WINOL week 1

So, in the first week back, there was no time to relax, we were thrwon right into writing, producing and reporting for WINOL.

Out of the four areas; sport, news, features and production, I decided to try my hand at being a news reporter and was given the beat of crime. For me personally, this is the area, that I feel is my weakest and so to strengthen my chances of becoming a fully fledged journalist one day, I thought I should challenge myself.


There were a few issues regarding headlines.

The top story concerned the loss of 40 - 50 jobs at the University. In the bulletin, the figure 40 was used, but the article contained the number 50. Always use the highest figure as this gives more shock, drama etc.

In my own piece, Barton farm, Shira, Sam and I, attended a legal inquiry at Winchester Guildhall, which concerned Cala Homes bid to build a new community on Barton Farm, which the residents and Save Barton Farm group were opposing. The headline, '2000 homes may be built' was too light hearted and did not frighten. It needs to be more certain and therefore, '2000 homes set to be built', would of been better.
The next headline, 'Shocking stats in Winchester City Centre'  needs another half a sentence to make it clearer as to what this is regarding.

In sports, there is a black hole, when coming back to the studio. To avoid the possibility of black holes, use a lay shot and make sure it is long at the end.

In my own piece, Barton farm, Shira, Sam and I, attended a legal inquiry at Winchester Guildhall, which concerned Cala Homes bid to build a new community on Barton Farm, which the residents and Save Barton Farm group were opposing. The headline, '2000 homes may be built' was too light hearted and did not frighten. It needs to be more certain and therefore, '2000 homes set to be built', would of been better.
Our main criticism was that the story needed toughening up and therefore we did not get to the heart of the story. As this was not an isolted incident, I needed to relate Barton Farm itself to the residents who were opposing it. For example, talking to residents and taking shots of the local housing in the surrounding areas that may be affected would of improved the package overall.
In the piece to camera, instead of re-iterating what I have shown in the package, end with a fact. I.e. in this case; 'The public inquiry is set to last for eight days'.

General points

Always start with something fresh. For example, do not introduce a piece with 'last month', this will only date it.

Do not use cheesy cliches such as, 'Here I am' or feelin the urge to point out you are at a church, when it can clearly be seen in the shot.

There seemed to be different versions of sign outs and so it has been decided that all of the reporters will follow the template; name, winchester news online, place.

Overall, the first week of WINOL was a success.