Showreel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnGIzGInKVM&feature=youtu.be

Innovation in magazine Journalism

Since the Internet has established itself as a more convenient way to receive news all forms of print Journalism i.e Newspapers and Magazines have had to adjust to the changes in the times and make sure that they are still competing with the online mediums. A magazine I believe has managed to acclimatize well is the NME (New Musical Express) which was first published in 1952. Since its formation it has undergone many transitions in order to keep itself up to date. It originally started as a Music newspaper and took on a generic tabloid format until it gradually took on the role of a Music magazine. Even in its early days the NME showed  innovation in order to keep itself circulating by shaking off the rigid type of reporting people were used to and introducing a more Gonzo inspired writing style which back in the 70’s not only stopped its closure but also established the NME as the dominant Music magazine in the U.K. Bringing in writers of this ilk was a fresh change and came at the right time as the general public at the time were starting to become a little more outspoken themselves and consequently appreciated the edgier style of writing the NME were offering.

                In my opinion the NME has shown innovation throughout its existence and has now managed to establish itself as more of a brand than just a magazine. It has managed to diversify itself to great effect which is why it can now sit on its throne at the top of the British music scenes hierarchy. Aside from its primary focus which is of course to keep people up to date with the goings on in the music industry; it now has many other strings to its bow. The NME now has a stage at Reading and Leeds festivals, two of the biggest music festivals in the country which signifies its standing in the music industry. It also has an annual tour which promotes upcoming bands and has been a valuable starting point for bands such as The Killers, Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs to name a few. The NME also hosts an Awards ceremony each year which commends artists for their contribution to music and is considered a prestigious event to people in the Music industry all whilst carrying on the spirit of the NME. The winners are voted for by the readers of the magazine

                In 1996 the NME jumped on the bandwagon and launched the online version of their magazine NME.com and it now sits as the world's largest standalone music site, with over 7 million people using the site every month. That in itself is a phenomenal achievement as it is a very competitive market with lots of big websites competing with them. NME has managed to reach this position as the pre-eminent place for music due to its long standing reputation but also with its innovative ideas that constantly attract new readers/viewers. It has added a film and tv section to the magazine that would have naturally attracted new readers and also has a large online merchandise department. Nowadays the magazine sales have dropped but that isn’t necessarily the end of the world as it is still profitable but also the website is what generates the most outcome. The store sells a large collection of music memorabilia including band T-shirts, old magazine editions and records amongst many other products. The site also receives a lot of money through advertisement and as it has a large online presence with not only its main site but others scattered around the world.

                I believe in order for a magazine to show innovation the best way for them to do that is to make sure that they stay relevant to contemporary culture. The NME has spanned several generations and seen many cultural changes it has had to adapt to. Many different movements it has to cater for but also all the changes in technology that a business like NME have to take into account. When the internet came along it introduced lots of opportunities for companies and with the introduction of their sites the NME adapted quickly and since then has also managed to successfully take advantage of the benefits social networking has to offer. They have several Twitter accounts which they use to regularly tweet their newest articles with links to their site. They also tweet competitions to win tickets to concerts and exclusive tracks all of which get seen by their thousands of follows and draw in interest for their site. They also have an equally strong Facebook page which is regularly updated with the latest news which users can then share amongst their friends and generate more views that way. Another benefit of using social media in this way is that it gives the readers and audience a chance to interact and give their opinions on stories or whatever the particular topic might be. Having a good social media department is an important job as any for today’s journalism outlets as they are an invaluable way of communicating with the audience but also finding out information from them. It also makes it a lot easier for the audience to get involved with competitions and polls and obviously this is appealing to today’s society as everything is made easier and efficient and takes minimal effort from someone to apply for a competition or leave their opinion in a comment. A big advance they made more recently came when they made a digital version of the magazine which people get online or on their Ipads as oppose to the hard copy of the magazine. This change came about in 2011 a time when smartphones had just taken over the telephone market and Ipad’s were the must have gadget. The same year it also launched a Festival app that gave festival goers information on the weekends itinerary and that summer was downloaded over 30,000 times.

Obviously some people would say that the changes the NME have made in its 50 plus years in operation were just natural progressions that they would have had to have made anyway to stay competitive. However I think that the way they have gone about it and the extra perks they offer e.g all the exclusive interviews, free downloads and vast amounts of content make them superior to magazines of their ilk. They have managed to dominate their market because of this and diversify into many other fields and become a very healthy profitable business whilst managing to keep the company ethos that attracted so many people to the magazine in the first place. Innovation is quite a loose, subjective term in my opinion but I feel that as far as magazine journalism is concerned NME magazine has shown large amounts of this in its time and continues to today. The main aim of any business in reality is to make money and the fact that the magazine itself still manages to be profitable despite large parts of the companies attentions having turned elsewhere and is the leading website for music speaks for itself. To be able to do this shows that the people working there are showing great amounts of innovation in order to keep them in this position. In terms of content the magazine still offers edgy writing reminiscent of the gonzo writers of their past and as one of the most well respected music magazines in the world they manage to get the best interviews with the best people making for the best read.

Confessional interview with Neil White

There is a scene from porridge in which the Judge says ‘you are an habitual criminal, who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard’  meaning that if you choose to live the criminal life then you must accept that one day the chances of having the Police turn up your door is something that you have to take in to account. Yet when you live your life as an honest man, paying your taxes, child support etc. and still end up having your front door pounded down by several Police officers something is going horribly against you. This was unfortunately the case for me. My whole life, at least working life has been spent working on a passion of mine which happens to be Scooters. I’m not talking about the mopeds you see 17 and 18 year olds ripping around in over summer I mean the finely crafted Italian Lambrettas and Vespas. I got my first scooter at the age of sixteen which was when the love affair started and since then I have managed to establish myself as a well-respected member of the scooter community. Over the years I have helped repair hundreds of bikes and have managed to make my living buying old scooters restoring them and then selling them on. I have made documentaries on the bikes I love and in the scootering world have secured my place now as a trustworthy and reliable person that is very knowledgeable on scooters. Therefore naturally no one was more surprised than I when after a routine trip to Italy I had my life turned upside down.

                I had set off in my van to Modena Italy, home of the finest balsamic vinegar Italy has to offer and also Mary of Modena a former Queen of England. I was travelling over to Italy to go to a scooter jumble which I tend to do several times a year to buy scooters in need of some tender love and care and experience had taught me that these jumbles were where you can pick up some of the best bargains. Obviously travelling to Italy isn’t the most ideal of situations especially when you’re in an old post office van that has seen much better days, but as a great lover of Italian culture and primarily scooters I had grown very fond of these trips. It is hard to describe one of these jumbles and to the untrained eye it probably looks no different to any event of this nature, lots of people stood round trying to sell their rubbish. A lot of times this is the case, you can walk round for hours at a time and not find anything that is remotely useful, however this time in particular I came across a beautiful bike, a Lambretta Silver Special. The bike itself wasn’t in the greatest condition but I knew that once I had spent a bit of time on it in my workshop back home that I would be able to do it up lovely and make myself a bit of money on it. It really is luck of the draw at these markets I’ve travelled down to Italy before and returned empty handed and you get a few ‘marketeers’ like myself travelling over from the U.K for the same reason so it’s competitive as everyone wants to get their hands on the best stuff. I managed to pay for the Lambretta get it at a reasonable price and I thought that was it, I’ll move on and see what else there is to offer. This trip was unfortunately a nightmare from start to finish, there was an ongoing problem with a few people of the people I had travelled with regarding some stolen money, my van blew up whilst driving through some French mountains and I personally was returning somewhat empty handed as I hadn’t managed to buy as much as I had hoped for. All this was just the calm before the storm however as it wasn’t until I got home that the real problems had started.

After what can only be described as a torrid journey back home I finally got back home and was looking forward to a few days of relaxing after the draining trip. I remember thinking at the time ‘thank god I’m home’ and for a few weeks this was the case. I was able to work on the Silver Special and had put the bike on ebay as it was ready to be sold. It wasn’t for a few days later that I had my life turned upside down when I received a knock at the door from Interpol claiming I was selling stolen bikes. When buying bikes abroad it is always customary and in your best interests to get all documentation you need on the scooters you are purchasing which I always made sure I did, so to see two uniformed police officers at the front door of my house came as a massive shock. The officers had been ‘made aware’ that I was selling stolen bikes that I had picked up on the cheap in Italy. This came totally out the blue during the summer period, a time when I do the most of my business as people like to take advantage of the summer weather and get out on their scooters. Yet I had Interpol on my doorstep telling me that I was under arrest for a crime I hadn’t committed, that all my other bikes were to be confiscated and that I was believed to be part of some sort of stolen scooter ring. The following few months I was treated like a criminal, I was constantly being harassed by the Police. They were asking me all sorts of questions and trying to pin me to several bike thefts. I lost all my custom that summer so couldn’t provide for my family. My wife turned to drinking and we were arguing non-stop and consequently divorced, all for nothing. I have always felt that as a human the biggest achievement you can have in your life is to find love, I had that as well as a successful business and it was taken from me. I spent the next few months dumbfounded by the position I had been put in; I was penniless, wifeless and it didn’t look like showing any signs of coming to a favourable resolution for me. I found myself in the worst state of my life until one day I had all my bikes returned to me minus the Silver Special and all the charges against me dropped. It was like a brief fleeting visit from a tornado that just passed through my life and left it in tatters. I was never given any explanation by the police as to why they had reason to suspect me or if they even had any evidence for that matter. I was the victim of sheer Police incompetence and in such a short space of time they had made me lose so much. Other scooter enthusiast’s that might have considered my business as competition started to publish articles in magazines slandering my name so my business and reputation had to be rebuilt from scratch. It was a truly horrible period in my life, one that I still have many of unanswered questions about like; Why did the Police think the bike was stolen? What happened to it?  And why me? But I have now moved on from it and it’s a chapter of my life that I will not remember fondly.

Interview with a senior journalist

An interview with Adrian Drummond, Deputy Sports Editor at The Times

How did your career in Journalism originally come about?

I started in journalism in 1980 after applying and being accepted onto the trainee programme at The News centre Portsmouth where I worked as a trainee for two years. Whilst working as a trainee reporter at The News I also enrolled on a 3 month course at Highbury College which focused on the practical skills I would need as a journalist e.g shorthand and media law. I only did a 3 month course as I was on a graduate trainee programme. I had been to university and was the only trainee there that had to been to university as in those days a lot of people got into the industry after doing a course similar to the block release course I had done at Highbury. After two years or so working as a trainee reporter I took a proficiency test which was administered by the NCTJ and once you had passed this you were considered ready to become a senior journalist and you would get a pay rise and then you could really start your career. The proficiency test itself was a series of practical tests one of them being that you had to be able to write a 100 words a minute in shorthand. As a trainee reporter though you are still given a lot of responsibility and I did still find myself covering some interesting stories.

So do you think shorthand is still an essential tool for a Journalist?

Well, yes I do because firstly technology can fail so I think it’s always helpful to have your shorthand notes as security but also I find that when you are taking notes in shorthand you are paying more attention to the answers of the people you are speaking to. It’s a good skill to develop because once you do manage to get a grasp of it and start increasing your hand speed, even If you find you don’t use it very often it’s the sort of skill like riding a bike that you never really forget. A lot of the younger journalists I work with don’t have shorthand and much prefer to use a Dictaphone etc so really it is down to personal preference but it is a something that most employers will be looking for when recruiting graduates. In a practical sense though I have always found it easier to flick back through my shorthand notes rather than having to keep fast forward or rewinding through an interview that’s been recorded on a Dictaphone to find good quotes.

What would you say the significant differences are for someone trying to make it as a reporter today compared to when you were younger?

I would say that first and foremost there isn’t as much opportunity nowadays as when I was younger for paid work. There has been a proliferation of websites and journalism activity online but a lot of that isn’t generating any income. A newspaper I worked for used to sell a 100,000 copies a night and had 7 editions, nowadays that paper sells less than 30,000 copies and only releases one issue. The paper used to have a much larger workforce but now probably has a quarter of what it used to and this is the case for a lot of companies so there isn’t as many opportunities. There is an awful lot of citizen journalism going on and it is relatively easily to get your output on to the web but that doesn’t mean that anybody is reading it or that its really fulfilling a useful function. So I’d say the biggest pitfalls for someone trying to get there foot in the door nowadays is that people aren’t really given the opportunity to learn their trade, like I did, in a controlled environment a lot of people have to resort to the online free for all to get their work out there.  

What would you say are essential traits to have in order to become a successful journalist?

I would say there are a lot of things that are essential and they’re not always the things that people would think of straight away. A lot of parents have spoken to me in the past about their kids who want to be Journalists and how good they are at English, and whilst they might be very good at English that’s only a fraction of the skills required to be successful in this industry. Much more important is that the person is an outgoing character that has people as that will enable people to get the stories in the first place after building up a good rapport with those you want to interview and then any prowess in English will help them develop from there. The English side of things in my opinion isn’t necessarily as important as being able to think on your feet and react to what is happening in front of you. A lot of the time whilst interviewing you might find something very interesting out and decide that the new information you have received will make for a better story so you have to adapt quickly to this. Not everybody has the ability to operate in these circumstances and it doesn’t really matter if you are fantastic at English if you don’t have the self-confidence or the ability to do so then you will struggle.

So you’ve had a few years in the industry now, what does your current role entail?

At the moment I am currently employed as the Deputy Sports editor at The Times so my job involves editing the Sport in the absence of the Sports Editor and helping to organise the content of the sport on a daily basis. I speak to the writers every day in order to discuss what stories they have and how they want to go about writing it and I advise them and together we put together the best story we can. There is a lot of emphasis put on the pictures so I help select the best ones that I feel are lively and interesting enough for publishing. At the other end of production I also have to make sure that the headlines and captions for the pictures are up to standard and that they are clear in telling the story, so there’s quite a lot of revision in my job, looking at peoples work and making sure that it’s good enough to go out. I also have to be involved in conferences with the editor and other members of senior staff which set the agenda for the day’s paper.

Where do you see Journalism heading in ten or so years’ time?

I think there will be fewer newspapers, I think that that form of news is in rapid potentially turmoil decline. People consume there news today using various other devices and platforms so therefor in say 10 years’ time I don’t think many national newspapers will be selling their product in print form in great numbers.  With the impact technology has on society I can see them moving online and to whatever new devices are engineered in the future, I think this will be the main way people consume their news. That is one of the problems with the industry today and I don’t believe that the content online is being translated as well as it would in print form as articles online tend to be compact and bitesize which suits the audience of today. Articles like the thousand word columns don’t really seem to work very well with these new devices which I think is a problem for society as we need that breadth of opinion rather than just seeing the news displayed in its simplest form.

Law Revision

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and has 12 Justices, it is located in Middlesex Guildhall. It is reserved for high profile cases.

3 functions of Crown Courts are to; deal with serious criminal cases, appeals from a Magistrates' court and cases are passed on from Magistrates' court for sentencing or for trials.

All courses start at Magistrates' court but indictable offences are passed on to Crown Court. Magistrates' court normally deal with summary offences and only has power to sentence people to up to 6 months per crime.

A criminal offence must be proved beyond reasonable doubt whereas a civil case works on the balance of probabilities.

When Journalists use the term public interest they're referring to a matter that is of real value and concern for the public to know.

A court case becomes legally active once a person has been charged, the police make an arrest, an arrest warrant is issued or the Magistrates' court issues a summons.

Libel is defined as Identification+ Publication + Defamation.

A statement is defamatory if it; lowers someone in the estimation of right thinking people, causes them to be shunned and avoided, exposes them to hatred, ridicule and contempt or disparages them in their business, trade or profession.

CPS- Criminal Prosecution Service
MOJ- Ministry of Justice
DPP- Director of Public Prosecution

Critical Review

This was my last semester on Winol and by far my least enjoyable. The two previous semesters I had spent on Winol I had enjoyed on the most part. In my first I was swept in by it all, and overwhelmed by the professionalism of the students. I immediately decided that I wanted to produce my packages on sport with a view to trying features in the future. I produced what I consider my best package to date in the first year. I was covering a national sports story in that Portsmouth Supporters Trust were looking to buy the Club. I managed to get interviews with a former Portsmouth player, Vince Hilaire, as well as the ‘most famous football fan in Britain’ John PFC Westwood. To add to this I also managed to get free run of Fratton Park therefore my shots were varied and impressive. I uploaded the package onto youtube and it managed to  receive over 400 views. I was also approached to see if it could be used for a football website. For second year I decided to stay on Sport hoping to get more stories as oppose to highlights. I was given the role of University Sports Reporter. This role wasn’t as simple as it suggests as it was a struggle to get news worthy packages so I found myself looking away from the University for stories. In my opinion my best package of that term was my piece on Olympic hopeful Greg Bridet. Bridet had been shortlisted for the Olympic Boxing squad for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and as he boxes out of Portsmouth I thought it would make for a good story. I was very lucky in that Bridet’s Coach Quentin Shillingford was used to cameras being in his gym and allowed me to get all the shots and interviews I needed. Towards the end of my second semester on sport I started to find myself feeling aggrieved about the lack of feedback we would get on our packages as the main focus was on Winol. I thought I had produced some good quality packages but had heard nothing back about them.  

Coming into this semester I was hoping to be given a new role as I had stated that I wanted a new challenge on Winol and liked the sound of doing some features for the website. I had come up with several ideas that I wanted to pursue but was left disappointed when I found myself once again as part of the sports team. The problem was I had lost interest in Sport and was struggling to find good stories once again. My first few stories of the year were packages I put together for the sake of having something in and thus lacked content and I had to resort to the sort of 'Mickey Mouse' reporting I had always tried to avoid. My only other package of the year was a breakdancing feature, this was a better piece as I spent a lot more time editing the package and I was happy with the finished product, however at the end of the day I am well aware that I have not been able to achieve my full potential on sport. I personally consider Winol and Sportsweek two separate productions and despite the obvious connections I think people on Sports often find themselves slightly alienated from the rest of the group, which is frustrating. On Sport it is standard procedure to have your work completed by Tuesday, so in reality Wednesdays for people on sport don’t have to be spent in Tab but you still find yourself going in hoping to get some sort of feedback or acknowledgement more often than not to no avail. This was obviously not helped by Angus moving to Dubai as it made communication with him even rarer. At the start of the semester there was talk of having a few guest editors in who specialised in sport which really would have been beneficial to the department. However this never materialised and once again we were overlooked. This has always been an issue for me and has subsequently meant that I haven’t been giving the 100% I would have liked. A large problem I find with Winol is that no one seems fully sure who our target audience is. As we are a university course it makes sense to me to draw views from fellow students. However a lot of the time we deter students with stories that they quite simply will not care about. I was criticised by Gareth Messenger formerly of Winol as he asked why I was doing stories on University sports teams a lot of the time. My reply to Gareth would be that I believe we are overlooking University sport in favour of teams such as Winchester City who have less than 50 people turn up to watch games and doesn't draw people to the website. Whereas if we put together packages of University Sports or at least a weekly results section people from the numerous on campus teams would be interested. If I were Sports Editor, I would make sure that one of the better local teams; Eastleigh or Totton, were filmed but along with that I would make sure at least 2 or 3 Uni sports were filmed and maybe put together into a smaller package. I think establishing ourselves as the best source of on campus news is essential for the Winol brand and yet probably over half of the students don’t even know what Winol is. Apparently at its peak Sports week hit over a thousand views yet nowadays 300 views is considered good. I understand that cracking the University will be tough and probably wouldn't be the right route for Winol to go down but is definitely where I see Sports week’s future lying. I would also encourage people on sport to do as many features as possible, the Sports section can often be pretty boring and dull depending on results, a lighthearted fun feature offers a balance similar to an and finally piece.

       I know it’s been a good year for Winol and some of the work I have seen from others has been brilliant. Some people really have benefited from Winol people like Liam Garrahan and Harvey consistently  produce solid packages and I think they have massively benefited from Winol and will probably go onto have good careers on the back of what they've learnt from Winol. I think that the lack of a major event to cover was a shame because it’s a time when everyone pulls together and works as a team. In my opinion an event in the ilk of the BJTC would have helped the second years out a lot. For me when I helped out with the BJTC awards in my second year it was what originally sold me on Winol, as I saw the quality and professionalism of the Third years and it made me realise where I could be in a years time. The website has never looked better and I know that the website has been receiving a lot of hits. I liked the fact that more time was spent on expanding Winol with Access and Absolutely Fashion as this will undoubtedly bring in a lot more page views which at the end of the day is what we want. On a good day the buzz in the room is evident for everyone and come 5 o clock everyone is feeling good. Part of me will miss Winol as it has given me a good start for whatever route I decide to go down in life. I remember that the reason I decided to come to Winchester in the first place was after I came to an open day and was won over by Brian in the way he spoke about Winol. I immediately knew that this was the course I wanted to be on and I do feel like I could produce good quality packages now wherever I go which will be valuable when I apply for jobs and I feel like I have a good variety of packages that I will happily show to employees with confidence. I will always be very thankful to Brian and Chris for this as Documentary is where I would like to go.

       The whole course for me is too focused on Winol, there are other aspects of Journalism that we are all clearly lacking e.g written stories. Chris spent at least an hour going through the problems with some of the written stories that were lacking basic techniques due to the fact that we've never spent a great deal of time working on them. I can fully appreciate the fact that I’m on one of the best journalism courses in the country but I don’t think I’m the only one that currently feels like I would struggle to work for a newspaper at the moment. As far as Winol goes though I think the statistics speak for themselves. After all the awards Winol has been given since I joined there is no disputing that the course put together by Chris and Brian is a good one but not everyone benefits from putting so much focus on the broadcast aspect of journalism. This year apart from an optional shorthand class the only thing we had on our timetable was Winol. I’m not saying that this is a massive problem as Winol is time consuming but some of us haven’t written practically anything all semester and obviously that comes across in our written stories. This semester has hindered my time spent on Winol but despite that I did enjoy the first and second semester I spent on Winol.

Recently the large part of my time has been spent planning for my final year project; ‘Life after Football’. The plan is to interview ex footballers David James, Linvoy Primus and Lee Bradbury about where they decided to go after retiring from football.I decided upon this after reading the Linvoy Primus auto-biography a few months back. I found his book very inspirational and as it was brought out in 2005 whilst Linvoy was still playing I decided that I wanted to find out what he was up to myself, by interviewing him myself. The rest fell into place afterwards through contact I made with their clubs etc. I’m also hoping to follow each of the players around for a day a, in order to give people a real insight into their lives which I’m hoping will be interesting and also make my documentary more authentic and true to the format. I know David James works for BT Sport as a pundit and Bradbury works as Manager of Havant & Waterlooville who play in the Conference South. I’m hoping to make this Documentary about half an hour long, and I’m hoping to make it as fly on the wall as possible. I will be using all the tools and skills I have acquired on Winol to make this and I am confident Winol has provided me with the knowledge to do so.

Critical Review

The second semester of Winol was always going to be difficult without the help of the more experienced third years. We were used to relying on them to help us with our roles as well as helping us put the finishing touches and polish on our packages, well I certainly was anyway. So upon return I was slightly anxious to see how semester two would pan out. Firstly I was keen to see who would take over Henry's role at the helm of Sports Week. There were people that seemed obvious choices to succeed e.g Liam who consistently produced very good football coverage as well as some interesting Sports features. Initially when I heard Sam was going to be the new editor I was surprised but also keen to hear the direction he wanted to take Sports Week. As well as loosing a few people we also inherited some from other parts of Winol as well as the Masters students. I was hoping that the new fresh faces would be able to add something to the mixing pot and hopefully help Sports Week get more views.

The first week I was asked to take Kirsty along to my familiar saturday night hang out, The Planet Ice Arena. In the first semester the Ice Hockey was my beat and after going there week in week out in the first term I was keen to pass on the torch and go out and get my own stories. I was given the role of on campus sports reporter. I asked for this role as I believed that we were missing out on a lot of views by never featuring University stories, as students are likely to watch if they themselves or friends were in it. My first story in my new role was to cover an event called 'Technocise' in the Student Union. Various clubs from around the University performed and because of the type of event it was, a Techno music based exercise, the pictures came out really well. I was happy with the interviews and the audio and I was generally happy with my package. However on the whole Sports Week was struggling as it seemed Sam was finding difficulties with his new position. We were airing late and sometimes our show wasn't edited in time for the recording of the bulletin. This was an issue that needed to be solved quickly.

It didn't take long for me to realise that covering University sports was going to be tedious and hard work. The reason for this being that nothing was happening. In order to get something for Sports Week I had to interview people on nothing, it wasn't particularly enjoyable and cutting the interviews to make them ready was difficult. I felt that covering campus sports stories just for the sake of it was pointless as it made Sports Week look like we were short and just trying to fill some time. I wasn't totally closing the door on University sport, just made a logical decision that I would only cover it when something of note was happening. After making that decision I decided that i'd like to cast my net a little further and as my best package from the semester before was a story from Portsmouth I returned to interview Olympic hopeful Greg Bridet. Greg had been shortlisted for the Boxing squad in Rio and seemed very willing to be interviewed. His coach also was very keen for his gym to get some air time. I have noticed this quite a bit now, that people see us turn up with cameras and think its a golden opportunity for them to get a bit of publicity. I've realised the best way to get around this situation is to be obliging and say you'll include everything they ask, and then not. Anyway, this was my first decent/news worth story of the term and I was determined to make it my best. I was allowed to go down and film a training session with Greg as well as get interviews from him and his Coach. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of my footage and when I had finished also very pleased with my finished product. I was looking forward to getting some feedback as my package was going in the bulletin however sports week wasn't completed in time for the bulletin. I was disappointed by this as I remember the Guest Editor that week was a former student and as he was walking around the room I had a good talk with him about Winol and had told him about my package, so I was intrigued to hear his views. One thing I did notice in

semester two was that there wasn't as much communication as there was in the first. Usually on Monday morning the Sports team would have a little meeting with Brian where we would discuss our stories for the week. I always felt these were useful as it meant that we could all put our thoughts together with the long term goal being a better package. We also didn't seem to get much of a mention in the Debrief which could be frustrating when you felt you had put forward good work. I think in future after the bulletin is filmed a separate talk with either Brian or Angus would be very beneficial for Sports. Getting an opinion from a seasoned Journalist like Angus could only help the sports reporters with future packages.

On the whole the second semester of Winol was a fun experience and some brilliant packages were made. I think once he got into the swing of the things Sam made a good Sports Editor. For me personally though I often found myself a little frustrated, whereas before I had the simple task of turning up at the Ice Hockey and filming the game, this time I had to hunt for stories where often there was none. I tried my hand at presenting for the first time which was interesting. Up until that day I had never really been all that bothered with presenting but I knew it was something I'd have to try. It turned out that I did enjoy presenting and in my head I was very good at it, I saw myself in the TV monitors and thought that I could get used to this, unfortunately I was hit by a bit of reality when I actually saw my presenting and realised that maybe it wasn't for me. This view was also shared by many of my friends from home. I did however begin to feel myself becoming more and more comfortable whilst co-hosting the Sports Week radio show. Me and Harvey always met up the night before we were due to go on air and always made sure we had a lot of material to talk about and we had a lot of fun doing so. I had a good two semester run but I think when we return in September I'll be looking for a new role, one with a bit more freedom where I can be released from the shackles of sports 'Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains'.

The Winol bulletin wasn't something I had to much to do with this time around but I always found the stories impressive. From my view from the back corner of Tab I could always see a lot of people fluttering around like they were desperately trying to make things come together. My contact with the Bulletin was pretty limited to just watching it and sometimes being involved in the discussions about stories etc. Sometimes I find myself in awe of the content of the Bulletin as it is always of the highest quality not dissimilar to what you'd watch at 5 o' clock on ITV. I'm proud to be part of Winchester News Online as it is starting to establish itself as the place to go locally for news. The online website has reached new heights, quashing any competition we had the previous semester. It is easy to see why as well, with the introduction of the Fashion section and The New Winchester Review, which both cater for smaller niches but are always being updated with high quality content. Our online presence has been largely down to Jason redesigning the site to give it a cutting edge professional look. He targeted search engines so that we would gather more readers using SEO's which has generated a lot views. Targeting social networks was also a recent development that paid off as people subscribed to Winol would be updated to new stories and linked directly to them. As far as stories went its hard to see past the Eastleigh by elections after Chris Humes resignation. That was a national story that happened to land right in our laps and for a week or so the usually mundane town of Eastleigh became the Political hotspot of Britain. Winol provided great coverage of this as well as a Winol special that everyone got involved in to help out despite the antisocial hours. That is one of the perks of the Winol experience, in times like this everyone is prepared to help out and there is a big sense of comradery. I thought Spence did a good job as Chief Reporter on this as he managed to gain access to people like Boris Johnson, massive figures in Politics, and get great interviews which is the type of thing that's really going to put Winchester News Online on the map.

In my first year I was battling with inner demons, Freud's ID, telling me that I needed to go to a different University, one that had more to offer on the social side of things. What kept me at Winchester was the fact that I was enrolled in the best Journalism course in the country and I am very glad my superego levelled my thoughts as at the end of the day I want to leave Winchester with the tools to go on and become a good journalist. For me personally I've always admired the work of Gonzo Journalists such as Louis Theroux and I think that Winol and myself would benefit from adding this type of journalism to our repertoire. I am often misunderstood as being lazy but often it is actually due to me losing my passion for a certain subject in this case Sports. I produce my best work when I am doing something I am passionate about and I feel that if I could produce short documentaries in my third year I would achieve my potential, which has been threatening to happen for a long time. In some ways my attitude towards the course is selfish as I want to take what I've learnt and use it for personal gain in the future. I have lots of ideas for features that I would like to pursue and as I am hungry to clear my name and prove that I'm not a dosser this would help greatly. I have spoken to Winol heroes such as Andrew Giddings and he told me that if I wanted to make things happen and achieve my goals studying at Winchester was the right decision. Now that I have a clear head I feel that I am in the right place to push forward and reach my goals. I am very thankful for the opportunity I have been given at Winchester by Chris and Brian and in my third and final year I just hope to prove they made the right decision by letting me on the course.

Foals - Holy Fire

Foals released their debut album 'Antidotes' in 2008 and were instantly popular with the british public reaching number 3 in the UK albums chart. Foals managed to bring something new to the table pioneering the MathRock genre and in doing so influencing a range of future bands. The bands second album 'Total Life Forever' showed the bands progression both as musicians and in maturity. Foals dropped the shouty approach they employed in Antidotes and singer Yannis adopted a more melodic style in his vocals. I also think it would be fair to say that the songs were better written and contained layers which made them more accessible to a wider audience. Not in the sense of selling out but the Math Rock movement was short lived and i think Foals were aware that due to their rise in popularity they would be playing bigger venues and thus would have to write songs for arenas. Personally 'Total Life Forever' was one of my favourite albums of 2010 so naturally i was very much looking forward to listening to 'Holy Fire'.
Prior to listening to the full album i had read that the band had cut down on the amount of weed they smoked, this was worrying. Sometimes bands or musicians work better and produce better stuff when on some substances. I'm not advocating the use of drugs but when they managed to produce such good albums when high why change a winning formula? these fears were quickly put to bed and read a bedtime story when i heard the first single 'Inhaler'. The first time i heard it i was sat in my cold overpriced Uni room probably eating a pack of salt and vinegar chipsticks, in other words bored out of my brain. I saw the video linked in a tweet and like a fat kid walking into a bakery, i was excited. My first thoughts as the intro started was yeah good tune if not a bit samey. The chorus caught me so off guard, such a big leap for them to add that heavier aspect to their repotoire, works a treat though. I fell in love and its no exaggeration for me to claim to have watched the music video 5 plus times a day. In a word, belter.
Anyway, as the album goes, i've always been a big fan of the instrumental opener something i feel isn't used enough. A big, big intro that sets the tone of the album and i'd say 'Prelude' does just that. I'm picturing it live maybe as the set opener, its the type of intro that is guaranteed to whip the crowd up. The next track 'Inhaler' obviously you know my thoughts on that 'and that's all i have to say about that' Forrest Gump. 'My Number' is a catchy little tune with a nice bit of backing vocals probably the type of song you need after 'Inhaler' had blown your socks moments before. For me its slightly reminiscent of the 80's as its got that funky twang to it but all the while keeping the type of guitar sounds we have grown to love from Foals. Definitely not a 'mosh pit' song but the type of song you won't be able to resist throwing shapes to. This is followed by 'Bad Habit' a song that could have easily been on their second album, not one of my favourites but its still a solid album song, just doesn't have the edginess that other songs on 'Holy Fire' have.'Everytime' kicks in with a techno-esque intro and some tribal sounding drum beats, a great combination. It lures you into believing you've got a massive drop coming at some point and the chorus just tickles that idea. The whole way through this song your anticipating the big breakdown climax. You could argue it does come towards the end but i would have liked it to be bigger fatter with a PH. 'Late Night' emphasises the progression in Foals. The vocals kick starting and leading the song, with the instruments providing a nice ambient sound in the background, complimenting the vocals beautifully. It builds up gradually to become a really nice ballad of sorts, the type of song 'Antidotes' lacked. Its a very mellow song but once again i challenge anyone to not have a shuffle. 'Out of the woods' has a more stereotypical intro, I like the way this song incorporates some instruments you don't tend hear in a Foals song, they blend well with the generic Foals sound. 'Milk and Black Spiders' easily the most striking song name i saw when looking at the track listing. I was hoping the strikingness of the title would spill out into the music and i wasn't disappointed. It keeps this sort of trickling guitar line achieved with delay the whole way through the song and maybe i'm just being weird but i personally felt it kept the rhythm perhaps a spider would when making its web. I realised i should probably go to bed when i felt like i was at a 4d cinema and could actually feel spiders crawling over me. Definitely one of my highlights of the album though this song. 'Providence' starts with the echoey vocals accompanied by the punky guitar strums. throughout the song that takes a back seat as we are treated to a masterclass in how to build a song up to colossal heights like only Foals can. This was what i was waiting for from the album the glorious climax where you just lay down, eyes closed with goosebumps and just ride that music. Following on from that was always going to be a monumental task. Foals went for the almost hypnotic song 'Stepson' which could easily double up as a lullaby even the lyrics 'Now i'm falling deeper down i go'. What are you trying to do boys send me to sleep? Personally i think 'Stepson' will forever be living in the shadow of 'Providence' it doesn't have that Genese que needed to follow up from such a massive tune. Finally, we have 'Moon' and your starting to get the impression they really are trying to get you to catch some zzz's. A slow intro with a mellow assortment of guitar parts floating in the background. Then you hear the faint crashing of drums in the background and your thinking 'lets have it'. The synth kicks in but then fades back into the earlier calm vibe at the beginning of the song. The last 30 or so seconds is just noise which left me feeling shortchanged. I was hoping for another corking ending but i guess it just wasn't meant to be.
I would like to say that this was all upon first listen, i was listening to the album for the first time as im typed so any of these songs could either grow on me or start to grind me. However very enjoyable album that i would recommend to anyone i'd even give it an 8/10 upon first listen which for me is unheard of. I know just look forward to seeing them live again which will hopefully be a better experience than the last time at Reading when i was tricked into drinking piss. I hope you enjoy. Toodles

Should've gone up a while ago but here we have my critical review from the first semester

Last year I was made aware that the second year of the Journalism course would revolve around Winol however I didn't quite anticipate how much. Since restarting in September Winol has pretty much dominated my life. During the week i'm editing packages and at the weekend i'm filming them, not that I haven't enjoyed it. The way the second year of the course is structured is to essentially gain on the job experience as Winol represents a realistic newsroom environment therefore further our skills as Journalists. Everything feels real about the experience most notably on Wednesday when the bulletin is due to air. Around 1 o' clock the atmosphere changes from relatively relaxed to a full throttle all systems go battlefield as everyones trying to make the three o clock deadline.
The role I undertook this semester was as a Winol sports reporter as Winol cover the local sports teams including; AFC Totton, Winchester FC and The Basingstoke Bison. Originally I was asked to film the Bison, an ice hockey team. For me this was my introduction to the sport as it was something i'd never really followed. The first week I set off and was slightly hindered by the fact that the public to the Planet Ice Arena left a lot to be desired, nonetheless I turned up and recorded the game and put together my first package for the bulletin. In hindsight i'm not particularly happy with the highlights I put together as I underestimated the intensity of the sport and thus my camera work was sloppy. As football has been the main sport I have been weaned on the speed of an Ice Hockey game came as a bit of a culture shock and when the highlights were posted on Youtube they got some negative reviews however from this mishap I know knew what it was I had to improve on and had a slightly better idea of how the game was played, so naturally I was eager to redeem myself the next weekend.
The following weekend I returned to the Planet Ice Arena looking forward to game but also at having the opportunity to make up for my mistakes. The game was equally as intense but as I'd managed to get there with time to set up properly I had the camera and tripod moving much more freely which enabled me to get better shots. When I came back to edit the package I was a lot more contented with the footage I had to work with as I had picked up all the goals as well getting shots of the fans and establishing shots. The package I made on the second week was probably my favourite of the semester as I also managed a solid voice over. The trouble i've had this semester was not with the writing of the script as I enjoyed writing the humorous pun filled commentary it was just that I couldn't make myself sound excited enough. The majority of the voice overs i've done have sounded pretty monotonous which has been very frustrating but this week for whatever reason I managed to sound like I was actually enjoying myself. After the second package I felt a lot more comfortable covering The Bison and found myself adopting Ice Hockey as a second sport. The main factor of me enjoying the Ice Hockey was the buzz in the arena the games are exciting enough but the DJ and the upbeat fans make it a highly enjoyable experience.
I spent the next few weeks filming the Ice Hockey but as my packages were usually finished by Monday I found myself offering to help out other people on the Sports Team. Me and Harvey went down to film an interview with the manager of Winchesters Women's team, as Harvey was presenting the package I was the cameraman which I still enjoyed and it also gave me an idea of the sort of things others were providing for the bulletin. I also suggested at the weekly meeting that we should capitalise on the fact that I had a housemate who was part of the Universities Polo Team which we could use as a feature. It was agreed that Emma would front the package as she had prior horse riding experience and I would assist her in filming the interview. For both of us it was a new experience as neither of us had used a lot of the equipment including the radio microphones but we managed to pull it together and when Emma had finished the package it came out looking very good. After helping Emma I then went onto help Harvey out with an interview he had with QPR scout Kevin Braybrook this made me realise that I wanted to try out an interview of my own. I felt confident that I would be able to conduct myself accordingly in an interview situation and also that i'd like to broaden my experiences in the first semester of Winol.
After realising that I wanted to expand from the Ice Hockey highlights I brought up a story idea I had that I knew was quite ambitious but still attainable, the Portsmouth Supporters Trust. I felt that it ticked all the boxes for Sports Week story as it was a local story that was also being
covered on a national level. I was hoping to use contacts I had within the club to both interview and help me film in and around the stadium which turned out to be very successful. As my dad used to be involved with the supporters club a few years ago I knew that I would be able to get reasonably decent interviews but when I managed to get ex Pompey player Vince Hilaire for an interview it instantly gave my package more credibility. I had the idea that it would be good to interview John PFC Westwood as he is regarded as the most recognisable fan in the world and as the story was about the fans it fitted. After a lot of hunting around I did manage to get in contact with him and he was more than willing to give his thoughts on the Supporters Trust. I had hoped to do another interview with someone from the supporters trust but they were difficult to get in contact with and when I did manage to get in contact with the spokesman I was already back in Winchester so I had to settle for a statement. Once I put the package together I was incredibly pleased with the outcome my pieces to camera came out well considering I had to use a gun mic and as I was given exclusive access to Fratton Park I got some excellent shots and managed to do one of my pieces to camera on the pitch. One of the things I would have changed if I had more time was the statement as the white text over a still of the pitch didn't look quite as good as I had liked. Fortunately both the interviewees had some interesting stuff to stay which gave the VT a nice fluidity and hopefully would have kept the viewer engaged throughout.
Aside from the weekly bulletin I have also been part of a couple of other projects put on by the Winol team. The first was when Winchester were selected to host the BJTC awards which gave us a chance to showcase our professionalism. Everyone was eager to impress not only because it gave Winchester the opportunity to gain a stronghold as the best student journalists in the country but also as there were a lot of audience members who were big names in the industry most notably Sir Alistair Stewart. I was asked to man one of the cameras which would mostly be holding a tight shot on Alistair as he hosted the awards. The day was a complete success as everything ran smoothly despite some quite shaky rehearsals.
Another event I was asked to help with, once again manning a camera, was Winol's coverage of the American elections. The event was another success as both of the 2 hours seemed to run smoothly enough the only issue was the skype connection. This was understandable as the conversation was being held from opposite sides of the globe. In terms of working on these projects I didn't hold down major roles but it was still nice to be part of such big projects both of which were pre-eminent for student journalism.
As far as the whole bulletin is concerned I think it was evident that we struggled to produce a decent standard of bulletin in the first few weeks, but I don't feel that it took us long to find our feet at all. By the third bulletin peoples packages were looking more professional, the sound was coming out better and people looked more comfortable in front of the camera. Also the content of the stories gradually began to improve as the semester went on. Next semester I would like to have a go at presenting the bulletin as I thought that everyone else did a good job and fancied having a go myself. I know the features team have been focusing on the website more so than the bulletin and some of the features could have easily been picked up by national institutions. Lee's Hitler's neighbour feature for example strikes me as the type of thing that you'd see as a documentary on the BBC or ITV. Also the Paul Blackburn interview, I personally felt quite privileged to have been able to hear his story first hand. It was a powerful and shocking talk but his story will undoubtedly be broadcast at some point, if it hasn't already.
I was keen to dabble in some Radio this year, which I managed to do in the form of two Sports Week radio shows. The shows were an hour at an time which I thought would be difficult to talk about sport for but as soon as I sat down in the booth the time flew by. Radio is something I would like to keep doing next semester as I did enjoy both the shows so hopefully I will be able to carry on with this.
Without the aid and support of the third years it will be a tough task taking over Winol. I know I personally relied quite a lot on our sports editor Henry this year but I think as a unit our second year team is strong. We have people that will be able to slot in to the editorial roles that i'm sure will be able to do a good job. I just hope that by the time the new second years take on the
challenge of Winol I will be as much of a useful source of help as the third years were to me.

Everyone loves a bit of Freud

After the Continental and Anglophone philosophers had drifted apart the analytic tradition had started to dominate in English speaking countries. The most influential continental thinker on Anglo-American philosophy was Sigmund Freud. Freud didn't see him self as a philosopher more as a Scientist. Freud was born into an Austrian family in 1856 he trained as a doctor in the University of Vienna were he specialised in Brain Autonomy but became fascinated by neurology. In 1895 he published work on mental illness, Freud was originally a fan of hypnosis but later went onto develop a new form of therapy which he called psychoanalysis which he stated consisted of nothing more than a conversation between Patient and doctor. Freud felt that the hysterical symptoms of his patients were forged by a trauma that had been repressed and that by provoking them into remembering and discussing they could be helped. Being Freud he believed most of these traumas to have been caused by sexual encounters in the patients youth.

In 1900 Freud published his most important work 'The interpretation of dreams' which he believed let people express their repressed sexual desires. He made many adaptations to his original theory and book over the next few years slightly tweaking the theories. In 1923 he published a new work the ego and the id in which he described his thoughts on the unconscious mind. Freud was forced to flee to England after the Nazi's banned psychoanalysis and after 16 years of suffering from jaw cancer he was euthanised by his physician in 1939.

Freud summed up his psychoanalytic theses in a set of lectures between 1915 and 1917. These were that the greater part of our mental life was unconcious and secondly that sexual impulses were vital in maintaining a healthy mental state. He believed that if one suppresses these emotions due to them be deemed unacceptable by society they could later surface in the form of a mental illness. Freud believed the unconscious is manifested in three ways ; trivial mistakes, reports of dreams and symptoms of neurosis. He felt that his psychoanalytic approach could reveal patterns in a persons unconcious. From this development Freud developed the Oedipus complex. In Freud's opinion the most important stage in development to help understand a persons unconscious is to look into their sexual development. According to Freud infantile sexuality starts with an oral fixation followed by an anal stage between the ages 1-3 and then the phallic stage in which a person is fascinated by their genitals. This is when the oedipus complex kicks in as a male child becomes aroused by his mother and therefore resents his father, however the boy fears his father will castrate him so drops the feelings for his mother and begins to identify with his father. His female equivalent to Oedipus was never fully worked out.

His later work was more focused on his theories the ego and the Id. In its most simplest form the ego is the level headed part of someones soul. The Id represents the devil we see appear on someones shoulder in cartoons the part of our psyche that wants to act on impulse and fulfil our desires. The superego is the angel and basically the conscience that tries to cancel out the ID. Freud believed that as long as there was a healthy balance people would be less likely to display neurotic symptoms.

Well needed TLC

I realise that my blog hasn't been receiving much attention of late which isn't good news, therefore i have decided to take on a blog a day challenge from now until the end of the semester. However this will probably not include weekends.
I think a good place to start with this new ambitious project is to talk about my first experience presenting. I was asked to present Sports Week and naturally as i had yet to give it a go i was keen to take the 'hot seat'. I came in on the Tuesday suited and booted and nervously waited for the camera to start rolling. As I was losing my presenting V plates I wasn't familiar with the autocue but found it easily enough to use. I felt like my performance wasn't too bad for a first attempt, the build up beforehand was quite stressful as a lot seemed to be going a bit Pete Tong, but when we actually got down to business everything ran relatively smoothly. Obviously it took me a few takes to nail the links and such but the finished product was alright. I was keen to watch back the footage just to see how it came out and when I did i was quite disappointed. Its something that i'm struggling to come to terms with but I don't think i look that great on camera, which is bit of a pain. In my head I looked suave like a James Bond type character however in reality I really didn't. Anyway this is only a short one to ease myself back into the swing of things but judge for yourself.

Channel 5 News

Today I was asked to review the Channel 5 bulletin. It was a solid bulletin in terms of content obviously covering Britain th floods were featured and one thing I noticed as being odd was an interview with a man out of his window. I suppose floods aren't an everyday occurence so you try and cover it anyway you can but it did strike me as being quite unusual. The other thing I hadn't really seen before was the back of the reporters head in shot? Didn't really bother me as such I just didn't really understand the need. Apart from these two issues I thought it was good sound and cutaways were good. The Presenting style was alot less formal than that of ITV or BBC but I put that down to house style and if i'm honest I did like the more relaxed informality of it.

R.I.P Sophie

Yesterday my dog Sophie was put down after 13 years of being the perfect pet. My nan tells me that when she went to visit the Puppies it was love at first sight and that Sophie picked my nan, this doesn't shock me as the bond they had was visible for anyone to see right until she passed. I can vaguely remember first seeing our Lhasa apso shih szu cross for the first time, a tiny white and brown bundle of fluff that couldn't contain her excitement as she licked and played in her new home. For me the experience was new as up until Sophie arrived on the scene I had only ever been allowed Goldfish and at a push a Guinea Pig, so naturally I grew very attached to her. One of my first memories of her was when we took part in a sponsored Dog walk for charity at this time she was a very lively puppy and I really struggled to keep her away from the swamps and Cow packs she was unusually fond of but we managed to finish the walk and I still have the framed certificate at home.

Sophie came at a very fortunate time for my nan as not long after she got Sophie my Grandad died, leaving the family devastated none more so than my Nan. Sophie showed all the qualities anyone could ask for in a dog; Loyalty, affection, love and obedience during my Nans time of need. People always say that Dogs are a mans best friend and I can't think of a better example than my Nan and Sophie, I will always be thankful for Sophie's help during this period as I honestly think that without her companionship my Nan would have really struggled to cope at this time. Shortly after the death of my Grandad my Nan moved in with us and of course Sophie was a part of that package. Me and my brother were both over the moon at having a dog as we'd always been shortchanged for pets in the past. Sophie's love for my Nan was so strong though that we could never take her for a walk as she couldn't bare to leave my Nan for that long.

In recent years my Nans health deteriated and it was odd how in tune Sophie was to this. Sophie grew very protective of my Nan not in a vicious way as she wouldn't hurt a fly but she would always try to keep her out of harms way, protecting her from boisterous dogs and such. I remember making fun of my Nan for the way she used to talk to Sophie and treat her like a person but in reality Sophie was always more than a pet to her, she was her best friend.

My fondest memories of Sophie will always be her running around like a headless chicken but if i could pick one in particular it was the time me and my mum took her for a walk after school. I was dressed in my school uniform and playing with her at Hilsea Lido a park that is renowned for its large lake that looks and smells like sewage. I was walking Sophie along the edge of the lake on a slippery winters evening, it was a pretty routine walk until the young Sophie slipped and fell into the lake. I panicked and without remembering that Dogs are strong swimmers jumped in to rescue her like a baywatch lifeguard. Needless to say my mum wasn't best pleased at us getting back into the car smelling like we'd just gone for a dip in a portaloo.

Sophie would have been the ideal pet for anyone but no more so than for my Nan its hard to describe the connection they had but it was powerful. She was treated like a Queen whilst she was alive and I hope this remains the case in death. Rest in peace Sophie you will always be missed but remembered for the loving, caring Dog that you were.

Joanna Yeates

Joanna Yeates was a 25 year old Landscape Architect from Hampshire who's body was found on Christmas day in 2010. Yeates was described as ambitious and had a bright carer to look forward to. She had been missing since the 17^th of November since a night out with friends so Police enquiries had already been opened before the body had been found. The case was heavily publicised by the media and prior to her body being found rewards of up to £60,000 were being offered for information on her whereabouts. The case is regarded as one of the largest to have ever taken place in the Bristol area and the story was omnipresent in news reports over the Christmas period.

The police originally arrested Christopher Jefferies a former teacher and also Yeates' landlord at the time. Jefferies lived in the same building as Yeates and the editor of The Mirror Richard Wallace claims the police were 'confident' they had found their man. However what followed from the press meant that the whole coverage of ongoing cases by the press had to be re-evaluated. Christopher Jefferies was morphed into an evil villain by the newspapers as they wrote some seriously defamatory statements about him in an attempt to portray him as the murderer. The news coverage was not only severely defamatory and a libel nightmare but also in complete contempt of court.

It is believed that the Police in the surrounding Avon and Somerset area had been in close contact with Journalists and were feeding them confidential information that was damaging to the case. Contempt of court is defined as 'An act of deliberate disobedience or disregard for the laws, regulations, or decorum of a public authority, such as a court or legislative body.' The sun and The Mirror were both found guilty of publishing documents that could influence the outcome of the trial and charged with contempt of court. Chris Jefferies also received compensation from 8 newspapers for damages to him including The Sun and The Mirror. Mr Jefferies was also asked to give evidence for the Leverson enquiry which intended to investigate the controversial and often unethical methods used by British Journalists. Jefferies claimed that after his arrest he was harassed by several Newspapers hunting for stories to run that would bastardise his name even further.

The Police later found out the Murderer was in fact Vincent Tabak a Dutch Engineer and a neighbour of Yeates. Tabak was convicted of murder on the 28^th October 2011 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The case proved to be another big public relations nighmare for the press who had just had to take accountabilty for the Phone hacking scandal which had already critically damaged the reputation of Journalists and the profession in general. A bill was proposed that a Journalist who mentioned an uncharged suspect would receive a 6 month charge but has yet to be passed. However the whole media coverage of the event was a disgrace not only to Chris Jefferies who avoided returning home for three months due to embarrassment but also to Yeates' family who not only had the death of their daughter to deal with but also misleading and tactless news coverage.

Rousseau 'The Social Contract'

The social contract is an idea suggested by Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) vastly regarded as the founder of the Romantic movement. Rousseau was born into a transitional period of time 'the enlightenment' a time when the scientific method was prevalent. However Rousseau's opinions on the enlightenment became known when he responded to an essay writing competition on 'Whether the enlightenment had helped morality' and claimed that it had in fact caused the corrosion of morality amongst men. Rousseau's opinions didn't sit too well with other prominent philosophers of his day e.g Voltaire but nonetheless he won the competition and received wide spread fame off the back of his victory.

Rousseau believes that mankind is at its most noble when in its most natural state, he used the idea of the noble savage to personify his thoughts. A man who lived in uncivilised lands and lived off the land. One must remember that he was writing this at a time when European countries where competing with one another by conquering new lands to expand their empires, so it is likely Rousseau is criticising the government for this policy. Rousseau said that society corrupts humans and likened the effects of the state on humans to a statue eroding overtime to the point where it can no longer be recognized as human. These thoughts were published in Rousseau's Discourse on equality a book which his contemporary Voltaire labelled 'a book against the human race'.

Nonetheless the focus of this blog is on Rousseau's Social Contract an idea that has been credited as the basis of the French Revolution which through no coincidence started ten years after Rousseau's death. Throughout his life Rousseau openly spoke of his disdain for society and the effects the state had on mankind. He believed that people were imprisoned by the laws of the state and had the right to live their life freely, this view is epitomised by his line 'Man is born free, but everywhere is in chains'. Rousseau attacked other philosophers such as Locke. Locke believed every man should be able to protect their property whereas Rousseau believed that the first person who claimed land as there own triggered the decline of mankind. 'The first man who, having fenced a piece of land, said 'This is mine' and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. He said that wealth made people unhappy and claimed Europe was the most unhappy continent as it had the most wealth as the inhabitants had surrendered their freedom to live in such a way. Rousseau's ideas are believed to be based around the Ancient Greek poleis with particularly likeness to that of Sparta an agricultural State where the Spartiates lived off the land. This may have been appealing to Rousseau as the Spartans represented the 'natural man' character he was promoting. The people would govern themselves by a utilitarian vote making up the 'Sovereign' he mentions but other than this each person alienates themselves from the rest so therefore everyone only looks after their own interests unless something compromises the 'General will'. The general will can be best understood as a set of rules that everyone must follow to live in harmony if someone refuses to follow the will then they will be forced 'forced to be free'. Rousseau's doctrine of the general will is particularly tricky to understand as he opposes laws and the state but he believes every man has a set of interests familiar and common to all and these interests make up the general will.

Rousseau stated that his aim for writing The social contract was to see if there was a place for legitimate authority. He writes that in order for mankind to revert to a more natural state they must each agree to a contract which essentially would create a democratic state and denounced the birth right of kings and other legitimate authority figures. Rousseau's social contract meant that he had to flee and spent many years living with Hume in London. His thoughts have been credited for starting the French Revolution as well as having a profound influence on Hitler and other pseudo-democratic dictatorships but regardless he was a very interesting man.

Seminar paper notes on Hume

David Hume was born in 1711 in Scotland and is regarded as one of the most important philosophers as well as being considered one of the key figures in the founding of the enlightenment period. Hume's greatest work was the 'Treatise of Human Nature' which due to its sceptical nature wasn't received as he had expected and he himself admitted 'it fell dead born from the press'. After this knock he took time out of the profession to write essays and after an unsuccessful attempt at a professorship he re-released his book this time slightly dulled down and called it the 'inquiry into human understanding' this version was more successful. In his lifetime his other works of note include the 'essay on miracles' which concludes that there can be no evidence to support such an event ever having taken place and finally the 'History of England' which devotes itself to showing how The Scottish are superior to the English. Thomas Jefferson was not a fan of this book and labelled it as 'poison' as it also promoted toryness and even banned it from the libraries of the University of Virginia.

Hume's Treatise is separated into three books;

• The Understanding
• The passions
• The Morals

The Understanding section has a large focus on the differentiation between impressions and idea's. Hume goes on to say that all of our simple ideas are derived from simple impressions which resemble the resulting idea. Yet complexed ideas aren't formed by complexed impressions but in fact can be formed by our imaginations. Hume uses the image of a winged horse, although we have never seen such a spectacle we can still picture one using our imaginations

Hume's general approach to philosophy is regarded as radical empiricism and he is regarded of one of the founders of the empiricist views that swept through Britain in the 17^th century. Hume is often likened to Hobbes, Locke and Berkely as they are fellow empiricists. Hume's rational approach to thinking however annoying to read is difficult to dispute as he argues his points very well.

Hume's ideas on causation are particularly difficult to get your head around as he is defying common beliefs of what we feel should happen. 'You cannot derive an ought from an is' is the leading line of this theory meaning that just because something should happen doesn't mean that it will. An example of this could be when playing Pool just because you hit the white ball into the black the fact that the black then moves is not necessarily down to the fact that it was struck by the white as Hume believed things could be probable but nothing is definite.

Another of Hume's important theories is labelled the 'Fork' this term is used to distinguish between relations of ideas and matters of fact. Hume believes that are actions are either predetermined or our caused by random events therefore we can't be held accountable form them. The only thing Hume said was totally factual were the rules of geometry.

Journalism Research Project

How does it Mirror The Sun?

The Mirror conforms to the staple requirements of a tabloid newspaper by making sure it contains a large showbiz section that focuses on celebrity gossip. As well as this it also has a large section on television and its programmes, most notably at the moment, The X Factor. The Mirror is aware that a large majority of its key demographic are the C12DE’s whom this kind of information is more likely to appeal to. The main age of the stereotypical ‘Mirror reader’ is believed to be between the ages of 25-34 and if personified offers a love interest to The Sun’s ‘White Van Man’ character.
The Mirror’s main tabloid rival is The Sun, both undoubtedly hold an elite position as Britains most popular tabloids and despite their differing political allegiances they are relatively similar in both content and layout.Where the papers tend to differ is through gender, The Sun is typically aimed at males with the prime example being the topless page three girl who is used to adorn the male readers. The Mirror however attracts a large female readership and therefore aims a lot of the advertisements at its female dominated audience. The founder of The Mirror Lord Northcliffe launched the paper as a ‘Paper for women, run by women’ despite this early claim, the paper has only had one female editor, Mary Howarth, who was also the first editor but only lasted a year in her position.
Nonetheless the differences are subtle as are their political views, despite them being at different ends of the spectrum; The sun is renowned for having a right wing viewpoint whereas the mirror often leans towards the left. Both papers published articles regarding the comments of Fifa President Sepp Blatter who controversially said that racism in football should be resolved with a handshake. The Sun attacked Sepp Blatter saying that his apology was ‘half-hearted’ whereas The Mirror took a more conservative neutral approach to the story. One would assume that the reason The Sun attacked Blatter is because of the ongoing dispute between The F.A and Fifa. The Sun likes to provoke a strong sense of national pride and therefore would get behind the countries governing body of football, whereas The Mirror adopts a laissez-faire approach as it is not as keen to impose overpowering beliefs in its articles. An alternative opinion to that is that in fact The Mirror prefers to keep stories on Sport as brief as possible as the paper is of course for women, who might not want to read detailed stories on sporting events.
As the Mirror is a paper for women, it could be argued that it also has underlying elements of feminism to it. It seems to be that the unwritten rule of tabloid newspapers is that they all have an attractive bare-chested female on page 3. The Mirror is the only exception to this; The Sun, The Daily Star and the The Daily Sport all follow this ‘law’. Understandably The Mirror’s readership may find this demeaning as the women’s sole purpose is to be visually pleasing to the male reader. On closer inspection of the newspaper i also noticed how in particular the problem page articles will be alot more appealing to females as the majority were advice for women in unfortunate relationships.

Radio News Bulletin

http://soundcloud.com/saltman29/radio-news-bulletin


Plans to build a new school in Winchester are currently being discussed. The school will take children from the age of 4 right through their school years up to the age of 16. The county council believes transforming the Westgate School into a combined primary and secondary school would help tackle the shortage of places available to pupils.

The Police are looking into the sexual assaults of 3 women all of which took place last night in Southampton. Police are not ruling out the possibility that they may  have all been carried out by the same man. The assaults all took place around the city centre and any witnesses have been asked to come forward to help Police enquiries.

The FA will look to four senior members as they begin the process of appointing the new England manager. Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is believed to be the prime contender for the position, but has stated he has not even thought about taking the role and is instead focusing on Tottenham's battle for a Champions league spot. Other people in the frame include Newcastle's Alan Pardew and former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. However FA chairman David Bernstein has said he would prefer an Englishmen.

With the British Film Industry on the up we wanted to find out how this growing popularity is affecting Theatre, as many films are looking to Theatre for inspiration. Daniel Radcliffes new film 'The Woman In Black' has been a box office success and was also very popular in the West End. We spoke to Katie Raynes from Winchester Theatre Royal to find out more.

Here are my thoughts on valentines day in audiobook style feel free to put it on your ipod and let my soothing southern accent drift you off to sleep

http://soundcloud.com/saltman29/my-thoughts-on-valentines-day

CCRC's refusal just or unjust?

Upon first glance the Warner case seemed to follow a fairly routine formula. Warner, the defendant, broke into Mr and Mrs Pool's house and murdered them and unsurprisingly this was the position the Police took. However after further reading on the accused's case file it appeared that all was not as it seemed. The Police overlooked two other possible suspects one of them a neighbour and former police officer who had been accused on numerous occasions as being a peeping Tom. The other a man known as the 'Vampire' who had committed a series of sexual assaults around the area at the time. Warner claimed to have never gone upstairs and there was never any evidence found to prove otherwise his major downfall was that he foolishly 'got the drunken urge to steal something'.

After several failed attempts at appeal Mr Warner applied to the commission for a case review, his arguments were; No blood was found on any of his clothes or did it seem like any attempt was made to conceal the act of murder at his shared caravan, there is still no evidence to prove Warner went upstairs were the bodies were found, new forensic techniques should be used to analyse DNA samples and finally that the police should look into other leads e.g 'The Vampire'. The review was successful to some extent for Mr Warner as It was agreed by the CCRC that under section 17 forensic scientists would be introduced to the case and under section 19 a senior Police Officer would be brought in to investigate the case further.

The findings however proved less successful for Mr Warner as the leading officer on the case believed they had strong support to believe that Warner did in fact go upstairs and that the evidence against the other two potential suspects was not strong enough. Therefore the CCRC refused Mr Warner a second trial.

When asked if I think the CCRC did the right thing, I think its a difficult situation as the case took place over 10 years before the review. The fact that scientific evidence from the original trial had been lost obviously did not work in Warner's favour and maybe this shows a lack of foresight by the Police. However on the evidence obtained under the section 17 and 19 none of the evidence could really be deemed as 'fresh' so it is understandable that the case was refused as it was unlikely that the case was going to be overturned. I think the frustrations of the police having to work with lots of unidentified fingerprints and those that could be identified were not found in key places I.e the neighbour Smith had fingerprints in the front porch which he claimed were there due to him handing out refreshments to Police Officers but nothing incriminating. Whether or not Warner did commit the crime only really he'll know but he still remains the obvious culprit, if in fact he did happen to break into the house on an unfortunate night then he is one unlucky man.