A Week in a Daily

This week (24/01/11 - 28/01/11) I have been fortunate enough to spend my time at the Birmingham Post & Mail, working as a staff reporter in their editorial department. So I thought I'd share with you all the triumphs and pitfalls of my week at a daily newspaper.


Monday

Arriving at 10am, I was greeted by the ever-friendly and helpful Ms. Davis, who handles all of the work placement students when they first arrive. I did the usual tour of the office, before being assigned to my desk.

I was prepped in how to work the system by John Marsden and given the task of preparing the Post's property supplement - requiring me to phone around local estate agents in a specific area and research house prices, transport links, town attractions and local schools.

After this I was taken out to the Villa home ground in Perry Barr to help with the filming of the Darren Bent mania happening there due to his recent signing.

Not a vastly interesting first day, but they like to test the water with you I think.

Tuesday

A much more eventful day entirely! I was signed over to the hands of the Newsroom team, and Content Editor Andy Richards kicked of the day with an impromptu pop quiz for me by saying:
"So, what news have you got for me then?"

Despite being awake at 6.30am and watching the news whilst I had my standard breakfast of strong coffee and a cheesy crumpet, I literally came over as a deaf mute all in the one moment, and couldn't come up with a single interesting thing to say!

Seriously bad timing for me to actually be speechless for a change, and he advised me to always come prepared with fresh ideas. As he said, even if they don't get used at least it shows that I'm keen and that I'm aware of what's happening in the world. Let's face it, everybody loves a trier...and that's definitely what I'll be from here on out!

I was then set the task of reworking two different press releases into 150 and 250 word stories. This required talking to the PR companies behind the press releases, organising interviews with the people involved in the stories and gathering pictures and background information to fill out the articles with.

Later in the day I was asked to compile a follow-up story on a litter of abandoned puppies from Birmingham Dogs Home. The Mail had published a "Homes Wanted" plea in their Saturday edition, and it had seen a major response from readers who had gone on to adopt all 14 helpless animals. I compiled a 350 word picture lead, including quotes from the head fundraiser at the charity, and the story is due to be run (with my byline) later in the week. Success at last!

My final task for the day was to transcribe a letter from a convicted armed robber, who had written to the paper from prison in order to address some accusations which had been made about him in the media recently. Obviously I cannot divulge any of that information here, but it certainly was an interesting read. It's amazing what they will trust you with on your second day!

Wednesday

A bit of a slow start to the day, unfortunately. I started my day by adding a final quote to the 150 word article on a pie-making contest, before being assigned a 100 word weather report to write. Obviously not front page news, by my work in print is still my work in print! View it here: "Snow could be on the way back to Birmingham"

I went for my third experience of a news conference, held at 10.30am and 1.30pm, involving the editors of all the different sections of the paper. The news conference helps keep the whole team in the loop regarding what content they have already got, what they need to chase up and where each potential story will feature in the newspaper.

Following this, I arranged an interview with a local swimming apprentice for the following day, which would help solidify my 250 word story on her and her successes. I then received some good news from Content Editor Andy Richards, who said that my 350 word story on the abandoned puppies was being turned into a full page story, and he set me the task of tracking down the new owners for a photocall. Apparently the paper want to run a full page story in a few weeks, and then do a recap of the animals 12 months from now, to see how far they've come.

The whole story is a feel-good piece, and brightens up the array of news on offer, and it don't half make the Mail look good as well! Plus, I'm more than happy to have a full page story on my third working day! Even more success at last.

Thursday

Today was spent at Birmingham Crown Court, with the paper's court reporter Ross McCarthy. As many of you will know, I have studied Media Law for the past few months as part of my University course, so I was pretty familiar with the whole procedure any way. However, the main issue I noticed when trying to report on court cases as a student was that the court officials are much less forthcoming with their information than they are when it comes to the press.

Ross was able to stride into the court with a list of all of the main cases for that day under his arm - many accompanied by Police press releases with the main information about the case included - so he was already at a great advantage to my humble efforts previously.

Also, the court usher was more than happy to fill in any blanks he had. Considering I couldn't even get ages and addresses off them half the time, I was glad to see that when you do get your press badge you seem to be taken more seriously as a writer and are privy to better info as part of that.

We got to watch a highly interesting case, involving four men and one woman from across the Birmingham area, who had meticulously planned two armed robberies - one at a cemetery and the other at a bank (both in Hansworth) - both of which were linked.

The clear pull factor in this story was that the gang had stolen the JCB digger used to dig the graves at the cemetery, and driven it into the wall of the bank in order to steal tens of thousands of pounds. I have posted the link to Ross' final article here for you to peruse: "Birmingham gang 'smashed into bank with JCB', court told"

A great story and it certainly was an interesting case to watch.

Friday

My final day at the Birmingham Post & Mail - for now. It was go go go from minute one today, as I had an interview with a local swimming apprentice, who had recently won awards for her academic and vocational successes, to complete and type up to begin with.

After this, I was set the task of chasing up emails, phone calls and photographs that we were yet to receive. It's the little things like this that hold up production in a newsroom, as not having a good quote or a strong image to head the story with can make the article you're working on seem rather incomplete. The story I wrote on Tuesday about the 14 abandoned puppies from Birmingham's Dogs Home was written up and waiting to go, but the lack of images to accompany the full page spread meant that it couldn't go to print until we had them. Nightmare!

I was then asked to draft up a story about a group of organisations in Cannock who had buried a time capsule under the newly built fire station. It was all very lighthearted, accompanied by nice pictures of the school children and the chief firefighter burying the time capsule. Stories like this are hardly front page news, but as I was told by Content Editor Andy Richards, The Birmingham Mail does like to try and keep an even mix between hard news stories and lighthearted stories of human interest - to give the paper a more rounded overall feel.

Usually, the big new is big news because it's bad news - an unfortunate but accurate fact to acknowledge. By including as many little lighthearted filler stories as possible, the paper hopes to give a better balance to what they report on and therefore what their readers have on offer to them.

My final task for the day was to research and write up an 800 word piece for the Birmingham Post's Valentines Day supplement, due out in the second week of February. It was intended to be an informal yet informative article on the best places to eat out this Valentines Day. I chose to include a wide range of different restaurants, in different areas across the city, so that there would be something for every taste and every budget.

My thoughts

Overall, my time at the Birmingham Post & Mail was quite successful. I got to write a fair few stories which are likely to be published, I got to experience what it is like to work in a bustling newsroom environment, and I learnt a great deal about the way a regional paper such as the Mail works to appeal to its core audience.

The only minor issue I had during my time there was finding that I didn't always have enough work to keep me occupied. Obviously, there are only certain articles that I was going to be trusted with, and being a rookie journo I was keen to impress and often blitzed through the work faster than they had expected.

With the newsroom being such a full-on commitment every day, the editors simply don't have the time to work consistently with us students, so I did end up having to find work for myself to do quite often during the week.

Andy Richards did say he would have loved to have spent more time with me during the week, as he was impressed with my writing style and organisational skills, and would have liked to helped me develop those further - but the restraints on his time as Content Editor every day meant that this was just not possible.

I'd happily go back again, and after working there for only a week I can honestly say I would feel right at home in a newsroom environment such as the Mail's. A regional newspaper might be the perfect place to start my blossoming career as a journalist after all.

Media Law: Right to Privacy vs Freedom of Expression

This week, for me, will be all about Media Law and Regulation (due to my upcoming exam in the subject). When I'm studying, I find it helps to write my thoughts down in essay form, as well as just taking notes, to help me remember the points I want to make, and how best to make them - such as what order to present them in and how to phrase certain sentences.

I thoroughly enjoy studying media law, and there is one topic that interests me more than any other. Below I have included an essay I have written around my topic of interest, and I hope you find the issues I have discussed as thought-provoking as I do.

The laws and codes of conduct that regulate the media are designed to balance the right for freedom of expression with other rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights. An explanation of this in terms of the Reporting of Sexual Offenses

There are strict guidelines which have been put in place to regulate the media in terms of reporting on sexual offenses. Sexually motivated crimes are arguably some of the most harrowing to live through, and those victims who have been involved in a sexual attack do deserve the reporting of their attack to be done in such a way that it protects them from an invasion of privacy, does not harmfully effect their mental wellbeing and keeps them from experiencing any embarrassment or social exclusion given the nature of the attack.

The Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Conduct (Clause 11) states that:

“The press must not identify victims of sexual assault or publish material likely to contribute to such identification unless there is adequate justification and they are legally free to do so.”

This is a very clearly defined rule, which protects the victims of sexual offenses being identified in any way. This rule is not the same for any other form of criminal offense, as you can name the victim in cases of physical assault, burglary, fraud etc. I believe this is rule has been supplied by the PCC due to the severity of a sexual assault, and the widespread societal belief that a sexual assault is somehow far worse to admit to than any other form of criminal offense.

Sexual motivated offenses are still thought to be somewhat of a taboo subject in my opinion, and it would be fair to say that victims of sexual assault may fear social rejection, embarrassment or exclusion if what had happened to them was to be publically known.

The law also bestows lifelong anonymity upon victims of sexual offenses, as it is felt that it is a basic human right for a victim of sexual assault to be protected from the distress of receiving any kind of publicity surrounding this matter.

In the eyes of the law, from the minute an allegation is put forward about this kind of offense, the person making the complaint is assumed to be a victim of a sexual offense – even if this has not be proven yet – and is therefore given lifetime anonymity. “McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists” (2009) describes the application of this anonymity as being:

• Immediate, from the time the allegation is made, whether made by the alleged victim or anyone else
• Whether or not the allegation is subsequently withdrawn
• Whether or not anyone has told the police about it
• Whether or not the alleged perpetrator is prosecuted for it
• Whether, if there is a prosecution, there is a conviction or an acquittal

This anonymity is automatic and unconditional to all cases, unless the victim gives valid written consent for themselves to be identified, in the rare occasion that the court lifts the anonymity or if the victim in question has died as a result of the attack. The only other time that this anonymity will be lifted is if the alleged victim is prosecuted for making a false accusation of sexual assault.

Personally, I believe that the alleged victim’s right to privacy, protection of their mental wellbeing and protection from social exclusion and embarrassment by far outweighs the media’s right to freedom of expression in terms of sexual offenses. The media are still able to report on the alleged perpetrator, the court case itself and many other details involved in the case (within the guidelines of general court reporting), and therefore I can completely understand the need for laws and regulations about this matter to be upheld.

There has been, however, some debate over whether the current laws and regulations are in breach of the human rights of the alleged perpetrators of sexual offenses. As the law and regulations stand at the minute, the alleged perpetrator of a sexual offense can be identified to quite a great extent. They can have their privacy invaded in many ways, through photographs of them leaving the courts, previous convictions held against them and all other manner of personal information can be published about them (all in accordance with general court reporting regulations however).

This seems a fair trade if the person is found guilty of a sexual offense, as I do honestly believe that they have sacrificed their rights to privacy and fair treatment if they have committed a sexually motivated crime. However, it doesn’t seem so fair if the person is not convicted of the crime, and they have then been the focus of so much negative publicity and have had such a grave intrusion into their privacy – seemingly, it could be argued, without good reason.

Take for instance the coverage of former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie, who was accused of raping a fellow television presenter in 2002. Many further allegations of rape and sexual assault were bought against Leslie by many other women following this first complaint, but he was never officially charged with any form of offense.

The media went into a frenzy, publishing story after story on Leslie and the allegations being made about him. Leslie was a highly successful television personality when these allegations came to light, hosting both the Wheel of Fortune and This Morning. He lost his job on This Morning after these allegations were made, and his career was essentially destroyed.

Leslie has often spoken out about how he felt victimised by the media, was named and shamed and had his career ruined by the negative coverage of his situation.

In one particular statement given in June 2008, Leslie said of one of his accusers:

"Another person protected by anonymity that the law gives them is able to drag my name through the mud.”

It is clear in the case of John Leslie to see how the current laws and regulations regarding the reporting of sexual offenses are not necessarily doing the best they can to protect the human rights of all those involved in accusations of sexual offenses. As much as the laws and regulations work to protect the human rights of the alleged victims of sexual assault, it does very little to help protect the human rights of those who are falsely accused or never convicted of sexual assault. It doesn’t seem right that somebody can make a false accusation of sexual assault, be allowed full anonymity unless they are prosecuted of making a false accusation, and yet the person who may have been falsely accused of a sexual offense has very few rights to privacy or protection of their human rights.

This is an extremely difficult call to make, as the pros and cons of the current situation seem to be almost impossible to get around. If you rework the laws and regulations to have a greater freedom of expression over the identification of all those involved in allegations of sexual assault then you risk breaching the human rights of the alleged victims. Similarly, if you rework the laws and regulations to have a greater value on the privacy of all those involved in allegations of sexual assault then you run the risk of destroying the media’s right to freedom of expression. It is a really tough call, but an issue that I genuinely believe needs addressing by both the law and the Press Complaints Commission in the near future.

Speak no evil

I spend my Friday mornings studying Media Law, which I have no doubt will become very handy after I graduate, and my knowledge of it will hopefully stop me being sued into bankruptcy.

It is surprising to realise just how little you can actually publish compared to the graphic details you may hear with relation to some cases. After four hours spent at Birmingham Crown Court a few weeks ago, I had heard plenty of the nitty gritty on the following case, and yet this was what I was legally allowed to publish:

Three in mentally handicapped rape charge

Three Birmingham men have been accused of raping a mentally handicapped woman from their local area, the courts heard yesterday.

Friends James Lee Reilly, Lee Daniel Holder and Lee Wayne Princep – appearing at Birmingham Crown Court - face individual charges of rape and sexual assault after meeting the woman at the Royal George pub in Birmingham earlier this year and heading back to her flat around 2am on the night in question to continue drinking.

The woman – who has been described as having a mental age of thirteen-year-old - has alleged that she asked the defendants to leave after a few hours but they refused, after which they proceeded to lock her in her bedroom while they stole her television.

The woman also claims that the three men exposed themselves to her, and that Mr Holder had her trapped in her bedroom whilst he lay on top of her and pressed his groin against her. She is claiming numerous rape and sexual assault charges against Reilly, Holder and Princep – one alleged assault is said to involve the use of a toilet roll holder.

The defendants admit to being at the woman’s flat on the night in question and claim that there were sexual activities taking place that night, but insist that the woman encouraged them to expose themselves to her and allege that she took each one of them into her bedroom to perform sex acts on them.

The woman strongly denies this and alleges that all of the sexual acts said to have happened that night were non-consensual. The case continues tomorrow.

Under the restrictions of media law:

• I could not name the claimant as she was an alleged victim of sexual assault.
• I could not report on any previous convictions against either the claimant or the defendants that were not discussed in front of the jury.
• I could not report on the claimant's previous sexual history under Section 41, as it was not strictly relevant to the current case.

It is difficult as a rookie journo to know where to draw the line with what could be considered the best or "juiciest" details of the case. I think I have a good understanding of what is legal and what isn't, and they do make that quite clear. But some areas are very much grey areas, and if you choose not to include certain gritty details you can sometimes lose the whole angle of the story.

This story is hardly front page material, but there are certain details within it which I believe make it more interesting and give it an air of the somewhat unusual - which is why I have chosen to include the particular details which others may not.

I guess the learning curve for me will not be the black and white legalities, but the grey areas which can sometimes separate the mundane from the extraordinary. The question is, how far do you push it?