Guest Speaker - Pete Clifton

Pete Clifton - Head of BBC News Interactive.

I really enjoyed Pete's visit today.
He brought up a number of interesting points.
For example, I was surprised to learn that Ceefax caters for 20 million users per week.

User Generated Content:
On 7th july this year the BBC News Interactive office received 20,000 emails in less than 24 hours, and 1,000 images.
He emphasised the fact that their website is a "magnet" for this information.

BBC online as "global debating centre of the world"...

to be continued...

Guest Speaker - Kim Hollamby

Kim Hollamby, Head of Electronic Media.

Kim raised the issue of the power of the written word and the danger of people mis-interpreting what you say on chatrooms, forums and email. Tone of voice and body language are missing. Apparently 93% of your message is lost...

Guest Speaker - Richard Burton

Editor of Telegraph Online, Richard Burton came to talk to us yesterday.
It was a most interesting talk.
He began by saying that one of the most important things to do when working on a story is to get the words up onto the screen - from there they can "stare back at you" and you have something to craft.

I was amazed at the short space of time it takes to confirm a story and put it up onto a webpage, or more specifically, into the "ticker" - the news latest.
It takes a matter of 12 seconds.

He said the BBC have announced this week that they are to stop monitoring User Generated Content - is this a risky move?

Burton said that the Telegraph traditionally has a middle-aged male readership - part of the plan now is to attract a younger and female audience.

We can now sign up for sms alerts - " A daily tap on the shoulder" - guaranteed to be told what you need to know.

Digital presence of The Telegraph - an international, digital publisher who also produces newspapers.
The integration between paper and online is becoming closer.

Thur's been a murr-durr...

Had to have a smile when member of Refectory staff said to me:
"Now that's a Taggart accent, lovely!
I've also had it described as "Posh - Scots" this very week.
And it was decidedly "Edith Bowman" last week due to a cold.
You decide...
Linds xx

Guest Speaker - Amanda Powell

Amanda Powell
News Editor, New Media, BBC Wales
20/10/05

I thoroughly enjoyed the lecture given by Ms Powell - it certainly threw up a number of interesting points.

For example...
Q - When do most people read bbc.co.uk/news?
A - 11am and 2pm.
I would have thought the majority of users would access it earlier in the day - I know I do!

She talked about what makes a story "clickable", and therefore in Broadcast-lingo, what would catch the listener's attention. There are a lot of similarities.

There must be a human element - people must be put at the heart of the story.
The "who" of the story...
A headline should contain no more than 6 words.
Good intro.
Simple language.
Broad appeal.
Accessibility.
Attractive images.
Originality.

The idea of "User-generated content" - online journalists using material from members of the public, eg photographs. This is a growing part of their work...Made me think of "citizen journalism"...

Ms Powell was keen to stress that as journalists we should be questioning, no matter how good the source seems. She also underlined the importance of accuracy based on evidence and backed up by detailed note taking.

She left us with a list of skills we should strive to achieve:

1. Clear writing and good grammar.
2. Good sense of news priorities.
3. Ability to work calmly and under pressure. ( Take note, Cooledit!!!)
4. Sound legal knowledge and accuracy.
5. Print experience an advantage.

Looking forward to the next guest speaker...Richard Burton.

Bienvenue chez linds!

History has been made!
I've successfully created my very first blog.
Surprisingly easy to do.
Later,
Linds xx