Used well, social media can be an incredible force for good. But too frequently it descends into a playground to kick around the same old complaints, aimed at the same old targets. Retail is a regular recipient of fault-finding. Just days before Christmas, a Worthing Facebook group debated a deserted evening high-street scene. The majority…
Tag: journalism
Producing a newspaper at Christmas: behind the scenes in journalism
Christmas is a time to unwind – but for many local journalists, the big day is not so relaxing. Depending on their newspapers – and breaking news – reporters drawing the short straw this year would at the very least be expecting an unwelcome phone call to draw their lunch to a swift conclusion. Let’s…
Making national news and finally cracking sleep after 11 months
Everyday life is pretty hectic at the moment – and that has impacted on how much I’ve been able to write recently. But even then, a lot has been achieved in blog terms. My last post leapt to the defence of pregnancy and parenthood company Bounty after it received a bit of a battering in…
BBC’s Press: a drama to make us journalists cringe
The titles of new BBC journalism drama Press roll and it’s already irritating most of the journalists watching. There’s some fancy shots of notepads with lots of longhand. Where’s their shorthand? Did the reporter flunk their entry exams? Why are they being burned? Their owners must be pretty confident they won’t need to defend any…
Spotlight, Press and the inside story into a major investigative journalism team
Oscar-winning biopic Spotlight aired on BBC Two last night, giving viewers a thrilling insight into the United States’oldest journalistic investigations unit. It was a timely showing, with new show Press airing for the first time last week to some mixed reviews from journalists, who questioned the accuracy of the British journalism drama. While I’ve yet…
Can we as parents help reduce worrying trends of youth knife crime?
Journalists encounter the very best – and worst – of our communities. Among the worst issues I have had to deal with in my career is knife crime, a persistent problem which is sadly getting worse rather than better, according to national statistics. As a trainee in 2014, I reported on the most horrific court…
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…
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…
