A Winchester student rescued his elderly neighbour from a fire in Stanmore on Monday night.
Twenty year-old Edward Herbert rushed to save the 84-year-old man from the top floor, as the blaze raged below.
Edward said "I just wanted to get him out. He was just holding my hand and I was telling him it was OK."
The quick-thinking student entered the building and dragged his neighbour to the window, saving him from smoke inhalation, where they waited for the fire brigade to arrive.
Edward said "He fainted twice on me, which was pretty scary. I'm definitely going to see him in hospital now."
Firefighters received the 999 call shortly after 9 p.m. and battled the fire, which started in a ground floor kitchen.
The elderly man is recovering in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital and is said to be doing well.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Chris Roper from the fire service said it is thought to have started due to an electrical fault.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Boy left with life-threatening injuries after car collision
A 16-year-old boy is suffering life-threatening injuries after a car collision in Fareham on Wednesday.
The boy was struck down by an elderly couple as he crossed Newgate Lane shortly after 11 pm.
The road was closed until the early hours of Thursday morning, as the youngster was taken to Southampton General Hospital, where he remains under observation for head injuries.
Police have said, “We’re looking to speak with anyone who saw the Hyundai Getz, or the pedestrian around this time, or anyone else with information about what happened.”
The boy was struck down by an elderly couple as he crossed Newgate Lane shortly after 11 pm.
The road was closed until the early hours of Thursday morning, as the youngster was taken to Southampton General Hospital, where he remains under observation for head injuries.
Police have said, “We’re looking to speak with anyone who saw the Hyundai Getz, or the pedestrian around this time, or anyone else with information about what happened.”
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Innovation in energy saving technology
Winchester City Council is implementing a new scheme to improve energy efficiency in the district, using HeatSeekers vehicles.
The innovative vehicles will use thermal imaging technology to see into homes and assess their energy efficiency.
The technology will detect where heat is escaping from, allowing a team of advisors to suggest ways to improve homeowners’ insulation.
Councillor George Beckett Chairman of WDSP said of the advisors: “The energy advisors have information about grant discounted insulation which is available to all homeowners and significantly reduces the cost of insulation improvements.”
The scheme, developed by the Energy Saving Partnership, will operate at night and each vehicle will have the ability to see into 1,000 homes an hour.
Keith Hewitson, the Director of the Energy Saving Partnership said, “The technology has already helped improve energy efficiency in thousands of homes across the country.”
The advisors will carry out free surveys on their findings and will discuss with Winchester homeowners how best to improve their energy efficiency – and energy bill.
If any resident wishes to have a free survey on their property please free-call HeatSeekers on 0800 111 4968.
The innovative vehicles will use thermal imaging technology to see into homes and assess their energy efficiency.
The technology will detect where heat is escaping from, allowing a team of advisors to suggest ways to improve homeowners’ insulation.
Councillor George Beckett Chairman of WDSP said of the advisors: “The energy advisors have information about grant discounted insulation which is available to all homeowners and significantly reduces the cost of insulation improvements.”
The scheme, developed by the Energy Saving Partnership, will operate at night and each vehicle will have the ability to see into 1,000 homes an hour.
Keith Hewitson, the Director of the Energy Saving Partnership said, “The technology has already helped improve energy efficiency in thousands of homes across the country.”
The advisors will carry out free surveys on their findings and will discuss with Winchester homeowners how best to improve their energy efficiency – and energy bill.
If any resident wishes to have a free survey on their property please free-call HeatSeekers on 0800 111 4968.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Daily Mail and BBC Radio Solent
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is known as a ‘middle of the road’ newspaper – along with its closet rival the Daily Express, to which it is superior in readership - as it is neither a sensational tabloid nor a more serious broadsheet. Generally the Mail incorporates serious news stories, particularly those involving governmental services like the NHS, with light-entertainment. For example, the headline from 23rd November read “Tube Killing: A Final Insult” (a story on the killing of Jean Charles do Menezes) which was accompanied by a story about the popular television programme – X Factor. According to the website ‘thinkbox’, there are 12.8 million ABC1 males in Britain along with 30% of the female population. The Daily Mail is not widely read by this section of society, as the ABC1 category tend to read broadsheets. Instead the Mail is aimed at the middle categories, namely C1, C2 and D, of whom there are considerably more of in Britain. However, the C2 and D categories are much less likely to obtain their news from a newspaper, as technology has made it much easier to look on the internet, so the Mail includes stories on popular culture to secure the interest of these groups. The Mail is fairly even in terms of male and female bias, although it sells well with females over the age of 55. This is perhaps due to its combination of important news, which informs the reader, and the human interest stories, providing some light relief. The female audience is continually targeted, through the consistent use of female orientated stories on page three and the use of perspective – where many articles are written from a female viewpoint or angle. The advertising also adheres to their target audience, as the most frequently advertised products are from supermarkets or are beauty products.
The Mail runs a section called ‘Femail’, which is solely targeted at women. On 19th November the Mail published an article with Christina Errington following her revelation of her Belle de Jour lifestyle – a completely female orientated story.
In this vain, the Mail has a similar readership to the Daily Mirror, its tabloid equivalent, although I would suggest that the Mail is more aimed at the older reader. Frequently the Mail will have a front page exclusive. From the past few weeks these have included stories on oil, vehicle clamping, British call-girls and the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. The frequency of so-called exclusives suggests that the Mail has a strong collection of contacts in the public services.
Fact:
- The symbol in the centre of ‘Daily Mail’ is the coat of arms of the British monarchy and the phrase “Dieu et mon droit”, meaning “God and my right” refers to the divine right of kings.
BBC Radio Solent
Radio Solent is a local station, broadcasting in the Hampshire area. It has a listener base of 249,000 people out of a population of 1,519,000,000 – a 16% reach. The station has an average of 11.5 hours per listener, resulting in 2,856,000 total hours. The station provides a mix of national news and local stories. For example, a typical bulletin began with news on President Obama and moved on to the charitable efforts of a hairdressing salon in Bournemouth. Radio Solent mainly reports on light-entertainment stories, making use of local reporters like Jo Palmer. A news feature from a few days ago began with a story on the idea of burying electricity cables underground, moved on to the success of Otterbourne Primary School in a national dry-skiing championship and finished with the reporter’s comments on school nativity plays.
In my opinion, Radio Solent has a similar target audience to the Daily Mail, in terms of aiming at the older generation. From my analysis of their news agenda I would suggest that Solent is aimed at retired people, who have spare time to consistently listen to the station. Similarly to the Mail, much of Solent’s news bulletins, like the stories on local schools, are also aimed more at a female audience than a male, although this is not a fact. The differences between the Daily Mail and Radio Solent lie in their coverage of stories. Whereas Solent has a local, human interest agenda, the Mail has more national, celebrity based stories.
Despite only being a local radio station, Solent has had its fair share of controversy. In an online article on ‘this is Hampshire.net’, dated 7th August 2009, the departure of the old station controller Mia Costello is explained. According to the website, it was leaked to the Daily Echo that Mia Costello left Radio Solent after firing several popular presenters because she did not want “elderly voices” on the radio. Costello was replaced by Chris Carnegy.
Links:
- Daily Mail Rate Card: http://www.dailymailconnected.co.uk/pdf/ratecard_dailymail.pdf
- Wikipedia – Daily Mail:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mail
- Wikipedia – BBC Radio Solent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Radio_Solent
The Daily Mail is known as a ‘middle of the road’ newspaper – along with its closet rival the Daily Express, to which it is superior in readership - as it is neither a sensational tabloid nor a more serious broadsheet. Generally the Mail incorporates serious news stories, particularly those involving governmental services like the NHS, with light-entertainment. For example, the headline from 23rd November read “Tube Killing: A Final Insult” (a story on the killing of Jean Charles do Menezes) which was accompanied by a story about the popular television programme – X Factor. According to the website ‘thinkbox’, there are 12.8 million ABC1 males in Britain along with 30% of the female population. The Daily Mail is not widely read by this section of society, as the ABC1 category tend to read broadsheets. Instead the Mail is aimed at the middle categories, namely C1, C2 and D, of whom there are considerably more of in Britain. However, the C2 and D categories are much less likely to obtain their news from a newspaper, as technology has made it much easier to look on the internet, so the Mail includes stories on popular culture to secure the interest of these groups. The Mail is fairly even in terms of male and female bias, although it sells well with females over the age of 55. This is perhaps due to its combination of important news, which informs the reader, and the human interest stories, providing some light relief. The female audience is continually targeted, through the consistent use of female orientated stories on page three and the use of perspective – where many articles are written from a female viewpoint or angle. The advertising also adheres to their target audience, as the most frequently advertised products are from supermarkets or are beauty products.
The Mail runs a section called ‘Femail’, which is solely targeted at women. On 19th November the Mail published an article with Christina Errington following her revelation of her Belle de Jour lifestyle – a completely female orientated story.
In this vain, the Mail has a similar readership to the Daily Mirror, its tabloid equivalent, although I would suggest that the Mail is more aimed at the older reader. Frequently the Mail will have a front page exclusive. From the past few weeks these have included stories on oil, vehicle clamping, British call-girls and the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. The frequency of so-called exclusives suggests that the Mail has a strong collection of contacts in the public services.
Fact:
- The symbol in the centre of ‘Daily Mail’ is the coat of arms of the British monarchy and the phrase “Dieu et mon droit”, meaning “God and my right” refers to the divine right of kings.
BBC Radio Solent
Radio Solent is a local station, broadcasting in the Hampshire area. It has a listener base of 249,000 people out of a population of 1,519,000,000 – a 16% reach. The station has an average of 11.5 hours per listener, resulting in 2,856,000 total hours. The station provides a mix of national news and local stories. For example, a typical bulletin began with news on President Obama and moved on to the charitable efforts of a hairdressing salon in Bournemouth. Radio Solent mainly reports on light-entertainment stories, making use of local reporters like Jo Palmer. A news feature from a few days ago began with a story on the idea of burying electricity cables underground, moved on to the success of Otterbourne Primary School in a national dry-skiing championship and finished with the reporter’s comments on school nativity plays.
In my opinion, Radio Solent has a similar target audience to the Daily Mail, in terms of aiming at the older generation. From my analysis of their news agenda I would suggest that Solent is aimed at retired people, who have spare time to consistently listen to the station. Similarly to the Mail, much of Solent’s news bulletins, like the stories on local schools, are also aimed more at a female audience than a male, although this is not a fact. The differences between the Daily Mail and Radio Solent lie in their coverage of stories. Whereas Solent has a local, human interest agenda, the Mail has more national, celebrity based stories.
Despite only being a local radio station, Solent has had its fair share of controversy. In an online article on ‘this is Hampshire.net’, dated 7th August 2009, the departure of the old station controller Mia Costello is explained. According to the website, it was leaked to the Daily Echo that Mia Costello left Radio Solent after firing several popular presenters because she did not want “elderly voices” on the radio. Costello was replaced by Chris Carnegy.
Links:
- Daily Mail Rate Card: http://www.dailymailconnected.co.uk/pdf/ratecard_dailymail.pdf
- Wikipedia – Daily Mail:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mail
- Wikipedia – BBC Radio Solent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Radio_Solent
Thursday, October 29, 2009
John Reith, the BBC and Guglielmo Marconi
John Reith was born on 20th July 1889. He founded the British Broadcasting Corporation, formerly the British Broadcasting Company, in 1927. His vision was to establish the corporation as a means of entertaining, educating and informing the population. Reith began his career with the BBC in 1922, on seeing an advertisement in the ‘Morning Post’ for a general manager. He was offered the position the next day, despite having a complete lack of prior experience in broadcasting. He was even quoted as saying, “The fact is I hadn’t the remotest idea as to what broadcasting was.” In 1927 Reith became the Director General, thus cementing his status in the British Broadcasting Corporation.
During his sixteen years working for the BBC, Reith was determined to run things abiding by his ideas, which centred on the concept of holding the public’s interests at heart. He fought off politicians who wanted to influence the type of broadcasting he relayed to the nation and resisted allying his corporation with a political party. In his quest to provide the nation with newsworthy broadcasts, he tried unsuccessfully to televise all of the wedding of the Duke of York – later George V. Reith even changed the day-to-day mechanics of the BBC, as demonstrated by his decision to replace the call ‘2LO’ (where LO represents London) to the much simpler, and perhaps more effective, ‘London calling’. The Radio Times and the concept of television listings were another innovation of Reith’s, born out of his desire to make it easier for the public to access broadcasting.
Arguably, Reith’s time at the BBC was incredibly successful as the number of licence fee payers increased, but he was left feeling unfulfilled stating: “What I was capable of compared with what I achieved is pitiable.” In fact, Reith was notably disappointed with his knighthood, which he was honoured with in 1926, saying that he was insulted with an “ordinary knighthood’. The reasons behind Reith’s departure from the BBC in 1928 are unclear, even to this day. It appears that he made his decision after a meeting with Neville Chamberlain, at which it is speculated that the Prime Minister asked him to leave and accept the position of chairman with Imperial Airways. It is widely accepted that Reith had the opportunity to refuse, but chose instead to accept the new occupation.
Whilst Reith dominated the BBC, Guglielmo Marconi dominated the wireless system of communication. He invented the wireless telegraphy system and pioneered the radioing of ships at sea – a vital achievement, particularly in warfare. On the topic of wireless telegraphy Marconi is quoted as saying it was “So elementary, so simple in logic” - a demonstration of his scientific knowledge. By 1897 Marconi had shown his patented system to the armed forces and the General Post Office. Throughout his life, Marconi paid witness to the success of his invention. A notable occasion in 1910 saw Marconi’s wireless system aid police in the arrest of a murderer.
Bibliography:
www.wikipedia.com
www.marconicalling.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/in-depth/reith_1.shtml
During his sixteen years working for the BBC, Reith was determined to run things abiding by his ideas, which centred on the concept of holding the public’s interests at heart. He fought off politicians who wanted to influence the type of broadcasting he relayed to the nation and resisted allying his corporation with a political party. In his quest to provide the nation with newsworthy broadcasts, he tried unsuccessfully to televise all of the wedding of the Duke of York – later George V. Reith even changed the day-to-day mechanics of the BBC, as demonstrated by his decision to replace the call ‘2LO’ (where LO represents London) to the much simpler, and perhaps more effective, ‘London calling’. The Radio Times and the concept of television listings were another innovation of Reith’s, born out of his desire to make it easier for the public to access broadcasting.
Arguably, Reith’s time at the BBC was incredibly successful as the number of licence fee payers increased, but he was left feeling unfulfilled stating: “What I was capable of compared with what I achieved is pitiable.” In fact, Reith was notably disappointed with his knighthood, which he was honoured with in 1926, saying that he was insulted with an “ordinary knighthood’. The reasons behind Reith’s departure from the BBC in 1928 are unclear, even to this day. It appears that he made his decision after a meeting with Neville Chamberlain, at which it is speculated that the Prime Minister asked him to leave and accept the position of chairman with Imperial Airways. It is widely accepted that Reith had the opportunity to refuse, but chose instead to accept the new occupation.
Whilst Reith dominated the BBC, Guglielmo Marconi dominated the wireless system of communication. He invented the wireless telegraphy system and pioneered the radioing of ships at sea – a vital achievement, particularly in warfare. On the topic of wireless telegraphy Marconi is quoted as saying it was “So elementary, so simple in logic” - a demonstration of his scientific knowledge. By 1897 Marconi had shown his patented system to the armed forces and the General Post Office. Throughout his life, Marconi paid witness to the success of his invention. A notable occasion in 1910 saw Marconi’s wireless system aid police in the arrest of a murderer.
Bibliography:
www.wikipedia.com
www.marconicalling.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/in-depth/reith_1.shtml
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Media Law - Defamation
Tuesdays lecture on Media Law delved deeper into the world of defamation and left me with this point in mind - know your defences. In a libel case our defences as journalists are justification, fair comment and qualified privilege; of which the latter is divided into two: statutory and common law.
Below is a useful link to a piece which takes you through the definitions of statutory qualified privilege and common law qualified privilege:
http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/right-of-free-expression/defamation/qualified-privilege.html#top
Interestingly the site also makes reference to the Reynold's case, stating the 10 point test.
Throughout the piece the phrase 'fair and accurate account' frequently appears. To me this appears to be the core of journalism; its fine to argue a point, as long as you are balanced and have a strong hold of the facts.
The other thing I took away from this weeks lecture was the idea of the Innocence Project. Although its highly doubtful we would ever find a victim of false conviction, the project sounds very interesting and I look forward to hearing more about it.
Below is a useful link to a piece which takes you through the definitions of statutory qualified privilege and common law qualified privilege:
http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/right-of-free-expression/defamation/qualified-privilege.html#top
Interestingly the site also makes reference to the Reynold's case, stating the 10 point test.
Throughout the piece the phrase 'fair and accurate account' frequently appears. To me this appears to be the core of journalism; its fine to argue a point, as long as you are balanced and have a strong hold of the facts.
The other thing I took away from this weeks lecture was the idea of the Innocence Project. Although its highly doubtful we would ever find a victim of false conviction, the project sounds very interesting and I look forward to hearing more about it.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Media Law - Libel
Comment. Fact. Lie.
As a journalist it may be a slippery slope between these three, but the ability to differentiate between them is vital.
Comment: Any comment based article needs to be clearly shown to be opinion (writing COMMENT in large, red letters across the top of the page is entirely acceptable)and must be somewhat based on fact. As a defence, the proof that an article was in the public interest to be published is also key.
Lie: This is easy enough to understand - NEVER LIE. The likelihood of getting away with a bare-faced lie in professional journalism is very slim. Malice is unforgivable in court - your defence will not be accepted if the defendant can prove what you have written is untrue.
Fact: As a journalist, the best route to go down is writing facts - a provable story, with strong evidence, will allow you to use justification as a defence, should you ever need to.
As the quote goes, "Comment is cheap. Fact is priceless."
From Tuesdays lecture, the point that stood out to me the most is the huge detrimental effect that defamation can possess. It struck me that anything can be defamatory, even a statement as simple as 'Horrie was late' (which, I'd like to point out, is used purely as an example). I think it is important to define defamation, so I've outlined McNae's definition below.
A statement is defamatory if it:
- exposes a person to hatred, ridicule or contempt
- causes a person to be shunned or avoided in society
- discredits a person in their trade or profession (if a person successfully sues for this, a sum can be attached as compensation for their lack of wage)
- or generally lowers a person's standing in society to any 'right-minded' person
And remember, libel is defamation, publication and identification.
As a journalist it may be a slippery slope between these three, but the ability to differentiate between them is vital.
Comment: Any comment based article needs to be clearly shown to be opinion (writing COMMENT in large, red letters across the top of the page is entirely acceptable)and must be somewhat based on fact. As a defence, the proof that an article was in the public interest to be published is also key.
Lie: This is easy enough to understand - NEVER LIE. The likelihood of getting away with a bare-faced lie in professional journalism is very slim. Malice is unforgivable in court - your defence will not be accepted if the defendant can prove what you have written is untrue.
Fact: As a journalist, the best route to go down is writing facts - a provable story, with strong evidence, will allow you to use justification as a defence, should you ever need to.
As the quote goes, "Comment is cheap. Fact is priceless."
From Tuesdays lecture, the point that stood out to me the most is the huge detrimental effect that defamation can possess. It struck me that anything can be defamatory, even a statement as simple as 'Horrie was late' (which, I'd like to point out, is used purely as an example). I think it is important to define defamation, so I've outlined McNae's definition below.
A statement is defamatory if it:
- exposes a person to hatred, ridicule or contempt
- causes a person to be shunned or avoided in society
- discredits a person in their trade or profession (if a person successfully sues for this, a sum can be attached as compensation for their lack of wage)
- or generally lowers a person's standing in society to any 'right-minded' person
And remember, libel is defamation, publication and identification.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Court Reporting
I'm writing this blog from my hometown of Croydon - a town well known for its high crime rate - and it occurred to me that Tuesdays lecture on court reporting would be vitally important for me if I were to begin my career here, given the number of cases that pass through Croydon Magistrates Court each day. The ins-and-outs of court reporting may take some getting used to, but hopefully I have whittled down the mass of information into a few key points:
- a defendant is ‘innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt’
- the accusation of a crime MUST stand up in court
- the role of the judge is to conduct the trial fairly on behalf of the jury; not simply to pass sentence
- the contempt of court act is important for any professional journalist, allowing a journalist to print the following details of a case:
- the defendants name and age
- address and occupation
- charge/ offence
- date and location of Crown Court hearing
- bail and legal aid conditions (where applicable)
- names of counsel
- term ‘the case is active’ is a particularly valuable one, although once in court a journalist can report everything that is said, as long as it remains:
- accurate
- free from malice or a lack of balance
- and is reported instantly
And as the BBC would say, the case continues…
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Better late than never...
I've taken a couple of days to mull over the two lectures of Tuesday and have made some fairly startling observations. The morning lecture, Media Law and Ethics, left me feeling slightly worried that prison is just a tiny mistake away. It seems that contempt of court is a frighteningly easy crime to commit and, more worryingly, an extremely serious one I had never properly considered before. (Although if you pay attention to 'wikipedia', the maximum sentence is two years - not the thirty years we were previously told). I was also unaware of the crime 'blasphemous libel' - a crime which only applies to the Christian God - and of the fact that Winchester Crown Court is the secondary court after the Old Bailey. I look forward to experiencing that!
I came away from our afternoon lecture, the History and Context of Journalism, with one major point in mind, namely Plato's view of the world. To see the world as such a flippant idea and the thought that we are living in a shadow, or cave, with the real 'perfect' world outside is, at the very least, a difficult concept to take in. Either Plato was a genius, far too forward-thinking for his time, or he was slightly insane... I'll let you be the judge of that.
And just so my opinion is known - yes, if a tree falls in the woods and no-one is around to hear it, it does still make a noise.
I came away from our afternoon lecture, the History and Context of Journalism, with one major point in mind, namely Plato's view of the world. To see the world as such a flippant idea and the thought that we are living in a shadow, or cave, with the real 'perfect' world outside is, at the very least, a difficult concept to take in. Either Plato was a genius, far too forward-thinking for his time, or he was slightly insane... I'll let you be the judge of that.
And just so my opinion is known - yes, if a tree falls in the woods and no-one is around to hear it, it does still make a noise.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
My First Blog
Yes, after much difficulty I have finally set up my blog. I'm Aimee, I'm from Croydon and I'm pleased to have caused Becky so much joy earlier, after failing so spectacularly!
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