Comments on: Who? What? Where? Why Bother?

By: Sex Trade and the South London Press | onionbagblog

Sex Trade and the South London Press | onionbagblog — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:19:17 +0000

[...] peanuts out of the prostitution money pot isn’t bad enough, SLP journos are then expected to supervise work experience kids that clearly aren’t suited to the [...]

By: Don’t Believe the Hyper | onionbagblog

Don’t Believe the Hyper | onionbagblog — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:39:43 +0000

[...] dear. It seems that my minor misunderstanding with the good ‘ol SLP last week is being played out in the dreaded blogosphere. Good news [...]

By: darryl853

darryl853 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:54:23 +0000

Just to clarify – out of curiosity, is this an “intern” (free labour) or someone on work experience as part of a course or their schooling? I did the latter at the SLP in the early 90s and did a lot of really unsexy stuff that actually made me think about proper newspaper skills that blogging won’t teach – writing style, subbing, that kind of thing.

I don’t know if you’re from the SLP, Lindsay, but if you are, hiding behind the “he’s only a kid working for free” is a sorry excuse which does the paper no favours at all. If local papers like the SLP can’t reach out properly and honestly to smaller operators working in different media, then they will die out.

By: obb

obb — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:01:39 +0000

Agree totally with the closed network of going down the Nationals route. But is there really any need for this antiquated form of training now? It’s as simple as here’s a blogging platform, find your story, press publish. If the kid is good enough, he or she will get noticed.

You need to write about what you know. This will then shine through in your copy. Starting a blog is the best route for any budding journo to go out there and get their hands dirty.

I write about Stockwell because it’s all that I know about. I’m sure the poor intern that is caught up in this sorry saga has plenty of ideas and enthusiasm around their own interest.

Start a blog, or you’re burnt toast.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:02:47 +0000

It’s a very, very difficult industry to get into and not everyone has an Oxford degree and £8,000 lying around to get onto one of the really good journalism courses that offer a backdoor onto the nationals. The SLP take on these interns to give them a chance and overworked staff try their best to supervise them and pass on stories they can manage. But there’s only so much staff can do. It’s unfortunate that this kid made such a hash of the story and they should certainly have told Mr Cobb they were doing work experience.

By: Annals of mutual incomprehension: Local newspapers and hyperlocal bloggers | Media Money

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:45:17 +0000

[...] Cobb’s recent discussion of a telephone encounter with a reporter on the South London Press points to the yawning gulf that [...]

By: obb

obb — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:57:55 +0000

With apologies to the intern involved. This suggests then that it’s a structural problem, which arguably, is more worrying. Why allow someone to objectively report a local news patch, if by admission, they are unfamiliar with the area and struggle with the language?

Thanks for the NIB, anyway.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:07:59 +0000

Did it ever occur to you that maybe you were talking to an intern? The South London Press takes on weekly work experience students, who may not have English as a first language let alone a familiarity with the geography of South London. You’ve just publically [sic] torn apart the efforts of a teenager, trying to get their foot onto the first rung of journalism. Nice.

By: obb

obb — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:55:18 +0000

@Bathseba – yes, it was all rather strange. Thanks but no thanks, etc.

By: Bathsheba

Bathsheba — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:46:33 +0000

I love the fact that the tiny tiny piece that appeared didn’t even mention the word “blog” let alone give the web address.