Radio Production Blog - News day 2 - South Coast Radio

This news day was a lot more successful. Leads for stories were chased up much more quickly and suitable audio clips were created for each story. The story choices and running order were good but due to an editorial decision an important story was missed. The first bulletin was a little long and could have done without the inclusion of travel. Again, the sports desk was very successful. In the second hour we included the story we had overlooked but again due to the editor’s decision didn’t run it top where it belonged. Again the desks were good but we were a little pushed for time in studio.

Personally, I was happy with my role as a journalist in getting vox pops for several of the stories and again as producer in organising and putting the audio together in the running order. I also voiced a story and was happy with this as my tone and style suited the piece.

Radio Production Blog - News day 1 - Talbot FM

On this news day the team didn’t work hard enough to gather audio clips for stories early on in the day and didn’t chase up stories well enough. In one case one of the stories didn’t meet the assessment requirements for the percentage of self-made audio, which is a major oversight. All of this led to a weaker bulletin at 1200 but gave us something to work to for the later bulletin at 1400. The team improved for this later bulletin and it was far more successful in terms of self-made content and well-chosen stories. The sports and entertainments desks were well put together successful in both bulletins. This is due to the hard work of both Max and Nadia. However, their focus on the desks may have proved detrimental to the rest of the bulletin because there were fewer people working on this. If the desks had been finished in less time then maybe the team could have concentrated as a whole on the rest of the bulletin. The team agrees that most of the flaws in this news day were based on editorial decisions.

Personally, I think I did a good job as producer. I worked along side the other group members to research and put together news stories for each bulletin. Then before the bulletin I put together the running order and double-checked which stories required audio and which didn’t. As producer I also helped put together the stings.

TV Production Blog

TV

Package

I was disappointed with my TV package, not due to my own work but due to technical failures. I chose to cover the Boscombe surf reef because it was a contemporaneous story as the “official” opening was the week before our hand in. I was also interested in the effect the surf reef would have on the local community and economy. I chose my interviewees because I wanted to get a better insight into the community as opposed to the council or other authority figures viewpoints. I interviewed a surfer and a surf shop owner and then spoke to numerous members of the public to gauge their opinion of the building of the reef.
I was pleased with my interviews and with my vox pops and felt I had enough good audio to put together a great package. However, on reviewing my shots, I discovered that due to a technical failure, a broken microphone, I had no audio on most of my clips. This meant I was forced to redo my vox pops but unfortunately the surf shop owner was unavailable for another interview before the deadline so I had to do without this interview. I think, however, that the good use of shots, including GVs of the beach, pier and the section of the sea where the reef is, as well as a good voice over and use of info graphics held up the piece even with the missing audio.



Youth Show

As one of the first groups to do the youth show, it was harder to brainstorm ideas for a format that we had never used before and one for which there are so few existing examples. However, we took to the challenge and came up with a few original ideas for our show. We came up with our name, ‘Rewind’ after some discussion, deciding that this title represented an opportunity for viewers to sit down, relax and rewind to hear about recent news. I created the graphics for the show and was quite pleased with them, although with more help from lecturers on the technical side we could have improved them.
The content of the show was simple, with news, entertainments and features sections. We ran several good features including one for a student travel site. The idea behind this was that we could hypothetically sell a slot on the show to companies, which was informative for viewers but also acted as advertising for the business. This could be a way of using the youth show to generate revenue. We also included a celebrity interview with x-factor contestants, Kandy Rain which was a good exclusive but could have been better presented.
I was the vision mixer for the show and felt I did a good job switching between our live and recorded content. I think the team worked well together as a whole and I was happy with the youth show overall.

News Magazine Show

For the news magazine show we put all of our packages together to create a “BBC style” bulletin. The show was to be presented live in the studio in a more formal manner to the youth show. The packages were placed in order of importance and relevance in the view of a local station and intros were written for each package for the presenter to read out. Vicky was the presenter for our show and did an excellent job. Her tone was formal and she read the script well. We also wrote sport and short news bulletins for the end of the show because in such a small group (4) we needed to do so to fill more time. Again, I was vision mixer for the show and was pleased with my performance. The show ran smoothly and completely to deadline so we were very pleased with it as a whole.

Documentary

For the documentary the team got together and brainstormed ideas. We decided early on that we would try and give the documentary a more artsy feel, in the style of “3 minute wonders” and other channel 4 documentaries. We felt that this brief provided an opportunity to move away from the usual news and journalistic styles we use on the course and allow us to do something different. We decided on a war documentary because at the time of production there were a lot of deaths in Afghanistan and it was also coming up to Remembrance Day.
We did a lot of research into how we would present the idea and decided that the writing of slogans on peoples’ hands would be a visually stimulating and eye-catching way to present the public’s thoughts and opinions on war. One criticism of our documentary was the lack of ex-soldiers or authority figures. In response to this, we set out originally to allow the public to voice their opinions on war as we often hear the words of ‘talking heads’ but the public rarely gets the opportunity to have their say. I wrote and recorded the music for the documentary and feel it helped to add to the ambience of the piece. Overall the team and I were very pleased with the documentary and felt we had created something we could be proud of.

Bournemouth on Blonde Bond

Bond thriller, “Quantum of Solace”, is released tomorrow. The people of Bournemouth spoke on whether Daniel Craig, since succeeding Pierce Brosnan as 007, fits the classic Bond formula.

Grace Hawkins, 21, A Topshop employee from Luton believes that “Daniel Craig is a refreshing take on James Bond” and that Pierce Brosnan is old and boring. She also said that it’s unlikely she will see Quantum of Solace until it comes out on DVD.
Andy Morris, 18, a student living on King Edwards Avenue, Bournemouth, similarly doesn’t see the new Bond movie as essential viewing. Mr Morris felt that it was “difficult for Craig” to take on the role partly because of his uncharacteristic Bond look. Overall, “Craig couldn’t surpass Pierce Brosnan or Sean Connery”.

Hannah Roberts, an 18-year-old nursing student, living in Abbotsbury House in Bournemouth said of Daniel Craig, “He doesn’t look like the typical Bond”. She said she hasn’t seen Casino Royale and only really knows what Daniel Craig looks like.
Frequent Cinema-goer, Oliver Fairweather, a 13 year-old student from Southampton, said he will be going to see the new Bond film. Even so, he thinks Daniel Craig “Doesn’t look like Bond” and that “Pierce Brosnan was a much better Bond.”
Fellow 13-year-old student from Southampton, Jack Mountain said he liked Daniel Craig, but still prefers Pierce Brosnan to his successor.



He said he thought Casino Royale was “amazing, spectacular and emotional” and was excited about the new release.
Susan Sutton, a retiree, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire stated her desire for the Bond of her youth, “To me Sean Connery is James Bond”. The 73 year old hasn’t seen Casino Royale but thinks Daniel Craig just doesn’t suit the character. “He’s not dark enough or suave enough, though he is handsome”. “He’s too rough and chunky”.
Similarly husband, Richard Sutton, 70, thinks “You’re asking the wrong person, I’m a Connery fan through and through”.

Life in the day - Daniel Duke

The singer-songwriter, 18, lives with his Mum, Sue, Dad, Andy, brothers James and Patrick, sister Rachel and their two dogs in a house just outside Banbridge, Northern Ireland.

I wake up, usually between nine and eleven o'clock, to the sounds of Radio 2 emanating from my clock radio. Depending on the time my twin brother, James, might still be in bed. We've shared a room for the last 18 years and its not a bad situation; there are no privacy issues and we don't get in each other's way so its fine. If he's awake I'll talk to him for a while and if he's not around I might read for a little instead. Then I'll get up and have breakfast, which usually consists of cereal but if I feel like it I'll have an egg and toast instead.

After Breakfast, I'll sit down at the computer, check the BBC news website, check my email and turn on the radio. After that I start any graphic design work I have to do. I've been dabbling in graphic design for a few years now and quite often do pro bono work for friends and family. It’s a lot of fun and it gives me something to do during the long summer holidays.

Around 2pm I'll have some lunch; a sandwich or some pasta. I usually make something quick and easy. Some days I'll walk into town and meet up with friends for lunch or a coffee. After lunch I pick up the guitar or sit down at the piano and play for a while. I play through covers and my own music but I try to write at least one song everyday just to keep me “sharp”, so to speak. I've been playing guitar for seven years and piano for four. I play a variety of other instruments and write and record a lot of my own music. I'm also in a number of bands so sometimes my day will be taken up with a band practice, beginning at 12pm and finishing late in the evening.

After playing music for a while, I'll go and watch some TV or play xbox with James. My older brother, Paddy gets home at around 6pm from work and I talk to him for a while or we play xbox together. If its a Monday or a Friday both my mum and dad will be working so I wont see them until around half six. On any other day of the week only my dad works but he's usually not home until between seven and nine. If my mum is off work she might go and visit her parents who live in a care home about 20 minutes drive away from our house. Unfortunately both my Granny and Grandpa suffer from Alzheimer and dementia, which is hard work for my mum. They are both content though so it’s not too bad.

We usually eat dinner around 7pm or when dad gets home from work. Dinner could be any number of things and is usually cooked by mum. On a Friday my Granny, on my dad's side comes over for dinner with us and I'll play scrabble with her and my parents. The same thing happens on Sunday nights as well, but we'll usually have something a little more fancy for dinner. On a Sunday we also take our black labradors - Tilly and Tess for a walk, in a nearby forest park. My mum, dad, aunt, uncle and they're dog, Spencer all go and we end up walking four dogs around the park, with the addition of Lucy, my granny's Pomeranian.

On some days I'll have a gig in the evenings, either playing with one of my bands or on my own. On these days I'll spend the day preparing – practicing and sorting out my instruments and set list. Then I'll head off to the gig early in the evening and won't be back until pretty late depending on how the night goes.

Bedtime varies greatly. If I've been out I'll go to bed at whatever time I get in. If I'm at home I'll usually head to bed around 1am but if I feel I haven't had a productive day I'll go on the computer and try and do some more design work or anything constructive. I sometimes stay up until after 4am, by which time I'm exhausted. In bed I might read for a while, depending on how late it is. Then I drift off, sometimes listening to music or good old radio 2 again – I don't like falling asleep in silence.

Zac Who?

It’s Zac Harris ladies and gentlemen, and those of you who don’t know his name already, will soon because he’s the next big thing on the alternative music scene. Written by Daniel Duke.

Sitting in Starbucks with Zac Harris in Bournemouth town centre, he seems nervous; perhaps because this is the first profile piece anyone has ever written about him. He asks if they do Earl grey tea, an interesting request for an 18 year old. “I’ve never been served tea in a mug before”, he says, a comment that could reflect on Harris’ personal life or perhaps on Starbucks’ etiquette. Zac nervously plays with the strings on his teabag, revealing vulnerability you wouldn’t associate with someone in the public eye.

Zac Harris is an 18 year-old singer songwriter from West Howe in Bournemouth. He’s just started to make it big on the local music scene and further afield; supporting Pete Doherty at the Bournemouth Opera House and playing a private exhibition gig at Selfridges in London being just two highlights of an impressive portfolio of past gigs.

Zac has always loved music and used to sing along to the radio when he was younger. He attempted keyboards but began playing guitar when he was 12. He was inspired to write songs and perform his music when he watched a DVD of Jeff Buckley performing live. “Watching that, I just knew what I wanted to do,” admits Zac. Buckley has been and still is a huge influence on Zac and reviewers have duly noted it. One admirer even went as far as saying, “Your music’s dope, it’s like the soul of Jeff Buckley reincarnate.” To Zac, though being compared to such a great musician is a compliment, he doesn’t want to be branded as the next Buckley. He says, “It’s really flattering when people say that I sing like Jeff Buckley but I don’t want to be Jeff Buckley; I just want to play my own stuff.” Today Zac’s inspiration comes more from bands like Radiohead, artists like Patrick Wolf and interestingly, the lifestyle and poetry of the beat generation of the 1950s.

Playing to a crowd of 10,000 people last year is one of Zac’s greatest achievements but more so, is his opportunity supporting Pete Doherty. He notes that this is the biggest crowd he has ever played to “who were there for music”.
He is a fan of Pete Doherty and went to a Babyshambles gig in The Twisters, when he was 14, “I didn’t know it was 18 plus until I left the venue. That was crazy, it was a good gig.” He talks about it being weird, supporting someone as famous as Pete Doherty and saying that it was “an honour” to play on a bill with so many talented people. Zac was full of nothing but praise for the other artists. He met Pete Doherty after the gig and simply says, “He was cool.”



The compere of the Opera House gig managed to get on everyone’s nerves says Zac. “The crowd were chucking pint glasses at him by the end of the night, he laughs.” Pete ended his set by throwing a chair and table off the stage, nearly injuring someone. The security apparently said it was the roughest night they’d experienced. Zac on the other hand, simply describes it as “a great night,” and adding, “It was an experience,” he says grinning.

Zac is sure of his goals and aims for the future. He is hoping to complete his debut EP for release in the first quarter of 2009. He is very excited because he’s never done an official release before and he is recording this with Stuart Semple, the artist, who has produced work for The Subliminal Girls including music videos and CD releases. Zac has been frustrated by delays on the release, especially glandular fever, which meant he couldn’t sing at all. He will definitely be releasing something soon, though and is hoping, “It’ll be nice and special as well.”

The next step for Zac after that is to get on the bill of a whole tour, supporting a band. His dream is to support Radiohead, but realistically he’d love to support Kid Harpoon, another up and coming artist. Zac sees him as another musician doing something similar to what he is, namely in the way he plays guitar, “He strums the hell out of it and I give my guitar hell all the time.” He says he loves the sound it gets and the aggressive feeling he can achieve in his music by playing like this.

Zac has already played with artists like Sue Denim of Robots in Disguise, supporting on half of her mini tour. He did a duet with her, singing Leonard Cohen’s ‘First we take Manhattan.’ “The tour was really good fun and I met some wicked people as well,” says Zac.

Zac talks about his family fondly and states how supportive they are of his music. His dad used to play him Manic Street Preachers and Bob Dylan when he was just a kid though which could have affected him and says of his son’s talent, “I have always enjoyed Zac's music and ideally I think with his unique abilities, and by that I mean his voice, style of guitar playing, song-writing and performance he will be able to get the type of contract with a record company that will enable him to develop a long term career.” Zac’s sister, 15, also plays guitar and sings but he sees her as a writer instead. “She’s good with words,” he says. Zac’s close friend, Mike Dent, a 17 year-old student in the band Metropolise said, “I've known Zac for 6 years and he's been my best friend. He's a great guy, he's very nice and his music is fantastic. There are a lot of solo artists in the Bournemouth area, but Zac really does stand out from the crowd.” Dent also said, “I've always known that he would get far at some point and supporting Pete Doherty at the Opera House proved that.”

As Zac talks about the Bournemouth music scene he becomes animated and opinionated. He thinks there is a lot of demand for live music in the area and he loves living here. He stresses that a lot of people criticize the music scene here but he believes that, “a music scene can only be as good as what you put into it.” He thinks that people in Bournemouth are lucky because there are so many good venues, like 60 million post cards, ibar and The Gander. “I’m pretty much in love with Bournemouth, it’s an inspiring place to live.”

Recently Zac has been expanding his sound and his style, experimenting with “using beats” in his live performance. He happily acknowledges that it went down well and he is excited about improving and expanding on this. “I feel like I’ve got so much I want to do,” reveals Zac. He doesn’t want to just keep one style as an artist and says he’d rather grow and evolve as a person. “To me that’s what’s exciting.”

[Running News Story] Heroes die in plane crash horror. (Learning Exercise)

Two heroic men have died to save the lives of their passengers after a light aircraft crashed at a military firing range in Bere Regis today.

Twin brothers, Dennis and Tony Sharman were the pilot and jump instructor on a charity parachute jump, organised by Dorset Parachute club.

Their partner who runs the club, known as “Big Mac” was informed by Dorset police and revealed the news of their deaths earlier today.

Three women and one man jumped from the plane and parachuted to the ground.
Matt McGrath, 38, one of these survivors said the brothers had given their own lives to save the lives him and his friends.

He said that while the plane was flying out to the jump site, one of the engines exploded, causing the plane to spiral.

While Tony levelled the plane, Dennis helped all four of the passengers out and pulled their parachutes.

Mr. McGrath was not hurt but one of the novice parachutists, Laura Cameron sustained a broken leg and the others have just cuts and bruises.

“Big Mac”, the spokesman for the parachute club was quick to note that, “the plane was in good condition and the pilots and parachutist were all experienced,” He did admit there was still the possibility a mechanical error occurred in flight.

He was certain that the Sharman brothers, who live in New Milton in Hampshire, were not to blame.

The brothers were ex-army members who were highly trained and had 3,500 successful jumps between them.

The plane was due to fly to the parachute jump site, just three miles out of the area.

We pay tribute to the heroic acts of both these men and the friends and loved ones they leave behind.

[Running News Story Mock] Gunman killed by police in School siege.

A man has been shot and killed by poice after holding pupils and teachers hostage in an armed siege at a Dorset primary school.

The gunman's wife arrived at the scene after a police escort from Dorcester and spoke to the suspect through a radio link just before 3.30pm.


After this he left the building, as agreed, but refused to lower his gun.


The gunman aimed his weapon in a threatening manner at one of the officers and after he received several warnings the officers had no choice but to open fire on the gunman.


The suspect was confirmed dead at the scene by a police surgeon and the police showed great remorse in the situation having ended this way.

The man was seen chasing a distressed man in the direction of the school at 1.15pm today.

Eyewitness Ian Rogerson, a 58 year old said the gunman screamed, “Keep away from my wife,” and then opened fire on the victim, shooting him in the buttocks.


The first man fled the scene but was later taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries.


At this point the attacker entered the nearby school.


Armed police were called to the scene, along with a helicopter and negotiators and Wallisdown Road was closed off from the Kinson Road roundabout to the University roundabout.


Pupils and staff, not in immediate contact with the suspect, were evacuated but the gunman still had a classroom full of children and staff at gunpoint.


A policeman, wearing a, bullet-proof, Kevlar vest, entered the building and negotiated the release of the children at around 2.35pm but staff members were still inside.


Three more shots were fired inside the building at this time and police backup rushed to the scene in order to deal with the situation.


The shots were confirmed to be simply threat and bravado but one staff member sustained cuts and bruises from the shrapnel.


They are currently being treated in hospital and are in a stable condition.


The police negotiated further with the gunman who released the last of the hostages and then agreed to come out and put down his weapon if he was able to speak to his wife.


At this time, pupils and staff were taken to the nearby university campus and reunited with parents and family members.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Rose, said, “I take no comfort in the fact that the suspect has been killed.” But he said he was happy that his officers were safe.


He also made it clear that he could not reveal either the name of the suspect or his estranged wife at this time.


An enquiry will be held, by the Home Office, into the death of the suspect under these circumstances.

Music shops beat credit crunch

The musical instrument business is still going strong considering that people are unlikely to splash out for pricey luxuries in the current financial climate.

The music shops in the Winton area have not seen the marked drop in sales that most people would have considered inevitable due to the credit crunch.

Alan Kay, owner of Dave Allen Music in Winton even went as far as to say that his sales for October this year were actually up on last year.

He said, “there is little evidence of people not spending and business is reasonable”.

He added that he had sold two pianos, worth hundreds of pounds each, in the last week so people are clearly still digging deep for expensive items.

Mr. Kay believes that his steady business is due to the fact that his business covers a large geographical area, delivering to most of Dorset.

He also said that Christmas isn't a vital time for him and he isn't worried that sales will fall around the festive season.

Sean Metcalfe, owner of Strummin' Monkeys, a guitar shop on Wimborne Road, said that he has seen a decline in people buying accessories for their instruments like strings, straps and plectrums.

He hasn't seen a drop in instrument sales, though, and says that's simply because, “People don't buy instruments too frequently anyway so there isn't much change.”
Mr. Metcalfe did make it clear though that his business was “only just surviving” the credit crunch.

In recent years, he has noticed a huge drop in repair work with numbers going from six jobs in a week to one repair job every six weeks.

He, too, doesn't think that the Christmas period will be a hard time as he thinks that, “People spend at Christmas regardless of the Financial climate.”

He said that business is erratic in specialist shops anyway so the financial crisis isn't having a huge effect.

Alan Kay, owner of Dave Allen Music: still

very much in business.

Guardian veteran reveals secrets of good reporting

Michael White, Associate Editor of The Guardian, thinks a good reporter must be cunning, like a rat.

He said, “The answers are as varied as there are different kinds of report in any newspaper on any day.

Nicholas Tomalin, top flight Sunday Times reporter, killed by a Syrian shell on the Golan
Heights, 30 or so years ago, famously said ' a plausible manner, low rat-like cunning and a minimum of literary ability.'”

White, whose incredible career spans 4 decades, also believes that “curiosity and persistence” are key qualities in a good reporter.

He also said, “You can make it many ways; a tenacious pursuit of the facts or a lively writing style also matter.

At the end of the day it's up to you, no one can make it easy, but if it's what you really want to be, a reporter, you will devise your own road ahead."

Michael White was born in Wadebridge, Cornwall. He attended Bodmin Grammar School, and then studied for a BA in History at University College London. He began his career at the Reading Evening Post and and then moved to the London Evening Standard. In 1971 got a job with The Guardian.

White has been writing for the Guardian for over 30 years, as a reporter, foreign correspondent and columnist. He was political editor from 1990 to 2006, and was previously the paper's Washington correspondent and parliamentary sketch writer.

He is also a regular commentator on the BBC, introducing newspaper reviews and commenting on Newsnight, Breakfast News, BBC News 24 and Question Time.

When asked about earnings, White responded,
“A journalist can earn anything from £10,000 a year at the bottom to £1 million plus if you are editor of the Daily Mail.”

Seasoned reporter: Michael White

Howells recalls poverty-stricken youth.

Living in poverty and watching the V-day parades at just three years of age, Mr. William Howells, from Middlesborough recalled his earliest memory.

He said, this morning, that the first thing he can rmember is being just three years old and seeing the street parties and celebrations at the end of World War two.

He spoke about the feeling of happiness and celebratory atmosphere, “Even at such a young age, I could sense the stir of victory.”

The 65 year old said he could recall the air raid shelters outside his house and remembered that they were never used during the war.

He said he could remember sitting in his high chair looking at the shelters out of the window.

Mr. Howells, a retired electrician, also rmembers how different things were when he was young.

He said, “you could leave your door open and not have to worry about thieves or vandals.”

He$ said he felt like there was a lot more honesty when he was young and that everything is very different now and it's difficvult to trust people in this day and age.

He also told me that he had lived in near poverty at this time and because of this he appreciated things much more now.

Mr. Howells, grandfather of 13, said, “You knew poverty,” when he was young and that, “times have changed.”

Mr. William Howells rmembered his youth at the end of WWII.