Oct
22
George Osborne's House of Commons speech - illustrated by wordle.net
On Wednesday, as George Osborne read his spending review speech to the House of Commons, hordes of journalists looked on in anticipation – and the scene was no different at the University of Central Lancashire.
After a last-minute plan was hatched by Michael Williams, former deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday and head of news at The Sunday Times; my fellow student journalists and I sprung into life, to create some promising results.
We created cross-platform coverage, collaborating in print, broadcast and online journalism in what Williams called “the most original and balanced print and digital media feedback†of the day’s events.
Michael appointed me Executive editor, charged with overlooking the entire print operation, Joseph Stashko headed the digital side of things and Carl Hartley was put in charge of broadcast.
Despite producing the eight-paged paper (as embedded below) from a standing start, we managed to produce a dedicated newspaper which was of a decent standard.
The digital coverage was fantastic, as Joseph Stashko once showed his strengths in covering live-events; helped by first-year International Journalism student Danny Lee, and fellow second-year Daniel Bentley.
All of the day’s digital coverage was hosted at Blog Preston, and we received fantastic hits; with the live-blog being the third most popular post since the site was launched in 2009.
The day wasn’t without difficulty, however, as we raced against the clock and our six o’clock deadline to find a Preston family to interview for our main feature – but the copy and picture was eventually filed with 20 minutes to go.
The team of print reporters worked their socks off chasing local reaction, hitting the streets of Preston to talk to locals, councillors and experts in politics, finance and education.
The day was a resounding success, as Michael reiterated in an email sent round to those involved: “A big herogram to the more than 100 students involved in our first-ever multi-platform national news operation yesterday. The Preston Cuts was a roaring success, with digital, broadcast and print platforms racing away with terrific harmony.
“Not only did you all show superb professionalism, but you also demonstrated teamwork of the highest order. I was proud of you all – and you can feel absolutely proud of yourselves. You were hours ahead of the first editions of the nationals – and, as for the local media, you left them standing!”
The day was a fantastic example of the strength of the journalism school – both its students and the tutors – and the experience will most certainly set everyone involved in good stead for the future.
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How did your news organisation cover the Spending Review?
Did you also converge across mediums?
Let me know in the comments below, or drop me an email at andy[at]andyhalls[dot]net
