Looking for awesome multimedia training?
…then look no further!
If you’re in the UK in April and looking to skill up on your video shooting, editing and radio skills then the Journalism Weekender will be perfect for you.
News agency Feature Story News have team up with Newsleader Consultancy to offer an awesome weekend of hands on training on professional camera and audio skills. And I’m happy to announce I’ve jumped on board to help out over the course of the weekend as well.
According to the site, you’ll get a lot out of it:
…sessions on writing and presenting as well as the skills of multi-media working, including using social media; Practical assignments in either TV or radio; One to one coaching including CV building; Final session on marketing yourself to the media market.
Tickets are on a 20% discount ’til end of play Friday so if you’re thinking about it, think quick!
More training
On top of this, I’ve also been invited to join the KM Group of newspapers & radio stations in Kent later this month to share advice on multimedia, video journalism and making the most out of social media.
If you’re interested in finding out more, drop me a line!
Photo Credit: vinodvv aka vcube on Flickr
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10 trends in journalism in 2010
It’s that time of year again…
After a turbulent year in the industry, I’ve had a good think and put together my top 10 trends for journalism for 2010, wrapped in a big shiny positive outlook. But rather than roll out another list, I thought I’d be a bit different and crack out some video. Enjoy!
And is there anything I’ve missed? Add it in the comments box!
5 even quicker ways to improve your newswriting
Not long ago I put down Three Ways to Instantly Improve your Newswriting.
It’s occured to me since, there are even more – even quicker – ways to instantly make your copy shine just that bit more.
Note: these ones are more for broadcasters, who write to be heard not read.
01. Get rid of “that”
Once you’ve written some copy, go through it and remove the word “that” and see what a difference it makes. For example:
“The International Monetary Fund has said that Britain will be hit hardest by the economic downturn.
It has predicted that the economy will shrink by over 2.8 percent in the next year.
Meanwhile the Institute for Fiscal Studies claims that the British government will be saddled with debt for the next 20 years.”
OK, so remove the “that”s and we’re left with something which slips off the tongue far more easily:
“The International Monetary Fund has said Britain will be hit hardest by the economic downturn.
It has predicted the economy will shrink by over 2.8 percent in the next year.
Meanwhile the Institute for Fiscal Studies claims the British government will be saddled with debt for the next 20 years.”
02. Contract words
This one is simple and should become automatic for broadcast writers. Contract everything where possible:
He is –> He’s
She will –> She’ll etc.
So our recession copy above can be improved further:
“The International Monetary Fund’s said Britain will be hit hardest by the economic downturn.
It’s predicted the economy will shrink by over 2.8 percent in the next year.
Meanwhile the Institute for Fiscal Studies claims the British government’ll be saddled with debt for the next 20 years.”
The only possible exception is ‘will’. It’s not so easy to contract that down – although I’ve done it after “government” in the example above.
03. Knock it all into the present tense
Especially the top line. News is about what’s happening now. If you can’t put your topline into the present tense, you need to find a new angle on the story. If you can’t do that, it’s time to can the story.
“The International Monetary Fund says Britain will be hit hardest by the economic downturn.
It’s predicting the economy will shrink by over 2.8 percent in the next year.
Meanwhile the Institute for Fiscal Studies claims the British government’ll be saddled with debt for the next 20 years.”
04. A new top line
Let’s be honest, this copy is pretty boring. More bad news about the economy. Instantly sharpen it up by sticking in a new top line – something short pacy, which sums up the whole story.
“Another headache for Gordon Brown tonight…
The International Monetary Fund says Britain will be hit hardest by the economic downturn.
It’s predicting the economy will shrink by over 2.8 percent in the next year.
Meanwhile the Institute for Fiscal Studies claims the British government’ll be saddled with debt for the next 20 years.”
05. Over is out
This is the one thing that turns me into a grammar nazi: the difference between “over” and “more than”.
When you’re talking about numbers, figures, statistics, you use more than. You can’t go over a number. You go over a hill.
So it’s “…the economy will shrink by more than 2.8 percent in the next year.”
Five quick steps and we’ve knocked that boring bit of econo-copy into shape. On top of that, I’d get rid of the long organisation names and replace a few ‘says’/’claims’ with ‘reckons’. But you get the point.
Any other tips you’ve picked up? Stick ’em in the comments box!
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