Working anything but 9 to 5...

IT'S been a hectic old week at news central, but we're just about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

There have been a few late nights and early mornings - all work-related, nothing at all to do with fun, you understand.

Last week's full council meeting was okay for, oh, the first three hours, but then the reporter's bench took the unanimous decision to down pens in the hope it might bring a swifter conclusion to affairs.

Half-an-hour later, and we were away.

It's a good trick and 90% of the time is one that's a sure-fire winner.

We're currently working a bit hand to mouth at the moment, because of the continued absence of reporter Ed Stilliard.

Incidentally, his nickname in the office is Eduardo - despite the fact that he's from Sandhurst, not Sao Paulo.

So of course he was the first person I texted while watching the Arsenal game last week.

Unfortunately, he couldn't shed any light on the link between the name Eduardo and broken legs. (For those out of the loop, he's currently recovering from two broken legs.)

Anyway, this week young Ed called to ask me to send him on some press releases by email, because he felt up to doing some work.

Ah, the wonders of modern technology. Someone 125 miles away can turn press releases into newspaper stories from the comfort of their wheelchair.

He did, however, warn me he might get tired and not be able to complete the task, but I guess that's what happens when you absent-mindedly leave several pints of your own blood on the A47.

Unfortunately for us, the work doesn't slow down and we still have the same amount of pages to fill, and the same amount of meetings and night jobs to attend.

This job has never been, and will never be, the subject of a Dolly Parton hit record.

It's one of the reasons we all signed up in the first place - the unpredictability and the sense that you never know what you'll be doing when you come in to work.

Take yesterday for example. I left work Tuesday night knowing exactly what I had to do the following day, and what stories were going where.

The next morning, I'm writing about an earthquake that shook every bed from Newcastle to Southampton.

It certainly keeps you on your toes - and journalists are nothing if not adaptable.

Personally I think I'm well-suited to the job - mainly because I've got the attention span of a goldfish!

Paper planes

WHEN we kicked off this blog I promised you some newsroom gossip and as regular readers will know, that's been in pretty short supply.

Well, it's about time I made up for that.

I'll start off with the young tyke sitting next to me, Bedworth Echo sports reporter Johnny Harris.

John-boy is the king of many things in our office, from the singing of football songs throughout the day (and I'm talking all day, every day) to philosophising about the wooing of women.

The latter involves a night watching football on the telly with a Chinese takeaway and a few beers.

It's the Bedworth way apparently, and it seems to have worked for him as he's been with his good lady for seven years.

But by far what John does best is annoy photographers. Admittedly, this isn't too hard as they are grumpy by
nature.

It's like the old adage about goalkeepers being crazy. Happy snappers (a phrase guaranteed to raise their blood pressure) are miserable so-and-sos by birth.

Having said that, the two lads in our office are pretty good on that score, but John knows how to find their photographic finger - it's like their Achilles heel, accept more annoying.

At any given time, John will have a mound of screwed up pieces of paper on his desk.

He stockpiles them for a time, balling up whatever waste paper he finds, then unleashes across the room at the photographic department.

He tries to find the most inopportune moment to do this, and generally succeeds.

Scoop, as he likes to call himself, also likes to make paper airplanes so for Christmas I bought him one of those desk calendars that has a different plane for every day of the year.

It has proved to be a rip-roaring success and our office can sometimes look like an airshow in miniature when we all let fly when the pressure of work becomes too much and we want a bit of a break.

It's the little things that get you through the day.

Newsrooms are quite different to your normal run-of-the-mill office, and that's part of why we love our jobs so much.

So if you see a low-flying paper airplane coming your way, it probably took off from here.

Jargon busters

IN THIS week's edition of the Tribune, we have two in-depth features on major issues affecting the area.

The first is about the proposal to co-locate North Warwickshire and Hinckley College and King Edward VI College on a new town centre site.

The second is about the new Virgin Trains timetable which will see a drastic reduction in fast trains to London from Nuneaton.

Both of these stories are having a major impact on people's lives.

The college could herald a bright new dawn for learners, but there are also concerns it could cause traffic chaos and parking havoc.

On the issue of trains, protestors believe that cutting fast services to London will seriously damage the local economy, not to mention inconvenience travellers.

Train bosses say it's all about demand, and we don't have enough of it.

Both these stories are complex and in circumstances like that, the key thing for journalists is to make sure everything is simple to understand.

You have to be a bit of a jack of all trades to be a reporter.

You must be able to understand everything from council agendas to law courts, and Mothers' Union reports to House of Commons debates.

Sometimes it's easy to get seduced by the jargon and terminology we have to deal with every day, and the danger is that we pass that on to the reader.

But we need to avoid using things like "traffic impact assessment", "capital receipts" and "regional spatial strategy".

Some people, used to working with these terms, will be fully aware of what they mean but a golden rule for journalists is never assume - it makes an ass out of you and me.

We try and simplify these kinds of phrases to get to the heart of the story.

That means we report the facts in an easy to read way, and that should mean you all get the information you need to keep informed on the issues at the heart of our community.

Never put all your stories in one basket...

I'VE been in journalism now for 12 years and in that time I've seen an awful lot of changes.

Although the essentials of our trade are a pen and a shorthand notepad, we have become increasingly reliant on technology.

In my first job, scalpels were as popular in the editorial department as they are in an operating theatre.

That's because when stories had been subbed and pictures sized, they would be printed off on special paper called bromide.

It then became an exercise in jigsaw completion. The stories and photos would be cut out with the help of a very sharp scalpel, then arranged on a piece of card that represented a single page, with columns marked on to aid design.

These would then be driven by van to the printing press.

At my next job, things took a slight step forward.

Our stories from the Nuneaton Evening Telegraph could be sent via computer to the head office in Coventry - but the catch was only one person could transmit at a time.

That meant when you had completed a story, you had to shout "anyone sending?" at the top of your voice, then go for it if they weren't.

The problem was, some people used to forget this vital step of the process. Naming no names, but Derek Brown was the main culprit.

If you tried to send when someone else was, it would mess up both procedures and you'd have to start all over again, furiously typing transmission codes into your computer.

Eventually, we were given new computers with, to our amazement, personal e-mail addresses and internet access.

Since then, news gathering has become far more of a reactive process, with most stories or tip-offs coming in by e-mail, closely followed by phone calls. Faxes and snail mail trail in behind.

It's great from a speed point of view, and can make life a whole lot easier - not to mention kinder on the planet.

But if you have a tendency to be a big clumsy oaf, like I am on the odd occasion, it can spell disaster.

At any given time I have at least 30 stories on the go via my e-mail.

So when you wipe out every folder in your system with one errant click of the mouse, well, the shock can leave even me speechless.

When it happens on deadline day, stay well away.

We've never put out a blank newspaper yet, though, so rest assured your Tribune will be there in all its glory next week.

Busier than a busy bee on a very busy day...

TO SAY the last week has been a bit of a whirl would be a huge understatement.
As we journalists are known more for sensationalising stories than playing them down, I shall go the other way and say it's been the busiest working week for anyone, ever.
There's one reason for this I can tell you about, and one I can't because it's a secret. Hee.
The first is Ed Stilliard.
My reporter friend and colleague from the Bedworth Echo was tootling home on his Vespa last Wednesday when he collided with a car at traffic lights in Leicester.
Note that I said "collided with". We can't say one person hit another, or that they crashed. It's all to do with apportioning blame, something we're not in a position to do.
It always sounds weird when you have to say a pedestrian collided with a car, as if they have hurled themselves at the vehicle from the side of the road.
But, sadly, those are the rules we have to adhere to. There's your journalism 101 lesson for today.
Anyhow, young Ed managed to sustain two broken legs and will now be a resident of Leicester Royal Infirmary for the foreseeable future.
It's one hell of a way of getting out of doing a shorthand exam, but desperate times and all that.
As the Tribune is a one-woman band, and the Echo a one-man one, any absence really hits us hard, particularly as we also share stories between publications.
Luckily, though, we work from the office of The Hinckley Times, so I have been able to call on reporters for help.
Getting much time out of former Echo reporter Sam Dimmer, now a high-flyer on the Times with more work than he can wave a ballpoint pen at, is like trying to book the Arctic Monkeys for the Civic Hall.
But he throws me some crumbs and by golly they're appreciated. Rachel Parrish, former Nuneaton Evening Telegraph reporter, has been invaluable and everyone else is playing a part.
Which is why I have felt the need to swan off as of Wednesday on a secret mission.
It's a cunning plan, you see. I make everyone think I'm desperate, they do all the work, and then I take time off.
Brilliant!

Fight for Raymond Liggins' Sight

This week's front page features the plight of Raymond Liggins, from Nuneaton, who is fighting to get treatment on the NHS that will save his sight.

He is already blind in one eye, and is slowly losing sight in the other eye. He is also deaf in one ear. On top of all that, he looks after his stroke-victim wife, Olive.

Raymond has used up nearly all his life-savings on paying for injections that are saving his sight. Now he needs NHS help, but Warwickshire PCT are refusing treatment.

We believe he should have the treatment. If you do too, please post your comments here and we will ensure they get to the PCT.

This is your newspaper - join the debate.

The Full Story

A DESPERATE battle to save a Nuneaton man’s sight is being backed by MP Bill Olner.
Raymond Liggins is facing a race against time to convince Warwickshire Primary Care Trust to fund treatment that could stop him going blind in his right eye.
The age-related macular degeneration has already left him blind in his left eye, and he is also deaf in one ear.
The 76-year-old former Dunlop worker cares for his stroke victim wife, 72-year-old Olive, and the couple have raided their life-savings to pay for treatment.
The money is now running out for the pensioner’s vital Lucentis injections and the couple have issued a desperate plea for the trust to change its mind.
They are being backed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind and the Macular Disease Society.
And Nuneaton MP Bill Olner says he will do all he can to help.
Raymond, of Windmill Road, said: “When the right eye started to go the same way as the left, I knew I had to do something straight away. I went to the University Hospital in Walsgrave and they rushed everything through because of my history.
“They said it was the same thing but they couldn’t do anything for me and I’d have to go private.
“After three injections I could read four lines on the eye chart. It was bringing me back. Now, that’s up to nearly five.
“I’ve paid for four injections, at £1,520 each, and now the money is running out. Trials show that in 95% of cases, people having 20 injections have their sight successfully restored.
“I’m so depressed thinking that I could go blind because the trust won’t pay for my treatment. It’s morally wrong.”
Olive said: “Raymond’s consultant at University Hospital has even written on his behalf to say he should have the treatment but it hasn’t made any difference.
“If he goes blind we will cost the state a lot more money, for care through social services, than it would cost to fund this treatment.”
David Rose, chief executive of trust, said: “Warwickshire PCT commissions an extensive range of treatments and health services for the local population of 500,000 in line with national NHS guidelines.
“The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issues guidance to the NHS on treatments and procedures following extensive trial and review and Warwickshire PCT follows all mandatory Nice guidelines.
“The drug Lucentis is not in these guidelines so it is not routinely commissioned by this PCT, along with other PCTs in the West Midlands.”
Bill Olner said: “I’m absolutely more than happy to try and convince the trust to change its mind on Mr Liggins’ behalf if he gets in touch with me.
“I urge him to get in contact and I will do all I can to help.”
Barbara McLaughan, RNIB campaigns manager, said: “It’s an absolute disgrace that he is effectively being told to pay up or go blind.”
She urged the trust to reconsider its decision and adopt revised Nice guidelines which she said meant that Lucentis could be prescribed on the NHS.

Game old birds and the spice of life

Last week's blog featured a good old-fashioned whinge about how things were far better in the "good old days" when I was a cub reporter.

You would have been forgiven for getting a mental image of me as a wrinkled, jaded old hack who started out in the old hot metal days.

Or you would if my mug wasn't splattered all over the pages of the Trib!

Well, only the jaded part is really true, what with me being a youthful 33 and relatively wrinkle-free.

The good thing about this job, though, is that no matter how cynical you get - and believe me, the levels can get pretty high - there's always something waiting round the corner to give you a bit of a lift.

Variety is not just the spice of life, it's also what makes this job so cool. You never know what is going to happen from day to day.

So while some things can be predicted - like bashing in press releases or doing our daily round of morning calls to the emergency services - others cannot.

This week there was a perfect example of why I love this job so much.

It's all about the people who make our communities so fascinating and sometimes you meet someone new who makes a big impression.

Gwen Johnson is a perfect example.

"Game old bird" might sound like an insult, but it suits her perfectly.

The Atherstone pensioner waited until her 80th birthday to make a point about the value of the older generation.

On checking she had actually got her staggeringly generous 25p extra in her pension, she promptly dug out the right change from her purse and sent it off to the chancellor, Alistair Darling.

Her message was, simply, stuff it.

I had a long chat with Gwen about her gesture, and game old bird just sums her up.

I hope I'm as feisty, forthright and opinionated as she is when, god willing, I get to her age.

I've got a pretty good chance - my mother's as game an old bird as they come, and they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!