Journalism & Communication

Tom’s website: The Youth Radar (www.theyouthradar.com) aims to provide the best coverage of youth football on the Internet

A BA Multimedia Journalism student has been nominated for a prize at this year’s Guardian Student Media Awards.

Tom Bennett, a second-year Media School student, has been shortlisted for the student website of the year category.

His website, The Youth Radar, covers youth football taking place all across the world.

The announcement took Tom completely by surprise.

“I completely forgot I entered. Then, in early September, I got a phone call from The Guardian telling me I had been nominated. I was pretty shocked.”

The website was launched in 2010, originally as something to add to his UCAS personal statement, but has since become a platform to launch Tom into the world of sports journalism.

“I’ve put so much effort into the website. It feels like two years of hard work is paying off and the site is finally being recognised.”

Tom also works as a video reporter for AFC Bournemouth and contributes to The Bournemouth Rock. The Media School student feels he’s still capable of handling all of these responsibilities alongside his course.

“Even when it gets tough, I just think of the end goal and think that one day I’m going to look back and think that all the hard work and effort has paid off.

“I never expected this level of success but I’m a strong believer that whatever I want to do – with a lot of hard work – I can.”

Editor of the BBC News website Steve Herrmann and Times Digital’s editorial director Tom Whitwell are just a couple of the names judging Tom’s category.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday 7 November.

Pebble Zine’s editorial team – Culture editor Nick Reilly, Features editor Joshua Saunders, Fashion editor Tazz Gault, Beauty editor Beth price, Lifestyle editor Georgia Scarr, Music editor Sally Rose McCormack. (Photo: Joseph Kent)

An editorial team led by BA Multimedia Journalism students has launched a new online magazine.

Pebble Zine covers a wide range of topics including fashion, beauty, music, lifestyle and culture.

The online magazine aims to promote independent designers, brands and artists with a target audience of 18 to 35-year-olds.

Julia Denni, editor-in-chief, is delighted with the magazine’s success so far.

“We’re really happy. In just over a week we’ve had 5,000 viewers and we’re so happy about how fast it’s growing.”

Pebble Zine is a sister publication of The Bournemouth Rock, a student newspaper produced at the Media School.

“We basically put a team together before the summer,” Julia added. “We all went away and tried to work through email. It was a bit messy.

“We got back two weeks before the start of term and put the magazine together, fixing all the little things that needed to be fixed.”

Dan Hogan, course leader for BAMMJ, said: “It’s absolutely world class. It goes and shows that these guys have honestly produced a professional looking publication that is just awe-inspiring.

“It’s so organic. It’s got our students in the photo shoots, our pictures [and] our copy. I’m saying ‘our’, because I can’t in any way claim credit for this, but I’m just so proud of what they’ve done.”

The bimonthly magazine can be read at:  http://www.pebblezine.com/

US 2012 – Bournemouth University’s Media School prepares for live coverage of this year’s US election night (Lee Giles)

Bournemouth University Media School is set to provide live multiplatform coverage of this year’s US election night.

Undergraduates, postgraduates and international students from different courses at the school will collaborate to provide live TV, radio and online content on the night of 6 November.

The university will also be linking up with the University of Massachusetts, who will have a news-gathering operation on the ground to provide live content.

A website will also be launched a week before the election between Democrat President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, containing blogs, features and more.

The coverage is the brainchild of lecturers Dr Ann Luce and Mathew Charles, who are overseeing the student-led operation, acting as executive editors.

Dr Luce said it will give students the opportunity to feel what it is like to work in a real newsroom.

“Our students are doing what they do best: excellent journalism. It’s going to be a great night, and dare I say it, they may even rival a couple of TV and radio stations here in the UK!”

Co-executive editor and award-winning documentary maker, Mathew Charles, added: “It’s perfect preparation for trainee journalists. It doesn’t get more real than this.”

Those taking part will also experience a guest lecture from former BBC Washington correspondent Stephen Sackur tomorrow evening.

Editor-in-chief, Oscar Tollast, has been encouraged by the turnout and enthusiasm of those wanting to take part.

“It’s been heartwarming to see the amount of effort people have put in already, learning about the US political system and keeping up to date with both campaign trails.

“I have been flabbergasted by the number of people who want to be a part of this extraordinary event. It’s really refreshing to see and hopefully we’ll be able to make this something to remember,” said the third-year BA Multimedia Journalism student.

Students are now beginning to prepare TV, radio and online features, as well as a promo, coming up with a variety of suggestions to bring US politics to Bournemouth.

Two BA Multi-Media Journalism students have been awarded £1000 bursaries from One World Media to each produce features in developing countries.

Owen Evans and Lottie Gross, both second year BAMMJ students pitched their stories to One World Media who provide support to student projects every year.

The money will go towards food, accommodation and transport, as well as insurance for the kit that will be rented from the university.

Lottie Gross plans to use the bursary in her project named ‘Dating in the Desert’. The project compares how relationships are formed in the UK, to those in tribal communities in North Kenya.

“Dating in the Desert is a short film about how tribes in Northern Kenya develop intimate relationships,” said Lottie. “The UK, it seems, has a rather relaxed take on what love is, what relationships mean and how we should build (or dissolve) them. We are less traditional in our methods and I wonder if we are losing sight of what’s important by using mediums such as internet dating. My film will explore what we can learn from African love.”

Owen Evans will travel to film his work in Somaliland.

During her trip Lottie will be blogging and tweeting. Her progress can be followed at www.lottiegross.wordpress.com or follow her on twitter at @lortusfleur.

National Trust volunteer, Janet Mellors (left) speaks to the group on Brownsea Island

Journalism students have been honing their investigative skills with help from Deborah Collcutt of the London Evening Standard.

A group of second years visited Brownsea Island last week to uncover stories about the nature spot near Poole Harbour.

Charlotte Flake and Lottie Gross are hoping to write  features to tie in with 50 years of the National Trust’s ownership of Brownsea, and were allowed exclusive access to the Trust’s archives. They were also able to meet members of the Dorset Wildlife Trust who are based on the island.

Lottie Gross said that during the last 50 years Brownsea had been transformed from a wilderness to a living paradise for both the wildlife and humans that live there.

She said: “I interviewed and spent time with many people volunteering and living on the island and found there was one thing they all had in common: they are all completely in love with Brownsea and are very proud of it.”

The Bournemouth University students were treated to a tour of the castle (usually closed to the public) and a trip around the island in a Land Rover with the island’s head ranger, Reuben Hawkwood. Alongside  features lecturer Emma Scattergood, he is now developing an annual project, related to the island,  for BAMMJ students to work on.

Bournemouth Media School sponsored two sessions at the ‘So You Want to be a Journalist’ conference at City University in London last week.

Aspiring journalists who attended the conference could get tips on broadcast journalism from Tom Bradby, political editor of ITV News, and video producer John Domokos who works for The Guardian.

And experienced journalists such as Simon Hattenstone, Janet Murray and Camilla Long were on had to give advice on how to write the perfect feature.

Liisa Rohumaa, who teaches journalism at Bournemouth University, chaired a special session called Data is Sexy with James Ball of The Guardian and Helen Lewis of The New Statesman who were on the panel.

Also on the panel was Paul Bradshaw, an expert on data journalism and co-author with Liisa Rohumaa of The Online Journalism Handbook. He said: “Data isn’t sexy. But journalism is. Its looking at the data but the story is about what it says is going on and how it affects people and policy.”

Pete Clifton, Executive Producer, MSN UK, lectured third year BA Multi-media Journalism students this week.

Clifton, who was previously Editor of the BBC News website, joined Microsoft in May last, and has overseen a complete re-launch of the MSN news site.

He explained to students the changes that both the site and its journalists have undergone in the past year – altering the look, the content and the delivery of its media.

Emphasising the importance of utilising new digital platforms, Clifton described how MSN UK had altered its output to create tailored, quality media, not only for its website but for its mobile site, iPad app and Xbox page.

The key skill required from his team of journalists is adaptability and a multi-media skill-set, said Clifton, describing how reporters will often be expected to film, interview, and tweet live events at once.

Clifton, who also acts as an external examiner for the BA Multi-media Journalism course, offered students a fascinating insight into how news sites are adapting to new technology and how these advances require a whole new approach to media production.