Video skills test - Reaction to the proposed public sector job losses

For the Digital Newsroom video skills test I was required to shoot a short MCU video interview which was to be 30 seconds in length.For this video I used Windows Movie Maker. I spoke with Carole Hardy, who works for the Lancashire Constabulary, to find her opinion of the Government's announcement that upto 500,000 public sector jobs could be lost by 2015.

Data skills test - Winter Olympic Games bar chart

For the data skills test I accessed the Guardian's data store and selected some information to use. I chose the data which displayed the medals won by nations at the Winter Olympic Games. This data stood out for me because I thought that it could be represented well in a bar chart and I found the information interesting.

The Winter Olympics began in 1924 and since then there have been 22 Winter games and 44 nations have won medals. The chart above shows the top 10 nations to win medals at the Winter Olympics and allows you to see the ratio of different medals each country has won. The bar charts shows us that USSR/Russia has won 281 gold medals, far more than any other country, but is third when all medals are taken into account. All countries on this list have mountainous regions which shows that this is a clear advantage when competing at the Winter Olympics.

Below are some links related to the data =

http://www.guardian.co.uk/data-store
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/feb/11/winter-olympics-medals-by-country

https://spreadsheets0.google.com/ccc?key=t5eiJd6PvXDmWyueQXo9eAg#gid=1
http://www.vancouver2010.com/ http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reference_documents_Factsheets/Records_and_medals_at_the_Olympic_Winter_Games.pdf

For a data skills exercise we were asked to form charts from the data which was entitled 'ARRESTS BY CLUB SUPPORTED & TYPE OF OFFENCE - PREMIER LEAGUE 2008-09 SEASON'. Using excel I created a pie chart which shows the ratio of home arrests of Arsenal fans compared to away arrests. We then had to export the chart into a blog. The process was fairly simple, the most difficult part being uploading the image of the chart into a blog.

Reaction to the budget cuts

For the Digital Newsroom Video Skills Test I was required to shoot a short MCU video interview which was to be 30 seconds in length.For this video I used Windows Movie Maker. I spoke with Carole Hardy, who works for the Lancashire Constabulary, to find her opinion of the Government's announcement that upto 500,000 public sector jobs could be lost by 2015.

An interview with Mark Payton, Editorial Editor of Haymarket Consumer Media

Mark Payton is the Editorial Editor of Haymarket Consumer Media. In the video featured below he discusses the impact digital journalism has had on the company. Our task was to edit the video down to a length of no more of 35 seconds.

Lancashire County Council - image skills test

For the Digital Newsroom Image Skills Test I was asked to take an image of a location, I chose Lancashire County Council. After taking the image I then had to use Photoshop Elements to crop the images to certain specifications in jpeg format.

The original image of Lancashire County Council - County Hall in jpeg format.

This is an image of Lancashire County Council - County Hall 400 x 300 pixels in jpeg format.

This is an image of Lancashire County Council - County Hall 100 x 100 pixels in jpeg format.

This is an image of Lancashire County Council - County Hall 200 x 500 pixels in jpeg format.

Lancashire Evening Post news locations from Wednesday 13th October

For a Digital Newsroom Exercise I was asked to find four news stories from one edition of the Lancashire Evening Post. Each story had to be suitable to be placed on a map. I then had to create a Custom Google Map with all four locations displayed on the map along with links to the LEP site and a related site. I found the process quite staightforward and easy to complete. The most difficult part of the exercise was learning to put the map onto a blog but even that was fairly simple.

Below is my Custom Google Map with 4 News Story Locations from the Lancashire Evening Post clearly marked.



View LEP News Story Locations from Wednesday October 13th 2010 in a larger map

The Original Photograph of UCLAN.

I cropped the image down to 100 x 100 .

I the re-cropped the original to 400 x 300.

Do Chelsea need to spend big to win big?

The Premier League Season is almost upon us and transfer rumours are surrounding every club including Chelsea. Carlo Ancelotti’s target for this season is bound to involve winning more silverware and the Champions League is the one trophy Chelsea have failed to grasp to date.
The majority of the transfer talk involving Chelsea has included the name Fernando Torres. He’s young, athletic and when he’s not injured he is one of the world’s best strikers. The problem comes with his price tag and the simple fact that Chelsea don’t actually need another striker. Although Didier Drogba and Nikolas Anelka may be heading towards the end of their playing career they are still world class strikers. Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou and the young Daniel Sturridge can all be called on too if goals are required. However, if Manchester City are serious about signing Didier Drogba then the situation changes and Chelsea will need a new striker who can guarantee goals.
Instead of spending a huge amount on one player Chelsea should bolster up their midfield. With the departures of Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, and Juliano Belletti; Chelsea require at least one player with some finesse and talent. An ideal candidate would be Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger. He had a terrific World Cup which didn’t benefit Chelsea as his price tag as increased but he’s still a worthwhile target. In a recent survey on Goal.com 90.1% chose Schweinsteiger as the man Chelsea should try and sign.
Chelsea have already made one new signing in the form of Yossi Benayoun. The Israeli captain cost a modest £5.5million and the attacking midfielder is likely to replace Joe Cole with a role down the wing. The newspapers have been having a field day with news that Jose Mourinho is after Ashley Cole. The Chelsea left back is a skilled defender who loves to go forward and is a vital player in the Chelsea squad. Losing such a player would create a big hole in Chelsea’s side and finding a replacement could prove difficult. Things could worsen if the Spanish Newspapers are true and Ricardo Carvalho is heading back to Real Madrid to reunite with Mourinho. Another defender would need to be drafted in.
Ancelotti should concentrate on strengthening his midfield and developing the youth team and forget about Torres. Chelsea spent big money before, remember the record breaking £30.8 million pound signing of Andriy Shevchenko back in the summer of 2006. The hype was huge at the time but his time at Chelsea was less than impressive, he scored 22 goals in 2 seasons and never secured his place in the first team line-up. Chelsea don’t want to make a huge big signing and then regret it. They need to spend where necessary and where needed and just because teams throw money at a problem doesn’t mean Chelsea should.

Is Kieran Gibbs the next Ashley Cole?

Even an Arsenal fan, who probably hates Ashley Cole, would tell you that he is one of the best left backs in the world. Kieran Gibbs is nearly ten years his junior and one of England’s brightest prospects. If it hadn’t been for a horror injury back in November last year Gibbs may have found himself travelling to South Africa this summer.

Gibbs fractured his metatarsal in the Champions League clash against Standard Liege last November, ruling him out for several months. Arsene Wenger described the injury as a “big hole in his foot” and the injury was so serious that he had to undergo an operation in January. With Ashley Cole being a doubt for the World Cup this could have been Gibbs’s chance to shine.

Gibbs started his football at Wimbledon’s academy but when the club disbanded in 2004 he made the move to Arsenal. He became a professional in September 2007 and was named in Arsenal’s 2007-2008 Champions League squad. This was a great achievement for a player who was still only 18.

He featured regularly for the England Under 19’s and has played consistently for the Under 21’s. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Arsene Wenger said: “I think he will one day play for the national team. I am convinced of that.” He is clearly seen as a talent by all those at Arsenal and it’s not just those at the club that have commended the young defender.

In an article back in 2009 Henry Winter, chief football correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, said Gibbs was “Pacey, sensible in possession. Will challenge Gael Clichy at Arsenal.” A lot is certainly expected of this young player, and he started out in a similar fashion to Ashley Cole.

Cole signed his professional contract at the age of 19 and an unfortunate injury to Sylvinho gave Cole his chance to step up to the first team. Even after Sylvinho’s recovery Cole remained as Wenger’s first choice left back. At Arsenal he won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup three times, not a bad feat.

There are clear similarities between the two players, unfortunately the problem for Gibbs other than his current injury, is Gael Clichy. When Cole left Arsenal for Chelsea in 2006 Clichy stepped up and became Wenger’s first choice left back. He has made the position his own and currently has 150 appearances for the Gunners. Gibbs will need to take any chance he can to show Wenger what he can do.

Fabio Capello, the man who holds the key to his England future also recognises his ability. Back in 2009 Capello said: “He’s a really good player, really interesting for the future of the England team, but he’s young and he has to play a really important game for the Under 21’s.”

He is held in the upmost regard by Arsene Wenger and Fabio Capello, he is a young English talent and maybe one day he will be England’s next Ashley Cole.

Nicklas Bendtner - "I want to be known as a world class striker."

Nicklas Bendtner is the 22 year old Danish striker who plays for Arsenal, if you didn't already know. The young player has boasted of his plans for the future in interviews such as this one with The Guardian back in October.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/31/nicklas-bendtner-interview-arsenal-tottenham

"Within five years I want to be the top scorer in the Premier League and I want to be known as a world-class striker. And it will happen. Trust me, it will happen. I look around at other players, I see my own ability and I can't see anything that tells me it won't happen. I'm sure people will think 'What is he talking about?' But as I have done before, and as I will do again, I will sit at the other end and laugh at those people when it is all done."

An outsider who knows nothing of football would agree that the person who made this statement is just a little full of themselves. If I was a footballer, a reasonably good footballer, I would never make such a bold statement, you would look stupid if you never did become 'a world-class striker.' In 117 appearances for Arsenal since his move from FC Copenhagen Bendtner has scored 33 goals in all competitions. Hardly the tally of a world class striker.

http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/players/nicklas-bendtner

To be fair in his first season he hardly played but since then he's started playing more and scoring a few goals. He has been injured, having a hernia operation late last year and since making a return in 2010 he has made an impact. His three goals in the Champions League clash against Porto sent the side through to the Champions League Quarter Finals and he won Danish Player of the Year for his goals which helped Denmark qualify for the World Cup 2010.

Nicklas Bendtner is an average striker, he has his good days and his bad. I don't think he'll ever be a world class striker or the top striker in the Premier League but he has scored when it

counts.

Image Source - Flickr Rob TM

For a task we were asked to find images from the website Flickr that had been licenced by Creative Commons.

This image is what I found for Journalism. Journalism can be print or broadcast and finding a picture to cover the whole area of Journalism was difficult so I chose a news desk.

Source : Flickr - Samantha Decker

This image is what I found for Sports Journalism. This reporter is interviewing an American Football player, a small part of Sports Journalism.

Source: Flickr Bernzilla

The Credit Crunch has hit the UK hard and this image of a scrunched up tenner shows how times have been hard for a lot of people.

Source: Flickr - Adebond

I really like this image of a cupcake, the Olympics are quite general but this image is simple and shows the Olympic rings.

Source: Flickr - Clevercupcakes

This image depicts Football Hooliganism. These fans are in the city of Barcelona after a game at the Nou Camp. Clambering street posts and drinking beer have become a regular scene after football matches.

Source: Flickr - Greg Robbins

This image is of the Media Factory at UCLAN. It's a modern building and offers good facilities for the students

Source: Flickr Amy Ferguson

What are Arsenal's chances of winning the Champions League?

Well they clearly have some form of a chance as they are still in the competition unlike Chelsea and Liverpool but can they really win the trophy?




They are currently in very good form, thrashing Porto in the Champions League 5-0 in spectacular fashion but not everything has been so rosy this season. They lost 3-0 to Chelsea, something I myself was surprised about and then there was the tragic leg break of Aaron Ramsey.

With the return of the not so modest Nicklas Bendtner, who actually scored a hat trick against Porto, things seem to be improving for Arsene Wenger. To win the Champions League you need to beat the best sides in Europe and I have doubts whether Arsenal can really show up on such a big occasion.



Thomas Vermaelen, the Arsenal defender, believes his squad can win the title. After being written off by many he wants to have the last laugh.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/10/arsenal-champions-league-thomas-vermaelen

After visiting a forum from The Daily Telegraph it seems that the nation is divided. Even some Arsenal fans dont want to believe they can win, they seem to be pessimistic.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/7409181/Arsenal-5-Porto-0-can-Arsenal-now-win-the-Double.html

Arsenal are known to play flowing football and it to be 'attractive' but when they come to face Barcelona or Manchester United do they have the winning edge. I have my doubts.

How does Shaun Custis compare to Henry Winter?

Shaun Custis is the chief football reporter at The Sun. As he writes for a tabloid clearly the language and style differs majorly from the work of Henry Winter but he still gets all the facts down which are required. Some people may say he exagerrates what he writes from time to time but all in all its a pretty interesting read.

I browsed the internet trying to find out what other people think of him as a writer. I found an article on the Newcastle section of football fan site Vital Football. The short piece was far from complimentary, portayed the writer and his brother who also writes for The Sun very negatively.

http://www.newcastle.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=85788

In comparison Custis has been regularly nominated for Sports Journalism Association awards, showing that people do recognise and likes his work. One of his more recent articles, a match report reflecting on Arsenal's 5-0 thrashing of Porto focusing in particular on striker Nicklas Bendtner, is a prime example of what Custis does.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2885696/Arsenal-5-Porto-0.html

His writing is often comic and witty yet informative. Like Winter you can tell Custis has his opinions but his writing is balanced and you believe he's well informed.

Is he a better writer than Henry Winter? I don't think so but I did enjoy looking at how his writing varied.

Why Henry Winter is the best sports journalist writing today?

Henry Winter is the chief football correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, and in my opinion the best sports writer of today. Yes I know he writes for a broadsheet, which stereotypically the majority of students don't read, but his writing is easy to get into and interesting.

His article reporting on the Manchester City versus Liverpool 0-0 draw is just a example of his witty in depth reviews of a match.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/7285769/Manchester-City-0-Liverpool-0-match-report.html

He compared the match to "a 90-minute advert for the joys of watching paint dry", the article is brilliantly put together. His well informed, articulate writing is a must read in the sports pages and is much respected among fellow writers.



He doesn't just cover the big headlines, he also likes to focus on the other areas of football such as finance, a topic which normally we wouldn't understand but he makes it easy to grasp. He writes things as they are, as if its an ordinary person is telling you what happened.

Some journalists can come across too in the know, too experienced. Clearly Winter knows what he is on about, and he is experienced but it doesn't come across when he writes, he doesn't act as if he knows more than the readers do. This makes his articles very reader friendly and encourages you to read the entire article, not to just take a glance of the intro.

All in all Henry Winter is a great sport journalist, not many would doubt his ability, and I think he's the best.