Allykerr's Weblog

Wonderful comic journalism

allykerr — Sun, 18 May 2008 22:05:18 +0000

I have just ended my very lovely weekend, by kicking back and watching Bremner, Bird & Fortune. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it, but if you haven’t, you MUST! It’s an essential item of viewing for any journalist and is absolutely hysterical. It’s headed up by Rory Bremner, the king of impressionists, and if you’re up to date on all the news, then it’s so tongue in cheek and just so clever. It’s a bit like Have I Got News for You – just so much funnier when you “get” all the jokes, because you’ve been following the news all week! But BB&F is honestly so funny, and as you can imagine, Gordon Brown received quite a battering this episode. Although it’s wonderfully amusing, it’s also a seriously excellent piece of journalism. The interviews between the two John’s are so cleverly off the cuff, and many comments or reactions from the interviewer remind me of those toe-curlingly cringy moments I’ve had in interviews.

Anyway I really recommend you watch it – I think many journalists take themselves far too seriously, but this certainly does us no harm to just sit back and see the funny side of what we do.

They think it’s all over…but it ain’t!

allykerr — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:56:33 +0000

I know..I know…Chelsea didn’t win the Premiership, but there’s always the Champions League and that’s much more important now isn’t it?!

Footy!

allykerr — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:17:32 +0000

So the title race is still on….Cheslea could still win the Premiership but only if Man U draw or lose this weekend, and we win! If not, something tells me Man U might just win on goal difference! It’s great for the neutral fans though as it’s going right down to the wire, which is fab! It will be interesting to see whether Avram Grant will remain at Stamford Bridge, no matter what happens.

Something else that struck me over the weekend is that it’s been more than a year since Madeline McCann went missing in Portugal. It’s extraordinary how such a news item has continued to generate such enormous media interest for so long. From a journalist’s point of view, an anniversary of a birth, or death etc is a common opportunity to follow up on a big story, and allows us a fresh angle on it, eg “One year on and still no news on Maddie” etc. I recommend you always have:

a) a contacts book (still very useful even though all numbers and emails are on our computers and mobiles now!)

b) a diary with such important dates marked on it. It can be useful to delve into on a quiet news day to find some additional news items, and can actually throw new light on the subject.

It’s exciting times at Uni next week as the BJTC is coming to look at our course and continue the validation process, so it’s all best behaviour and time to impress with our talents! So we’re really knuckling down and preparing for that in the department.

Anyway, time to lay out my Chelsea top ready for the weekend….!

The power of news

allykerr — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:02:28 +0000

I have recently been reminded of the power the news has over us, here in the UK. Over the weekend I was in Scotland, and it was all over the newspapers about the possible strike action by workers at Grangemouth fuel refinery – the only one in Scotland. The staff there are threatening to walkout – if they do, the whole of Scotland, and also parts of northern England, would face a severe petrol shortage. As we drove through Scotland on Sunday, we passed numerous petrol stations, many of which had queues of cars backing out onto the roads. This was of course people “panic buying” in case of any fuel shortage. Obviously the memories of the very serious petrol crisis back in 2000 are still fresh in many of our minds.

But my point really is that it just shows that:

a) a lot of people really do listen to the news

b) that people genuinely trust us as journalists, and believe what they hear

c) that we can actually be of some use!

Of course it can go to the other extreme, and I did think that some people filling up in desperation at the pumps had possibly slightly over-reacted! But it certainly reminded me of the power news has over us all. Within hours of details of a possible strike being revealed, thousands of people were immediately taking action, based entirely on what they read, heard or watched in the news. As I mentioned in my earlier post about Prince Harry being in Afghanistan, it reminds us yet again of the role we have as being responsible journalists – people really do believe what we tell them, and we need to always consider that before running with any story – just think for a second about the consequences it could have.

Well it’s getting late now so my local garage should be nice and quiet…

Cheeky Chelsea!

allykerr — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:15:18 +0000

I’m writing this post feeling somewhat more relaxed than I did a few minutes ago. After a disappointing show from Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final at Anfield, we managed to finish up 1-1, thanks to an own goal from Liverpool in the 95th minute!! Awesome, but I’m not sure my nerves could take that again next week! Anyway we have the away goal advantage so fingers crossed. However my major concern lies with Avram Grant. I just can’t believe how little passion he seems to display and he just doesn’t seem to inspire any confidence or drive in the team. Bring back Jose is all I can say! So we’ll see if Mr Grant survives beyond the end of the season though….

I’m back!

allykerr — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:44:07 +0000

My apologies for not having blogged for a while, I’ve been super busy freelancing at BBC Local Radio and been enjoying all those Easter eggs!

There have been some cracking news stories in the past few weeks. The fact that 9 year old Shannon Matthew’s Mum has been arrested for perverting the course of justice is quite a twist to that story. This is a very interesting news story as it just seems to be unravelling an extraordinary series of events. Definitely be keeping an eye on that one. It just shows you how important it is that we – as journalists - we don’t judge and form our own opinions on a news story, as if we’re wrong, we’re REALLY wrong.

Of course the other big story is the verdict on the Diana inquest. I hope all my first years have been following that as I suggested – so rare for such an inquest to have such a high profile, which gives us the chance to really understand how the process works. It’s an interesting verdict which I am sure Al Fayed will contest and still not be happy about!

Something else I have found interesting is that Five Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky is pregnant. It turns out she knew she was pregnant when she made the move to Five, which must have the big bosses there tearing their hair out. This story has really got people talking in terms of maternity leave and the morality behind accepting a new job when pregnant etc. It just shows how a news story can really prompt interesting and relevant debate – the classic dinner party conversation. So we should always think about that before covering a news story – is it interesting; would you want to be able to talk about it on saturday night? If so, you know it’s got to be a good news item.

The summer term is just about to begin at Uni so I’m just finalising my lectures – we’re starting with the radio newsday which I’m really looking forward to, although nervous 3 hours just isn’t enough to get everything done!!

Anyway I’ll try and be more reliable at updating my blog – until then, enjoy the news!

Ally

Responsible journalists are still out there

allykerr — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:24:53 +0000

I’m sure you’ve all heard the news over the last few days about Prince Harry having been in Afghanistan, and now coming home. He managed to serve out there for 10 weeks in secrecy, thanks to a media blackout deal. Of course that deal was then broken thanks to a US website that leaked the news, potentially putting Harry and all his fellow troops at heightened risk of attack.

I think this is very interesting as it calls into question responsible journalism. I find it incredible and very impressive that a huge number of UK journalists and organisations including the BBC and Sky News, all kept their promise to keep it secret – despite the knowledge that it would be one hell of a scoop!

So this has really got me thinking – it really gives us journalists a better name – we’re not all lying hounds with no consideration or care! It shows that integrity and trust must be there as well, and I have a new-found respect for all the journalists that kept this enormous news story under wraps for the good of our boys out there.

Remember – always think twice before running a story – think about its potential impact on others.