Photojournalism

Link to my anti-smoking news story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFxxdt5znPA&list=HL1333133967&feature=mh_lolz

My radio show

http://soundcloud.com/tl11-1/tom-lane-1-on-studio-2a-A mix of news and music on my first show of 2012

Re-writing a press release

An 87 year old man was robbed in his home in Alton. The victim was duped by a man claiming to be selling items door-to-door, but once invited into the elderly mans home, robbed money unknown to the victim.

The man is described as white, aged around 35, with brown hair, 6ft from Nottingham. Staffordshire Police have warned local people to be wary when opening their doors to unknown visitors. They have asked residents to be vigilant at all times in order to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to them, checking that any ID that one of these people may have is valid and not counterfeit.

Police have also said to never keep large amounts of money in your home to avoid any possibility of something like this occurring. Police advice is to STOP - If you are not expecting anybody and they don’t have an appointment - don’t let them in CHAIN - Use your door chain or bar before opening the door CHECK - Ask to see ID and double check this.

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to contact Staffordshire Police on 0300 123 44 55 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Article on a hospital in Ireland

An 84 year old man was wrongly diagnosed with cancer and given Androcur; a drug given to sex offenders and people with severe hormone deficiencies as well as transsexuals. He was diagnosed in a hospital in Ireland, before this week being re-diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency called Pernicious Anaemia. One of the side effects of the drug is the possibility of milk production or lactation by men; it is currently banned in the United States.

His daughter recalls her father’s state during the falsely diagnosed treatment: “He became very tired, unsteady, dizzy, confused and unable to get out of the bed. He kept falling over and was unable to be left in the house on his own.  He was constantly shaking”.

She also commented further on the strain that she and her 7 siblings were put under during the treatment “With my dad falling regularly this meant that my mother was under strain and needed support. It took over our lives and it was difficult to work, sleep or try to have any sort of a life during this time. Each time I saw him, I felt it would be the last and the emotional stress unbearable” 

When asked for a comment on the matter, the hospital declined to give a response. This is in the midst of a mini-crisis for Irish hospitals with Dr Tracey Cooper Chief Executive of the health safety watchdog, HIQA, speaking at Irishhealth.com saying that “Irish Hospitals don’t meet health and safety licensing standards”.

Pernicious Anaemia is treated by having B12 injections in order to increase vitamins in the body; it is caused by the loss of ‘gastric parietal cells’ and the inability to absorb B12. Following this treatment, the man is now able to walk up and down stairs freely when before he was unable to stand.

Plan for an interview

A Plan for a radio Interview:

Speaking to a policeman on the evenings drive-time programme:

What occurred on that fateful night?

What’s the situation regarding the investigation?

How are the couple doing following the attack?

Who are you looking for in connection with the crimes?

What information on the criminals?

Have you got any leads?

Do you think this is a one off, or will it happen again?

Has anything like this happened in the past few weeks?

What are you doing to reduce the risk of these types of crimes?

Writing for radio and planning for TV

A script on a news story about an elderly couple being burgled:

A couple were left hospitalised following the robbery of their bungalow last night. The 60 year old husband tried to defend himself with a samurai sword as three men broke into his house, just off the A5.

 The man was stabbed in the hand with a screwdriver by one of the thieves. The offender was injured by the sword.

The female was taken to hospital following chest pains.

Tom Lane Reports:

The little town of Cannock was bought into disrepute, after three men stole two rings and a samurai sword from the home of a couple yesterday evening. When the 60 year old man tried to defend himself with a samurai sword he was stabbed in the hand with a screw driver. The criminals grabbed his wife around the neck and stole her keys. Eventually they broke in through the patio doors. One of the offenders was left injured by the sword. Police are asking for anyone who may have treated an injury to an arm or side of the body to contact them through South Staffs CID or anonymously on Crimestoppers.


Plan for a TV news report:

For a TV bulletin:

Samurai sword

House

Damaged patio doors

Car,

Fields-tracking shot

Interview with couple

Police

Graphic-description/ number

Piece to camera 

Review of Sandro Monetti lecture

Review of Sandro Monetti; dissecting Celebrity culture with 3 points

11)     Sandro Monetti is known as a celebrity Journalist, attending a-list events and writing stories about such events, celebrity’s lives and celebrity culture. Celebrity culture is something which has taken over 21^st Century Britain, with the sales of tabloid papers staying strong, now mainly reporting the latest celebrity news and gossip as well as magazines such as ‘OK’ ‘Hello’ and ‘Now’ flying off of  shelves as the modern day consumer is engulfed in celebrity. As Sandro himself said, ‘celebrity doesn’t make you an arsehole it just exaggerates your arsehole quality’.

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22)     Sandro Monetti attended the 2012 Golden Globes which honours movie stars and various celebrities who have ‘earned’ their way into an acting career.  This award ceremony has become larger than anyone could have expected since it began in 1944 at 20^th Century Fox studios. Whilst in the 1940s we had American stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, we now see this event almost bringing the whole of Hollywood to a standstill.  The 1940s was Hollywood’s Golden age yet now the award ceremony seems to be at its greatest point.

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23)     Finally, we have the explosion which is social networking sites; a place where celebrities can endorse themselves and tell us about their latest products, whilst the avid ‘fan’ and general public can contact them and feels closer than ever. This however has seen the rise of the ‘troll’ who abuse, aggravate and annoy people through social networking sites often attacking and annoying celebrity tweeters. The question is, should we care about what Lady Gaga is having for lunch?

My Audio clips

http://soundcloud.com/you/tracks-pre-edited radio script

http://soundcloud.com/tl11-1/how-relevant-is-christmas-A package on Christmas time and how relevant it is to modern Britain.

Is 2014 the time for Brazil to shine?

In 2002, a player called Cafu appeared in his third World Cup Final as Brazil beat Germany 2-0 in Japan. Who would of thought since then Brazil have failed to reach the Semi-finals of the World Cup? In the 1994 they had won it and were in the final again in 1998. In fact when the 2006 World Cup was held in Germany, it was the first World Cup since 1990 that Brazil weren't in the final.

In 2006 Brazil lost to eventual runners-up France in the Quarter Finals and would lose to the 2010 runners-up Holland 4 years later at the same stage. In the 2011 Copa America Brazil failed to reach the Semi-finals yet again, losing to Paraguay 2-0 on penalties at the Quarter Final stages.

The current Brazil squad is youthful and maybe looking towards regaining the World Cup in 2014 when Brazil hosts the World Cup for the first time since 1950 where ironically they lost to 2011 Copa America winners Uruguay in the final. With the likes of Kleber, Neymar, Duda, Sandro, Lucas Leiva, David Luiz, Pato, Fabio Da Silva, Rafael Da Silva and Alex Sandro Brazil have many players under the age of 25 in and around their squad who in 3 years time may be ready to compete for the title of World Champions.

But at this current time Brazil are far from the 2002 team of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Lucio (who is still in the team but past his best), Rivaldo etc. With the fans behind the team and the potential already beginning to show Brazil could well be the team to beat at the 2014 World Cup; I'm sure Spain will have something to say about that...

Who could be the next England manager

Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager and inevitably the question of who will replace the Italian will begin to crop up. There are various managers who would want the job, are qualified for the job or both. The favourite for the England managers job on a permanent basis will of course be Harry Redknapp who of course escaped court charges along with Milan Mandaric. I will be analysing 6 candidates for the job, their pros and cons as well as ranking them 1-6 (1 being my favourite)

Who will become the new manager at the new Wembley

6) Roy Hodgson- The current Manager of West Bromwich Albion was heavily linked to the job when he lead Fulham to the 2010 Europa League final, however since then Hodgson's stock has fallen; an unsuccessful spell at Anfield has tarnished his reputation amongst the footballing world. Whilst he has experience managing around Europe, Hodgson's lack of big time success my taint his chances of becoming the England manager

5) Stuart Pearce- The Current England U-21 boss lead the youngsters to a final and a lot of the players that played in that final are now in the England set-up. Pearce knows the players and can continue the current style of management. However having been put in charge of the Olympic team and with little management experience in the  spotlight Stuart Peace may have to wait a while if he ever is to become an England manager.

4) Alan Pardew- The Newcastle manager has been made one of the favourites for the England job after guiding Newcastle to their current 5th place in the Premier League and just outside of Europe. This recent spell of success has the media pointing out that Pardew could do the England job. However, surely we can't just appoint a manager for one good season? Pardew has failed at Charlton and Southampton, therefore has plenty of low points in his managerial career.

3) Guus Hiddink- The Former South Korea, Austrailia, Russia, Turkey and Chelsea manager has reached a World Cup Semi-final and won the FA Cup as a manager. He has bags full of International management experience and is currently unemployed. The biggest issue with Hiddink is that he is not English. The fans and FA will most likely look towards and English manager to follow Fabio.

2) Jose Mourinho- Surely the hottest ticket in town; management wise. He has won the Premier League, Champions League twice, Carling Cup, Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Copa Del Rey. He could be the first manager to win Spain, England and Italy's top flight, with rumours of a Madrid exit on the cards. The biggest worry is his lack of International experience.

1) Harry Redknapp- There is good reason why Harry Redknapp is the favourite for the England managers job. He has turned Tottenham into an attractive team, he is good with the players, he has been cleared of criminal charges and he is English. This season he has guided Tottenham into 3rd place whilst he also lead them to the Champions League quarter final. However, he has never managed an International team.

The Contenders For The QPR Job

This post was written following the sacking of QPR manager Neil Warnock

If I was the chairman of Queen’s Park Rangers, I would have a shortlist of following managers in line for the job; Mark Hughes, Rafa Benitez, Roy Keane, Gus Poyet and Steve Bruce. These managers have done excellent work at their current/previous clubs and have all played or managed in the Premier League. Here I will be discussing the pros and cons of each managers.

Mark Hughes: ‘Sparky’ has managed three Premier League clubs; two in decent financial states and one with a vast amount of funding. Hughes, in my opinion, has never failed miserably at any club, leading Blackburn Rovers into Europe and keeping Fulham at mid-table whilst being slightly unlucky at Manchester City. He is a people person and can get on with the players at QPR whilst he should be able to get the best out of players such as Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips who are vastly experienced within the Premier League and the team. His aspirations of being at a top club mean that QPR may not be big enough for him.

Rafa Benitez: Rafa ‘the Gaffa’ Benitez has won the Champions League and the FA Cup with Liverpool in England as well as La Liga with Valencia in Spain. However, many fans will remember his awful last season at Liverpool and subsequent failure at Inter Milan. His signings have been hit and miss with players from Xabi Alonso to player others as poor as Josemi, he is inconsistent and may see himself as bigger than QPR, but will relish the opportunity to manage in England once again.

Roy Keane: Keane has managed in the top flight of English football once before with Sunderland, who he lead from the Championship’s relegation zone into the Premier League, where they still remain. His managerial career has been a bit blighted having quit Sunderland following poor results and been sacked by Ipswich after failing to gain promotion. Keane isn’t a great people person and may struggle to comfort players, but he will get Fergie’s hairdryer out and voice his opinions, perhaps kicking the likes of Joey Barton into gear.

Gus Poyet: Poyet has lead Brighton from League One mediocrity to Championship play-off hopefuls. He is a young manager and has done an extremely good job signing the likes of Craig Mackail-Smith and Vicente. Being the least experienced of the managers may be his downfall, however I expect he would do a good job at the club as he would immediately be embraced by the players as a quite positive manager.

Steve Bruce: Brucey has been around the block, managing Birmingham, Wigan and Sunderland in his Premier League management career. He has been relegated, survived and lead Wigan to their highest ever finish in the Premier League. Steve Bruce’s sides usually tend to go off the boil in the second half of the season and he hasn’t proven he can spend wisely, which is what QPR will need.

My personal vote would go for Mark Hughes, he is experienced within the Premier League, likeable, a great manager and favourite for the job. QPR will have to appoint quickly in order to get someone in and able to sign players for the club.