The woes of a freelance journalist

02/11/2009 by admin.

Above are two versions of the same story. The first was written by me a month ago and sent to both newspapers. The second newspaper chose to ignore it until Rochdale MP Paul Rowen issued a press release after the story had appeared in the railway press.

Now, I absolutely respect the right of any newspaper not to pay me. ..

But a MONTH????

Posted in Media, Journalism, Business, Transport | Print | 1 Comment »

The Times

08/10/2009 by admin.

“Dear Alan,

Further to your application for the post of Education Editor/Transport Correspondent, I am writing to inform you that unfortunatly (sic) your application was unsuccessful and this position has now been filled.

Thank you for your interest.

Yours sincerely,”

At least, they had the decency to reply but I think we should have one rejection for the Education Correspondent and one for the Transport Correspondent. I only applied for one!

Posted in Journalism, Transport, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

O2 Winners

02/10/2009 by admin.

O2 MEDIA AWARD WINNERS CROWNED

The region’s press gather for glittering event at the Manchester Urbis

Reference 080-2009

1st October, 2009

The region’s most talented writers, broadcasters and photographers were honoured at the inaugural O2 Media Awards in Greater Manchester and Lancashire tonight (Thursday, October 1, 2009).

The winning line-up featured a mixture of daily and weekly newspapers including The Manchester Evening News, which scooped the award for Newspaper of the Year. Judges said the paper was “as good as any regional newspaper you might find anywhere in the country and was putting out quality editions day after day.”

The Gazette in Blackpool won the award for O2 Editorial Team of the Year for “punching well above its weight” and Gazette reporter William Watt was also crowned Digital Journalist of the Year.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph’s young reporter Catherine Pye was identified as one of the region’s rising stars and picked up the O2 Young Journalist of the Year award.

Amongst the weekly newspapers, the Salford Advertiser’s Lucy McGuire was named Feature Writer of the Year and the Rochdale Observer’s Tim Bradley was presented with the award for Photographer of the Year. Tim was described by judges as an ‘editor’s dream’ and ‘a brilliant all-rounder with that unique ability to bring emotion into his images.”

The awards evening was held at the Urbis exhibition centre in Manchester. It is the latest in a series of media awards contests launched by O2 across the North to honour local and regional press.

In Broadcast, BBC North West Tonight’s Dave Guest scooped Broadcast Journalist of the Year for the moving series of interviews he carried out with Jessica Knight, the school girl stabbed to within millimeters of her life while walking through a park in Lancashire.

Their rival Granada Reports did not go home empty handed and picked up two awards for Entertainment Journalist of the Year and Sports Reporter of the Year. Winner of the entertainment award, Caroline Hacking, was described as ‘a rare talent’ while sports reporter Mike Hall was praised for his expert coverage of boxer Ricky Hatton’s world championship bid.

The judging panel included Paul Newman, Head of Communications at Media City; Alastair Machray, editor of the Liverpool Echo; Steve Hothersall, news and sports editor at Radio City and Nicola Priest, editor of Warrington Guardian which won Newspaper of the Year at the Cheshire and Merseyside O2 Media Awards for the second year running.

O2 employs more than 1200 people at its award-winning Customer Service Centre in Bury, which this month celebrated ten years of business at the Dumers Lane site.

Glenn Manoff, O2’s Director of Communications and Reputation, said the awards recognised outstanding media coverage of issues affecting communities across Manchester and Lancashire.

“We’re delighted to be able to celebrate the huge service local and regional journalists provide in our towns and cities,” he said. “This is a region rich with quality journalism which has been reflected in the high level of entries we have received from writers, broadcasters and photographers working in the area.”

O2 Media Awards Winners and Finalists

Digital Journalist of the Year

Winner: William Watt – The Gazette Blackpool

Runners up:

Paul Cockerton – Lancashire Telegraph

Martin Hamer – Lancashire Evening Post

Editorial Team of the Year

Winner: The Gazette Blackpool

Runners up:

BBC North West

All Together Now

Young Journalist of the Year – Weeklies

Winner: Natalie Banks - Chorley and Leyland Guardian

Runners up:

Robert Dawson – Stockport Express

John Siddle – Ormskirk Advertiser

Alice McKeegan – Rochdale Observer

Young Journalist of the Year - Dailies

Winner: Catherine Pye – Lancashire Evening Telegraph

Runners up:

Nafeesa Shan – Lancashire Evening Telegraph

Joe Robinson – The Gazette Blackpool

Radio Broadcaster of the Year

Winner: Lauren Moss – Wish FM

Runners up:

Paul Lockitt – Key 103

Rachel Murray – Tower FM

Reporter of the Year

Winner: Michelle Livesey - Key 103

Runners up:

Abbie Jones – BBC North West Tonight

Stef Hall – Lancashire Evening Post

TV Broadcast Journalist of the Year

Winner: Dave Guest – BBC North West Tonight

Runners up:

Rob Smith – Granada Reports

Andy Gill – BBC North West Tonight

Newspaper of the Year

Winner: Manchester Evening News

Runners up:

The Gazette, Blackpool

Crains Manchester Business

Bolton News

Sports Reporter of the Year

Winner: Mike Hall - Granada Reports

Runners up:

Chris Hall - Granada Reports

Andy Cryer – Lancashire Telegraph

Photographer of the Year

Winner: Tim Bradley – Rochdale Observer

Runners up:

Ian Robinson – Lancashire Evening Post

Helen Brown – Lancashire Telegraph

Entertainment Journalist of the Year

Winner: Caroline Hacking – Granada Reports

Runners up:

Jemma Humphreys – Lancashire Telegraph

Caroline Dutton – Lancashire Telegraph

Business Journalist of the Year

Winner: Ben Rooth – Manchester Evening News

Runners up:

Chris Maguire – Chorley Guardian

Ben Briggs – Lancashire Telegraph

Feature Writer of the Year

Winner: Lucy McGuire – Salford Advertiser

Runners up:

Lesley Richards – Leigh Journal

Alan Salter – Transport Matters

Chris Visser – Lancashire Evening Post

Scoop of the Year

Winner: Paul Keaveny - Bolton News

Runners up:

Vanessa Cornall - Accrington Observer

Ken Bennett - Oldham Chronicle

ENDS

O2 contacts

Ann McCracken Communications Manager, North O2 ann.mccracken@O2.com m 07850 708009

All O2 news release can be accessed at our website: http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk/

About O2

• Telefónica O2 UK Limited is a leading communications company for consumers and businesses in the UK, with 20.7 million mobile customers and 457,000 fixed broadband customers as at 30 June 2009.
  

• Telefónica O2 UK Limited is part of Telefónica Europe plc which is a business division of Telefónica S.A. and which owns O2 in the UK, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic, and has 46 million customers.
  

• In 2006 Telefónica Europe acquired Be*, the UK fixed broadband provider, and in October 2007 O2 launched its broadband service using the Be* network.
  

• O2 is the naming rights partner of The O2, the world-class entertainment venue.
  
• O2 was ranked highest in customer satisfaction for both UK mobile and fixed broadband customers according to the J.D. Power and Associates UK Mobile and Fixed Broadband Studies 2009..
  
• In February 2009 O2 became the first UK mobile operator to be officially certified with the Carbon Trust Standard in recognition of O2’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and the 15% reduction in energy consumption achieved over the past three years.
  
• O2 was launched on 1 May 2002 and now has more customers than any other UK mobile network.
  
• O2’s UK mobile network covers 99% of the UK’s population. O2’s 3G network covers over 80% of the UK population and is fully HSDPA-enabled, providing speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps for customers with an HSDPA-enabled device.
  
• Telefónica Europe also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the UK and Germany.
  
• For further press information about O2 go to http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk
  

 

Posted in Journalism | Print | 1 Comment »

Settle Station

28/09/2009 by admin.

Continuing my growing love affair with the Settle Carlisle line, I called into Settle on Friday on the way to the Lakes.

There I watched Northern Rail director Heidi Mottram unveil a plaque to the refurbished station.

The Settle Carlisle Development Company has been working since last November with money from Northern, North Yorkshire County Council, the Railway Heritage Trust, and others to fit bio-mass boilers, lag the loft, fit new windows, and renovate the waiting rooms. It looks like toytown but it is a working station and I actually met a commuter.

In fact, she was more than just a commuter. She was a parish councillor who dropped into the conversation that she and her fellow passengers did Tai Chi while waiting for the 07.35 to Leeds. She didn’t realise what a good story that was and refused to adopt a Tai Chi position on the platform for a picture so I had to get just “waiting for a train”.

Settle won Small Station of the Year at the National Rail Awards last week – such a surprise that Northern didn’t invite the station master to the ceremony.

I’ve offered the whole package to the Yorkshire Post for its Country Week Saturday magazine but I’m still waiting to hear….

Posted in Outdoors, Travels, Journalism, Transport | Print | No Comments »

17/09/2009 by admin.

“Sadiq Khan has been appointed as the Minister of State for Transport on 8 June 2009.”

I have just come across this sentence on the DfT web site. Forgive me for being pedantic but it is not English. Either he was appointed on or he has been appointed. You can’t combine the two tenses.

Who cares, you might say. I do. If the government can’t even get its grammar right, what hope is there for the trains to run on time???

Posted in Journalism, Transport | Print | No Comments »

Public contracts (again)

24/08/2009 by admin.

Finally had my debrief on why I got nowhere with the contract to produce 315 degrees, the magazine of the North West Regional Development Agency.

Apparently my answers were not detailed enough.

 I blame the 30 odd years of journalism which have trained me to be brief. There was me thinking business people would appreciate a quick read so they could get on with what they are good at.

On a brighter note, an associate emailed me about a bid we are co-operating on in some distress because Professional Indemnity Insurance, minimum £250,000, and a policy schedule for Public Liability Insurance was being demanded.

And guess what?

I’ve got them!!!!!

Posted in Journalism, Business | Print | 1 Comment »

5 THINGS YOU WILL SEE IN PRESS RELEASES BUT NEVER IN A STORY

23/07/2009 by admin.

1.       So-and-So commented: “…a comment is an opinion, not another word for said

2.       A spokesperson said: …apart from a few uses on the politically correct BBC, I have never seen the term used in a half-decent print publication. The word “spokesman” does not indicate gender.

3.       So-and-So Integrated Passenger Transport Authority is pleased to be associated with this wonderful…bet you £10 that if the reporter doesn’t, a sub will strike it out and replace it with “we”.

4.       So-and-So, Chair of Suchabody, said…a chair is a piece of furniture and, like spokesman, CHAIRMAN is gender neutral.

5.       “Safety is our first priority…even though six people have just died? 

Posted in Media, Journalism, Business | Print | 1 Comment »

Tech messiah

09/07/2009 by admin.

The man to lead us through the tech revolution? Nathan Smith of Smith&Smith PR. A couple of years ago I spent almost £1200 with the Charetered Institiute of Public Relations doing some courses in London.

Excellent though they were, this man has just delievered a free seminar on social media for the Chamber of Commerce which was every bit as good!

Posted in technology, Journalism, Business | Print | No Comments »

The death of journalism

30/06/2009 by admin.

If I hear another editor complain about a tight budget, I’ll scream!

Perhaps I was just too optimistic when I left my previous employment. But looking back, the slide had already begun. Here are the critical stages:

1) Offer of a retainer is withdrawn in the week leading to my last day

2) “Special” rate withdrawn when I make it known that I am filing stories to rival publications.

3) Page lead plus internet content paid for with a cheque for £9.50 by a well known weekly newspaper. Editor increases it to £25 after I complain but nothing else is ever used.

4) Former employer uses fewer and fewer stories, prefering to beaten to them by smaller rivals than pay.

5) Once prompt payers wait an extra month before settling invoices

6) Top story sent to regional title greeted by email from a reporter “looking forward to working with you”.

7) Claims for payment for photographs ignored

Press releases used in preference to live copy which arrives first

9) Magazine asks if I can supply pictures - “otherwise we’ll have to pay for them”.

10)…and the best yet: “Oh, we thought you had sent us a press release. You mean it was a story???”

but are we downhearted?

Posted in Journalism | Print | 1 Comment »

Am I paranoic or are they really out to get me?

12/06/2009 by admin.

I thought I would be a bit richer by now. Not necessarily a private jet but perhaps a Mercedes or two.
But all is not lost. After almost two years as an entrepreneur, I am enrolling for the Chamber’s “Exciting business opportunities for SME’s in the public sector” seminar. So this time next year, I’ll be a millionaire.
In a former life, I was once approached by a foreign transport company bidding for a public contract in Greater Manchester. They thought that a rival was being unfairly favoured and after an investigation, I agreed.
Sadly, my superiors dithered and while the article mouldered in the “pending” tray, the foreign company gave up, obviously doubting our courage, and dropped their complaints. The story was eventually used on the business pages but by then, it was seriously devalued.
I should have been warned by that episode of the misery which lay ahead. That same company told me it had spent 10 YEARS pitching for large project in South America, only to lose it.
Fast forward, and here I am tendering for my own company…and what a nightmare. Over the last two years, I have probably wasted as much time on preparing pqq’s and tenders as actually doing any useful work.
I have forked out for £5m of employee liability insurance, even though my only employees below board level are two Jack Russell dogs. And one of those has adopted a consultant’s role, lying around on the bed all day waiting to alert me to the arrival of the mail. I would sack him but for my Equality and Diversity Policy.
I have £10m of public liability insurance – and a Health and Safety Policy to avoid ever having to draw on it. Rochdale Council insists I recycle all my household waste. Does that count as an Environmental Management Policy? I’m good at what I do but apparently I need a Quality Assurance Certificate to prove it.

The blurb for my Chamber course speaks of “difficulties in identifying contracts and overly bureaucratic tendering processes” which have put off many small businesses from “getting a slice of this lucrative market”.
Well, I’ve identified the contracts but that is only half the battle. Consider this latest email exchange with a public body with which I have had a long association:
THEM: Dear All, We have now completed the evaluation of the PQQ submissions which we received. Unfortunately, I have to inform you that your submissions have not passed the evaluation process with sufficiently high a score to be able to be passed to the ITT stage.I would like to thank you for the effort which went into the submissions and for providing us with the opportunity to review them. Regards, XXXXXXProcurement Category Manager
ME: Is there to be any feedback?
THEM: Alan, My apologies - on looking for your scores I now realise that although we have a record of issuing a PQQ to yourselves, we did not receive a submission. Please ignore my earlier e-mail. Regards, XXXXX
I am considering my position on that one. I’ve found the completed pqq on my laptop. It was submitted EIGHT months ago. There is little chance of proving that they lost it as all I did was put it in the post. I guess hand delivery is the way forward…though it’s difficult when you are reaching out to the north of Scotland one minute and Cornwall the next.
Then there are the stupid things you do – like spend most of a holiday finishing of the forms for one tender and then taking the word of the woman in Smiths that the envelope you buy is not a “large” and only needs an ordinary first class stamp. Only when we got home – after the closing date - did I check it against the GPO template and discovered that it was, in fact, a “large” and is probably still waiting in a post office in Middlesbrough awaiting the excess payment.
Still, it’s marginally better than applying for jobs. I have a growing blacklist of large public organisations – including Manchester and Salford councils and Salford University - who don’t even bother replying. And my seminar will, I am sure, help me get over the Catch 22 of public organisations demanding a huge turnover before handing out a contract.
And then, who knows, this time next year….

Posted in Journalism, Business | Print | 1 Comment »