PRESS ASSOCIATION DIARIES VI: Multimedia journalist hype

I've started a post-grad course at the Press Association so I thought I'd share a little of what's been happening on the PMA blog.

Apparently we're all multimedia journalist now! I guess that was always the plan but the reality hadn't dawned on me until now. Bar a few formalities (passing FIVE exams and overcoming chronic hysteria) we've pretty much made it.

*I am, of course, completely jumping the gun but it's of great comfort when the prospect of failing these exams is becoming ever greater - if you make it to week 9 you'll understand. Anyway back to being a shit hot multimedia journalist.

Having handed Roberta my complete work book, my next feat was to upload the vox pop we produced onto YouTube. And it was as I published the first piece of video journalism that I'd had a hand in producing that I realised that it had all been worth it. I was a multimedia journalist.

In celebration of all that multimedia magic here are five of my favourite multimedia things:

1.Victoria Vox Pop

This is the vox pop Liv, Rudy and I produced. Way back in July (really not that long ago but it feels it) we wrote, filmed and edited this to make our debut as video journalists. Not bad eh?

Must get round to changing the intro music.

2. Urvasi Urvasi - Humse Hai Muqabla (1994)

This is everything. To my horror, I found myself nodding my head to a Will.i.am song but thankfully this is why. (IN MY OPINION, BASED ON LOADZ OF RESEARCH) The talentless little twerp couldn't have possibly produced a great song without borrowing from a classic like this.

Also I really feel in the right circumstances Rudy and I could do great things with this... Rudy?

3.Francky Vincent - Fruit de la Passion

Francky Vincent - Fruit de la passion by melaniie2b
In the absence of any kind of experience of summer I've been living vicariously through things like this. Clearly my mental stability is not an issue.

4. As Told By Ginger - Little Seal Girl

And on that note, here's one of our PA after-hours anthems.

5. Harmony Smith - HEY Vine

       

Although my journalism skills may have multiplied, my social skills have somewhat suffered.

*If you have noticed an absence of "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" Videos that is because I'm hoping they will soon disappear into the same internet black hole that all those "No Makeup Selfies" did (along with all those pledged donations).

**Clearly I am now a cynical multimedia journalist.                       

PRESS ASSOCIATION DIARIES V: Work Placement

Imagine us as foetuses incubated in the most intense and secure Press Association womb; warm, comfortable, our development near complete, our respective umbilical cords now well intwined.

Still with me?

Well mumma Roberta has cut the cords and shipped her baby journos out into the working world.

The first week of placement is almost up and it's been strange coping without my PA people. Being back at ELLE with six weeks of 24-7 journalism training under my belt has felt pretty good 

but going it alone has reminded me of the big bad world that awaits us in just a few weeks. 

If Roberta will remember her Summer 2014 flock for one thing it'll be how well we all got on. Although none of us have taken our "special friendships" to the next level (thank God) and we've pretty much rejected all of Tom's invitations to the pub, it's been nice* to be amongst friends. 

*Minus the "Lad Chart", curated by our "Lad Editor" (Aka another man without a purpose) 

It's made this process a whole lot easier, even if it might have slowed down our productivity. Luckily, life at ELLE hasn't been too lonely as I had a few allies already and hot-desking* means a fresh batch of desk buddies everyday.

*Hot-desking also means feeling homeless at work. Make of it what you will - it's modern!

A week away from PA has given me the time and space to revaluate a lot of things. I really value the work that we've produced collaboratively, particularly Industries 2 Invest In (our app). I can see why there is such an emphasis on being "team-players".

No man is an island and no magazine was produced by one (wo)man.

But I am island-ing it for these two weeks and there's still the obituary to write (not mine - maybe mine) and the review and it's bank holiday weekend and that means Notting Hill Carnival. 

Being out in the real world is bittersweet.

  This can be read as a) Roberta engulfing us once again or b) Us meeting our fateful end.

PRESS ASSOCIATION DIARIES III: Features: Featuring our resident idiots

We're coming to the end of our first week of features training and apparently no-one reads features anymore (or at least we don't - hoes exposed). But eventually we'll write "great" features that people will read and not use to line their cat's litter trays.

Whilst that's been tricky enough for us to get our heads around it appears some of our fellow trainee journalists are still in need of some more basic education.

During another early morning shorthand lesson with the lovely Richard a few unusual questions were raised:

SAM asked what a BANGLE was...

TOM as always asked MANY  things but amongst the most mind-boggling...He had no idea what  "Feng Shuey" was aka  Feng Shui to the rest of us...

But SAM did know and was quick to explain... "It's complete sh!t3"... philistine.

Richard and I also had to explain to TOM what a "Bunga Bunga" party was...

In other news ROSIE is a tarot reading witch...

PRESS ASSOCIATION DIARIES II: PA aka the Photobooth Association

I'm back for my second post and this week we discovered photobooth – SORRY

Nicholas (in green) was particularly happy, Kaltrina and Sam less so.

Feeling left out, I decided to start documenting writing news pieces (see below) and short snappy news has been proving more difficult than any of us anticipated. Those snippets of news you might read half of in the Metro on your way to work are hard to write people (if you want to write them well and Roberta's your editor) 

I find myself sprouting Roberta's journo gospel even when I don't want to hear it. "But how the hell are we moving the story forward guys?" It's starting to feel like we're stuck on a loop and some news just won't "move forward".

That being said today I had my first news story accepted (with minor amendments needed obvs) but still 50 odd words of progress and I didn't even make it to a third attempt. This feels like a milestone but it's becoming apparent that it'll mean nothing in the very near future. 

Talking of the future this week we met chief chimpanzee Darshan Sanghrajka who according to his twitter bio is a "stand up, economist, creative, marketing strategist, social impact person" and sexist (just kidding Darshan - wow women aren't funny). He was great and taught us all about Search Engine Optimisation or SEO as we now call it. Thanks to him we're all pretty fluent in social media. For some of us (Olivia) SEO stands more for Stalking Energy Optimisation and for others (Sam) meeting Darshan meant losing their twitter virginity. Sam's yet to tweet but I heard he's totes getting Instagram ####

Anyway back to the Photobooth Association...

I finally plucked up the courage to ask to borrow Olivia's glasses. As a blind person without glasses this is pretty big.  

Then this guy started paining the computer room door... 

And the fumes got pretty intense.... 

And I started to feel pretty intense. 

He did't seem to care that I had "serious" Photobooth work to do.

I got a little desperate....

Then we become pals! #fumes #friends