LIVE Futures: the movie

15 December 2008

Jordan works out what skills journalists need

Jordan Campbell is on our LIVE Learning DIY Magazine programme every Monday. He spent today looking at what journalism is. Here's his handy definition – and the top five skills good journalists need, with a few comedy moments inserted, just to keep the reader interested. Over to you Jordan.

What is journalism?
Journalism is the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news. Journalism mainly states facts about what is happening now, journalism can be about annything, just as long as it's todays news.

What skills do journalists need?

• Writing skills: the work you do might be read by loads of people, theres no point writing about something that nobody would like to read.

• Organisation: when you are writing a piece you need to gather as much information as possible and you need to meet deadlines, if you were not an organised person you might lose your work and this could result in no food for the next week.

• Opinions: journalists need to have a good attitiude and need to be able to work out what they think about things and they do that by thinking it through.

• Communication skills: being a journalist you do need to interview atleast 2000 people in your career and by doing this you accumulate the skills to get more out of people

• Stealth: getting the inside story means you need to get into places without being seen. You've got to be able to blend in anywhere.

1 December 2008

Obama on Facebook?

LIVE's Jordan Campbell spent today with two work experience contributors who came all the way from Omagh, Ireland to work at the magazine. Today was all about comment features - how you work out what you think about something then express it clearly. Here's what they came up with...

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE FRIENDS WITH OBAMA?
Who is the most famous person I know? Mr. Barack Obama, of course. If you were to ask me how, then obviously I would lie and say that him and me have been cool for the last unforgettable amount of years but the truth is I just added him on Facebook and hoped he would reply. I’m not sure why but its weird in one sense that he has one because its considered normal for a teenager to have one but not for a president, that's like me seeing the queen “bopping” down Brixton wearing the latest Nike air maxes, you just wouldn't imagine it. I wanted to find another Facebook that was owned by someone that had an important title. I found Gordon Brown and that was really shocking, not only does he has one of the most boring jobs in the world, he probably is the most boring man in the world, and you can tell this just by looking at his facebook. Mr. Obama’s Facebook takes the reader through a selection of his most loved tunes (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder,) and best films (Godfather I & II, Lawrence of Arabia) but Gordon Brown’s just repeats the words “labour party” in every sentence. There is one more difference between the two and that is, in Gordon’s there is a warning that states that if anyone cusses him, it will be deleted instantly. In Obama’s, there’s no such warnings at all. Who do you think is the cooler? I think Gordon needs to re-read the script and get with the program. Jordan Campbell, 15

WHY DO WE LINK CLOTHES AND MUSIC?
Rock equals jet black hair and a studded leather jacket, R 'n' B equals hoodie and some bling, and if your wearing skinny jeans we all know your an indie kid first in line for some Arctic Monkeys tickets...But why? Why do we link music with the clothes we wear? Perhaps it's because as teens we feel we need to have an image of someone in our heads. Or are we just obsessed with stereotyping? Yes it is normal for someone to have a particular style and this will of course be influenced by the music you listen to, the people you hang out with and the celebrities you inspire to be like. However lets face it, in the world we live in most people would never consider hitting the local DJ hotspot for a dance music session dressed in an outfit that's all black studded from head to toe like a regular goth! We as a society we are constantly obsessing about how we 'expect' people to look just because of the type of music they listen to. Lets take for instance you walk into a R 'n' B club, you almost certainly know what people will be dressed like. There is not likely to be anyone who has the courage to break the mould and really stand out. I think this takes an immense amount of confidence, which is something that not a lot of teens really have. Personally I think that this is limiting people's creative side, as they feel that they must look a certain way to be into a certain genera of music. We should be able to step outside the normality and dress whatever way we want to and listen to what ever music we want to. Well now that you know how I feel on stereotyping I'm just off to do a little spot of rapping in my indie skinny jeans will a studded leather jacket on...Breaking the mould much!! Emma Smyth, 16

SCHOOL SHOULD HELP US OUT, NOT STRESS US OUT
In today's society I think it is extremely important to make the most of your school days, settle down and work to your full potential to gain pretty decent grades. There is no argument that you need qualifications to pursue a good career. It's important to work hard in your compulsory subjects like Maths, English and Science, however recently they have developed a new subject called 'learning for life and work'. This three subjects in one has now became compulsory, piling tonnes more coursework on us along with three extra exams to sit. 'LLW' will appeal to many students, just like art and media studies appeal to me but there is certainly no need to make it sit alongside Maths and you no the rest. To achieve good grades to the best of your ability you need short snappy down to the point subjects. At least with Maths you will get somewhere in life. I know from my experiences, at the end of the day I feel tired, strained with no concentration left at all. I think nearly everyone's the same. School should inspire us in ways to see a brighter future, give us confidence and make us believe in ourselves, explore our creative senses. Why would I want to know how to behave in an office? School tends to just throw work and deadlines at us with no thought for anything else. Justice anyone? Schools have the power to create a happier environment, lets start now and get to grip with some real subjects.
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