Emma's Blog

Obama is victorious: the healthcare bill has been pushed through Congress

2010-03-23T04:04:00.001-07:00

The bill will bring near universal coverage to the US and is a major step forward for America, although it is long overdue.
During the next year, health insurance companies will be forced to cover everyone who applies for medical cover, regardless of past or current illness. They will also be stopped from dropping customers once they get sick.
The bill will also impose an annual fee on pharmaceutical firms with sales which exceed $5m.
Currently, it is estimated that 45 million people in America have no medical insurance. Obama’s health reform bill will extend coverage to about 32 million, meaning that 95% of the population will have some form of insurance. Obama is delivering what he promised.
By 2014, all US citizens will be required to have medical insurance, or face a $695 fine. To me, it seems that those people who cannot afford medical insurance will be penalised under this new legislation. If they cannot afford the insurance, they will have to pay a large fine, which obviously they also will not be able to afford. It seems self defeating to me.
To help pay for the reform, a new tax will be imposed on the wealthy. Medicare payroll tax will be increased from 1.45% to 2.35% for those who earn more than $200,000, and married couples who earn more than $250,000 combined.
The health care reforms will still not cover illegal immigrants. Around 10-12 million immigrants living in the US, most who play an integral role in the economy, doing menial jobs, will not be covered. The Democrats originally planned to include them, but the Republicans flatly rejected it.
Does it go far enough?
America boasts a better quality of healthcare; the medical industry earns trillions of dollars a year and is one of the main revenues for the US. It creates jobs all over the sector and provides excellent care. I understand why they don’t want to give this up and create an NHS equivalent (even though I think they should).
The bill supposedly reins in the worst excesses and abuses of the insurance industry, and extends insurance coverage, which can only be a good thing. However some people think that instead this bill just gives even more power to the insurance companies, allowing them to make more money.

Health incentive or discrimination?

2010-03-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

Embedded in today’s culture is an obsession with looks, and in particular weight. In the media there are always campaigns to rid the catwalk of size zero supermodels and combat obesity across the nation.

Even though the media celebrate voluptuousness and curves, there has always been pressure to be thin. Even more so with the summer coming up and all the 'slim down for summer' diets. Yet one store in America has taken it a little too far…

Being skinny can save you money in Whole Foods store in America! The food retailer has offered discounts to their staff who have healthy body mass index's, and will soon extend this privilege to their customers. Basically, the lower your BMI, the better the discount!

The whole idea is outrageous. It is discrimination and I wonder how on earth they are getting away with it! Rewarding slim people? This will only put pressure on people to maintain their slim figures or lose weight; in some cases this will be unnecessary, unhealthy and even dangerous. It undoes all the hard work that the campaigns such as the Boots crusade for real women has achieved. Like when Kate Moss irresponsibly said: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” As a role model, a statement like that could have a serious, detrimental affect on people who have eating disorders, and this Whole Foods system of discounts could have the same impact.

Moreover, it is not fair to discriminate based on weight at all! The nation needs educating so that people who need to lose weight can safely slim down.

Regardless of the fact that it is blatant discrimination, the scheme seems self defeating. It would make more sense to offer discounts to those with higher BMI's, so that they are actually encouraged to buy the healthy foods and shed the extra pounds?

BMI should not even come into question; it is barefaced discrimination! I wonder how people would react if Whole Foods offered discounts to pretty people, and not to the ugly, surely there would be an uproar?!

Perhaps they were simply trying to encourage healthy living among their employees, but it comes across as ruthless discrimination and they should reconsider their discount scheme.

FEATURE: Penniless fans vs penniless musicians. Whose side are you on?

2010-03-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Fans cannot afford to buy the music. Musicians cannot afford to make the music. The government have intervened to stop the collapse of the record industry, but in a culture where downloading music is the norm, Emma Wilson asks, is this law self-defeating?

“It’s not stealing.” Is it?
Macs on laps and blasting (illegally downloaded) music, six Cardiff University students are discussing the new legislation which aims to clamp down on music piracy. Over the years they have acquired an abundance of music and films and have not paid a single penny for albums that have not yet been released, and films that have not been shown in cinemas. “It’s not stealing,” they say. When asked if they would walk out of a shop with a box set of DVDs without paying, they replied: “Obviously not. That’s not the same. You’ll get caught for that. Whereas music and films are so easily available online; there are no consequences for downloading it, and its instant access.”

The younger generations are the worst offenders. According to think tank Demos, in the UK, 61% of 14-24 year olds admit to downloading files illegally. Why? Because it is easy, free, and there are no repercussions. The law is set to change this. The government have proposed a new bill which will punish the perpetrator. The Digital Economy Bill will clamp down on illegal downloading by cutting those responsible off from the internet. In addition, their contact details will be made available to the copyright owners of the material they illegally downloaded, so that they can be sued. This bill, currently being considered by the House of Commons, and due to be passed in April, has caused a great deal of controversy.

Piracy is destroying the record industry
Artists and record companies alike have been complaining that illegal downloading is destroying their livelihood. Chief Executive of UK Music, Feargal Sharkey said: “When your products are being taken, for free, without your knowledge or consent, and on this scale, the consequences are grim.” UK Music wholeheartedly supports the bill, which they hope will encourage fans towards using legal services.
Additionally, Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesman for music retailer HMV, agrees that illegal downloading is a problem which is drastically impacting on the music industry. He said: “It would actually benefit [fans] in the long-term to support artists and labels via legal downloads as this helps to preserve and develop choice and variety for everybody across different music genres.” This sentiment is echoed throughout the industry, by many artists and record labels, for instance, Lily Allen famously stated “piracy is not the answer” in her campaign against illegal downloading in her blog called “It’s Not Alright.”

Illegal downloading prohibits new talent from flourishing
Meet Luke Leighfield. He is a budding musician trying to break his way in to the music industry. Frustratingly, people illegally download his music which means he cannot reap the benefits of his hard work. Despite the fact that he has been played on Radio 1 and performed at hundreds of gigs, he still cannot sell enough CD’s to remotely make a living. “If all those people who have downloaded my music illegally bought a CD, then I would be in a far better financial position.”

Luke supports the bill, and thinks it is a step in the right direction; however he has little faith that it will combat illegal downloading. He admitted that in the past he had illegally downloaded music files. “But now, there is no excuse for it”, he said. “Most bands on major labels have their music on Spotify so that people can hear the whole record before they buy it. So all those people who claim to download an album to supposedly check it out before later buying the album (if they ever do) no longer have an excuse for illegally downloading music.”

Spotify allows music to be streamed for free, and was established to offer music fans an alternative to piracy. The programme allows people to search for any artist or song, listen to their albums, and create play lists of their favourite music. Andres Sehr, spokesman for Spotify, said: “Over the past year we've seen a large number of users drop piracy altogether and use Spotify as their sole music source.” Some people, like Luke, think that now there is no excuse to illegally download. He reiterated: “If I like a band, I buy their CD. I consider anything else to be theft.”

Does piracy actually benefit the industry?
On the contrary, perhaps music benefits from an unregulated internet? Some musicians, such as Kate Nash, have been discovered by putting their music online for free. In a recent investigation, Demos discovered that those who illegally download music actually spend almost double on legitimate music than those who only buy legally; £77 and £44 per year respectively (Demos online poll). The record industry claims to lose around £200m per year thanks to illegal downloading. However, in 2008 £1.4bn was spent on live music. Perhaps it is fair to say that while the record industry is declining, the music industry is thriving? Also, if these findings are correct, and those who illegally download music actually spend the most on legitimate music, what will happen to the industry after their first rate customers are cut off?

Potential problems with the bill?
The new bill will also impact on the internet service providers (ISPs). A spokesman for TalkTalk, Steve Marinker, explained why they oppose the bill and warned about the impacts it could have on innocent people’s lives. “First of all, it’s totally impractical,” Mr Marinker began his rant about the bill. Every internet account holder has an IP address. If someone who is using that connection visits a site and illegally downloads, the copyright owner will be aware of it and can access their contact details under the new law. They can then make the ISP cut off their customers. However, the system is flawed. Mr Marinker pointed out that although it may be the account holder who is illegally downloading, it could also be a hacker, or someone in a household who is using the IP address.

Mr Marinker continued: “Innocent until proven guilty. That’s what our law is based on. But this system bypasses the courts; under this new law, the ISPs can cut off customers without proving in court that they are guilty of illegally downloading.” Mr Marinker explained how a similar law, passed in France, actually resulted in an increase in illegal downloading. He concluded: “It’s completely and utterly futile… Far from curbing illegal downloading, it will probably encourage more of it.”

Will the bill work?
The Cardiff students agreed; this behaviour is embedded in a whole generation of music fans. But would they be deterred if they were threatened to be cut off? “Probably. Or I’d cover my IP address…” said one student, meaning they will remain anonymous and avoid detection by record companies if they continue to download illegally. Computer savvy fans will beat the system and will always find a way to download music for free. But ultimately, cutting perpetrators off from the internet, if they are indeed guilty, could be the answer and the bill should not be completely disregarded. The Digital Economy Bill might just do the trick; as one student said: “The internet is essential to every day living, and to be cut off would be a disaster. If they threatened to disconnect me it would probably stop me doing it again.”

Radio Podcasts

2010-03-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

At the end of each radio news day, we produced podcasts which reflected on the most topical news of the day.

Our first podcast, for South Coast Radio, sounded very scripted. We were all uneasy about going live on air without having a script in front of us, so we all made sure we each had a script.

I think that it lacked entertainment, and seemed to cram too much information in. It sounded far too regimented and we decided that in future we would improvise more, and not bombard listeners with information.

Our podcast for Talbot FM however was much more successful. We were much more confident this time, and decided to focus on just three topics. We would have a few snippets of information about the story and then a few people would discuss it. For example, Hayley was presenting, and she anchored the podcast. She introduced the story on the Brit Awards, for example, and me and Adam debated the show. Because this was ad lib, the podcast flowed much easier, was lively and was more interesting.

Both podcasts were successful because the presenter acted as an anchor and so there was a definite structure to the broadcasts. Both podcasts also included a variety of extended clips which we had gathered throughout the day, including vox pops, professional opinion and IRN sound bites. The topics we discussed in both podcasts suited the target audience; in particular the podcast for Talbot FM was aimed at younger listeners, discussing jobs and the Brit Awards. However, a weakness of the broadcasts is that we focussed too heavily on the Dorset region and neglected other areas which the radio station covers. In future, the podcast should be structured so that it appeals to all listeners.

Insurance for all dogs... Will it make a difference?

2010-03-09T13:52:00.001-08:00

Today the government have announced that they may introduce new laws to force all dog owners to insure their pets, just in case they bite a human or another animal. They have also talked about putting microchips in dogs, and making every owner register their dog.
Will this make any difference? It is probably a good idea for people to register their dogs; a benefit is that victims of dog attacks can claim compensation, which is a good thing. My neighbour and her dog were attacked by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier a few weeks ago. The Staffy almost killed her dog, and it re-fractured her broken arm. She believes that the bill is a step in the right direction, because if it were in force now she would be able to claim compensation.
However, forcing people to insure their dogs will not stop dog attacks occurring which is the issue that ultimately needs to be addressed. Instead, this law will just protect the owner if a dog attack occurs and the victim wishes to sue. If anything, we should be thinking about harsher ways to deal with people who own dangerous dogs and do nothing about it, or those who continue to breed illegal dogs. We should also try to stop incapable people owning dogs by having official licenses, where authorities can analyse homes and see whether people are fit to own a dog. This would probably stop countless cases of cruelty to animals too. Having a dog is not a right, as far as I’m concerned. It is a privilege.
If the owner is worried that their dog may attack, they should probably have insurance anyway, for the sake of their pet, in case they become ill and face a hefty vet bill. Also, if someone knows that their dog is aggressive with other dogs or people, they should keep their dog on a lead or make it wear a muzzle. If they choose not to, they will have to face the repercussions, which should be very serious.
This news item corresponds to a television feature I am currently working on, where I am looking at dangerous dogs. Having researched the topic, Staffordshire Bull Terriers do have a reputation as being vicious, however the nature/nurture argument comes in to play here.
A notoriously dangerous dog which is brought up well can be a happy, loving pet. I spoke to a lady from Wimborne today who has owned a Staffy for nine years. She told me that her dog has never bitten anyone, and was a lovely pet. We carried out the interview with the dog sat on my lap and I can vouch that it was a friendly pooch.
Yet at a dog class I attended this evening, a couple who were trying to train their Staffy were failing miserably because he was just too aggressive. Is this proof that all Staffy's are inherently aggressive? There is a lot of controversy over this.
Staffys are increasingly being used as status symbols by gangs, and a new trend is emerging which sees dogs being used as weapons, or in underground fighting clubs, which is making the problem worse. The government needs to tackle this issue, and forcing insurance upon dog owners seems like a pathetic attempt which will not get to the root of the problem, that the wrong people are getting hold of these dogs.
Additionally, those careless people who do not have insurance are unlikely to suddenly pay for insurance under the new law. So although this law is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t go nearly far enough in tackling the issue.

Bournemouth Triangle to be revitalised

2010-03-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

Work will start this month to turn Bournemouth Triangle in to "an attractive pedestrian-friendly area."

As part of the new town centre vision, a new sitting wall will be implemented with access to a larger green area. Trees will be planted, new and wider pavements will be installed, there will be new lighting arrangements and the area in general will be tidied.

Following public consultation during September and October last year, local people asked for a new green space and better disabled parking.

Leader of the project Cllr Bob Chapman said: "Local people and traders in the area have told us how they want the Triangle to look and feel and I am extremely pleased that we are now able to move forward with this project. We want to create a public space that visitors, residents and local businesses will find more accessible. The Triangle has great potential and the aim is to create an attractive space where events, markets and informal recreation can take place."

The council have said that they are going to remove two trees which will "suffer disturbance" during the improvement works, and will also remove some small trees which are in a "poor condition."

Work is expected to be completed by July, in time for the Bourne Free event.
The developments will probably cost the council nearly £275,000.

Dorset's youngsters uni bound

2010-03-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

Children as young as seven might be donning a cap and gown next year, if they graduate from Dorset's first Children's University.

The Children's University is a national trust, funded from government endorsed charities, and Jae Harris, who is managing the new university, has brought it to Christchurch.

"The university aims to show children that learning is not just confined to the school day. It can occur anywhere and anytime", Mr Harris said.

The CU is aimed to engage seven to fourteen year olds in out of school activities. The sessions will take place in various sports centres, after school clubs or museums which will be classed as official CU learning destinations.

The children will acquire rewards for their efforts. After 30 hours of participation, they receive a bronze level, after 65 hours a silver level, and after 100 hours a gold level award. Each child will be rewarded with a certificate and will be able to graduate in their cap and gowns.

Mr Harris added: "Research shows that children learn 15% of their knowledge in school, whilst the remaining 85% is learned outside of school. Hopefully the university will draw young people away from engaging in anti social or disruptive behaviour, and will increase their aspirations for the future."

The CU aim to support those children who are not especially academic, or do not engage with school very well.

This different approach to learning lets children decide what and how they want to learn, and has been praised by Christchurch Borough Council. Cllr Mike Turvey said: "This is an exciting and innovative way of building a better future for the young people of Christchurch and eventually Dorset. It is about raising the aspirations of the young people along with their families and their schools." Mr Turvey has been appointed chancellor of the CU.

The Mayor of Christchurch, Cllr David Flagg, said: "I think this is an excellent opportunity for youngsters to learn extra-curricular activities which will give them a greater foundation of common-sense knowledge and experience."

The CU has been granted £29, 000 to set up the organisation, and is hoping to attract around 700 children in the initiative.

It will be launched on Saturday with running a quiz trail around Christchurch, with the opportunity of winning a Nintendo Wii.

New fund for Dorset's unemployed youth

2010-03-06T07:25:00.000-08:00

Over 500 jobs will be created for young people across Dorset following the introduction of a new government fund.

The Future Jobs Fund granted the area £3.4m of its £1bn budget to create 525 new jobs for people aged between 18 and 24 who have been out of work for over six months.
Economic development manager from Dorset council, David Walsh, said: "The scheme is tremendously valuable. Young people will be able to make themselves more employable in future by having valuable work experience, and more importantly, a reference at the end of the placement. Some might even be offered permanent work."

Local businesses and organisations have created jobs for young people in gardening departments, football clubs, housing agencies, museums and the health service, among others.

The fund will provide up to £6,500 for each job that is created, based on a minimum of 25 hours per week at minimum wage. The money will support the salary costs and any material or supervision costs required to undertake the job.

Jobcentre Plus will be working with the target group of young people, identifying suitable employment opportunities offered by organisations through the fund.
Emma Stevens, 23, from Corfe Mullen, who has been struggling to find a job for the last year and a half, thinks the scheme is a good idea. "But they need to make sure that the people who really need the jobs get them and that they are in the right sector," she said.

Dorset council are hoping the scheme will have young unemployed people working by April.

Radio Newsday 17.02.10: Talbot FM.

2010-02-19T08:29:00.000-08:00

Similar to Fire Radio, Talbot FM has a much younger target audience of 16-30 year olds and covers the South East Dorset area; factors which we considered throughout our broadcasts. Fire Radio has a relatively young audience and the news they broadcast is typically aimed at young people, concerning topics like music, graduate jobs and items which will impact on young people. As editor I started the day by assessing news worthiness of ideas, delegating stories and organising the running order. Good quality news must be relevant to listeners so we localised the national stories and included some local stories, such as the re-launching of a community project, the protest on the Wessex Way, and road works on the A338.

Considering the young target audience, a story concerning the Brit awards would be entertaining. It is important to draw the listener in immediately, therefore we took a fresh angle on this story and looked at how the awards had affected album sales rather than simply list who won what at the ceremony, which other local radio stations were doing. Similarly, the McQueen inquest would have been interesting to fashion students, and we spoke to the design school at Bournemouth Arts College University to localise the story.

Most of our stories in this first bulletin were local or national with a local angle, for example the national unemployment figures were broken down regionally. One of the BBC’s fundamental editorial guidelines is accuracy; therefore we checked the stories we used were correct using many reliable sources and verified facts by using official unemployment figures.

We were fully prepared for our first broadcast; the bulletin was presented clearly and we did not encounter any problems. We had a few voice clips and sports news included in the broadcast. Overall I was very pleased with this bulletin:

In preparation for the second bulletin, I made sure that stories were already lined up before 11:00 for the 12:00 broadcast so that we were not rushed or left without stories. We changed the running order by including different stories; we decided to drop the council story in particular because there were no developments. However, Edward Sherry from BBC Solent recommended that in a professional radio newsroom, most big stories would be carried through all bulletins, because audiences tend to only listen for a certain period of time and may miss other bulletins. In future, I shall make sure that headlining stories are carried through.

The bulletin included two new clips which were edited in time for the broadcast, and new local sports stories. Our feedback was very positive; Edward complimented the writing style of the traffic stories which I had written, and praised the presenting and time keeping:

Fortunately, our 1pm bulletin was longer so we could include more stories. This bulletin was also successful; it included a variety of stories, either new or ones we had used previously which were re-written with a fresh angle. Again, we had fresh clips and a voice piece:

All three news bulletins were successful because they were well planned, presented well, included a variety of stories and had plenty interesting, appropriate clips. In future bulletins, I will ensure that there is more continuity throughout, for example, using the same introduction, especially stating the time. Edward also stressed the importance of signing off effectively to make the listener want to listen to the next bulletin, which I will consider in future.

TV Newsday 2: Rolling News

2010-02-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

TV as a medium allows the audience to see for themselves what is happening in the world around them, and make their own opinions or judgements about what they see. It came to our attention that a new council funding system will result in some pre-schools in the area facing closure or losing staff. Considering this story is relevant to local families, we visited one of the affected pre-schools to find out more. We spoke to the leader of the pre-school, interviewed him, and took some great GVs of the school. Pictures sometimes tell the story more powerfully than words; the images of the children’s play areas and work they have done are poignant considering the playgroup may close.

We also went to Bournemouth high street to film GVs of Skipton Building Society, to correspond to a bulletin concerning the bank. As a news story, it was in the interest of the public as the bank had revealed some customer’s bank details accidentally to others. This is another reason why TV is an appropriate medium to report the news; arguably pure storytelling of this news item without footage would have been fairly boring to an audience, whereas the pictures add interest as people can see exactly which building society was concerned. When we arrived back at university, I edited the pictures of the building society and scripted some national news bulletins.

We worked extremely well as a team, as we all met our deadlines and we were in the studio for a rehearsal an hour before we were broadcasting, with an abundance of pictures. Effective teamwork is essential, as we each rely on one another to make the programme a success. Today we were presenting the rolling news programme, and I was one of the presenters. After a few run-throughs, we corrected mistakes in the autocue. At the last minute, we received some breaking news which we included in the bulletin. By adding a story into the running order, this reset the autocue, which coincidentally reset all of the changes we had made. This unfortunately resulted in a few problems during the live broadcast, but overall the news programme went well.

TV news programmes are more interesting as the news can be presented in a variety of interesting ways. One strength of the programme was that it covered a variety of news stories. The programme contained a mix of oovs, upsots, packages, a phone interview, and a third presenter who provided the background on the lead story on Alzheimer's disease. Accidentally, we left a symbol on the screen for the entire broadcast stating that the show was live, however the phone interview was pre-recorded and this would be seen as deceiving audiences.

The final news programme exceeded my expectations. I was concerned that we would not all be able to meet the deadline, however through working as a team we managed it. I am pleased that our group were in the studio so well in advance, although it was a shame we had a mishap with the autocue in the live broadcast.

> iNews 3rd Feb 2010 from Adam Parker on Vimeo.

Radio Newsday 1: South Coast Radio

2010-02-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

Our target audience was for people aged over forty over a wide range including Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Since we were broadcasting for South Coast Radio, we considered the regions and tried to make ourselves relevant to different areas by covering stories in various places, however due to the lack of interesting stories around, this meant that we focused a bit too heavily on Dorset stories. We also mentioned Weymouth, the Isle of Wight and Bournemouth, and in the sports news we mentioned Southampton FC, however ideally a radio broadcast would have a much broader range to include as many listeners as possible, and in future I would try to achieve this.

Because the media is constantly changing it is important to accurately report the news so that a radio station is trusted. The BBC aim to inform, educate and entertain audiences, and we attempted to embody these news values into our bulletins, by discussing stories which were relevant to our audiences. We discussed stories which were in the public interest, such as Holocaust Memorial Day and also included lighter stories such as sport to entertain.

A station with a similar geographical audience range, such as BBC Solent, tends to include local and national stories, and commercial stations such as Heart FM usually lead with regional stories. We led with a story about the Iraq inquiry, as this had been covered in all local and national radio stations and was the main story of the day. Some stories we included throughout the day such as Holocaust Memorial Day, the end of the recession, Haiti, and speed cameras were all national stories with a local spin; for example, we focused on events happening locally marking Holocaust Memorial Day. The other stories we included were regional. Considering it was a particularly challenging radio news day, I think we did well with these stories.

I did not make any mistakes when reading the script, so I am pleased with how the first broadcast went overall, although we realised that certain scripts needed tweaking. For example, the recession story lost it's immediacy as it started with yesterday’s news. It is important that radio scripts are as polished as possible; if a story starts with the word “yesterday”, listeners will lose interest, therefore we should avoid this in future.

The second bulletin also went rather well. I think I spoke clearly, although I did stumble over a few words in a story. We were frustrated with the 1.30pm bulletin. An error in the audio clip line up meant that the clip did not correspond with the story. Also, the sport was lacking the audio the reporter had prepared, therefore the sports news was cut short. We were late getting into the studio and could not check that everything was in the correct order, which impacted on our broadcast:

We were very ambitious, and mistakes were unfortunately made during the 1:30pm bulletin, however we definitely learnt from the incident to make sure we have all the scripts printed at least fifteen minutes before the broadcast and to double check the audio clips on Burli to make sure they correspond with the clips.

REVIEW: Journey’s End at The Lighthouse Theatre

2010-02-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

Eighty-two years since its first performance in London, the renowned wartime play Journey’s End is still touching, heartbreaking, and relevant. As dead soldiers have been paraded in Wooten Basset upon their return from Afghanistan, Journey’s End reminds audiences about the sacrifices made in 1914-1918.

After the war, R. C. Sherriff’s play was wrongly interpreted as “anti-war”, and it is obvious why. Harrowing screams of pain, sporadic whimpers of fear, and endless, tedious waiting, all seem to emphasise the futility of war. Yet, this was not Sheriff’s intention; camaraderie, friendship and love are entrenched into the play and shed a positive light on the war.

Based on Sherriff’s own experiences, Journey’s End is set in the trenches at Saint-Quentin, France, towards the end of the First World War. The play follows the lives of six officers awaiting a German offensive, focusing on one particular officer, Stanhope.

Once a fine young gentleman at school and an exceptional “rugger” player, after three years of war he is an alcoholic veteran, and must inspire his comrades to face their imminent deaths. Time passes slowly as the soldiers wait, before racing to a heart wrenching climax as the soldiers face their “journey’s end.”

Directed by Alastair Whatley, the performances were magnificent; in particular, Rhys King’s portrayal of the agitated Hibbert was sensational and heartbreaking. Tom Hackney’s performance of Raleigh was also thoroughly compelling, and Graham Seed (Osbourne) and Christopher Harper (Stanhope) were consistently strong throughout the play.

The set was simple, but the atmosphere was remarkably believable. The lighting and sound effects complemented each other to produce frightening action scenes, and the smell of tobacco filled the theatre, enveloping the audience and drawing us in to their tiny dugout.

Digital Broadcasting Newsday 1: Flagship Programme.

2010-01-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

During our news day we successfully produced a magazine style programme with one presenter and several packages. Primark had announced it was going to replace BHS in Bournemouth. Our programme covers news in Bournemouth, Poole and the New Forest; therefore it was a relevant story as it affected local shoppers. After filming a few GVs of the area and shots of the front of the shop, I was hoping to interview the manager of BHS; however the staff were unable to talk about the issue. A drawback of using TV as a medium is that it is difficult to convince people to talk to you, and it is very time consuming. However, the benefits of using TV as a medium outweigh the drawbacks. For example, pictures can convey where the new Primark is going to be, and it is more interesting for an audience to have something to look at. I filmed a few vox pops, asking people what they thought about Primark replacing BHS, remembering the rule of thirds and looking space, and being careful to alternate sides when interviewing different people. I headed back to university with my footage.

When I returned, I was told that firemen were on the beach testing out their new equipment. This was a breaking news story and we were hoping for an exclusive, so a colleague and I went down to film the story. We interviewed Stuart Gillian from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, who explained exactly what they were doing on the beach. I managed to film some great shots of the firemen wading through the water, testing their equipment. In the middle of the test, Mr Gillian came out of the water to explain what they were doing. This turned out to be a good package and appropriate for TV because it showed what exactly the firemen were doing and had some nice pictures of the beach, which would be interesting to a local audience.

Firemen at Bournemouth beach from Emma Wilson on Vimeo.

I captured the footage off my camera, wrote a presenter cue and editorial script and edited the package. Unfortunately the first interview was fairly dark (as the light was coming from behind the interviewee) and in future I will bring a reflector on location so that I can set up good shots regardless of where the light is coming from. In the second clip when Mr Gillian is explaining what they are doing, he refers to “woolly bears” which is a colloquial term for their uniforms, and it is not clear to viewers what they are referring to. In future I will cut out parts of a clip that do not make sense to an audience.

Our news programme met my expectations; we were organised, worked well as a team and were set up in the studio an hour before our broadcast, therefore we had the opportunity to have a few run-throughs so that our live broadcast would go smoothly. I was operating the autocue system so I rehearsed with the presenter to make sure the scripts were in the right order and to check we had a good speed. Overall our live broadcast was very successful and I am very pleased with how our first television news day turned out.

iNews 20th January 2010 from Adam Parker on Vimeo.

First Time Football.

2010-01-17T05:08:00.000-08:00

New Term.

As part of a new module at university I will be experiencing all the different roles that collectively make up a newsroom. This week I was allocated the role of a sports journalist. Having never seen a football match in my life, this was definitely going to be a challenge.

I attended a match between Bournemouth and Bury at Dean Court in Bournemouth. I had worked very hard researching the teams and information surrounding the players and the club before I went. I even taught myself the offside rule...

So here is my first ever sports review, from the perspective of an amateur:

Bournemouth Buryed.

Bournemouth suffered a setback as Bury’s terrific away record was maintained when they beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Saturday. Despite being without their key striker Bishop, the Shakers handed out a fourth home defeat for the Cherries.

Dawson netted just nine minutes into the match putting them in a comfortable position.
Bournemouth had plenty of possession after this; Goulding’s header almost drew the Cherries level, but Brown’s fingertip save prevented this.

Worrall scored Bury’s second goal seven minutes before half time, and Lowe had a goal disallowed.

The Cherries came back stronger in the second half. Manager Eddie Howe subbed in Fletcher and McQuoid for Goulding and Igoe; and for a brief period the club icon threatened Bury’s Futcher for the first time in the match, and the crowd were roused.

Pitman scored a consolation goal for Bournemouth during injury time, proving too little too late. The final score saw a home defeat for Bournemouth 1-2.

Manager Howe was pleased with the players’ performance: “It’s the best they’ve played for a while.” Howe singled out Feeney’s performance as excellent and Pitman’s goal was a deserved reward for his efforts.

Feeney acknowledged that a 1-2 defeat at home is a setback, but is looking forward to the upcoming matches: “I expect the next three games will get some good results.” Referring to the crowd booing at half time, Feeney urged the crowd to support Bournemouth more: “The fans can’t play for us, but a little bit of help won’t go amiss.”

This is an example of a radio bulletin I produced in university:

2010-01-13T04:19:00.001-08:00

WAGAMADS Charity is Launched

2009-12-15T11:35:00.000-08:00

A mother of two Royal Marines from Ferndown is launching a new charity which will support families who struggle when their loved ones are posted to Afghanistan.

WAGAMADS, established by Julie Marchant offers emotional support to the “wives and girlfriends and mums and dads” and anyone else affected by deployment.

“It might seem silly to other people, but it means a lot to us,” said Mrs Marchant. “We know how important it is to get their birthday cake to them on time. We all know what each other are going through.”

Tony Wright, a spokesman for the Royal British Legion Women’s Section said “It’s often the case that the people who are left behind are neglected, particularly those who are newly widowed. It’s an area that really needs help.”

The first project the WAGAMADS are working on is furnishing property bought by the Ministry of Defence for relatives who are visiting injured troops at Selly Oaks hospital.

Corporal Gavin Marchant, 23, from Ferndown, said the charity provides what is missing from official aid. “The welfare services set up at each camp are really good, but they have limited funds, so they can’t pay for things like accommodating families visiting injured relatives.”
Mr Marchant added “When one of my friends was injured in Afghanistan, his mother who lives in Canada was unable to get to England quickly. She was so grateful that the WAGAMADS could step in and support him, giving him home comforts until she arrived.”

Treasurer of the WAGAMADS, Michelle Marchant, 21, from Ferndown, added that the charity offers whatever people need. “Everyone handles deployment differently. Some people don’t like talking about it, so we’re also here to take their minds of things.”

Former RAF pilot, Brian Mather, 75, from Wimborne said “there weren’t any services like this when I was young. There was no support for the women left at home, so a charity like this is a good idea.”

The charity has been inundated with support from well wishers, including encouragement from Help for Heroes who wish the WAGAMADS “the best of luck”.

Links:
WAGAMADS website: http://www.wagamads.co.uk

My Adventure in Thailand.

2009-09-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

The highlight of my summer has been travelling in Thailand. With my best friends, gorgeous weather, beautiful beaches and wonderful people… I had the time of my life!

BANGKOK

Arriving in Bangkok, we were met by a taxi driver who we couldn’t communicate with. He couldn’t understand where we wanted to go, and couldn’t read a map, but nevertheless, we started driving. Ten minutes into our journey, our driver starts behaving oddly – wriggling in his seat, twitching his head and making strange noises… Then he got out of the car in the middle of a traffic jam, and farted! He got back in and said “oooh, bad tummy!!” Another 5 minutes later he was sweating profusely and moving about in his seat. He pulls over the car and sprints to a building, crouches down and…. (!) Then we noticed he’d left a little wet patch on his seat too!! (!) This was our first experience of Thailand :)
I have never experienced weather like in Thailand, the air is so humid and I could barely breathe with my bag on my back! Our hotel, when we finally arrived, was gorgeous (and air-conditioned!) We decided to go and explore the area, and we had only just left our hotel when we had a run in with a stray dog - which scarred us for life as we all thought we were going to be eaten alive. Forgetting that incident, we had a great first night on Khaosan Road. I ordered a Green Thai curry and can only advise other people with a sensitive palate not to! I never learned my lesson the whole time I was in Thailand and continued to order the curries.
On our first full day in Bangkok, we went to the Chatuchak market – which sells everything – even puppies!! But it was so incredibly hot inside this market, and I can’t even describe the state of the toilets… Then we went on a river tour around Bangkok on a longtail boat. You can see two completely different sides to Thailand, the grandeur of the hotels and temples and utter poverty in the shanty towns. We even saw the back of a prison which looked terrifying and the last place on earth I would want to end up! In the evening we went for a few drinks on Khaosan Road again and did some more shopping.

KOH PHANGNAN

The next morning, we were up bright and early to travel to the South East Coast of Thailand. We were travelling in style and flying from Bangkok to Surat Thani. (Although, we had just heard that there had been an inland plane crash in Ko Samui, carrying British passengers, so we weren’t exactly calm travellers!!) Arriving in Surat Thani we caught a bus to the port, but our bus was late leaving so we missed our connecting boat… And ended up waiting for 3 hours for the next boat to Koh Phangnan. Eventually, we arrived on the island and were bundled into the back of a jeep – literally, 17 of us squashed in with all our backpacks! (They have a distinct lack of health and safety in Thailand). We met some lovely people on the way to our accommodation, and had one of those oh-I-hope-this-isn’t-our-stop moments when we arrived…. Only it was. And no one else got out of the jeep. It was pitch black - we literally couldn’t see two feet in front of us, but we were taken by a lovely Thai lady to our hut, which seemed rather dismal. The room could easily fit 5 people, but my friends and I were all scared so we climbed into the same bed and huddled – safety in numbers! The hut seemed really fragile and it was a violently windy night; the door barely locked and we were terrified we were going to be broken into! We decided to sleep with the lights on (again, for safety. You are much safer in the light.).All huddled together, we were starting to relax… and as if on cue…there was a power cut. All screaming we jumped out of bed and were about to go to reception when… a dog barked. Outside our hut, TWO dogs were growling and pacing about our balcony! Do we sit in fear in the dark? Or take our chances with the dogs? (Given our past near death experience with the dog, we took our chances with the dark). We vowed to leave in the morning, and fell asleep to the light of our phones…
In the morning I was the first to wake. Disheartened, I went to go outside (the dogs had gone). I walked outside and I couldn’t believe my eyes – we were in paradise! Our hut was right on the beach, the tide was out and was bright blue; the sand was white and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I grabbed the other girls and we had a little victory dance celebrating things weren’t so bad after all… We spent our first day in paradise swinging on hammocks, lying in the hot sea, drinking cold drinks, eating gorgeous food, meeting the nicest people... I have never been happier!
On the first night on the island we went to a pirate party, which is a pre celebration to the full moon party! This is where we had our first experience with a Thai bucket (I’ll stick to my Bacardi Breezers thanks!) We met so many great people and I was overwhelmed at how many nice people you meet when you’re travelling! We had only been in Thailand for a few days but had met so many great people from all over the world!
Our first experience of a Thai monsoon came one day while we were sunbathing. Thick, dark blue-grey clouds grow bigger and bigger, and all of a sudden the wind picks up. Me, sensing trouble, said “I’m going back to the hut!” The other girls weren’t so smart and got caught in the rain, haha! All of a sudden the heavens opened and rain the size of golfballs came thundering down, and the wind was so strong I thought our hut was going to blow away like Dorothy’s home in the Wizard of Oz!! Then, in true British tourist style, we decided to sit out the monsoon sitting in the sea :)
We spent the next few days and nights with people we had met from the surrounding beach huts. It was so beautiful there I truly never wanted to leave, and the people we had met were brilliant. We went to Haad Rin beach the night before the full moon party and had a great night partying the night away on the beach. The following night was the full moon, so we had pre-drinks at our hut and travelled down to the south of the island to Haad Rin beach again. I have never experienced anything like the full moon party – 30,000 people on the same beach all partying the night away! One of our friends thought it would be a good idea to jump a skipping rope which was on fire… needless to say he sustained a nasty burn and a hefty hospital bill!! We were supposed to be checking out the next morning, however after arriving home at 5am we were in no state to move out in a few hours, so we stayed another day. We ate in a fancy restaurant that night which is where I ate my best meal in Thailand – a red curry (which surprisingly didn’t blow my head off). We spent the night drinking beers on the beach with all our friends and watching the moonlight dance on the waves…. Paradise!

KO SAMUI

In the morning we forced ourselves to say farewell and left Koh Phangan. We caught a boat to the next island, Ko Samui where we were meeting some more friends from Uni. We found a hotel, dumped our bags and went to explore! Ko Samui is more tourist-orientated, with McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Burger King lining the streets. It had a lively nightlife and once again we met some great people. The clubs were great too, we danced the night away in a club called Mango which was great. The beach was beautiful, however slightly spoiled by all the tourists, and it was not as peaceful as Koh Phangnan. We were constantly hassled by local Thai people to buy their jewellery or have an ice cream! Once our friends had arrived and we’d had a lovely reunion, we organised our first day trip…
The Marine National Park is a group of around 48 little islands all grouped together and it is the most beautiful place in the world I have ever seen. The views were absolutely breathtaking, and we stopped at the first island to swim in the sea, sunbathe and kayak around the islands. Words cannot describe the beauty of this place! We all got back on the boat and travelled around to see some more islands. We were allowed to jump off the boat and swim to shore, which was a slight disaster as I very nearly drowned. Fortunately my friends were swimming the 20minute swim with me and they helped me out… until I genuinely thought I saw a shark coming towards me…. I screamed as loud as I could and consequently had everybody screaming and swimming for their lives…. I was even shouting the people on the beach for help…. Oh how they laughed when we walked onto the shore unharmed and very embarrassed!! In the afternoon we climbed a mountain (which is no easy feat in scorching heat!) At the top you reach what is called the view point, where you can see most of the islands and the Emerald Lake. The lake is preserved by the national park and visitors aren’t allowed in it, but it is stunning and luminous green – absolutely breathtaking! Shame that one of my friends had a call of the wild up there in front of her friends and strangers…. Bless her, she couldn’t help it, we’d drunk a lot that day!! :)
The next day we went on an elephant trek – I was a little concerned about agreeing to do this as I thought the elephants would be badly treated, but they weren’t – the owners really cared for their elephants and had worked with them for years and years. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them though, not being able to roam free but it was a consolation that the owner truly loved his elephant and had looked after her for 15 years!

KO TAO

After spending around 5 days in Ko Samui we journeyed to the next island, Ko Tao. Arriving at Ko Tao was a stressful experience – the phrase “no room at the inn” embodied all new meaning! We were wandering from place to place just looking for a place to sleep for the night! Eventually we found a place, which was a relief – no one wants to traipse around with a massive bag on their back! It wasn’t a bad room, but it was very expensive and we were told we had to leave in the morning!! And go through the same process all over again! Trust me, it’s an absolute nightmare. Our friends weren’t so lucky and ended up staying the night on the floor of a restaurant! The following morning was very stressful but we did find a place in the end, so we could finally relax. Although there were 5 of us squashed in to 2 beds with no air-conditioning. And two of the girls weren’t very well. And Ko Tao was definitely the hottest island!! The weather in Ko Tao, as it had been for the rest of the time we had been there, was fantastic. The beach was beautiful too. We spent our days and evenings on the beach, every night there was a beach party and we randomly met up with the same people we had met on the first island!
We decided to go snorkelling one day, seeing as Ko Tao is famous for its diving. Our first stop to snorkel was called Shark Bay – and given our experience in Ko Samui, we weren’t too keen to jump in the water! In the end we all jumped in and had a splash around looking at the coral. I loved snorkelling! We were getting further and further away from the boat when all of a sudden my friend grabbed my arm and pointed forward. Gracefully swimming ahead of us was a shark. I was so excited! Surprisingly I wasn’t frightened, it seemed so agile and beautiful! And the local Thai people had told us that these sharks were vegetarian. :) So we swam back to the boat and told our friends, who proceeded to get out of the water. We wanted another look so we swam back, and saw it again! This time is was slightly closer but it was so amazing! On the way back to the boat I spotted this gigantic fish swimming slowly away. So I proceeded to swim after it…. Then it turned around displaying its gaping mouth with huge teeth like razors and swam in my direction… so I swam for my life back to the boat and decided not to follow any more big fish. The day ended in Nang Yuan Island, which is a strip of sand that connects two little islands. Myself and one of my friends thought we would climb up to the view point again on the top of one of these islands. Bad decision considering we were tired and boiling hot, and the climb was practically vertical. We were even pleading with people we came across to carry us!! We ended up collapsing in a fit of giggles but eventually struggled to the top – when the steps ended and we were literally climbing up boulders! The view was worth it, the islands looked so beautiful! We spent our last night drinking Changs on the beach (Thai beer) and talking about how much fun we’d had and how we really didn’t want to leave!! Then we went to a “lady-boy” Cabaret show…. Which was surprisingly a good laugh!

BANGKOK

We travelled up to Bangkok the next day. We caught a boat to Surat Thani again but had a nightmare at the port because I had lost my ticket! After lots of stressful running about and lots of sweating, they finally let me get on the bus, and 7 hours later we arrived in Bangkok. On our last day we visited the Grand Palace in the morning and saw the Emerald Buddha. The temples are so grand and ornate; made up of murals and mosaics they are an impressive sight, pictures will never do them justice! In the afternoon we went to MBK – an air-conditioned shopping centre which is the biggest shopping centre I have ever seen!! My friend was so happy to shop, she cried with joy! (Really). There were so many floors and areas and I spent a small fortune on presents and jewellery. On our last night we met up with some more friends from home who had been travelling separately. After dinner we went to the Baiyoke sky scraper and up to the 83rd floor – (yes my ears popped, and I felt a bit dizzy so had to sit down when I reached the top) but the panoramic views were incredible! Bangkok was lit up and the view was absolutely stunning. We stayed there for a while then returned to Khaosan road for more shopping and drinking.
So there we have it. That was my trip to Thailand this summer, I didn’t want it to end and I cannot wait to go back to Thailand and travel some more in the future. Thailand is such a beautiful place and the people are so wonderful that I cannot urge people enough to go and see it for themselves. I hope you enjoyed my blog, sorry if it was boring… I’m pretty sure that the only people who would have found this interesting are the people that went with me!