Editors' Blog | Journalism.co.uk » Brussels

International Press Association holds extraordinary general meeting in Brussels

Massimo Fotino — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:24:10 +0000

The International Press Association (IPA) is holding an “extraordinary general meeting” today in Brussels.

The meeting, entitled ‘What does the future hold for Brussels-based journalists?’, will address the steep decline in the number of EU accredited journalists working in Brussels.

Media organisations are increasingly downsizing, cost cutting and closing their operations in the capital of Europe (…) What are the consequences of these phenomena for Brussels-based media, and, more importantly, for informed reporting of the EU?

Accredited journalists based in Brussels and members of the association are invited to discuss the following issues:

Communication and information policies of the European institutions and in particular the Commission

Conditions regarding work and residence of journalists based in Brussels

Improvement of contacts and collaboration at the heart of the press corps based in Brussels.

See the full IPA release at this link…

Similar Posts:

Notes from an award-winning blog: the Brit who scooped the European prize

Etan Smallman — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:53:08 +0000

Last week Etan Smallman won the first ever European blogging conference, the European Journalism Centre’s ‘Th!nk About It’ competition. Etan blogs at studentjournalist.wordpress.com. Photos from the finale can be viewed on his Flickr stream at this link.

For a country that is sneered at by almost all of its European neighbours for its remote, aloof and imperious attitude towards the European Union, I, a humble Brit, was pretty proud (not say totally shocked) to be crowned the winner of the first ever European blogging competition at its finale in Rotterdam this week.

What’s more, I was by no means the only Brit to triumph at the awards ceremony of ‘Th!nk About It,’ a competition that aimed to get young people talking about the European elections that took place to almost no other fanfare at all earlier this month. In all, four out of the five British participants took home awards – not bad for a country that was derided as ‘ignorant’ at the very same event.

When I sent off a brief email in December to apply to take part in the first project of its kind – a pan-European contest that I dubbed ‘the blogging world’s Eurovision song contest’ – I had very little idea of what I was letting myself in for. Five months, and 39 self-penned blog posts later, to my surprise and delight, I have won the entire competition, beating 80 other competitors from all 27 EU member states – and collecting a top of the range Mac laptop for my efforts.

In January, we all assembled in Brussels for a free trip to meet each other and launch the contest – organised by the European Journalism Centre (EJC), and part funded by the European Commission. They weren’t doing things by halves, with speakers including the BBC’s venerated Europe editor, Mark Mardell, and the FT’s Brussels bureau chief, Tony Barber.

Four-and-a-bit months on in Rotterdam, there was a mood of celebration. Wilfried Rütten, director of the EJC, said that the competition had achieved so much, he was embarrassed by its success. The EJC said it did not have any expectations at the outset and that the project had helped engage young people in European politics.

But aside from the back-slapping and self-congratulatory Euro-love on display in Rotterdam, how successful has the project actually been? This is where it gets tricky. The hard numbers are certainly impressive; these are a few that have been bandied about:

Nearly 600 blog posts
2,316 comments
Around 5,000 trackbacks from external websites
Over 2.7m hits
14,000 Google links

However, the original figure of 81 bloggers taking part is actually one of the most damning. Despite a higher than 1 in 3 chance of coming away with a prize (ranging from iPhones to laptops and Flip cameras) – and two free trips on offer – a significant minority lost interest as soon as they returned to their home countries. Is that a desperate indictment of the EU and its ability to relate to its citizens? I’m inclined to conclude that it is more of a comment on the level of interest and commitment shown by some, who failed even to complete the minimum of one blog post per month to remain in the competition.

Turnout at the EU elections was horrendously low; but even the most ardent new media enthusiasts would be unlikely to claim that blogging should have changed that. A more important question is how many people from outside the Euro bubble actually popped their ear up against out blogging wall. My fear is that we were just an echo chamber; albeit a large, active and impressively innovative one.

However, compared to numerous EU inititatives in the new media arena, Th!nk About It was a roaring success. Its 2.7m or so hits in four months compare extremely favourably to the EU’s public flop of a European television station, EUTube, which notched up a dismal 2.2m viewers in the two years since its launch.

Charlie Beckett, director of media think tank POLIS, criticised the project several months ago: “Irrelevant of new media, I don’t think it is fair to expect bloggers talking in different languages in different media markets to cross boundaries and change political climates,” he said.

That is perhaps true, but nonetheless, actually getting representatives from every EU country talking together – and about the EU, of all things – is undoubtedly an ambitious start. And it does seem that this is only the start, as a quick glance at the current website will attest.

The site has undergone a quick re-brand since the awards ceremony, and the competition is now branded: ‘Round #1′. This could be just the beginning…

Similar Posts:

FT.com: EC scrutiny for new PSB activities

Judith Townend — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:02:06 +0000

“Moves by public sector broadcasters within the EU to expand their activities into new areas, such as mobile TV and video on demand, would still be subject to prior independent scrutiny under revisions to controversial proposals published by Brussels on Friday,” reports the Financial Times.

Full story at this link…

Similar Posts:

Too old to become a journalist: UK journalism courses uncovered

Amy Oliver — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:25:14 +0000

This blog has, so far, concentrated on the Lambeth College, National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) course. There are a multitude of other courses out there, many of which offer online teaching and IT skills, which, in the current climate especially, are essential.

Below are the experiences of three other journalists who recently undertook training courses at Sportsbeat/News Associates, Cardiff University and noSWeat.

Sportsbeat/News Associates
Vivienne Raper, 29, is a freelance writer and journalist and has just finished her NCTJ course at Sportsbeat/News Associates.

Prior to this she worked full-time as a writer for a healthcare and life science PR agency. Other highlights of her career so far include an internship at a think tank, a PhD in climate change monitoring, serving on the national executive of the Liberal Democrats’ youth wing, and a spell as a receptionist in a prison.

Yet surprisingly, she maintains that journalism is the most interesting thing she’s ever done. She particularly enjoys breaking off-diary news stories.

“The NCTJ accredited Sportsbeat/News Associates course is run by a sports news agency in Wimbledon, London. I did the course part-time over 10 months but they also offer a full-time, fast track option. It cost £3,500.

“Unlike most NCTJ courses, students don’t need to have a degree to be accepted onto the Sportsbeat course. You must sit an entrance examination and interview, conducted by the course director or one of the heads of journalism training and a senior editor.

“Most of the students on my course were career changers in their late 20s or recent school leavers who had jobs and didn’t plan to go to university.

“The part-time course was brilliant for getting through the NCTJ exams without giving up the day job. I have no complaints – it did exactly what it said on the tin. I’d heartily recommend it even though I’m not remotely interested in sports reporting.

“If you are, you can take a module in sports reporting and help out in the newsroom after class on Saturday evenings.

“That being said the course suffers from the inherent problems with taking the NCTJ part-time i.e. everything is geared to passing the exams and leaves little time for anything else. If you have more money and want to learn about feature writing, podcasting or the history of journalism, I’d recommend a one-year diploma.

“The tutors are very professional, extremely supportive, know exactly what the NCTJ requires and will help after the course has finished by checking CVs, offering additional shorthand classes and forwarding on job or story (usually sports) opportunities.

“Time pressure meant we couldn’t do much outside preparing for the NCTJ. However, we did a couple of projects to teach journalism, learn QuarkXPress and collect clips for our NCTJ portfolio. We were split into groups and given an area of London to cover. Each group had to find stories and design a fake front page with headlines.

“Like all NCTJ courses, it’s hard work. It’s a real challenge to combine NCTJ study with a full-time job and it’s particularly difficult to get through shorthand studying part-time. You need to be committed to journalism to get through a part-time NCTJ – amazingly, no one dropped out. Media law and public affairs are tedious and it was hard to stay awake at 9:30pm on a Monday evening or on a Saturday afternoon. This is a problem with the NCTJ exams and not the tuition.”

Cardiff University
Amy Davies, 22, is currently studying for her postgraduate diploma in magazine journalism at Cardiff’s Journalism School. She also did a journalism undergraduate degree at Cardiff – she must love it there – but is originally from the Midlands. She sees herself working for a variety of different magazines, even freelancing so as not to feel tied to one style. Eventually she wants to be an editor, but thinks this may be a long way off.

“The course at Cardiff is accredited by the PTC (Periodicals Training Council) and has quite a high reputation. It runs for one academic year, from September to June, and costs around £5,500.

“A degree in any discipline is needed to get onto the course. After applying candidates are called for a day-long interview and will sit a news knowledge and writing test. They will also have a formal interview with one of the tutors and must submit two feature ideas. Previous publishing experience is useful, but not essential.

“The course is fairly well run in most areas and certainly provides many interesting lectures and modules. However, sometimes marking can be slow and so I do feel that progress can be hard to judge.

“The diploma offers a choice of newspaper, broadcast or magazine options. All paths share some modules including media law (taught separately), public administration, reporters and the reported (a series of ethics lectures), online and mobile media and shorthand (although this is optional for the magazine and broadcast path).

“Before we started the course in September, our shorthand teacher sent us worksheets and tapes instructing us to get up to 30WPM.

“Shorthand classes were then Monday-Friday mornings from 9-11am and by December, a number of students (about half the class) were able to take and pass the 100wpm NCTJ paper.

“In addition to the core subjects, students on the magazine course are taught news writing, magazine craft (how to use programmes including InDesign and Photoshop) and feature writing.

“We also have the opportunity to create and publish our own complete magazine and website.

“The course benefits from a high number of guest lecturers, hailing from various newspapers, magazines, broadcasters and online publications, who come and talk on various changes in the media.

“Magazine students must also complete a minimum of two weeks of work experience at a magazine(s) of their choice.”

noSWeat
Tara Kelly, 27, is a freelance journalist and has just finished her NCTJ-accredited course at noSWeat Journalism Training in Clerkenwell, London. Originally from New York, Tara has worked in corporate responsibility and the IT industry in Brussels and London. She holds an MA in International Conflict Analysis with a specialty in Conflict Diamonds. The fulfilment that comes with pitching and chasing up a story led Tara to journalism.

“NoSWeat Journalism was founded by a former journalist who noticed there were no part-time, London-based NCTJ courses on offer. The success rate of its graduates and its central London location are what attracted me to apply and enrol in the course. You don’t need a university degree to get in, but you do have to sit a written exam and have an interview with the school director. The tuition is £3,500, but you get a slight discount if you pay early.

“Media Law and shorthand were the most useful classes I took. We had the luxury of being taught by a practicing solicitor who is a renowned media law guru. The tutors held extra study sessions prior to exams, but have little patience for those who don’t attend class and make a sincere effort.

“Journalism classes entailed learning QuarkXPress, practicing sub-editing, attending mock press conferences and going out into town in search of a local story. Much of what they teach you is centred on passing the exams, so the outlook is rather local and regional given the nature of the NCTJ.

“The advantage of being a part-timer is that the course lasts 12 months allowing you more time to plan for work experience and complete your portfolio. On the other hand, part-timers working full-time may find it difficult to take advantage of the guest speaker lectures at lunch or the specially arranged day trips to the Old Bailey or House of Commons.

“Like the field of journalism, don’t expect to be spoonfed at noSWeat. Students must approach editors and secure work experience themselves. NCTJ is definitely the magic word for gaining work experience opportunities though. Some of the national newspapers that our class completed placements on included the Financial Times, the Guardian, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Times and The Sunday Times.

“Studying part-time, freelancing and managing to do a full-time job was extremely challenging in the final few months of the course, especially with exams and the portfolio hanging over your head. But if your devotion to journalism is unquestionable, it is well worth your Saturdays and Wednesday evenings.”

Similar Posts:

DNA09: Twittering – is it possible to tell the news in 140 characters or fewer?

Judith Townend — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:08:21 +0000

Journalism.co.uk’s very own @lauraoliver is joining a panel led by Wired.com associate editor @benhammersley at Digital News Affairs 2009. The others are Jeff Jarvis, blogger at BuzzMachine (@jeffjarvis); Robin Hamman, senior social media consultant at Headshift (@cybersoc); Darren Waters, technology editor at BBC News website (@darrenwaters); Bert Brouwers, editor-in-chief of Sp!ts (@brewbart); Katharina Borchert, editor-in-chief of Der Westen and MD of WAZ media (@lyssaslounge).

Watch live video from johncthompson’s channel on Justin.tv

Tag your tweets for this session #dna140 and follow here when it kicks off at 13.30 (Brussels time):

Similar Posts:

Video: Live streaming from Digital News Affairs Brussels 2009 – day two

John Thompson — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:04:17 +0000

Watch live video from johncthompson’s channel on Justin.tv

Similar Posts:

DNA09: The Tweet conversation

Judith Townend — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:31:13 +0000

Join in the Twitter conversation at DNA2009 by Tweeting via #dna09. Either follow on this SocialPlume page or via the live Tweet updates below:

Similar Posts:

Video: Live streaming from Digital News Affairs 2009 #dna09

John Thompson — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:10:08 +0000

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

Similar Posts:

Who’s a-Twittering at Digital News Affairs 2009 #dna09?

John Thompson — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:58:34 +0000

The news team of Journalism.co.uk is currently in Brussels covering the Digital News Affairs 2009 conference
We will have a live updating Twitter stream on this site, but you can also watch a prettier and more inclusive stream here and a special one based on the Twitter hashtag #dna140 for the Twitter panel on Thursday here.

If you are Twittering from DNA200, please remember to add #DNA09 to all your Tweets.

In the meantime, here is a list of Twitterers we’ve clocked if you want to follow them individually. This list is by no means conclusive, so feel free to add your own Twitter handles in comments if you will be at the conference and have been missed out.

@benhammersley
@benteka
@bertiebee
@brewbart
@cybersoc
@darrenwaters
@edial
@ernstpoulsen
@hochstenbach
@jaapstronks
@jacqwess
@Jer00n
@johncthompson
@jtownend
@kjmarsh
@kosmopolit
@lauraoliver
@lyssaslounge
@NEurope
@nmcintosh
@nwalrave
@paulvereijken
@Rosenblumtv
@SanneBrand
@theonehitwonder

Similar Posts:

DNA09: Journalism.co.uk coverage from the digital conference

Judith Townend — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:00:23 +0000

So, here we are in the land of waffles and fruity beer, live from DNA 2009 in Brussels. Have a look at the agenda here. It should be two days of varied, and if we’re lucky, heated discussion – just to keep things lively.

On Day Two, Journalism.co.uk’s very own Laura Oliver will be participating in a panel on Twitter: is it possible to tell the news in 140 characters?

We’ll be live-Tweeting from @journalism_live, with news updates from @journalismnews. You can follow an updating blog post tracking the Twitter conversation (#dna09) or a post with an embedded live-blog from the De Fontys Hogeschool Journalistek.

Alternatively, try out this socialplume page which will also be tracking the conversations.

If you’ve got any questions you’d like to ask any of the participants on the list just drop laura or judith @journalism.co.uk a line.

Enjoy!

Similar Posts:

Accidental Tweet announces senior BBC appointments (but are now official)

Judith Townend — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:34:16 +0000

Alfred Hermida was a little surprised to spot this last night: a Tweet from the head of the BBC newsroom, Peter Horrocks, to the director of global news, Richard Sambrook about some new appointments at the BBC.

“Perhaps it was intended to be a private, direct message”, Hermida pondered on his blog, Reportr.net.

Well, yes it was, Journalism.co.uk can now confirm after speaking to Peter Horrocks. “It’s a very embarrassing cock-up and everyone in the newsroom has been having a lot of fun at my expense,” Horrocks said.

“It’s had the perverse effect of making people who hadn’t worried about it [Twitter] think ‘oh god, if I’m going to get gossip from Peter then maybe it’s worth signing up,’ he said.

“Sambrook sent a message out late last night (…) I started it as a direct message exchange, and for some reason when I did a follow-up reply rather than go direct, it went as a public message,” Horrocks explained.

“It’s caused a bit of a flutter in the newsroom. I’m not going to use it for direct messages ever again now! I’m going to consider as a public medium in all circumstances!”

So, to clarify the situation, there are two new appointments, now officially announced (Horrocks told Malinarich and Roy this morning). In an (official) announcement Horrocks said:

“I’m pleased to tell you that Nathalie Malinarich is to be the executive editor of World Online and Andrew Roy the head of news for BBC World News. Nathalie has a strong record in World Service news and online, as Americas editor and front page editor. Andrew has widespread experience in newsgathering as former Bureau chief in DC and Brussels as well as his recent time at World News.

“Having two strong new editors will propel our global news for audiences on TV and and online forward. And, together with World Service News, we will see further evolution of the successful global hub operation under their leadership.”

Similar Posts:

Thoughts from the ‘blogging world’s Eurovision song contest’

Judith Townend — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:11:49 +0000

Etan Smallman, a student journalist, is participating in the European Journalism Centre’s ‘Th!nk About It’ competition. Here, he shares his thoughts on this week’s launch event, held in Brussels. Etan blogs at studentjournalist.wordpress.com.

Over 80 bloggers and journalists descended on the Belgian capital last Monday for the launch of ‘Th!nk About It’, the first ever Europe-wide blogging competition.

The brainchild of the European Journalism Centre, we will all be blogging away until June, with the aim of throwing some much needed light on that most uncool of institutions, the European Union. Think of it as the blogging world’s Eurovision Song Contest.

At the two day launch in Brussels, we were treated to presentations by – among others – the BBC’s Europe editor, Mark Mardell, the Financial Times’ Brussels bureau chief, Tony Barber, and Belgian blogger extraordinaire Clo Willaerts.

Barber and Mardell confessed that their now successful blogs came into being not from an initial personal enthusiasm for blogging, but from above: “I was ordered to,” Barber admitted.

Using podcasts, vodcasts, photos and plain old fashioned text, representatives from all 27 EU member states, will be bringing their individual experiences to the new blogging fraternity.

The official site will be launched on February 1, when readers from across the globe will be able to get involved in the discussion, as well as vote for their favourite blogs. A high-tech bonanza of prizes, from Flip Cameras to iPhones, will be awarded throughout the competition.

For an event that involved bringing dozens of international competitors from all corners of the continent to one place, everything went sensationally smoothly. There was only one controversy.

“Why isn’t the wireless working in here?” a fellow blogger publicly demanded. “WE ARE BLOGGERS,” he exclaimed, as if it were the essence of his being, an article of faith.

I was worried it was all going get a bit heated when one candid British MEP said that he was proud to have a blog, but conceded (rather warily) that he has disabled the comments facility, therefore not allowing any discussion on the site: for fear of rival parties and political groups using it as a platform for their views.

“NO COMMENTS, NO BLOG!” a militant blogger boomed at him. And that was that.

Thankfully everything continued peacefully, though I sensed there were many who wanted to officially strip the gentleman of his self-appointed status as a ‘blogger.’

It was just left to Marjory van den Broeke, head of press at the Parliament, to wrap up the day by quoting one of the speakers who described us as:

“Lively, challenging, not too respectful, young, cool and attractive. Everything bloggers should be.”

And if that is not enough to convince you that the EU – for better or for worse – can be fun, then I urge you to visit my blog to see what Euro-bloggers get up to when they – just for a few minutes – prize themselves away from their beloved MacBooks.

Suffice to say: European relations at their most amusing.

Watch the competition’s trailer here:

Similar Posts:

Belgian newspapers seeking £39m damages from Google

Oliver Luft — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:13:30 +0000

A group of Belgian newspapers are seeking up to £39m (€49m) in damages from Google for the search giant publishing and storing their content without permission or offering payment.

Last year Google lost a case brought against it by the Copiepresse group – an organisation that represents the French language press in Belgium – forcing it to remove cached versions of newspaper articles and take down content from its Google News service

The organisation’s secretary-general told Bloomberg yesterday it had summoned Google to appear again before a Brussels court so that it could decide on the damages. Copiepresse is seeking between €32.8 and 49.1m.

The damages would be in addition to the €25,000 (£20,000) daily fine imposed on Google by the court for each day it kept Copiepresse material on its site.

Google appealed the original court decision of February 2007, which ruled that it could not claim ‘fair use’ – acceptable under copyright law – for using a lines of text and linking to the original article.

A Google spokesperson told Bloomberg that it was still awaiting the results of its appeal and that it had not received notification from Copiepresse of any new court dates.

Similar Posts:

DNA 2008: ‘new forms of journalism needed for it to survive’

John Thompson — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:27:12 +0000

Christian Van Thillo talks about the new forms of journalism publishers need to adopt to survive at the Digital News Affairs (DNA2008) conference in Brussels today.

Similar Posts:

NTY: Belgium papers could sue EU for linking to stories

Oliver Luft — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:58:52 +0000

A victory in a European court last year against Google has encouraged newspapers in Belgium to take action against the European Commission over links on two agency sites.

According to the Times, a Brussels court has been asked by a group of French- and German-language newspapers to examine its claim.

Similar Posts: