My new role for Winchester News Online is a new challenge, but as learning to become a journalistt life thought me that challenges is part of a day to day life I have learnt to live with it, what is more I lave come to love it. I have taken upon myself this new role and I will give it a 100% trying to prove myself and overcome the difficulties. I have been appointed a fantastic team of two Video Journalists from a third year. Stuart Appleby to cover Investigative format of Features and Thomas Hobbes to be responsible for Comment/Reader response department as well as a role of my deputy. I also have great team of second year trainee journalists which consists of Feature writers and Video-Journalists like Hanna Keegan, Jake Gable, Claire Lomas, Katie Rowles and Justyna Czlad. As you might have learnt from my previous articles their details and weekely list of Features will be posted here. I will be also posting our weekely list of plans, competitions and debates that will be also published in the Feature section of The Winchester News Online - an independant student run magazine which alongside our Feature articles and fantastic videos will run our weekely News Bulletin at 4pm every Wednesday.
Starting of this very first week we are launching our weekly studio debate, which is going to be hosted by members of Features team and covering interesting topics!
This week I talked to our own SU President Seb Miell and Jaz Davies his V-ce, I asked them questions which our very own students wanted to find out the answers for eg. Student housing, parking, international identity cards etc.
Studio Interview - Your Voice matters - 1st part of wekly series - Hot Issues for Winol - studio guests: SU president Seb Miell & his V-ce Jaz Davies:
Studio Interview - Your Voice matters - 2nd part of wekly series - Hot Issues for Winol - studio guests: SU president Seb Miell & his V-ce Jaz Davies:
As it is for this weekes feature section, I have made a weekely schedule for our department that all my team members will find useful - to view weekely schedule click here!
We have experienced certain difficulties this week but also recognised strenghts that we will aim to persue.
Because of the technical difficulties like very slaw editing programs (recently updated) and constantly dropping frames it was not not only my team of Feature reporters that struggled to finish their work within the deadline but also News Reporters. A very good advise here is to always leave at least one day for editing as technical difficulties is something that happens in every work place including our university.
This week only one person have deliered what promissed within the set original deadline, Stuart, have done his written an investigative article about the Staff spending, he completed it on Tuesday as planned and after my approval it could be sent for Sub-editing to be then published for the website, one thing Stu has not done was sending us a photograpf to go with the story but that was an additional thing in his case. I was willing to move the rest of the deadlines while overwatching the progress of editing of all the videos this week.
Also as it was a first week of WINOL and everyone was adjusting to the demands of the production we were all trying out the dates and systems we are going to take to make it all work well.
We made it easier for our Feature reporters as we already had lots of ideas to start of already on Monday and I was able to appoint the following ideas to my team members. Some of the ideas will be an ongoing Feature type to be made weekely untill we run out of characters for the films or see that there is not enough interest for the particular feature as for now the Feature section is a big field of experimental and 'trying out ' game that we will all have to explore as a team to see what will work and what potentially will hit our market of targeted audience. We have focused on sudents and we have focused of Freshers in particular for this week as there is a lots of new students that have joined the Union and we are aiming at gaining their interest.
In response to that we have planned to make features like:
Freshers Fashion (Justyna, Hanna Keegan) - having our freshers plaing a main part of models and establishing their style. Along with a written article and photographs to reach new readers.
We had Navigation around the Campus Video ( Jake Gable with Katie and Claire helping) to help and grab attention of new students, along with the written article as an informal guide around the Campus.
Course Review ( Justyna Czlad, Hanna Keegan) starting of Media Courses, where our reporters interviewed Paul Manning and Marcus from Media course as well as students of the course to give us an inside of the qualities of the course.
Two Profile Feature articles along with a short videos about the President of the Student Union Seb Miell as well as James Knight, captain of the first footbal team.
Written Comment piece about students and Alcohol by Thomas Hobs brought a little bit of controversy to my decision as an editor. First of all the first copy was attached with a picture that was touching breach of Privacy act and libel issue jaxtaposing it with the article it could have been quite defamatory for the person identified on the picture even though it was used from the website which was allowing for reusing it, setting it with the article it created a risk of libel. The article also had to be rewritten to proof a research done on it as well as factual correctness. After rewriting it and changing a picture the article had no legal incorrectness, however was still quite strong in itself, even though it would be underneath the comment section. I have gone for an advise to one of the tutors, and he agreed that there is no more legel issue with the article and that is why I decided to send it for sub editing. It still has to be checked by a sub-editor before publishing and I requested to speak with the sub-editor before the final decision is made about whether to publish the article or not. For his defence, I am taking the position that his article is based on researched facts, he wrote it within public interest and he wrote it without a malice.
For a journalist, "the information's value to society is argued to be particulary high, or potentially so, " (McNae's essential law for journalists, 20th edition) A general " public interest in the law allows a very broad range of material to be published, incl the right of 'individual to describe their own experiences, or to comment on events involving others, whether or not this is likely to be deemed by a judge to be of social benefit." (McNae's essential law for journalists, 20th edition) I brought these refferences as Thom also based it on personal knowledge and speking to people. His approach to article was to create a shocking provokation and it will be underneath The Comments section and that was how I can justify the decision to pass it forward to a sub-editing process. It was not an easy decision and I researched it as well as reahed advise of a tutor, from all that I made a decision that it was legally safe, however, the further decision whether to publish it or not will be further discussed with the chief sub-editor and a bublisher next week.
I also arranged a studio feature interview in style of 'Hot issues' with the President of the SU in Winchester Seb and his Vce Jaz Davies. My aim of the interview was to put the voice of the students across and ask our representants of the SU directly about certain issues bothering our students directly.
The issues I have raised with our guests of this week were student housing, car parking, cash mashine in the West Downs area and many others.
I am hoping to provoke the readers response and bring the reaction and am hoping to make a weekely 'hot topics' or debates that will be suggested by our own readers/viewers and bring the questions from our own students.
Unfortunately none of our videos are published this week because as we found out, even though we met our deadlines the technical difficulties did not allow to upload them onto the website and we will be publishing them at the begining of next week.
Having a look on the list of what was planned and what was produced at the end the update at the end of week 1 of WINOL of Features will be following:
1. Staff Spending (Stu Appleby)
Format: Written article
Deadline: Tues - completed done, sent for sub-editing
2. Freshers Fashion (Justyna Chlad/Hannah Keegan)
Format: Written Article/Video - both completed
3. Campus navigation guide (Jake Gable)
Format: Written article/video - both completed, Video - completed
4. Students and alcohol (Thomas Hobbs).
Deadline: Tues 12pm (had to be redone - news deadline: Wednesday 12am - completed with the new picture as well, but still have to be decided on with the main editor whether it should be published.
*Fees. Analysing student fee increase and possible rise. (Thomas Hobbs) - Not completed
Format: Article
instead:
5. Should English students study abroad. Comment - Not completed
Format: Article
6. Studio Interview with Seb and Jaz from SU, (me) Response (students ask...) - completed, on the hard drive
Format: Studio Interview
Filmed on Tuesday
7. Course Review: Interview with Paul M. and Marcus from Media Course (Justyna Chlad/Hannah Keegan)
Format: Written/video - video completed, article to be read and to be sent for sub editing
8. 2 Profiles -( Katie and Claire) - articles and 2 short Videos - completed, videos on my hard drive, articles to be checked and to be sent for sub editing.
Weekely schedule for the WINOL Features team here!
And for my team, please keep checking our facebook group I am constantly posting important info there and on our facebook group site - keep them both for latest updates and new ideas.
