In our fourth consecutive year, Winchester News Online
has continuously developed, progressed and flourished as a fully functional
editorial student run project. Excelling
across news, sport, features, web and production as a team we have been
accredited as one of the best BJTC courses for journalism. Our success across
all media outlets has been acknowledged as we have achieved awards for both
Website of the Year and overall Best TV News-day of the Year.
This semester we have particularly focused on our online
media outlets such as our website and twitter feeds to expand and establish our
audience. WINOL’s circulation figures are significantly better than last year
with our current Alexa ranking of 30, 063 in the UK as of 6/12/13. We have
continuously competed in the Alexa rankings making us one of the most viewed
student journalist sites nationally but also with larger audiences than local
news outlets such as The Hampshire Chronicle and the Daily Echo. The most
recent figures show that WINOL is ranking higher than East
London Lines with our record day rating standing at an
impressive 2,737 web views.
On the whole WINOL has massively improved however we are
still ranking below JMU and Leeds universities which could be because of our
range of stories and style of writing. Throughout the semester, the news team
have been advancing their skills with camerawork, editing and scripting
although the quality of writing has not improved at the same rate as the
quality of the video packages. There have been quite a few problems with
written stories this term as they are often rushed and put up at the last
minute leaving subs a tough job of editing the stories with reporters often
turning in scripts. As a solution to this problem a ‘Subs Bible’ was produced
that outlined and explained what content to include and how to structure
stories correctly.
Although WINOL has been extremely successful,
consistently hitting deadlines and producing accomplished and varied content
each week it does have its flaws. One of the main problems that many guest
editors have mentioned seems to be our lack of a specific audience. ‘What
target audience are we trying to reach?’ is a repeatedly asked question not
just from a content point of view but also on a marketing/distribution scale.
The lack of a clear target audience left us questioning whether we were aiming
to be a local news outlet for Winchester or just for students at the university
as our audience seems to be made up of people that have been involved in WINOL
either through interviews or because of the stories that have been broadcasted.
I think the problem lies within the bulletin and not the individual packages so
it is a key aim for next year to generate an audience that tunes in to watch us
as their regular news update.
The news team have done exceptionally well this year, with
reporters adjusting to taking on important lead roles such as news editor for
the week as well as organising and directing second years on their packages. As
a local output WINOL has hit the target on numerous occasions focusing on
stories with a clear local angle that will appeal to viewers in the Hampshire
area. Last year we were extremely lucky with our content as we covered the
breaking news story of the Eastleigh-by-election and other important events
such as the Budget which advanced us and our reputation as a professional news
channel. One of the only breaking stories we attempted to cover was the BAE job
losses which could have been developed a bit more, as at the time the workers
were protesting however the initial story broke on a Wednesday and after failed
attempts at trying to travel down to Portsmouth we utilised a link up from the
studio to the newsroom to discuss the developing events. It was a shame that we
couldn’t report live from the location as it would have pulled in a huge amount
of hits from one of Hampshire’s biggest news items as it was so relevant to the
local area.
WINOL always strives to cover a range of news stories,
from crime, health and business, to political and environmental it is essential
that we maintain a varied news bulletin. Each reporter has always aimed for an
interesting story with many producing a detailed and well shot package for the
week, with some particularly standing out at an exceptionally accomplished
level. Matt Spencer’s involvement with the police and crime commissioner in
Hampshire and the West Midlands has been a credit to him and to WINOL as he was
the first student to be asked to produce and broadcast the COMPASS meeting that
was held in our studios.
As a more experienced student, Christina Michael’s has
excelled as a crime reporter producing packages with a composed nature yet
still conveying a gripping story with legitimate facts and images; in
particular the rape story was shot perfectly with a professional piece to
camera.
When it came to shooting a package and the editing of
visuals and the audio, students such as Liam Garrahan and Ellen Millard have
frequently excelled in this area, producing clear, structured and visually engaging
reports with a variety of angles, raw natural sound, sequences and solid
interviews. In particular Liam’s package on changes to scrap metal laws has
been described as the ‘best student news package to date’ and is now used as a
template for other students to follow.
In terms of WINOL’s video output it was a bit hit and
miss with the quality as there was a clear divide in experience amongst the
team. The lack of communication and direction also effected how packages were
edited and then uploaded as there were a host of technical issues that
continued to cause problems with VTs. Shots were out of focus or over exposed
and a lack of GV and sequence shots also left reporters with little to work
with when editing. Interviews were also an issue for a while whether it was
visually or because of audio there seemed to be no real quotes used; people
would instead opt for exposition which should be done in a voiceover over
visuals.
The features section has also been incredibly successful
this year as it has been directed at a student audience with aesthetically
engaging content on fashion, technology and entertainment. As an added extra,
Winchester Access has been introduced which brings viewers the latest reviews
on events happening around the area as well as interviews with TV
personalities, exclusive previews of theatrical shows, film festivals and the
latest developments in technology, all of which appeal and attract a student
audience. The fashion magazine, Absolute:ly focuses on our female readership
with articles on fashion, hair and
beauty as well as an exclusive interview with Rosie Mullender; feature editor
of Cosmopolitan magazine.
My role on WINOL this year has been as a reporter for
Winchester Access, a new feature led bulletin produced each week. For the first Access we decided to set our
aims high by travelling up to London to cover the Rain Dance film festival. As
it was the first week we only had two items for the bulletin, the film festival
and an African drumming lesson. For our first go, we saw it as a draft, a work
in progress that could only evolve and develop until we established a set way
of producing, filming and editing. The presenting had to be edited thoroughly
to energise the piece, we did this by speeding up certain clips to keep the
piece moving however the overall footage was poorly lit and had extensive audio
issues. As the presenter for the Rain Dance package it was a challenge getting
into a lively, natural mind set where you have to walk through areas of the
event and use extensive hand movements to engage the viewer. The African drumming
was better, however it was too much of a puff piece, Jack needed to make the
review as honest as possible, with the idea to poke fun but in a disarming way.
For the second week we had more content for the bulletin,
Jack helped to film a coffee house session which involved local artist, Ben
Goddard performing in the student union. I travelled to Southampton with Faith
Thomas where we gained exclusive access to a press launch of War Horse; we
managed to get some brilliant shots of the puppet in motion and two different
interviews with the puppeteers and the musician. I decided to have another go
at presenting and felt I achieved a more natural presence when on camera as
well as slowing down my pace when speaking. The show still lacked a set
structure; we needed an opening to the show that gave the audience a preview of
what was coming up that included a headline clip.
Over the next few weeks we developed Access into a set
structure with opening titles, headlines, graphics and music that became unique
to our bulletin. The content became more varied as we became more confident,
setting up interviews and getting exclusive access by making the effort to
pursue calls and emails to get us into places.
We also started to expand the bulletin by including
reviews on films and technology that were produced by people outside of the
team, for example Liam produced a fantastic package on the Apps World
convention in London for week four. Here he looked at apps, new games and new
technology and it was the first time we had presented somewhere on location.
Jack and Liam dual presented the show opting to avoid a script as it would seem
more natural to riff off one another which received a great amount of praise.
When it came to week five we produced a Halloween special
that received the most hits as we set up our own twitter account that week,
which we used to promote the bulletin. We opted for a Gothic and typically
spooky look by filming the presenting in the graveyard as well as changing the
lighting on final cut and adding in a rain effect which visually made it dark
and gloomy. That week Faith and I went on a ghost walk which we were allowed to
film, however due to it being late at night and some technical issues the
footage didn’t come out as well as we hoped due to the lack of lighting.
Luckily because of the style of the bulletin we could add in extra effects and
edit the footage in the style of “Most Haunted”.
Overall I have enjoyed reporting on Access with many of
my packages turning out well, particularly the Winchester film festival where I
went and reported in the Art Café. I got a variety of shots with different
angles and a solid interview that added variety and depth to the piece. It gave
me a good chance to work on my piece to camera as I presented the package on
location which looked effective as the viewers can see that I’m getting
involved and experiencing the event myself.
Another package I really enjoyed filming was the charity event for
Parkinson’s UK at Winchester Cathedral. We gained exclusive access and were
allowed to film inside, giving us some fantastic shots of the choir singing in
the cathedral. Unfortunately I had audio issues when filming the interview with
the event manager, this was a shame as the interview was shot well and had some
good quotes. In the end I tried to edit the sound as much as possible but
couldn’t use it because the quality was so poor.
As the weeks have progressed so has Access, with nine
bulletins in total we have strived to improve each week, using effects,
graphics, music and working on our presenting, audio and camera work. In week
nine, our penultimate show you can see how far the bulletin has come and how we
have all worked together as a team to set a high quality and professional
standard for those taking over the role next year.
Each semester WINOL grows as a project, with advanced reporting,
accomplished packages and professional production it is one of the best
learning resources any journalism student could ask for. As an individual I
feel I have strengthened my camera work and editing skills as well as growing in
confidence when attending events and presenting for the camera. WINOL thrives
off teamwork, dedication and recognition which makes it an incredibly
professional news channel that everyone who has participated in this semester,
should be proud of.
Word Count 2100
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