News Journal week 12 (27th – 3rd May)

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/three-things-we-learned-from-the-football-league-division-1-final-674620.html

This is a review-type article from the Irish Examiner from yesterdays NFL division 1 final between Dublin and Cork. The article mainly focuses on the three areas where Cork lost the game. This review tries to summarize to use the current state of affairs following the game.

Reviews give us an experts opinion on an a certain topic and this is the case here. It is well structured and easy to understand, With numbered points accompanied by headings, pictures and videos. From point on we can see how well he analysed the performance of Cian O’Sullivan and his presence at the back. He also indicates how O’Sullivans defensive mindset allowed the likes of Jack McCaffrey to venture forward more often, which was one of the main reasons Dublin won the game, as Jack was at the heart of many of Dublin’s ‘good play.’

It gives readers a good indication where the game was one and lost, and a review on a match should do exactly that. It is both well written, easy to understand and informative. Although it asks the question ‘How do you stop Jack McCaffrey?’ It goes onto explain the only possible way may be to sacrifice a player just to disrupt his runs, possibly the first time we have seen a man marking job on a defender.

Seeing as it is an Irish Examiner review, it would have to take a Munster angle on its last point. As the writer rightly points out, Cork have been seen as far more defensive this season than in previous years, but still got cut open by Dublin. The question he poses is one which will divide opinion, will Kerry and other Munster teams try to press like Dublin did or will we see Cork playing with less space between their lines?

Overall it is a well written review-based piece with an angle on how Cork were defeated. One could easily see where the game was one and lost from this piece, exactly what a review of a match should include.

News Journal week 11 (20th – 26th April)

Trusted Independent Journalism Seven Days a Week

Sources in stories are arguably the most important ingredient in what differentiates it from a poor to a great piece. Sources are usually experts in their given field who give journalist the information needed to make up a given story on a particular matter. Sources are knowledgeable in their field, but normal day to day people can also be considered sources, seen in many articles by voxpops. One of the reasons there may not have been a voxpop done with this story is that many people would have no interest or knowledge to give their opinion, either that or the journalist felt it was strong enough without them and they were not needed, which more than likely was the case.

Writers try to aim for at minimum two sources, but try to get three if they can. This adds a certain balance to a piece given that their are opinion/facts from three different people. This article has three sources, one within in the company Microsoft itself and two from outside. Almost all agree that the “cloud continues to be a major pillar of strength.” The fact that they are all practically agreeing about how strong the cloud is shows that this must be the case. It would be hard to believe if just the Microsoft financial officer said it was so.

Further down the article the journalist intertwines the second and third source, which she is perfectly entitled to do once the readers are not confused as to who is saying what. This is not the case however, as when she is referring back to once of her sources she merely adds ‘Hood said’ or ‘Ives said’ to attribute a source, and a small thing like this can make all the difference in ruining a perfectly well written piece.

News Journal week 10 (13th – 19th April)

http://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/made-in-chelsea-stars-alex-mytton-and-irish-girlfriend-nicola-hughes-make-binky-jealous-in-naas-31154432.html

The independent wouldn’t be the main paper readers interested in the life of celebrities would turn too, but one thing they can be sure of is that it will be well written. Saying that, there is a slight mistake, the writer using ‘is’ instead of ‘in’ in the introduction, but it wouldn’t be too obvious a mistake to the human eye. The intro is also 31 words long if you are being rather picky, but does hold all the relevant information.

It follows the inverted pyramid method and none of the the sentences or paragraphs are too long winded. The piece is mainly centered around the fact that the couple were seen in the Naas Court hotel last night, and finished with the less important information of how their relationship was progressing.

The journalist also managed to get references off  Nicola, but didn’t just throw them in at the top. He/She left them until the 5th paragraph and continued from there. The writer structured the quotes well, not putting them in big paragraphs making them bulky, but rather adding one or two sentences per paragraph which makes it easier for readers to understand.

As the piece progresses we get the understanding from Nicola of how her relationship is going and how she is fitting into the show. This is needed as the main part of the piece, the fact they were on a night out in Naas, isn’t really worthy of its own article. The fact that the journalist asked her more questions about her personal life added another dimension to the writing and made it more interesting for readers.

Although it is seen in nearly every online article, the two pictures of the couple also add to the story because we see exactly who the journalist is talking about.

News Journal week 9 (23rd – 29th March)

We Have To Win For Us, The Fans And The City

This is a daily blog for Newcastle United fans to read the news and views of passionate supporters like themselves. This can therefore be biased as its readers are more than likely all going to be Newcastle United fans.

It however cannot afford to be lax in its approach. In the opening paragraph we can see that the blogger has made two key mistakes. Firstly, he doesn’t follow the rule of 30 words or less in the intro, as he uses 42 words in total. He also types the year 2010 incorrect, which would indicate that he didn’t prove read over his material once he was finished. It also could be said that a sentence with 42 words is too long, as the shorter it can be done the better to keep readers interested.

This trend can be seen also in his second paragraph, where there is no full stop in his 4o words, which again feels long winded and almost fails to deliver the point he is trying to make. Throughout this piece no paragraph has a full stop excluding the end.

In the 10th paragraph of the piece he uses 3 commas, and no full stops. I had to double read the paragraph to see the point he was trying to make as i felt I had been reading the paragraph for an eternity.

I felt that the last paragraph was also left me wanting more. He included extracts from Moussa Sissoko, but I would have liked to see examples of how he can win the game for us, his aerial ability, strength etc. For this to be a well written and informative piece it would have been nice to include a small paragraph on the players qualities.

To be a well written piece the blogger should have shortened his paragraphs, used more information on the player in question and give us only the important info in the intro, info that would draw us in to the article.

News journal week 8 (16th – 22nd March)

http://www.nova.ie/podcast/mike-scott-waterboys-royal-blood-talk-sinead-ni-mhorda-backstage/

Although this is a radio podcast, it still follows the same values that a news story in a paper would. It begins the show with the news from the day, and begins with the biggest story and works its way down, finishing with the weather. It was unusual however, that they began with world news, as many news sites usually begin with Irish news and follow with world news.

This particular show then proceeds to music, with Sinead Ni Mhorda interviewing the Waterboys among others. She had a good way of presenting, she didn’t talk to much and instead let the bands she was interviewing take up most of the air time, which is a plus. Some interviewers seem to like the sound of their own voice a little to much.

Music was played throughout the show, which gave us a break from the constant process of question and answer. This was a nice addition because sometimes even the most interesting interviews can become long winded. It gave these bands a chance to get their music to a wider audience also, which i always think is a good idea.

As this radio station wouldn’t be as big or has as much funding as other stations, their main income would come through advertising. Although they have to have as many ads as possible, i felt that i became very bored listening to them, and was more inclined to click off the station.

Sinead was a good interviewer overall, she had good knowledge and her approach wasn’t too serious, which I feel is one key ingredient to a good interview. She had good ‘craic’ with her guests, which makes them more relaxed and in turn more inclined to reveal more information.

News Journal week 7 (2nd – 8th March)

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/politics/taoiseach-enda-kenny-promises-tax-527016

This is a hard news story from the Irish Daily Mirror. It is upbeat information, with the title of the article explaining what the rest of the piece entails. This is likely to attract people to read the article, especially those who are self employed themselves.

The intro is short and precise but has all the relevant information that it should include. The piece follows the inverted pyramid method, with the important info of the tax breaks and quotes from Enda Kenny are at the beginning of the piece. The quotes from Mr. Kenny do not begin until the third paragraph, which is correct as they shouldn’t be included before this.

All the paragraphs are concise, with none of them exceeding 40 words. I find this very appealing as a reader, as sometimes with long paragraphs and sentences the information can get caught up and sometimes become less important in the grand scheme.

Following the quotes from Enda, the article then explains what these tax breaks are linked too, unemployment. It explains of how unemployment stands as a new low of 10.1%. This isn’t the key information, but it is tied and is included near the end of the writing.

The journalist even manages to get a second speaker, Mark Fielding, to give his views on the matter. This is key as each journalist should aim to get at least 2 speakers in a piece where possible. They could have left the quotes at Enda Kenny, but they must be commended or getting someone else to talk, adding that extra bit to a well structured news story.

News journal week 6 (23rd – 1st March)

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Video news sites are a big form of the internet in this day and age, particularly those that can be seen on YouTube. Not all news sites are confined to TV, and many people have had success posting their videos through their own page on YouTube, like Clevver news.

Today they are doing a segment called the daily Hollywood rundown, where they discuss the hottest celeb news over the past 7 days. The show is only 10 minutes long, so it is very fast paced with no stoppages. The two presenters have a nice way about them, which makes watching the short news segment very enjoyable. The way in which it combines the end of one clip to the start of another really allowed it to ebb and flow.

Although its not an article, it still some what follows a trend that would be seen in a written piece. They start of with the top story of the week and continue on through, finishing with what they consider to be the least of importance in their line up. There is a lot of coverage from the Brit awards, as this is a popular ceremony with so much media attention.

They even added a #TBT (throwback Thursday) towards the middle – end of the video. This is a popular #hashtag on social media, particularly on instagram, where users share a photo/memory from their past. This shows their understanding of what is ‘down with the kids’ so to speak, and made me feel a lot more involved in the video.

Although I wouldn’t be the biggest celebrity news fan, the show was actually quite enjoyable for me to watch. This was down to the presenters, their knowledge and description of the news, and also how the show was structured.

News journal Week 5 (16th -22nd Feb)

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/subscriptions-to-support-content-at-the-irish-times-1.2108277

This is a big talking point at this moment because The Irish Times have began a paid subscription for their online content. People will be allowed to view 10 articles per week, but will have to pay to view more articles after this. This is a big step in web-based journalism in Ireland, as the Irish Times are the first of their kind to do so here.

This article is based around an interview with the managing director of The Irish Times Liam Kavanagh. He explains very well why the paper has decided to bring about an subscription for the online content. From the article we know that The Irish times gathers 150,000 engaged users every month, but Liam knows that even if he gets a small percentage of that number to subscribe for €12 a month it will be more than worth it.

The intro for this piece goes over the recommended 30 words and also uses a quote. Although it wouldn’t be seen as a great idea to use a quote in an introduction, I feel it fits in well. We know straight off that users with a subscription will get unrestricted access to all articles on the website.

This article also doesn’t follow the inverted pyramid particularly either, as quotes are used from the off and take up the bulk of the information. It works for this however because Liam is the man with all the facts and figures relating to the subscription. The article doesn’t lack fluidity because of this.

It is also reassuring to hear from Liam that The Irish Times have added 25 journalist in the last two years, with the subscription going well that number may rise also.

News Journal Week 4 (9th-15th Feb)

http://gaascores.com/2015/02/53-rossa-slaughtneil-gunning-for-all-ireland-glory/

Radio is another form of media which is very popular around the world. This is a podcast from GAAScores, who talk about every talking point in the GAA world over the past week or so. This is the first podcast of the new series and mainly focuses on Ulster GAA news with the lads from Gaelic life joining Conor.

There is no visual aspect to radio, it is just a form of audial media. It is therefore impossible to red body language like it is with TV, so it can sometimes be difficult to read emotions and whether someone is being, for  example sarcastic or not.

Radio is very easy to listen too however, and this podcast is a prime example of this. When it is a free flowing and as interesting a this one is, radio is a hard form of media to challenge. By having the host and guests they bounce opinions of the particular issues, and we aren’t just getting one opinion.

Radio is particularly handy as it can be listened too anywhere, while you are jogging, driving etc. Podcasts, like this one can be downloaded and then listened to whenever. Anyone can create a podcast and is it a good idea for people to do this if they have an interest in an area, like Conor from GAAScores.

Although this a ulster centred podcast, it is interesting for any GAA fan. We wouldn’t get o hear or read from these guys regularly and this is why podcasts and radio shows are so valuable in my opinion. These guys are a lot more knowledgeable then a lot of more high profile journalist/broadcasters.

News Journal Week 3 (2nd-8th Feb)

http://www.joe.ie/life-style/pic-tea-meets-the-jagerbomb-in-what-could-be-the-most-irish-photo-of-all-time/484041

JOE.ie is a Irish news site that has exploded in the last year or so. It is purely social media, as it doesn’t produce a newspaper or magazine. Its become a very popular news source for many reasons, mainly because of its laid back, humorous approach.

It still manages to get the bulk of the information to you, but will leave you with a little giggle also. The language they use is informal, using words like ‘sound’ and phrases like ‘on the tiles.’ They produce a lot of stories that many don’t need to know, but rather want to know, stories that would very rarely make it to a national newspaper.

The stories are also very precise, using as little information as possible. They usually get some sort of photo or story sent into them and if they feel its funny and will intrigue people like this one, thy will put it up on their site.

Many of there page views comes from Facebook and twitter too. Its very rare that people would search ‘Joe’ on google but by liking the page on Facebook, the stories pop up on the news feed, and with a click of a button the story is in front of you. This way we can scroll past the stories we fill we wont want to read.

Like this story, its sounds so bizarre I couldn’t help myself but clicking on it, knowing it wont take me too long to read and I will always have a smile on my face after it. This type of Media is really growing, simply because of the accessibility and the form of language they use. Joe have branched out in the last year producing Her.ie, SportsJoe.ie and even Joe.co.uk, showing just how popular these types of stories are with the public.