Tweeting about TV…

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by .reid.: http://flickr.com/photos/sarahreido/3245498261/

Soap war conversations used to fly across the lounge in the evening when television programmes ended on a cliff hanger, or even on a weekend whilst catching up with an omnibus. Thankfully they still do. The classic theme tune of Coronation Street acted as a cue for silence and ‘hush’ when the opening titles rolled.

Quietness was vital so not to miss a word. Obviously back in the days before pause TV and on-demand catch-up services existed; commercial breaks were small breathes for chatter. With thanks to the invention of services like these, that I can now cough during Emmerdale and take a plate out without missing someone kicking off in Albert Square in EastEnders.

Though some might argue social interaction about TV can and should exist outside of the family home. Far greater than colleagues at work. What about half way across the globe? That’s now possible. Read more ›

Tagged with: experience, micro-blogging, sharing, social media, study, talking, television, telly, TV, tweeting, twitter
Posted in Journalism, Personal

#ShopCardiff Challenge…

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

Rules of Play, Castle Arcade – one of the many shops supporting the campaign…

Next week a hashtag campaign is challenging Cardiff shoppers to ditch big chain stores and get behind independent retailers.

I went out to speak to consumers and local business owners, such as Michelle Davis from Rules of Play to get their views on the campaign set up by Owen Derbyshire, the man behind Tweet Cardiff.

Michelle also shared her views on how important it is for local businesses to utilise social media in this day and age…

Tagged with: #shopcardiff, business, business owners, campaign, Cardiff, Castle Arcade, challenge, community, consumer, games, glamorgan university, journalism, local, news, podcast, Rules of Play, shoppers, shopping, social media, specialist
Posted in Journalism, Stories

Jonathan Hill – ITV Wales Presenter, Journalist and Producer…

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

For the last 20 years, Jonathan Hill has been the face of Welsh news. Presenting well before my interest in journalism came about. Seeing the face of Jonathan and Lucy Owen on TV when I was six-years-old meant nothing more back then other than tea-time. And these days, Jonathan isn’t just on the screens, but making the decisions behind the news programmes.

He began his career as a researcher with ITV (formally known as HTV) in 1993 on just a three-month contract, after graduating from Swansea University and doing various work experience such as local radio.

That ‘tea-time telly man’ came to Glamorgan University in Cardiff this week to talk to media students about his role and experience as an investigative journalist for ‘Wales this Week.’ A news programme that uncovers crime secrets and looks at famous cases in Welsh history.

He talked about his working relationship with the police on an exclusive murder story for the programme, known as the ‘The Bullseye Killer.’ John Cooper appeared as a contestant on British television game show, ‘Bullseye’, later being identified as an unconvicted serial killer. He murdered brother and sister, Richard and Helen Thomas, at their house in Pembrokeshire in 1985. Four years later he killed again, shooting the Dixons, a middle-aged couple from Oxfordshire on their holiday. Read more ›

Tagged with: 2011, book, Bullseye, Cardiff, Glamorgan, investigative reporting, ITV, ITV Wales, John Cooper, Jonathan Hill, journalism, journalist, lecture, Lucy Owen, Media, murder, news, presenter, producer, programme, shooting, story, television, TV, university, wales, Wales This Week, welsh
Posted in Journalism, Professional

Huw Rossiter, Public Affairs Manager for ITV Cymru Wales

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

The World of PR & Journalism – for the good, the bad and the ugly:

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by SnowViolent: http://flickr.com/photos/snowviolent/6801506451/

What has Edina Monsoon, one of the main characters from Absolutely Fabulous and ex-newspaper editor Rebekah Brooks both got in common… apart from flaming red hair? They are both media executives of some kind. Or at least they were!

This was one of the visual example of the interface between journalism and public relations; Huw Rossiter, Public Affairs Manager for ITV Cymru Wales gave at his guest lecture to media students at the Atrium this week.

Huw talked about the re-branding of ITV and how the corporation sell themselves with programming teasers to advertisers. It was easily seen how a creative montage of your favourite programmes and exciting scenes could get them to part with cash. Read more ›

Tagged with: advertising, atrium, Cardiff, free press, glamorgan university, guest lecture, Huw Rossiter, ITV, ITV Cymru, ITV Wales, journalism, journalism students, PR, press relations, promotional, public affairs, television
Posted in Journalism

How I’ve changed at university

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

A short audio blog about how I’ve changed and developed at university and found a passion for journalism…

Read my story at: zarrion.com/2013/02/16/my-story/

Tagged with: aspirations, change, develop, development, journalism, life, personal, social media, university
Posted in Journalism, Personal

Diff’erent Journey: Oop North and back…

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

MediaCityUK, Salford Quays

My Story:

It’s good to be different. That’s something I’ve strived for all my life. I certainly knew I was different at 10 when I wrote poems to the Queen and the Prime Minister, while many others played football and video games.

I was ambitious enough to self-publish my creations of royal verses and budgie stories in the big dream to become a big author one day. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, and looking back at my writing is like cringing at your old school books, but I did prove that anyone could become an author using the wondrous tools on the web.

I attended an all-boys secondary school which I hated. Thanks yet again to the newly discovered internet I found that there was a way out – home schooling. Education was compulsory but the school was not. Teachers thought it was a ridiculous idea that would detriment my learning while acting as a young carer for my mum who was diagnosed with Bipolar. Though I was determined to prove them wrong. Read more ›

Tagged with: adventure, education, journey, life, Manchester, Media, MediaCityUK, personal, Salford, story, student, university
Posted in Personal

The voice of young people does exist?

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

Does the voice of youth exist and is it fairly balanced? Whether they were too cowardly to speak up or they couldn’t actually recall there was utter silence in the auditorium.

“When was the last time you heard a young person being interviewed on the news…?” is what Johanna Derry, the editor of Podium.me.uk asked at her guest lecture to journalism students at the Atrium last week.

According to a YouGov poll, 46% of the British public feel young people are subject to unfairly negative media attention, while 29% feel representation is neutral and 10% feel their portrayal is overly positive. I feel we lack that neutral bit from smashing windows to becoming a medal Olympian. And we aren’t just talking about the average Joe from being misrepresented. Where are the young voices from ethnic minorities, and various cultures?

Apart from the Paralympics, when has a young person with a disability been interviewed in the last 12 months? Apart from contentious comments in the press, I can’t recall the last time I saw a young transgendered person on the news, ever. It isn’t all about label issues and society’s stereotypes but getting the ‘whole’ scope of current British life for what it really is on everyday topics. Read more ›

Tagged with: journalism, lecture, Media, news, people, Podium, press, representation, society, students, voice, young people, youth
Posted in Journalism

“Hello, Mr. WordPress-friendly brand I am…”

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

Customisiation to content…

Reason to blog:

Blogging has boomed since it’s become so easy to setup a blog and post. Though while freedom can be a good thing, I empathise with bloggers who spend hours creating and customising blogs using Blogger and WordPress, to then realise they’ve hit a dead end. The internet has millions of deceased blogs.

Time and time again I’ve had a spontaneous idea which seems ‘Dragons Den’ material at the time, only to find out a month or two later that the blog looks stale, and that while it has a fabulous colour scheme, it doesn’t seem such a strong niche after all.

It’s taken me a while to reach the conclusion that maybe I should become the focus of my blog. And if you look at the state of the internet, personal blogging / micro-blogging, for example Twitter, is at large. Read more ›

Tagged with: blog, blogging, brand, identity, journalism, journalists, marketing, writing
Posted in Journalism

Opportunities can grow from a small seed (on the web)…

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

As one of the series of guest lectures at the University of Glamorgan, Arielle Tye, the editor of TheSprout.co.uk – an e-zine for young people, told journalism students how to get easy, yet valuable experience online.

TheSprout.co.uk was officially launched in November 2008 as an initiative for Cardiff council to ensure young people had the information and advice they needed. The site operates within the Ten Entitlements (the rights of young people as set out by the Welsh Assembly Government). One right includes having a voice to be heard.

Young people can register and submit their content online, from personal issues to pretty much everything. (Thankfully not everything passes through the floodgates. That would be dangerous!)

Arielle, as a BA Radio graduate, spoke about how for journalism students the site can be utilised to get content online and be noticed for free. What’s the catch? Read more ›

Posted in Journalism

Journalism Graduate from Zero Presence to Press Relations…

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Zarrion Walker — No Comments ↓

cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Wayan Vota: http://flickr.com/photos/dcmetroblogger/3823192438/

Liz Rawlins a graduate from the University of Glamorgan presented a guest lecture to BA Journalism students this week. She spoke about her journey from work placement in West Africa to PR Manager for Welsh cancer charity, Tenovus.

It’s sometimes hard to imagine what you’re going to take away from guest speakers. Last year I went to see Google UK CEO, Matt Brittin speak about the future of Google and what makes the company great. A memorable experience, but personally I didn’t take anything away from the lecture, apart from the fact the internet is changing and that there’s more to come from the giant Google machine.

Whereas during Liz’s lecture there was no fancy PowerPoint presentations or swishy videos, but the first few sentences uttered relevance to journalism students. She said that four years ago when she was studying BA Journalism she wasn’t sure of what she wanted to do, or which media pathway she wanted to take. The thought that I know lies tenderly in the heads of not all, but many journalism students like me. Where do we go from here? Read more ›

Posted in Journalism, Personal