Week.....Well I've Forgotten

Bit Of A Break

When the routine for Uni finishes for a while it tends to be that people stop whatever they are doing at Uni (in this case blogging) and it seems for me that I have neglected this blog for far too long. Those promised weekly updates turned into bi weekly updates during term time and since the middle of December into complete inactivity.

That is something that I aim to change in the coming weeks, perhaps with the change of the overall focus of the blog into something that excites me more than my bland and boring weeks. I am not sure what this is going to be yet, but I am hoping to feel the inspiration, and come back to you all with an idea within the next week.

Whats Been Going On?

Not a lot has changed really during the time I haven’t been at Uni, Christmas has come and gone as it does every year, and that New Year’s hangover came back again, rearing its ugly head for another showing. Despite personal issues throughout this period I have tried to maintain positivity, as there is nothing overall that I can do to change what has happened. At the end of the day what happened was my own fault and as such I can only sit and hope that nothing else happens, nothing else been done by myself to provoke a reaction, and I sincerely hope that I can come out of this a stronger and better person.

A Hindsight Look

The overall relief when a student loan comes through is something that most students will have felt this January. For me this was a little bit weird.  Not back at University and therefore still under the wing of my parents in terms of what I am able to eat and therefore what is truly brought from the supermarket. With my normal shopping bill reaching no more than £20 for two weeks of ‘nourishing’ shopping, in the form of super noodles and value foods of course, to eat food that tastes fresh and not at all processed was something of a surprise to me at first, but I have grown more and more accustomed to it as the days have worn on.

I’m not sure that I have anything else to report, other than the desire to return to University as soon as I can. Waiting for the proposed trip back in a car on the 20^th January is something I look forward to, and perhaps dread at the same time. I don’t think my reaction will be the same one I had during the leaving home in September, but with the extended period off I hope that I have not become to acclimatised to home life, and I am sure that once I get back into the swing of University life I shall realise once again how much I am enjoying it, and what an opportunity it is.

Thanks for reading, and see you on the next one.

Jon

Week 4.

Week 4.

It's Nearly Christmas

With Christmas nearly upon me at Uni, the amount of work set upon me has increased somewhat, but i have managed to cope with it all amiably, and i'm happy to say that i'm on top of everything that i have to finish, with the final week now coming into focus.

Of all the work that we have been set, the portfolio for practices and principles as well as the critical thinking assignments and the work for Rob Charters, i have only one piece of Charters work to finish, as well as some final tweaking on my essay in order to bring it up to the standard that i am looking for in my course. This time when writing my critical thinking essay i produced a plan and constructed a first draft on the day that the assignment was set, so that the principles that Tony wanted us to put in place were still fresh in my mind. I feel that, unlike in my first draft of my 'Why Journalism Matters' essay, i produced something alot more worthwile and a better use of my time than previously, and when i handed it to Tony for moderation via email the next day, i was proved correct, after being told that my first draft would 'easily pass' the module.

Although that may have been the essay out of the way and a clear road until Christmas, there were improvements to be made (as always). Whilst some people in my class may feel that the improvement of their work is not worthwile and overall a chore which is not something to look forward too once the original work is out of the way, I feel that due to the amount of work that we have got i can create a high quality piece of analysis. The time given to us at University is time which you use to learn and develop your skills not only on your course, but also as a person.

Bit Of A Rant

Where as in the past i may have been content to just let the essay lie, i feel that as i am at University and paying the fees to study, i should study more than i did when in lower education. People skipping lectures or just generally doing nothing all day is something that i am growing to dislike more and more. That they seemingly don't want to better themselves despite all the available resources and help is something which will continue to bite at me, until they either learn that they want to work, or leave altogether. People who want something (in this case help) should not expect it for free, and those people who either don't turn up to lectures or sit around after twiddling their thumbs when they have work to do are people who, in my opinion, need to work harder to get where they want in life.

Working Tomorrow

Anyway, I am working at Cumbrian Newspapers tomorrow, the group who own all the right to publications in and around Carlisle, and Cumbria in general. The pay is good, and the experience of a full time journalistic workplace is even better, in short an opportunity that cannot be passed up.

Thanks for reading and see you on the next one,

Jon

Week 3.

Week 3.

Assignment 2

Today, Wednesday 5th December, in our Critical Thinking lecture we were set our second and quite possibly final assignment for the module; a 2000 word essay on all that we have learnt over the first semester, due in for the 19th December.

This leaves 2 weeks in which to write a piece of reflective and critical values. To be able to do this I need to analyse all that I have learnt since the first week in September, and put it into some form of structure which can then be marked by my lecturer Tony. Overall I feel that the essay is not a fully daunting prospect as I have already made vast inroads into it by want of my previous blog entries, being as they are over 500 words. I learnt today that the word count was approximately 200-300 words per entry, and I feel that although I missed out the point here, I have written enough of value to underlie that misdemeanour.

The two weeks in which to do the essay will be spent correlating and collecting data from not only my previous blog entries, but also from the upcoming lectures and other internet sources and books. Referencing is once again to be used and I feel that in order to create a high quality essay that will fulfil my goal of (hopefully) a first, I will need to use a range of different sources, as well as highlight the way in which I have been able to appraise critically not only my confidence in what I have produced, but also to evaluate the difference in my skillset from the first week of University and the present, for I know that I have improved many aspects of my journalistic repertoire greatly, from interview techniques to writing style.

Monday Morning's Cancelled

I woke this Monday morning with the same sense of dread that I think many other students faced. It’s a Monday. Mondays a rubbish...blah blah blah. However, the usual source of boredom from my Monday, the lecture with Robert Charters, which I try my upmost to try and make an interest of, has been immediately cancelled for the remainder of the semester.

The reasoning behind the change was the fact that 'we should now have the time to finish and submit the workload'. This to most people I know means a lie in on a Monday morning and something which should not be passed up. However, I feel that those who are most excited about the lie in are the ones who do not regularly show up to any lectures, let alone Robert Charters'.

The work for Charters is not difficult, and I have only 2 tasks to complete. Even if he feels that 'Us Journalists' do not care for his course, (I have to agree that many don't) I feel that the opportunity which he gave us to learn new skills and broaden our views to not only print journalism but also photo and film as well was one that I am glad I took up. The quality of my work for his course may be lower than I would have liked due to the unclear guidance given to us, as well as a lack of motivation at times due to the mendacity of it, however, I am confident that I will have done enough to pass the course and continue with 'true' journalism studies.

Off To Write An Essay

That’s all from me folks, I am off to make a start to the 2000 words whilst (see Tony it is used!) Tony's words are still fresh in my mind. The next update will hopefully be filled with success at a finished essay, as well as a view that I am proud of the work that has been put into my portfolio update. Let’s see what the week brings.

Thanks for reading and see you on the next one,

Jon

Week 2.5

Week 2.5

Because I'm in on a Saturday Night 

These weekly updates have taken a hiatus in favour of a mid week (ish) feature that is an update on what has happened in terms of my essay and generally the updates on my portfolio that I'm creating for the end of semester. This is a bit of an unorthodox update, Saturday night as it is, and nothing going on.

Essay Results 

Considering I was overall not very happy with the finished essay which i submitted i feel that the grade which i was given was a generous reflection of what was written on the paper. A 65% 2:1 on my first assignment is not the end of the world in terms of results, and when sitting down and studying the frailties of it, the apparent need for some final finesse in terms of not only the referencing, but also some of the repetitive nature of what my overall argument was, in terms of paragraph structure.

Randall comments that Newpapers 'comment on things that are already known', and although even not in the same context as what it is intended for, i feel that that is what has happened with parts of my essay, and that overall at times i have waffled far too much, reguritating old points which have already been made in order to fill in my word count, instead of the obvious need to be succinct in my analysis of 'Why Journalism Matters'. It is the same waffling that has now taken over this paragraph, and where I am going to end it!

Portfolio Progression

Since Wednesday I have gone through the pieces that i have been writing throughout the year and decided that two of them are of a standard that i would be happy to see in my final portfolio for the Practices and Principles module. Although they may not have been my favourite pieces to write i feel that i have demonstrated the necessary skills that show that i have an aptitude towards a style of journalistic writing. 

Furthermore I have also completed 4 NIBS (News In Briefs) for my portfolio. These 4 short snippets of news between 25-25 words are an accompaniment to the rest of my articles and create the portfolio. However, due to the fact that we have not actually worked on NIBS in any of our letures so far, if I decide that further work could allow me to improve them, i will not hesitate to scrap them and start again with newer topics, written in a better format. 

When Smith in his book 'Essential Reporting' asks the question 'Where do you get all that news' I had to think long and hard about where to get the topics not only for my NIBS but also for new articles. In terms of NIBS i decided to go for something local, something international, something to do with sport and finally something that i enjoy. I will not reveal what they are as they are to be posted with my assignment, but i feel that the research into finding them was eventful enough to highlight that i have thought critically about how i went about my research and my eventual writing of the 'snippets' of news.

Closing Out .5

Apart from this i don't think that there is too much else to say. With the first assignment out of the way, corrections heeded and noted for future reference, and the portfolio coming along as far as content is concerned, there is nothing else to do but to see what the new (Christmassy week seeing as its December now) brings. With an assignment due for Robert Charters on Monday morning, i will have to check tomorrow if it is as good as I remembered when i completed it at the time.

Onwards and upwards and thanks for reading guys.

See you on the next one,

Jon

Week 2.

Assignment Week.

As i am writing this, it is 10:11 on Wednesday 28th November. Waiting nervously for the results of my essay into why 'Journaism Matters', reflecting if you may. Overall i now wish i were able to fully spend all my time on it, that 'i will do better next time' that occurs just before the realisation of the grades before the exams or coursework.

Yesterday we were officially set our end of semester assignment. By that i mean we were given a piece of paper on which were laid out the criteria needed to pass the course this term. Overall with four articles as well as four NIBS (News In Briefs), the portfolio is not as demanding as the '10' previously thought to be the target. That combines with an NCTJ test made up of four questions of varying length in order to create an overall portfolio which totals eight articles and an exam.

 In the coming weeks i feel that i will need to step up the overall quality of my writing, turning them from narratives or opinionated writings into more journalistically styled pieces (not at all like this). So far in my time at Uni i have spent less time than i would have liked writing, even if its just for a blog like this, and hopefully by the time the deadline comes i will try and rectify this, to produce some high quality work for my portfolio.

Informing?

I may not have mentioned it but over the last week we have produced the informer newspaper for the University in which a number of articles which i wrote were produced in. This success has perhaps opened my eyes to the fact that my writing can be used in a number of different publications, and the feeling which i found when i was told about being published was one which i want to repeat in the future, hopefullly many many times.

The attendance of both classes left alot to be desired, though the first years, my year, in particular were absent for many of the days of that vital production week. As Andrew Marr says in Harcups Practices and Principles book, 'Journalism is a chaotic form of earning, ragged at the edges, full of snakes, con artists and even the odd occasional misunderstood martyr'. If i want to become a journalist in this 'ragged' society i need to maintain my attendance, and keep pushing the quiality of my work higher.

Thanks for reading, and see you on the next one.

Jon

http://joncarterjournalism.blogspot.co.uk/

Week 1.

Week 1.

Irrelevant Mornings?

I know its not the end of the week, in fact its more like the beginning, but we don't really have many lectures left this week, and I have a fair bit to talk about.

A week where Monday mornings seem like a chore is common to most people, as is the case with me, but for a somewhat different reason. Forcing yourself out of bed early in the morning for a lecture is always an unpleasant experience, but when you combine that with a lecture that hardly any of your class turns up for and you have a recipe for a bad start to the day.

 Studying Journalism is what I have come to University for, and when only a small proportion (If any) of the lecture is relevant to the course it makes me debate coming to the lectures. But I do.

I am paying money for the lectures so sit down obediently and take in the information constantly thrown in my direction, taking it down in notes, even though some of it is obviously aimed other course subjects in the room. Those 3 hours are quite possibly the worst of the week, but all in all, they aren't that bad.

Then the Week picks up.

Monday afternoon is always insightful, a Film and Media module which provides relief from the other aspects of the day, led by someone who is currently working in the industry, meaning that come Wednesday and critical thinking I am fresh and ready for whatever can be thrown at me.

A course which aims to broaden the mind, and truly reflect and appreciate what you have learnt, Critical thinking is in my view vital to success at higher levels. The last in depth piece of Critical thinking that the course completed was a 1000 word essay on 'Why Journalism Matters', as following that we entered the production week for the student newspaper, as well as having our other sessions swallowed up by researching and completing the essay.

When writing critically i always try to make myself stand out, over-complicating my prose (even doing it now) sometimes in order to try and hide the fact that i was not too sure on the task in hand. However, following my first, somewhat rubbish attempt at an essay with over a week till the deadline, i set about my work again, reading and re reading, quoting and referencing, until i got the piece to a standard that i was happy with. 

The finished article may not be the best work that i have ever done, but the effort which went into producing it was certainly of a level that i hope to work at continually. New styles of referencing, using multiple sources as well as combining text from practicing journalists gave the essay meat to the bones that i had conjured up earlier, and overall i was pleased with the end product.

Finishing Off.

Although i feel that i could have produced a better standard of essay, that experience will come with time and teaching, and for the time being at least i am content with my progress.

Thanks for reading, and see you on the next one.

Jon

Week 0.

Week 0.

Hi guys, my names Jon Carter and I'm a Journalism student at the University Of Cumbria. I will be writing a weekly blog based on my lectures and views each week, which will aim to help me reflect on what I have learnt in those times. No set dates for posts, just whenever free time comes to me and i have the time to write. 

Jon.