As part of the interview process, James had to describe how he’d react upon arriving at the scene of a disaster.

An MA Multimedia Journalism student has secured a highly coveted internship at Associated Press.

James Brooks will spend three months with the global news network at their London offices from June.

He’ll be working across several formats during his internship, adding to earlier work experience at The Telegraph and the BBC.

James said: “I’ve been told I’ll be heading out on photo and video shoots, producing my own packages, creating text reports to be sent out on the wires, and learning from all the skilled journalists at AP in London.”

He described being selected as a “great honour” having competed against hundreds of students from other universities and colleges.

Upon securing the internship, James said the course had helped him in a variety of ways.

“The practical training, which is why I chose this course, came in handy as Associated Press want journalists who can work across a variety of different formats, be it text, video or audio.”

Applicants were required to submit a selection of multimedia work. James used work solely produced whilst on the course, including work published on The Breaker.

The BAMMJ Class of 2013 – sporting bad hair for charity back in 2010

An end of year ball is being organised for the BA Multimedia Journalism course.

Students, lecturers and guests are invited to celebrate 21 years of BAMMJ with a “fun awards” ceremony, a two-course meal, and disco.

The BAMMJ Ball, hosted at the Hallmark Hotel, will take place on Friday 31st May.

Third-year BA Multimedia Journalism student Joseph Kent has taken on the responsibility of organising the event.

Joseph hopes those on the course can end the academic year with a night to remember.

“The BAMMJ Ball is an end-of-year party for all journalism students from all year groups, to celebrate another year well done.”

The event is being seen as a celebration of student success over the past academic year, as well as a farewell to final-year students.

Joseph added, “The only downside to the BAMMJ Ball is that it does make everything seem so very final.

“I know I am not the only one who will be sad to leave the past few years behind, but I guess all good things must come to an end.”

Tickets cost £25 and are available to buy from Joseph. He can be contacted via Twitter or Facebook.

Please note: the deadline for tickets is Thursday 16th May. There will be no refunds after this date, but you may exchange tickets with somebody else.

First year Media School students have been praised for their efforts in helping to produce the latest edition of the Bournemouth Rock.

The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Julia Denni, said she was incredibly proud of those who had stepped up to the challenge.

“I am really proud of the first-years’ commitment and hard work on the paper. I am very pleased that they’re happy to take on more responsibility next year.”

Julia, a second-year BA Multimedia Journalism student, added: “This year has been challenging in many ways, we had to recruit new staff and make sure we kept improving issue after issue.”

The fortnightly newspaper – out today – features as usual its regular mix of original news, sports, features and opinion.

Stories concerning student gambling, and a Bournemouth mother’s fight against knife crime occupy the front page.

Readers are also treated to an AFC Bournemouth promotion special, as the Rock looks at the Cherries journey from relegation candidates to league runners-up within six months.

The Rock can be picked up – free – at all Bournemouth University campuses and Asda in Lansdowne, as well as being available to read online.

Hannah currently works as a communications assistant at Bournemouth University’s Student Union (Photo: Hannah Sweetnam).

A BA Multimedia Journalism graduate is one of 25 people shortlisted to become Chief Funster in Tourism Australia’s Best Jobs in the World competition.

Hannah Sweetnam, who graduated last year, competed against 45,000 other entrants from 196 countries to get through to the second round.

If selected as Chief Funster, Hannah will have a hands-on social media role, review festivals and shows, and be considered a “Sydney VIP”.

Hannah explained she never expected to get this far in the competition.

“I was completely shocked when I found out. I was eating porridge and I nearly dropped it everywhere. I almost deleted the email by accident.”

Other roles available include Outback Adventurer, Park Ranger, Wildlife Caretaker, Lifestyle Photographer, and Taste Master.

Over 600,000 people applied for the six positions available, with more than 130,000 applications being made within the first 72 hours.

She said skills she had learned on her course influenced which role she applied for, and have been particularly useful in highlighting her entry.

“I owe getting through this round entirely to BA Multimedia Journalism. I couldn’t even Photoshop an image before and now I can edit videos and audio.”

For the second round of the competition, Hannah has to find the “ultimate referee” to support her application.

This includes submitting a piece of content – on any platform – showcasing support for her application.

“For the time being I am tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking and YouTubing away to try and generate as much support as I can.

“I hopefully – fingers crossed – have a few tricks up my sleeve but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Hannah is one of five Britons shortlisted for the role. You can view her first-round entry in the video below. To support her campaign, tweet with the hashtag #hannahforchieffunster or like her Facebook page: facebook.com/HannahForChiefFunster

A selection of this year’s Nerve Magazine front covers

Nerve Magazine has won a national student publication award for best design.

The magazine was shortlisted by the Student Publication Association, which is made up of student newspapers, magazines and publications in the UK.

Toby Gray, editor, said the award was the icing on the cake to the great feedback the magazine had received this year.

“The work we’ve put in throughout the past year developing a distinct and modern visual style has been amongst the highlights of my experience as editor.”

The magazine underwent a redesign at the beginning of the year, with a focus on colour.

“I never expected it would materialise into this award, but now it has, I couldn’t be happier with what we’ve achieved. It’s my hope now that this is just the beginning of a long and successful legacy for Nerve Magazine.”

New editorial team

Meanwhile, Nerve Magazine is looking for a new editorial team to takeover for the next academic year.

Applications are now being taken for the role of editor, and section editors that are responsible for: entertainment, sport, fashion, design, and features.

Sub-editors are also sought after, and applicants have the opportunity to apply for more than role.

Toby, a third-year BA Communication and Media student, said to those debating whether to apply that they wouldn’t regret the decision to sign-up.

“I started out as sport editor in my second year and worked my way up to editor this year, and the experience has been amazing.

“There’s a real sense of pride in wandering around BU to see students engaging with your work and providing that monthly dose of essential reading is a driving motivational force behind any role.”

If you would like to apply for an editorial role at Nerve Magazine, send one example of past relevant work and a 300-word rationale on why you’re right for the position to editor@nervemedia.org.uk. The final deadline for applications is 5pm, Friday 26th April. 

JUMP TV involves students from a variety of Media School courses.

Bournemouth University’s JUMP TV has scooped two national student television awards.

The station, founded by second-year BA Multimedia Journalism student Jasper Taylor, entered for this year’s NaSTA awards.

NewsLab’s coverage of the US presidential election won the best live show category, whilst Sports Locker received the award for best sports show.

The US presidential election coverage was also shortlisted for the best factual show category, and Jasper was up for best on-screen male presenter.

Jasper said he was proud of everyone who had contributed to JUMP TV and Newslab over the past year.

“It’s a huge achievement to have won two awards and be shortlisted for two others in our first year.

“We were the youngest station present at the ceremony and some have been going for over 40 years.”

This year’s awards ceremony and corresponding conference marked NaSTA’s 40^th anniversary.

Oscar Tollast, editor-in-chief of Newslab’s US 2012 presidential election coverage, said the award was worthy of the commitment and talent shown by all involved.

“It’s lovely to now be able to describe our coverage as ‘award-winning’, and it is well deserved.

“It was wonderful at the time to see Media School students, staff and technicians on a variety of courses working together to produce professional, accurate, and impartial coverage – and at a quick pace, too!”

JUMP TV is now planning a number of projects for the year ahead, and is already looking to build on its success for next year’s awards ceremony.

First-year BAMMJ students have been offered the chance to write for Bournemouth’s local newspaper, the Daily Echo.

First-year BA Multimedia Journalism students will be given the opportunity to write for Bournemouth’s local newspaper, the Daily Echo.

In an exciting new project, students will offer local news, features and reviews for the newspaper’s website.

This content will feature under a new section called the Student Eye, which is expected to launch after the Easter break.

Andy Martin, the Echo’s deputy editor and head of news, said the partnership made sense and it was something he had wanted to do for a while.

“We get some good stories hopefully and a younger people’s perspective. They in turn get the opportunity to write for a local paper and its website.”

The Echo’s website has more than three and a half million page impressions per month, and nearly 400,000 unique users.

Martin added: “Part of our brief in terms of the website is to build that audience and bring younger people in who wouldn’t traditionally read our newspaper.”

The project represents another opportunity for students to gain experience alongside the course, which Martin describes as one of the best in the country.

“It makes sense for us to try and tap into that and to open up an avenue for their work and for us to benefit at the same time.

“What I’m encouraging people to do is not just write about student life, but actually the communities they’re living in because that to us is really important.”

When away from the news desk, Martin teaches first-year students’ Public Affairs unit, as part of their NCTJ Diploma in Journalism qualification.

“I’ve been teaching at the university for quite a few years now and although we’ve always tried to do little projects, we’ve never come up with something that’s quite so wide ranging and potentially as exciting as this one.”

Ben Fisher is among the first-year BA Multimedia Journalism students who will produce content for the Echo’s website.

He said: “It’s great for university students to have a professional output.

“The link with the Echo is something that should be strong given the course here, and it is something that is healthy for both students and the paper.”

]]> http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/2013/03/27/bammj-and-the-daily-echo-to-launch-the-student-eye/feed/ 0 http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/2013/03/23/pictures-bu-and-aub-put-on-beauty-and-the-beast/ http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/2013/03/23/pictures-bu-and-aub-put-on-beauty-and-the-beast/#comments Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:06:53 +0000 Oscar Tollast http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/?p=1684 A number of Media School students, including those from BA Communication and Media, recently took part in a production of Beauty and the Beast.

Vin recommended students stray away from the default narrative that exists in reporting (Photo: Giulio Bernardi)

Former BBC Foreign Editor Vin Ray has given final-year journalism students a masterclass in the art of original storytelling.

BA Multimedia Journalism students were spoken to as part of their Professional Perspectives unit.

In a relaxed, informal session, students asked Vin a range of questions.

Vin emphasised the value of having original story ideas and the power of questioning.

“People who come up with great original ideas are often the difference between the best and the rest.”

He asked students for what they considered “original journalism” to mean, before revealing a useful brainstorming technique to help look at stories from another perspective.

“You have two columns and you write down on the left-hand side everything you normally do. Then down the right-hand side, [write down] what the opposite of that would be.

“Some of the ideas will be clearly barking mad but somewhere in there you’ll come up with something that’s much more interesting.”

Vin questioned what roadblocks exist to original journalism. Students argued budgetary restraints and the success of tried and tested formulas were preventive measures.

These were the answers he was looking for, as he posed another question: “To what extent is a lack of originality about money or a mindset?”

People often think of original stories as investigations, or scoops. He admitted these did need resources a lot of the time, but this wasn’t what he wanted to dwell on.

Vin described a some reasons given by editors for a lack of originality, including: cost, a bigger output with a smaller staff, and churnalism. “You’ll hear this a lot in newsrooms around the place.”

However, this isn’t the biggest complaint made by editors, according to Vin. A survey of BBC editors revealed the biggest complaint of morning editorial meetings was a lack of story suggestions.

The visiting professor said this represented a fantastic opportunity for journalism students looking to find employment.

Students picked out local newspapers, radio stations and generally talking to people, as sources to create original stories.

Vin was the first Director of the BBC College of Journalism, having beforehand served as Foreign Editor across TV and radio.

He added, “I think there is a tendency when you start out that you ought to be across everything.

“You’re much more likely to come up with a good story if you go in-depth on a few things, rather than try and consume everything everywhere.”

Vin’s argument was that questions are the most important tool that journalists have in original journalism. “You can use them to pries open any given story and they can take you in all kinds of places. It’s about curiosity.

“The hard part I think is often not finding the right question. It’s having the nerve to ask the question in the first place. You kind of think somebody else must have asked that question at some point.”

Vin challenged students to ask why the media follows – at times – a particular narrative and displays a “group think”, reporting on the same underlying themes.

“When a factory closes, the default narrative is almost always in the pub with the workers who have lost their jobs talking about their bleak futures.”

To spark creativity, Vin asked students to think of the opposite narrative to that, receiving story suggestions that focused on the positive aspects of a recession.

“It’s always worth asking yourself what if the reverse were true, particularly when the whole of the media is going one way.

“This is what you’ve got to work against – everyone thinking in the same way and going in the same direction.”

Vin then explored conventional story curves, but looked to see where the curve could be altered or brought back to life.

“You can bend the story curve by a number of ways, but using the diary is a very, very effective way of doing it.

“It’s clocking something that’s happened and thinking to yourself: how and when can I come back to that story in an interesting way?”

Vin asked students whether they considered themselves to be 24-hour journalists.

He reaffirmed curiosity is phenomenally important and you should remain thinking as a journalist outside of the newsroom.

“There is a real feeling at the moment in news organisations that too many journalists are journalists when they switch on their computer in the morning, and will turn off their computer and stop being a journalist when they go home in the evening.”

New recruits in BBC newsrooms have been asked to find stories in 20 minutes, according to Vin.

“It’s amazing how you can do it, if you’re just thinking in that slightly aggressive let’s find a story [attitude], then you’ll find one.”

He said journalists shouldn’t be put off from asking what they may consider to be stupid questions.

“Just by sometimes explaining something you can come up with a piece of original journalism, simply by saying how can we explain this in a really simple way.”

Vin finished by highlighting a few examples of reporting where original reporting had been really successful.

Having recently spent time with Channel 4 News, he provided one-to-one training sessions with correspondents and presenters.

“It’s often the smallest teams that are the most creative, because they have to be, because they don’t have the resources that the big guys do.”

Vin concluded his lecture by recommending to students that they should avoid formulaic journalism when they can.

“Ask questions all the time, and those disruptive questions will get you places that you wouldn’t otherwise get to.”

]]> http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/2013/03/14/media-consultant-vin-ray-explores-the-art-of-storytelling/feed/ 0 http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/2013/03/13/channel-4-news-alex-thomson-praises-bammj-course/ http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/2013/03/13/channel-4-news-alex-thomson-praises-bammj-course/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:57:18 +0000 Oscar Tollast http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/journalism-communication/?p=1657 Channel 4 News’ Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson has told BA Multimedia Journalism students they’re on the right track to success.

Channel 4 News’ Alex Thomson spoke of his experiences as Chief Correspondent (Photo: Oscar Tollast)

Channel 4 News’ Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson has told BA Multimedia Journalism students they’re on the right track to success.

Lecturing as part of the course’s Professional Perspectives unit, Alex took part in a question and answer session, and explained his career path.

Although Alex studied English at university, he had gained a lot of journalism experience working for his student newspaper.

“I’m so completely ancient there wasn’t any such thing as online or anything in those days. Life was considerably simpler in some senses, but actually a lot less fun.”

Armed with a pile of cuttings and deciding what career to embark upon, only one profession appeared to stand out.

“Journalism seemed more fun than working. It’s kind of worked out that way frankly ever since.”

He studied journalism at a postgraduate level, learning shorthand and media law. Alex admits, however, he learned nothing like the technical aspects available on Bournemouth University journalism courses.

“I’m painfully well aware I’m the most technically inept person in this room when it comes to journalism.”

Alex started work as a researcher for the BBC, working on the nightly news programme Wales Today. He then took a small hiatus, travelling across India, before returning and signing up to the BBC’s trainee scheme.

“The BBC had a brilliant trainee scheme in those days. It was fantastic.

“You had to go to television, the main TV newsroom, and you had to go to their main radio newsroom, which is the most terrifying place I’ve ever worked, including 20 odd years covering wars.”

Alex continued to work for the BBC in Northern Ireland as a reporter before later accepting a job offer at Channel 4 News.

He recognises Channel 4 News’ one programme format is perhaps a “slightly dinosaur idea” in an age of 24/7 news coverage, but Alex is glad the channel persists with this structure.

“I think it’s the best news programme in the world, but I would say that, wouldn’t I?

“It really has allowed me to do the sort of things which you would, I don’t think, be allowed or given the opportunity to do anywhere else.”

Alex said, as a reporter, you’re able to do a huge range of stories and given the one luxury most journalists crave: time.

“You get the chance to pursue investigations and you’re given time, which is the most precious thing in journalism. That’s allowed me to pursue stories for many years.”

He highlighted his reporting of Bloody Sunday, and the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash – the latter incident described by Alex as an example of campaign journalism, clearing the pilots’ names.

“There are not many places where you would be given 16 years to wear out not one, not two, but three editors of the programme and to be able to persist in this.”

Alex said a more modern example of a Channel 4 News investigation is the programme’s reports on the financial crisis surrounding Rangers Football Club.

He noted the story was a lot more online-based, publishing 75 online articles but only airing six TV pieces.

“We were the only outside organisation outside of Scotland who were looking at that situation, which was a major story.

“Something had gone badly wrong and a lot of people clearly weren’t asking the right questions as to why that had happened.

“It was extraordinary in the way the whole thing took off.”

Alex underlined the growing significance of online journalism, highlighting the newsroom’s attitude towards the Internet a decade ago.

“You had one person fiddling around with some great big computer and vaguely trying to do something on the net, the World Wide Web. Nobody was really quite sure.

“Now you’ve got two main desks in the newsroom of a dozen or more people absolutely dedicated obviously to putting out the news online and doing our own particular online niche thing that we do.”

The growth in online journalism can only be a positive thing, according to Alex.

“The great thing about that is that it means jobs, and usually jobs at the front end.

“People coming in to join the programme quite often will come in and join online and sometimes work on through there to the TV side of production.”

Studying journalism at university

A number of today’s journalists have entered the industry via various routes, but Alex suggests students have nothing to fear by taking a degree.

“I’m not one of those people who will say, ‘You’ll never get a job in journalism unless you join your local newspaper when you’re three, make the tea and lick everybody’s boots.’”

He pointed to journalism in the United States, arguing it had always been seen very much as a graduate profession, and not a trade.

“I see more and more people coming into the business from that sort of route, not less and less.

“You should feel optimistic about being good enough to have got a place on this course. I think that’s increasingly the way that journalism’s going.”

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