Archive for April, 2009
Another day, another fire
Posted by Alan in Journalism on April 29, 2009
For most of Tuesday it seemed as if I was getting nowhere. I was put on two stories to begin with.
The first was an idea I pitched to my editor – new designs for hospital furniture that aimed to stop outbreaks of superbugs. A topic with some importance in Kent due to the C.diff outbreak at Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells hospital which killed 90 people.
However this was quickly cast aside as no solid Kent link could be established: none of the hospitals which would be trying out the new furniture were in Kent. Although the hospital I was born in – Lewisham – would get to try them out.
The second story concerned declining beer sales. Jonathan Neame, from local brewer Shepherd Neame was unavailable, and so were a number of managers in pubs across the county.
Then news broke that there had been an explosion at a house in Kemsley, near Sittingbourne. I was put on standby to go down there. Then the call came and I was sent to get footage of the house and speak to whoever I could. After managing to find my way down there I set my camera up and got a few minutes worth of footage.
But amidst all of the chaos I was accused of moving a rather large cameraman’s tripod. Then I got an interview with the Incident Commander from the firefighters dealing with the blaze. Once that was all done it was back to base. The footage was cut and included in the site’s video bulletin, and the original article on the fire.
I spent the bulk of Wednesday working on the Gurkhas story. In the morning I got an interview with Jeff Brazier, Conservative MP for Canterbury. Then, at around 5pm, the news broke that the government had lost the vote on their plans for Gurkhas wanting to settle here in the UK. In a very welcome stroke of luck, Hugh Robertson MP, who I had tried to interview earlier – got back to me and I was able to get his reaction to the vote within minutes of the news breaking.
Tomorrow I’ll be working solely on video, and then on Friday it’s back to the website. And then a long weekend which I think I very much need.
A rain-sodden beginning
Posted by Alan in Journalism on April 27, 2009
A couple of hours ago I got back from a very enjoyable (and very wet) first day at the KM. Here’s what I got up to on my first day:
In the morning I was tasked with covering a fire at a garden centre in Sidcup. I managed to get an audio interview with one of the people at the centre and also wrote an article on the blaze, which contains a snippet of the audio interview.
Then I was put on the story about animal owners abandoning their pets in increasing numbers due to the recession. I set up a video interview down at the RSPCA centre in Leybourne, West Malling. However my interviewee was busy (with no less than the BBC) and tied up for the rest of the afternoon so that fell through. I did manage to get some stock footage of some dogs in their kennels which can be used by the site at a later date though.
By that point I was absolutely soaking so it was back into my car (and its blissful blast of warm air) and then back to base to do some research on potential stories to follow up.
All in all a good day, and I look forward to what tomorrow has in store for me.
Cech’s heroics cement third spot
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech’s lack of confidence has been there for all to see in recent weeks. Against both Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool the Czech international had many a Chelsea fans heads in their hands. Over those two games he conceded an astonishing seven goals.
In this game his flagging confidence was given a huge boost when he kept out Mark Noble’s penalty – given away by the Blues’ goal scorer Salomon Kalou – and set Chelsea on their way to three points that solidifies their grip on third place in the Premier League, and for the eternal optimists, keeps their feint title hopes alive. Read the rest of this entry »
Stepping into the big wide world
Posted by Alan in Journalism on April 24, 2009
On Monday I start my two-week work experience placement at Kent Online, which is part of the Kent Messenger Group. As usual with me there are some nerves, but I’m looking forward to it more than anything.
Everyone else from the CfJ who has just finished their placements (and are no doubt glad to now have a hard-earned two week break) seemed to enjoy it and get some bylines from it, including a front-page story.
So no pressure there then!
From speaking to Nick (who has just finished his placement there) it seems I will be worked very hard, but should get some bylines to add to my portfolio, which is still in its formative stages.
The only thing is, I’ll have to spend two weeks at Peak House (to avoid paying an insane amount in petrol), my (very) humble student abode. But then again no one ever said journalism was easy!
No doubt I’ll be blogging throughout my placement, Peak House internet connection permitting.
Stubborn Everton extinguish Chelsea’s treble hope
Didier Drogba rattled the bar as this stalemate reached its conclusion, but a late Chelsea winner would have been very harsh on Everton, who defended stoutly and could have snatched three points from this FA Cup dress rehearsal but for some wasteful finishing.
This result all but ends the Blues’ hopes of securing an unlikely fourth league title, leaving them to focus on the Champions League and FA Cup. Read the rest of this entry »
Familiar foe Drogba dashes Arsenal’s cup dream
Didier Drogba has been the scourge of Arsenal on so many occasions since he moved to Stamford Bridge from Marseille for £24 million in 2004. And so it proved again today.
The Ivorian grabbed the winner in this cup tie, knocking the ball past the shaky Lukasz Fabianski and then into the net, with just under 10 minutes left on the clock to set up a clash with either Manchester United or Everton in the final at Wembley on 30th May. Read the rest of this entry »
Getting the ball rolling…
Posted by Alan in Journalism on April 15, 2009
Its taken a while, but I’m finally ready to get this blog up and running. Credit has to go to Nick for spending countless hours with me both in and out of the newsroom setting this up and putting the work in.
For more info about me just click on the ‘About’ page at the top and if you wish to contact me my email address is on the ‘Contact’ page.
Mainly I intend this site to be a showcase for my work, both through posts on this blog (such as the match reports I write for various websites) and also through my portfolio, which contain the aforementioned reports and any other material I have and will produce in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
Chelsea dispatch Liverpool in European classic
After witnessing what can only be described as a classic at Stamford Bridge last night, I managed to calm myself down enough to pen this match report on this extraordinary game.
“Football: bloody hell”. Those words, uttered by Sir Alex Ferguson after Manchester United’s incredible comeback against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League Final, have hardly been more apt in describing a football match.
Any director that proposed such a script containing the events at Stamford Bridge last night would be laughed out of Hollywood. But what happened last night in West London was no Hollywood blockbuster, just a Champions League classic that few inside Stamford Bridge and around the world will soon forget. There were goals galore, debatable decisions, and the pace of the game hardly let up over the whole 90 minutes.
The reward for Chelsea is a tie against one of Europe’s in-form teams: Barcelona. The Blues’ defensive display will be the cause of some concern, but the joy of such an exhilarating victory will override those worries for now. Read the rest of this entry »