Sustainable Journalism

Cardiff Journalism School is all over for me now so it’s time to get into the real wide world of work. To kick things off I spent a couple of days with BBC Radio Derby where they had me out straight away reporting for them.

The first piece I did was about the ongoing problems the multi million pound Westfield Shopping Centre is having with its roof, in that it’s struggling to keep out the rain. I was sent out to cover the piece for their breakfast programme Phil Trow’s Breakfast Show. Have a listen below.

Then on my second day I was sent out to interview the work colleagues of local lass Rachael White, who has just entered the Big Brother house for its final series.

I went to Bonds hairdressing salon in Derby City Centre to get the lowdown on what Rachael is really like. This was broadcast on Colin Bloomfield’s Drivetime show on Thursday 10th June.

It was a great couple of days, and is a personal milestone in that they were the first two pieces I have done that have gone to air. I learnt a lot in the process, with some things I could do differently for next time, but thanks to the news team at Derby who gave me plenty of constructive feedback the experience has further galvanised my confidence for reporting out in the field.

Above is a three minute special TV report myself and Jennie Clark put together as part of our production days at Cardiff Journalism School.

Luckily we had a week of lovely weather which really enhanced the footage, and we were also able to film the last users of the water, Llanishen Sailing Centre, which made for some really nice pictures.

For the full accompanying article see Welsh Green Dragon.

Here is a report Helen Plint and I put together on baby sign language classes in Cardiff.

More and more parents are trying to communicate with their little ones before they can talk, and advocates of baby signing say they notice a real difference in a child’s temperament through learning basic British Sign Language. Such classes are controversial with some experts though; The Royal College of Speech Language Therapists believe learning sign language could actually delay a child’s speech as they can reach a level of understanding with their parents without the need to talk.

Whether it works or not, it’s certainly one of those stories with an added ‘aaaah’ factor!