baby’s now trying to walk before he can sit, let alone stand, and something is apparently ‘coming home’. Whatever it is, I’m not convinced – but patriotically optimistic! Of course, it’s football which is nearing its return to its accommodation. While that remains…
Ethical dilemmas: Should pictures like this be published by newspapers?
A social media debate about imagery depicting this incident over the weekend took me by complete surprise. The incident, in which a car collided with a telegraph pole in a residential road, made the news, including on one of our websites. The story began to unfold well before it hit the headlines, though. From what…
Parenting and journalism phrases which should be banned
Before I became a parent a particular phrase really irritated me. It was words to the effect of: “You’ll understand when you’re a parent.” Always uttered by a parent, I was intrigued to know what superior mindset would come over me when I joined the elite club. I would often hear this in relation to…
My papers: Why accusations of bias are wrong
It’s all too easy to label a newspaper biased if you don’t like what you see. I spent three years as a political reporter for our papers and in that time I dedicated the majority of my evenings to covering hundreds of council meetings. I was often the only one in the public gallery, press…
Trade secrets: How to do shorthand
Some people might balance spoons on their face as their party piece. Others might whip out their best Alan Sugar impression, or a bit of amateur opera. Ask a journalist, though, and it’s likely to be their Teeline rather than their teaspoons that they turn to. Shorthand comes in a variety of styles. Former typists…
