The meedja, darling.
Today I attended the inaugural Student Media day at the Union. It was an opportunity to hear first-hand experiences of getting into the media – especially from a background in student media, as many of the speakers had – and to gain an insight into an otherwise 'closed' world.
The lectures and seminars proved to be fascinating, and, in the case of the seminar on breaking into radio broadcasting, very illuminating. I had always known that competition for such jobs was fierce, and that hard work is required to get anywhere near the top. However, it was highly beneficial to have these facts spelt out in no uncertain terms. Whilst I wouldn't go so far as to say my dreams of a life on-air have been shattered, hearing the real-life stories of people who have worked their way to the top has made me realise that I need to be far more pro-active (and in truth, far more committed) if I wish to fulfil these ambitions.
The day also allowed it's contributors to off-load some real gems of anecdotes. Without being able to re-print any details here (we were warned about the risk of the courts and libel cases by those who had suffered from them first-hand), I now know about the odd scandal in Welsh politics and a few amusing stories about some very high-profile radio personalities...
Now, this is a story/all about how...
Stingray from Neighbours has a band. Well, not Stingray himself, as I've been told he's dead (not that that should rule out a comeback from the true-to-life Aussie soap), but the actor who plays the lad. I know this because he was playing at Sheffield's Corporation nightclub on Wednesday night. I was worried that he'd be a bit of a dick, just playing some cruddy rock songs that he and his mates had put together and were trying to peddle, but was presently surprised when he stuck tenaciously to covering cheesy student-friendly songs. he was pretty good, too: especially when he dropped in the rap from The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air mid-way through a song. As it turns out then, he's not such a spiggin' hufter after all.
How's this for a seamless link: Stingray is Australian. They play rugby, right? Yes, I've just witnessed England's defeat in the "World Cup Final". I make no claims to understanding the game, but I do have eyes, and could not believe how such crystal-clear video evidence showing us scoring a try could be used to deny us the touchdown. In cricket and rugby, I believe video evidence is a good thing; in football, I don't think it should be introduced because of the detrimental effect it would have on the pace of the game (far better to have a sensor in the ball for goal-mouth disputes)... and certainly not now that I've seen such a hash being made of the adjudication process.
The lectures and seminars proved to be fascinating, and, in the case of the seminar on breaking into radio broadcasting, very illuminating. I had always known that competition for such jobs was fierce, and that hard work is required to get anywhere near the top. However, it was highly beneficial to have these facts spelt out in no uncertain terms. Whilst I wouldn't go so far as to say my dreams of a life on-air have been shattered, hearing the real-life stories of people who have worked their way to the top has made me realise that I need to be far more pro-active (and in truth, far more committed) if I wish to fulfil these ambitions.
The day also allowed it's contributors to off-load some real gems of anecdotes. Without being able to re-print any details here (we were warned about the risk of the courts and libel cases by those who had suffered from them first-hand), I now know about the odd scandal in Welsh politics and a few amusing stories about some very high-profile radio personalities...
Now, this is a story/all about how...
Stingray from Neighbours has a band. Well, not Stingray himself, as I've been told he's dead (not that that should rule out a comeback from the true-to-life Aussie soap), but the actor who plays the lad. I know this because he was playing at Sheffield's Corporation nightclub on Wednesday night. I was worried that he'd be a bit of a dick, just playing some cruddy rock songs that he and his mates had put together and were trying to peddle, but was presently surprised when he stuck tenaciously to covering cheesy student-friendly songs. he was pretty good, too: especially when he dropped in the rap from The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air mid-way through a song. As it turns out then, he's not such a spiggin' hufter after all.
How's this for a seamless link: Stingray is Australian. They play rugby, right? Yes, I've just witnessed England's defeat in the "World Cup Final". I make no claims to understanding the game, but I do have eyes, and could not believe how such crystal-clear video evidence showing us scoring a try could be used to deny us the touchdown. In cricket and rugby, I believe video evidence is a good thing; in football, I don't think it should be introduced because of the detrimental effect it would have on the pace of the game (far better to have a sensor in the ball for goal-mouth disputes)... and certainly not now that I've seen such a hash being made of the adjudication process.
