IN MANY professions there exist friendly and not-so-friendly rivalries - cabbies often butt heads with bus drivers, builders may groan when the building inspectors turn up and I've heard landlords of traditional pubs sometimes don't think kindly of 'hospitality managers' at national chains.
Journalism is no different. Our bete noir, our nemesis, and the Bluto to our Popeye is the press officer (anyone who thought I was going to say 'everyone else', see me after class).
We roll our eyes when we get press releases that are jargon-filled, poorly-written or lacking vital information, and we gnash our teeth when a PR man takes his sweet time when we ask for a comment or denies an interview with a VIP at the organisation at the centre of a story.
Angered by a lack of co-operation from a press officer, reporters may go out of their way to make their lives difficult, often by blowing stories involving their clients out of proportion (needless to say, this doesn't happen at the highly-professional Tribune!)
This attitude can spark a vicious circle as some press officers come to regard journos as untrustworthy muckrakers who twist the facts and stitch them up - hence the lack of co-operation.
Having done both jobs, I have seen that regarding the other side as 'the enemy' is counter-productive and, frankly, immature. There are many press officers I have a very good relationship with, even when dealing with a contentious issue, and they can even be a good source for stories when deadline looms.
Likewise, as a PR I was on good terms with a number of journalists, some of whom asked very difficult questions of my clients.
Reporters cannot blame a press officer for attempting to protect the reputation of their client - it is their job - and PRs cannot be angry when a journo attempts to bring their client to task when it is in the public interest - because that is theirs.
There will always be rivalry. Sometimes a newsman will have to hit a story with both barrels when faced with an unreasonable wall of silence and sometimes a PR will have to close ranks when hit with unfair accusations from a bullish reporter.
I still occasionally roll my eyes heavenward when faced with an obstructive press officer and my sympathy will always lie with the press, but I believe both sides can benefit from a little less hostility.
As Ralph Charell once said: "It is through co-operation, rather than conflict, that your greatest successes will be derived."
~ Sam Webb
The Tribune Office
...hard at work as always
Wednesday 16 April 2008
Tuesday 15 April 2008
The finer points of grammar
JOURNALISTS have to face many obstacles in their quest to become a good reporter.
Learning how to conduct incisive interviews, mastering 100wpm shorthand, nurturing the ability to drink beer.
But for a whole generation of scribes, one of the most difficult has to be learning correct grammar.
Unlike esteemed elderly - sorry, older - journalists like Steve Evans at the Nuneaton Telegraph and our grumpy yet eloquent sub editors, some of us were never trained in the finer points of split infinitives and past progressive tense.
In fact, most of us have trouble with a simple apostrophe.
I can clearly remember when I learnt how to use those tricky hovering commas correctly and it sure as hell wasn't at school.
The generation of reporters coming up behind me isn't much better, which shows how education standards have stalled.
Having said that there are a couple of people in the office who have no trouble - John "Scoop" Harris on the Bedworth Echo is meticulous when it comes to grammar, while southern softie Ed Stilliard is pretty good as well.
One comes from Beduth, the other from Sandhurst, so it's clearly nothing to do with wealth or where you live in the country.
Grammar and spelling are things we have to master.
As much as getting the story in the first place is important, you also have to be able to package it in the right way.
That means writing clear, succinct, "clean" copy, free of the kind of mistakes there's no excuse for.
If a reader can't understand your story, they'll just stop reading, and if they spot a grammatical or spelling error, they'll lose their faith in you.
And when your reputation as an honest reporter is one of your biggest assets, you can see how important the humble apostrophe can be.
By the way, anyone pointing out you shouldn't start sentences with "and" or "but" take note - there's still a thing called journalistic licence!
Learning how to conduct incisive interviews, mastering 100wpm shorthand, nurturing the ability to drink beer.
But for a whole generation of scribes, one of the most difficult has to be learning correct grammar.
Unlike esteemed elderly - sorry, older - journalists like Steve Evans at the Nuneaton Telegraph and our grumpy yet eloquent sub editors, some of us were never trained in the finer points of split infinitives and past progressive tense.
In fact, most of us have trouble with a simple apostrophe.
I can clearly remember when I learnt how to use those tricky hovering commas correctly and it sure as hell wasn't at school.
The generation of reporters coming up behind me isn't much better, which shows how education standards have stalled.
Having said that there are a couple of people in the office who have no trouble - John "Scoop" Harris on the Bedworth Echo is meticulous when it comes to grammar, while southern softie Ed Stilliard is pretty good as well.
One comes from Beduth, the other from Sandhurst, so it's clearly nothing to do with wealth or where you live in the country.
Grammar and spelling are things we have to master.
As much as getting the story in the first place is important, you also have to be able to package it in the right way.
That means writing clear, succinct, "clean" copy, free of the kind of mistakes there's no excuse for.
If a reader can't understand your story, they'll just stop reading, and if they spot a grammatical or spelling error, they'll lose their faith in you.
And when your reputation as an honest reporter is one of your biggest assets, you can see how important the humble apostrophe can be.
By the way, anyone pointing out you shouldn't start sentences with "and" or "but" take note - there's still a thing called journalistic licence!
Thursday 3 April 2008
Cubby learns the trade
MY CAREER as a cub reporter hasn't always gone as smoothly as I planned.
Despite all the fantastic advice from more established reporters - and by that I mean everyone in the office - and studying journalism at the University of Sheffield, it still seems that I can bungle the simplest of jobs.
You might not believe it but remembering to ask everyone you ever speak to their name, age and address is quite a task.
Well, you might believe it now you know I'm a student but I swear I am trying hard.
I've wanted to be a reporter, despite my better judgement and the pay situation, for as long as I can bear to think back.
My mum always used to tell me that I was good at business studies and I could get a really good job in the city, lots of money there.
But I decided that, although I would love not to have to worry about money, I would probably shoot myself in the head after a day in the world of business.
Saying that, journalism is not the least stressful of jobs.
There are deadlines, people who clearly don't want to give you the time of day and then, of course, there IS the time of day when you're trying to juggle 15 stories that just refuse to come together.
And then there's that sinking feeling you get as a cubby - which, by the way, has become my office nickname - when people are clearly running around you trying to clear up whatever mess you might have made this time.
My hat is definitely off to the amazing staff here who put so much time into teaching youngsters like me the tricks of the trade despite having work coming out of their ears.
But, after all that moaning, I wouldn't pick any other job in the world.
What other job lets you in on the secrets the rest of the world are waiting to hear?
Despite all the fantastic advice from more established reporters - and by that I mean everyone in the office - and studying journalism at the University of Sheffield, it still seems that I can bungle the simplest of jobs.
You might not believe it but remembering to ask everyone you ever speak to their name, age and address is quite a task.
Well, you might believe it now you know I'm a student but I swear I am trying hard.
I've wanted to be a reporter, despite my better judgement and the pay situation, for as long as I can bear to think back.
My mum always used to tell me that I was good at business studies and I could get a really good job in the city, lots of money there.
But I decided that, although I would love not to have to worry about money, I would probably shoot myself in the head after a day in the world of business.
Saying that, journalism is not the least stressful of jobs.
There are deadlines, people who clearly don't want to give you the time of day and then, of course, there IS the time of day when you're trying to juggle 15 stories that just refuse to come together.
And then there's that sinking feeling you get as a cubby - which, by the way, has become my office nickname - when people are clearly running around you trying to clear up whatever mess you might have made this time.
My hat is definitely off to the amazing staff here who put so much time into teaching youngsters like me the tricks of the trade despite having work coming out of their ears.
But, after all that moaning, I wouldn't pick any other job in the world.
What other job lets you in on the secrets the rest of the world are waiting to hear?
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