Need to lose 500 words by Friday?
As an editor I can be brutal on word count without losing the really important stuff.
NUJ newsletter
The newsletter for the Oxford & District branch of the National Union of Journalists
As well as campaigning for journalists in Oxfordshire, I created a digital presence from scratch
During my time on the branch committee, I campaigned against job cuts in traditional media while also trying to recruit new members in the growing digital sector. I set up a website for the branch, which is still going seven years later. I also used my links with the Oxford Geek Nights to connect with the Oxfordshire tech/digital community.
During my time as chair and vice-chair, I also:
- Co-organised and chaired a public meeting with Nick Davies and other guest speakers about how "churnalism" threatens democracy
- Campaigned for quality in academic publishing and helped to organise public meetings about this
- Represented the union at three national delegate meetings
- Campaigned against cuts to regional broadcast journalistm
- Wrote regular articles for the branch newsletter (a monthly print publication)
- Helped to run the branch Twitter account.
I was branch vice-chair from October 2008 to October 2010, then I was elected branch chair and stayed in the role until January 2013.
Article
Funny business
July 2012
Branch chair Kate Griffin recently won a BBC competition to find comedy-writing talent. She was one of nine winners out of over 800 entries. She tells us how it all happened.
Article
Operation Bullfinch: how to handle a tricky story
April 2012
Regular reporting is tough enough to get right – but when you’re covering a crime story involving the sex trafficking of underage girls, it’s a legal and ethical minefield. And that’s before you think about how to handle your relationship with the police. But when the Oxford Mail newsdesk found out about Operation Bullfinch, the police investigation into an Oxford child prostitution ring, reporters rose to the challenge.
Article
Trouble in the hub
February 2011
Newsquest’s “regional operation” could mean big job losses. Sub-editing jobs at the Oxford Mail and Times are under threat from plans to centralise. Subs were recently told of plans to create a “regional editorial production operation”, combining the subbing departments for for Newsquest Oxfordshire and Newsquest Wiltshire. The new regional operation would be based in Oxford.
Article
The good news station
“I liked The Stig. He came round my house, he had drinks... and all the time he was writing a book.” For the first time since “Stig-Gate” unfolded, Jeremy Clarkson publicly shared his feelings of betrayal. But the interview wasn’t with a national paper or broadcaster. He was talking to Witney TV, an online news station that didn’t exist six months ago.
Article
NUJ ADM: a first-time delegate's view
December 2009
Written for the December issue of the Oxford & District Branch NUJ newsletter.
When I set off for this year’s ADM, I had a jumble of different worries in my head. Would people be unfriendly to me as a newbie? Would it be a world of Machiavellian backstabbing, or a snooze-inducing bureaucratic slog? Would I have to actually stand up and speak?