WINOL Week 8 - Presenting

This week I presented the WINOL bulletin, which went well overall, but it had a lot of technical issues when it came to the live recording, and one legal issue. The auto-cue failed during the first link, so I attempted to cover it from memory but we chose to re-record it as we had to re-record the end of the bulletin due to the fact the tape had stopped recording. We also had to re-record the link into the "rave" package as the original link contained legal issues. I think my presenting skills need a lot more work as I think I come across quite rigid and I am probably not as relaxed as I should have been.

The headlines were very good this week, Ian suggested that we possibly could have gotten away with having four on this occasion. However Brian stated that overall the order of the bulletin was completely wrong, which I think really comes across when you watch the bulletin back. Zeenas health story should have been much higher up the bulletin as it was a very strong and well put together package. 

The OOV's are another thing that we can't seem to get quite right still. The words aren't matching the pictures which causes a real headache when it comes to reading the bulletin. In future the script writer needs to see the OOV's well in advance, write the script, get the timings right with the presenter and then just leave it alone. The problem seems to come when the OOV script is changed at last minute so it throws the timing off.

Eye-lines still cause a lot of problems, we have a lot of interviewees "looking up into space" which just looks odd for the viewer. Make sure that when you interview someone you sit at eye level with them, because naturally they will look at you when they respond to your questions.

WINOL Radio - Week 4

This was a particularly good week for WINOL Radio as we had a lot of content so were able to create three very strong podcasts.

I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. Emma has a very natural voice for radio and comes across as being very well educated on the subject, which makes her opinion seem worthwhile.
The discussion flowed nicely between Emma and Tom and felt like an actual conversation - not scripted. The fact that Tom took the role of a less informed person worked nicely as it feels like he is someone the listener can relate to.
The only small criticism I have is that there was no sound clip in this podcast, however in all honesty I don't think that I missed it on this occasion, it was still very enjoyable to listen to.

Once again The Volt has created another high quality podcast. The main thing that makes The Volt podcasts so listenable is the fact they have so much content and lots of sound clips. This really breaks up the podcast and keeps the listeners attention.
The only bit of advice I have from this week is that the stings breaking up the podcast were a little bit too harsh, so it may be worth making them a second longer so you can soften them.

This was the Travel and Adventure podcast so it is still a little bit rough and ready as it had to have a presenter lead the podcast which I felt made it seem a bit unnatural. It wasn't a particularly content heavy podcast so it acted more as a promotion/advert for Adventure and Travel, but I think that overall it worked well.

WINOL - Week 7

This week on WINOL I was the expert on the Portsmouth job cuts and had an in-studio discussion with Harry Parkhill.

The bulletin this week had good light and shade, we balanced serious stories (a lot of job cuts) with some softer news, and gave everything a strong local angle. However a lot of reporters are still getting the eye lines of their interviews wrong, and some are still being framed as a profile shot. 

Ian Anderson said that the in-studio discussion worked, but it could have benefited from having some more context on careers in Southampton and reference to previous closures, such as Ford. 

Our Guest Editor this week was Claudia Murg - Investigative reporter for Panorama

Claudia gave us all very constructive criticism, and was unashamedly clear about the reality of the industry we all plan to enter. She said that the bulletin this week was good but only had average aspirations. No one aimed as high as they could have and that really came across in the bulletin, no one is really taking any risks, we are all playing it too safe. 

When you decide to cover a story, you need to bring something new and exciting to the story, don't just echo what the other publications have said. Make a list of all the people who your story will effect and try to make your story relevant to them. You are the eyes and the ears of the public - you need to be able to justify the time you spend. When you interview someone, you need to think about what the experience is like for them, you don't want to bore them. Surprise them, don't ask them things you can already find the answers to on the internet, ask them something new! Try not to focus on what you're going to say next, really listen to them and react to what they have to say. Constantly work on how you can improve your work and your skills.

WINOL Week 6 - Rowenna Davis Interview

This week I conducted an in-studio interview with Rowenna Davis, the Labour candidate for Southampton Itchen. This was the second in a series of big political interviews that I aim to complete before Christmas.

The interview has collected a large number of views, a big reason for this is that Rowenna Davis tweeted the link to the video on her Twitter, which has over 15,000 followers.

On the day of the interview I also tweeted Conservative Royston Smith, who will most likely be Rowenna Davis' biggest competitor in the 2015 General Election. He responded well, so I am currently working on getting him to come in for my next Big Interview. 

I am also working on increasing the viewership, on both my interview with Rowenna Davis and Diane James, by posting links to the videos on relevant political forums and Twitter pages.

I was very pleased by the content of the interview, however i felt that the production side of it lets it down. The lighting is far too spotlighted and gives off quite an intense feel. This is purely down to the fact that this style of interview is new for us, so I will be working closely with the production team to try and get it right for the next interview. 

For my text story for the WINOL website I chose to focus on three main topics that were brought up during the interview:

In an exclusive WINOL interview, Labour MP candidate Rowenna Davis said that she was “honoured and excited” to have been chosen to replace Southampton Itchen MP John Denham in the 2015 General Election.

When questioned on her Conservative competitor Royston Smith, she said: “I don’t think that this man can govern”, and added that: “he is someone that I will respect and take very seriously, but I do not fear him”.

Davis also said that despite her ties with Portsmouth, if there was a football match between Portsmouth and Southampton, she would “absolutely be wearing Southampton colours”.

The former journalist said that she agreed there needed to be some form of press regulation to prevent the “cartel of media giants” and stop the likelihood of a monopoly in the industry. But she disagreed with party leader Ed Milliband, who has supported the Royal Charter, saying that “the freedom of press is paramount,” adding: “people should be allowed to have their say without being fearful of the state”.

How To Write A News Article

Headlines: subject, verb, object. Simple declaratory sentences.
Who what where when.
The move follows....
3rd/4th para - quotes

If you quote from a press release you have to say "he/she said in a statement" never lift quote without attribution -"speaking to the press"
When writing a quote you should say "said" and then include the date- "said today" "said last night" or "says" without a date
Quotes need to be comment.
Don't use ellipses (...) instead say: he said "quote" adding "quote"

Fact is independently verifiable truth statement. Facts are always in your voice and have to be checked by you.
If you do not have time to check the fact then fudge it - attribute the source of the fact
Never pass off comment as fact.

Subject and verb must agree on tense, case and plurals.
The subject must be capable of producing the action in the verb. The object of the sentence must be able to receive the action of the verb.
"Cat sat on the mat". In the passive voice it would be "the mat was sat on by the cat".

Example of how I applied this system to my own news writing:

In an exclusive WINOL interview, Labour MP candidate Rowenna Davis said that she was “honoured and excited” to have been chosen to replace Southampton Itchen MP John Denham in the 2015 General Election.

When questioned on her Conservative competitor Royston Smith, she said: “I don’t think that this man can govern”, and added that: “he is someone that I will respect and take very seriously, but I do not fear him”.

Davis also said that despite her ties with Portsmouth, if there was a football match between Portsmouth and Southampton, she would “absolutely be wearing Southampton colours”.

The former journalist said that she agreed there needed to be some form of press regulation to prevent the “cartel of media giants” and stop the likelihood of a monopoly in the industry. But she disagreed with party leader Ed Milliband, who has supported the Royal Charter, saying that “the freedom of press is paramount,” adding: “people should be allowed to have their say without being fearful of the state”.

I used a "washing line" intro to start this article as it didn't have a particular news peg to focus upon.

WINOL Radio - Weeks 2&3

I chose to summarise the past two weeks in one blog post as the podcasts have crossed over slightly.

 The Access Winchester podcast was uploaded on 29.10.13 but it was actually finished and ready for the 22.10.13, however due to technical issues it never got on the website.

The podcast went well but I think it would have benefited by being presented purely by the Access Winchester team as they know all about the events they're reviewing and both of them will have been to them so it will flow more naturally.

 The Absolutely podcast was a really good finished product but it took a little bit of time to get there. At first the podcast lacked structure but after some tweaking and a little bit of re-recording Megan and Katherine created a clear and natural sounding podcast. I think that now that they know the structure and how things should sound they will be able to produce their next podcast with ease.


The Volt podcast went together very quickly and sounded very professional. But because they had so much content their podcast could have been a lot longer than the three minutes and still have been very listenable.

WINOL Week 5 - Presenting and UKIP Interview

This week I took the role of presenter for WINOL, attempting to fill the very big shoes of Harry Parkhill. I was quite nervous as it has been a long time since I have presented but I was excited to take on the challenge. I was slightly disappointed as I stumbled a few times and fluffed a few words. Ian Anderson said I presented well but needed to slow down my delivery, which is something I am aware I need to work on, as I often talk as fast as a chipmunk on a caffeine high.

Chris Coneybeer was our Guest Editor this week and he said I was personable but I still came across slightly stiff and nervous, he reassured me that confidence is something that will come with time.

I also tweeted Alastair Stewart for advice on presenting, and he was nice enough to reply with some very helpful advice. This also acted as a good little promotion for WINOL via a household name.

Chris Coneybeer also gave me advice on my Diane James interview, which we promoted and showed a small clip of in the bulletin. My questions were good, but Diane, like most politicians, was well trained and often managed to avoid the point I was  focusing on. The interview would have benefited if I re-questioned her, even if it meant asking her the same thing several times, even if she never answers it, it makes it clear to the audience that this is a topic she is trying to avoid. Politicians will always say their party line and get across what they want to say, it is my job to push them further.