Workbook – Interactive Journalism

13 May Workbook – Interactive Journalism

Monday, January 28th:

• The day started with a whole degree meeting at 2 PM, which informed us of our timetables, deadlines and what to expect for the year.
• After the meeting, the third years had their first Interactive Journalism lesson, which began by sitting in a circle, where LJ talked us through the entire interactive journalism module.
• Once we had finished going through the module, it was then time for voice coaching with Vanessa
• However, because we are a big class, Vanessa decided to run another voice coaching session on Wednesday.
• I volunteered to do voice coaching on Wednesday because my project draft was due the following day.

 

Wednesday, January 30th:

• Today, myself and a few other students did voice coaching with Vanessa in Borough Road.
• In the session, we learned about vocals, the diaphragm, and how to breathe when talking.
• We then proceeded to do an activity, where we found a news story online and had a go at reading the headline, whilst recording ourselves on our phones.
• We then listened back to them in pairs and gave feedback to each other.

 

Monday, February 4th:

• Today was another voice coaching session with Vanessa, which took place in the Radio Studio.
• This time, we were in pairs and had allocated time for our session.
• During my session, James and I were given news bulletins to read out.
• We each took a turn to read a bulletin and Vanessa recorded us.
• We then listened to our efforts and was given feedback.
• Vanessa told me that she really liked my voice and how colourful it sounds when I read, but that I had to work on making my voice to sound more serious when reading the heavier stories.
• We then proceeded to have another go, this time focusing more on improving in the areas that Vanessa pointed out to us.
• This time around, when it came to the more serious bulletins, I attempted to ready much slower, whilst making my voice sound much deeper.
• Overall, I really enjoyed the voice coaching session and felt that I walked away knowing the areas that I need to improve.

 

Wednesday, February 6th:

• Today was our first class with Rebecca, where she introduced us to longer news features, with a few examples from The Guardian, etc.
• We then had to look online for a feature that we found interesting
• Once we found an article, we were asked to present it, and speak about what the article consisted of.
• I decided to present a feature written by the Guardian.
• The article focused on the ‘other’ characters in Friends, the tv series, and looked at where they are now in life.
• Finally, once all news features were presented, we then spoke more about our assessment, which was to enter a competition entry.

 

Thursday, February 7th:

• Today we had a quick recap of producing live tv and radio shows with Michael.
• As we had no content, we decided to have a debate show, where we would each choose a topic to debate about in groups.
• My group members where: Saf, Emma, Delina, and Remeka
• We decided to debate body positivity – focusing on whether celebrities should be allowed to promote products such as skinny teas, pills, etc on social media.
• Once we discussed the basic points that we wanted to mention in the debate, it was then time to chose the roles for the shows.
• Saf and I, put ourselves forward to host the radio show
• We then logged into inception to write our scripts.
• During the show, we introduced each group and their topic, and then allowed the group to discuss and debate their topic for around 5 minutes per group.
• Once the radio show had finished, we then listened back to the show, resulting in each group having a strong discussion.
• After lunch, we then moved on to the tv show, which was hosted by Liam.
• Similar to the radio show, each group had a timeslot to debate about their subject for around 5 minutes.
• During the show, Saf, Delina and I sat on the sofa when it was our turn, to debate about body positivity.

 

Wednesday, February 13th:

• During today’s lesson, Rebecca introduced us to competitions
• She showed us some examples and informed us of that each competition will have specific requirements.
• We were then given a list of different competitions across the UK
• For Homework, she asked us to pair up and choose a competition to present to the class the following week.
• James and I decided that we were going to present the BJTC Awards, as the categories were something that we felt familiar with.
• We then proceeded to create a powerpoint about the Awards, ready for next weeks lesson.

 

Thursday, February 14th:

• Today, Michael introduced our class to Audiograms.
• He began the lesson by familiarising us what they are, how they work, with a few examples.
• We were then asked to create our own audiogram, using the website: headliner.app.
• I was already familiar with the website and how it worked, as this was the website that I used to create my audiograms for my project.
• I chose to create a ‘social media’ style audiogram, which looked at Trip Advisors top 5 attractions in London.
• Once I had researched the top 5 attractions, I then visited pexels.com, for copyright free images.
• I decided to use a few images for each attraction, which was then overlayed with text.
• The text informed the viewer with more information about each attraction.
• Once we had finished creating our audiograms, we then had to watch them all back in class.

 

Monday, February 18th :

• In today’s lesson, Vanessa introduced us to mobile journalism.
• The lesson began with Vanessa showing us some examples of mobile journalism.
• We then watched a short video in which compared the filming quality of a mobile phone vs a recording camera.
• Once we had watched the clip, Vanessa then asked us to get into groups, and go out filming, using our mobile phones.
• My group: Saf, and Remeka were asked to film vox pops of students asking questions for the university’s question time show.
• As it was approaching lunch time, We decided to film in London Road, as this is a busy time for students to be out and about.
• At first, we felt a little awkward going up to students, but once we achieved our first question, we began to feel confident enough to ask more people.
• In the end, we managed to film eight students asking different questions, using our mobile phones.
• We then went back to the newsroom to show Vanessa, who was very pleased with the footage that we had recorded.

 

Thursday, February 21st: 

• Today, was the NSS trip.
• The day started by meeting in the newsroom, to fill out the student survey.
• Once we had finished, we then made our way to Trafalgar Square, to begin our day out.
• We took part in a treasure hunt: The hunt for the Cheshire Cat, which started at the national portrait gallery.
• My team: Saf, Emma, Remeka, and Delina, became quite competitive, and began to work out the different clues from each text.
• Around 4 hours later and a trip across London, we came to the end of our hunt, as we found the Cheshire cat.
• Overall, I really enjoyed the day. It was a different experience, and took us to different parts of London that I would have not have known was there otherwise.

 

Monday, February 25th:

• Today was another voice coaching session with Vanessa.
• Again, we were asked to turn up in pairs and were given allocated timeslots.
• This time we were in the newsroom, where the voice coaching consisted of presenting on camera.
• During our first go, I was sofa presenter, whilst James was reading the bulletins.
• The difference within our roles was that I was reading from a script, whilst James had to improvise, as he was given a piece of paper with a few points about each story.
• Once we had finished reading our parts, we then watched our performances back. I always find it awkward to be presenting on camera, so wasn’t surprised to see that I looked very ‘still’ whilst presenting.
• It was then time to switch roles, where James had a go at being sofa presenter, whilst I had to improvise reading the bulletins.
• I found this extremely difficult and hesitated a lot during my performance.
• Again, we watched our efforts back and was given feedback from Vanessa.

 

Wednesday, February 27th:

• Today, we were asked to present our competition slideshow to the class.
• James and I went first and presented our BJTC Awards presentation
• In our presentation, we made sure that we covered: What the BJTC Awards are, the entry requirements, opening and closing dates, and the different categories.
• We then went through the list of winners from 2018 and showed the class short snippets of the work from two winners.
• This included a short VT, that focused on the dangers when working in the farming industry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqkFpGeLYTE&feature=youtu.be
• Secondly a radio package about a Transgender inclusion toolkit that is being trailed at a few schools: https://soundcloud.com/emma-l-corr/radio-package-trans-inclusion-toolkit
• Once we had presented our award, we then listened to the rest of the classes chosen awards

 

Monday, March 6th:

• Today, I submitted my competition proposal.
• I decided that I will be entering the BJTC Awards, for my competition.
• As I have a passion for radio, I have decided that I want to create a short audio package.
• The story that I have chosen is to look at London’s First Youth Zone, and how it will benefit the younger generation/keep them safe.

 

Monday, March 18th:

• Today was our live news assessed day with Vanessa.
• Before the lesson, we were sent a document on slack, which informed us of our roles for the day.
• My role consisted of being a reporter.
• At the start of the day, the class discussed the news stories that our show was going to cover.
• The reporters then had to pair up and was assigned to a specific story.
• Emma and I were given a story that we both felt was going to be difficult to create.
• Vanessa agreed and allowed us to cover the story of Southwark Cathedrals organ recital.
• The recital took place at 1:10 pm, so we left 45 minutes earlier and walked to the cathedral.
• As we arrived early, we decided to film several GV’s of both inside and outside the cathedral.
• At 1:10 pm, we settled ourselves in front of the organ, which began to play.
• Once we felt that we had the shots that we needed, we began to make our way back to university.
• When we had arrived back, Emma and I began writing out a script, which Emma went on to recording.
• Whilst Emma was recording, I began to edit the clips in premiere pro.
• I added Emma’s voice over to the VT and then uploaded the final version to Dropbox, ready for the live show.

 

Thursday, March 21st:

• During the first half of Michaels lesson, we had a guest speaker.
• Michael Lament, who is from ‘Below The Surface’, came in to give us an introduction on what to expect for the following week’s session.
• Once our guest had finished, we then began the lesson, which was about producing for podcasts.
• At first, Michael showed us a few examples of podcasts. We then went on to listen to a few minutes of an episode from the podcast, The Caliphate.
• It was then our turn to begin producing podcasts. Each table had to brainstorm a variety of podcast ideas.
• We then had to produce an episode for one of the ideas.
• After a discussion, my table decided to produce a podcast called ‘Getting into the industry’,  a place where we could share our own experiences, for listeners who aspire to work the industry.
• My table: Saf, Remeka, Nicola, and Francisca – decided that we would work better without a script, and headed into the radio studios.
• In just under 15 minutes, we spoke about our experiences with internships, free internships and learning when to stand up for yourself along the way.
• Once we had finished recording, we made our way back to the radio room, where I quickly edited in a copyright free music track, for our introduction.
• When each table had completed their podcast, we then got to listen back to each episode.
• Overall, I really enjoyed this lesson. My table and I particularly enjoyed the fact that we were able to talk about a subject that we were all passionate about.

 

Monday, April 1st:

• Today was our music journalism lesson with Vanessa, where we went to watch a live event at Below The Surface – a venue which is an abounded police station
• On arrival, we were divided into groups, where we each had a specific role: Camera recording, producing a written interviewing piece for their website and recording an audio interview with the artist.
• Michael had asked me to interview the artist, whilst producing a recording of the interview.
• We were then told that the artist who would be performing is James Numbere.
• As we had no background information on James, I decided to do some research on him – by looking at his Spotify profile and reading other articles about him.
• When James Numbere and his band arrived, we were all asked to take a seat – to create an audience and were also joined by two of Michael’s flatmates.
• We then listened to James Numbere and his band – who were all exceptionally great and I was really enjoying the atmosphere that they had created.
• However during the performance, one of the flatmates began to make myself and a few others feel extremely uncomfortable, by constantly staring. It was up until this point, that I, unfortunately, began to lose interest and concentration in James performance and wanted to leave.
• Once James performance had finished, I felt that the atmosphere was ruined. In the end, we left without producing the interviews that we were supposed to.

 

Wednesday, April 4th:

• Today, I received an email from Gershom Clarke – the Senior Manager of Future Youth Zone
• He has agreed to an interview
• I have responded, and have given him a list of dates to potentially record the interview.

 

Thursday, April 5th:

• In this lesson, Michael introduced us to smart speakers.
• He began by showing us a video of a presentation by Google. The video showed examples of what the smart speaker can do when asked – book hair appointments and dinner reservations.
• Whilst Michaels lesson was going on, Conservative MP Chris Skidmore was visiting LSBU.
• He came in to observe the class and then left.
• Michael then sent us on our lunch break, and as I left, Chris decided to come back in for a Q&A. As I had already left, I did not want to interrupt, so waited until he had left.
• Once his visit was over, we were then given a list of news stories, which we had to pick apart and develop them into questions that we could ask Alexa.

 

Tuesday, April 9th:

• Today, I emailed two Barking and Dagenham Councillors. Cllr Darren Rodwell and Cllr Laila Butt.
• In each email, I asked if they would be happy to talk to me about the new youth zone.
• Later on in the day, I received an email back from Darren Rodwell, who agreed to speak to me.

 

Wednesday, April 10th:

• Today I received an email from Cllr Darren Rodwell’s Support Officer, Lesley Burke.
• She informed me that the Cllr Darren Rodwell was available to do an over the phone interview on Friday 12th April at 11:00 AM. She also asked me to send over any questions that I had, so that the councillor was able to prepare.
• I agreed to the time and date and sent her the questions.

 

Friday, April 12:

• At 11:00 AM, I conducted an over the phone interview with Cllr Darren Rodwell.
• He told me more about the Future Youth Zone, and how he thinks that this is a fantastic way to show the young people that the local government is investing in them.
• We spoke on the phone for around half an hour, and I recorded the interview using a microphone which was connected to my laptop.
• Overall, I’m very happy with how the interview turned out and received the information that I needed for my competition.

 

Thursday, April, 25th: 

• Today, I sent a chasing email to Gershom Clarke, as I have not had a response from him as of yet.
• A few hours later, I received an email back, asking if we could meet tomorrow at the Future Youth Zone at 3 PM.
• I agreed with the time and place and began to note down questions that I wanted to ask him

 

Friday, April 26th:

• I met with Gershom at 3PM today.
• First, he gave me a tour of the Future Youth Zone, which was incredibly impressive.
• The zone includes a sports hall, climbing wall, football pitch, skateboarding park, dance and drama studio, a music room and recording studio, art room, cooking room, media suite, a gym, a gaming room – the list could go on.
• Once we had finished the tour, I then sat down with him and asked him a few questions about the Youth Zone, whilst audio recording on my phone.
• Gershom was a great person to interview, and it was obvious that he was really passionate about his job.
• Once our interview had finished, I had to leave for work. But Overall, I was extremely impressed with the new Youth Zone

 

Monday, April 29th:

• Today’s lesson was our day back from our Easter break.
• At the beginning of the lesson, LJ wanted to catch up with us and spoke about the symposium, as well as our assignments for Interactive Journalism.
• Midway through the day, we had a guest speaker, Anna, who spoke of her experience as a freelance journalist.
• I found her experience very insightful and interesting – especially as I would like to do more freelance work.
• Once she had spoken about her experience, we were then able to ask her questions.

 

Thursday, May 2nd:

• Today was our symposium – where the third years had to present their final projects to the second years.
• The order that we each went up in had been randomly selected. I was 6th, which I was quite pleased about – so that I could get it out of the way.
• I decided that the easiest way for me to present my project was to display my article on the board, whilst talking through what I had done. I also showed an audiogram that I had created.
• I prepared my presentation by writing one cue card, filled with bullet points of the things that I wanted to speak about.
• However, when I presented, I didn’t really use my card – as I knew the subjects that I wanted to talk about and felt that I work better without a script.
• Overall, I think my presentation went smoothly, as I managed to raise the points that I had originally planned – and more.
• I really enjoyed seeing what other people had also produced and felt that everybody had done incredibly well.