Job (nearly) done

Retirement Business is done and dusted, my placement got me a work offer and I’m not (quite) as scared of phones as I used to be. I think I might be a journalist. Blimey. Now all we have to do is treat graduation tomorrow like a wedding and pace ourselves booze-wise so we make it to the reunion with hair, clothes and social skills intact. Hang on a minute now. Do we really graduate tomorrow? Seems like only five minutes since Charlotte and I bagsied our desks in the corner and crossed our fingers we’d get on. Nine weeks of mutual bullying, hi-fiving and geekery later, I can’t imagine walking past her in the street and not going straight in for a friendly punch. Same goes for the other nine scamps. I’ll miss Charlie’s braces, Miranda’s scotch-egg habit and Ed spitting impromptu lyrics about the contents of our pockets. And addressing me by my new ‘Lyndrizzle’ moniker, of course. Life will never be quite the same again.

Author: Lynda

Posting disorganisation

It would appear the summer PGs have lost track of the blogging process, myself included, so I will make good and tell all.

The placements are ticking along with only 2 days left. I am on Media Week, which is a title enthralling media types as I write as the new edition arrived on news stands today. I have been working on the online section, which is great as you see your work posted immediately... it doesn't go in the mag though so I need to print off my articles tomorrow. That's fine as the web is clearly going to win the war, and online journalism will replace many publications. You read it here. Oh yes.

Anyway, enough about work - how about those re-subs - Hmmmmm, a few left but the important thing is to do the features, revise for the exams, pass with flying marks and find the all important job.

Most of the class seem to be enjoying the placements... more or less... and Sarah has picked up the Editorial Asst. position at OPP so congrats to her! Very much looking forward to seeing everyone next week as the placements become a little lonesome. The nice thing is that the 5 of us at Haymarket can meet lots, take on hardcore teeline dates and really bash out those Media Law stats. Oh, yes. That's what we do over lunch. For sure.

So, a few days, a weekend, and then into the fray of our final exams, the last few re-subs and ... er... oh, right, the BIG party on September 5th! Can't wait for that.

For now, it's back to revising Teeline groupings - it's been a wild summer. Or maybe insane is the right word.

Now for something about councillors, Mrs.Green and Killer Lane.

Author: Charlie Neyra

The night before the big day

The day before we go to press (I am writing this on Friday pretending it is Wednesday when I was supposed to do my blog entry but am clearly behind). The pressure of the deadline has brought out the best in us, our louchest jokes and dinner from the venerable establishment known as Pizza Hut.

All good fun really, aside from the minor frustrations that one would imagine occurring when you have 11 would be journalists attempting to create the pages in indesign.

I managed to make the last overland to Dalston, which was just after pub closing time. Ahh drunk people, care free people, how I envy you....

Author: Petah Marian

Apocalypso

As fifth week approaches with Road Runner speed and the threat of deadlines/external examiners loom, the term 'panic' seems to mock the reality of our situation. The last six days have flown by in a haze of telephone cords, dictaphones and research. And research. And a bit more research.

Staring into an endless matrix of web data; pages bursting with statistics and jargon (and oo yay press releases), my occipitalobe has sped into overdrive and left me a teeny bit catatonic. Can anyone else feel their brain dribbling out their ears?

At this point, it has become alarmingly apparent that no matter how finance is dressed up, the subject remains a cold and distant land to me. Like Yemen. What to do oh financey-Yemen?! This 800 word feature is not the animal I want it to be...

On a lighter note, we are all still alive.

I'd also like to put this to the PMAers: in lieu of real music, we should hijack Boosh-style shenanigans and introduce crimping to the office. Eh? Yeah? Yeah??

It's been a weird weekend.

Author: Karmel

Subbing

Subbing… ewll, paparrently its easy to amek mistakes. A good sub must find them all and sort them out and make even the dodgiest writers read perfectly. But do writers always appreciate it? Fresh from reading media monkey’s account of Giles Coren’s excoriating email to his subs on The Times (they left out an indefinite article, god forbid!) which changed the tone of his entire piece and in fact, ruined his weekend, if not his life. So, it’s clearly a task we must take seriously. But I must say, I roared with laughter at some of the fabulous errors made by (unwitting?) journalists. My true geeky nature loves to find these published in the press. It seems like a small victory for the rest of us mere mortals

Author: Gemma

We love Media Law

Retirement Business. The Business of Retirement. Let's not forget that point. I'd love to talk more about it, but I've been thinking about it so much that it's probably all I'll dream of tonight, so onto something else.

It's important to try to eat healthily as much as possible on this course... not that the maltesers recently munched follow that criteria, but it's the thought that counts, so spare a thought for your body as the mind needs fuel for PMA.

I've now been attached to my laptop for 5 hours and still haven't finished off my re-subs... grrrrrr... re-subs.

Grrrrr... how would that look in teeline? Anyway, time to sleep and mull that one over. Will have to ask Karmel.

Author: Charlie Neyra

SUNday

Maybe it's the heat, but I'm feeling very Robinson Crusoe today.

It's only been 48 hours, but a whole weekend away from the centre and I feel shipwrecked. Typing away on a computer by yourself in a stuffy room is defintely a route to madness, and not half as much fun as being surrounded by Team PMA.

The Life in the Day interviews should be taking shape, and it's funny to think of everyone simultaneously moulding theirs into a respectable Sunday Times-mimic by tomorrow. I think I've been working on mine too long, and am feeling slightly light-headed. Can you get sunstroke without leaving the house??

Our Camden features should also be crafted into lively attention-grabbers by now - I feel like I've been looking round those stalls all weekend.

Roll on Monday. Did I really just say that?

Author: Charlotte Williams

(Re)tired Wednesday

Today, PMA-ers mostly battled with technology and lost. After heading out to collect voxpops from some obliging tourists, on our return we found out that Apple computers and video cameras are two un-meshable things. They don't mix. They're totally non-mixy.

We are currently staring into the abyss of resubs and wondering how to make it through the next few hours. Petah is showing a frustrating degree of optimism ("These submission's aren't actually looking that scary!"????) and I may escape out the window shortly, leaving a mannequin in my place. Hopefully, no one will notice and I will be in sweet dream land by 4pm...

Author: Karmel

Re: Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism, Summer 2008

My mother always said not to talk to strangers, and yet here we are learning how to do just that. Today was the first day of features. We now get the opportunity to flex our linguistic and creative muscles! No need for the inverted triangle, we can tell the story exactly as we like…. Provided that it hooks the reader and keeps them. We also interviewed the (very) fast talking MP for West Reading, Martin Salter, which thanks to the wonders of video we got to watch later on for critical purposes. As it turns out, most strangers are pretty affable people if you approach them in the right way.

I finally feel like I am winning (or not completely beaten) when it comes to shorthand. I somehow found myself getting involved in the Karmel/Ed/bottom end of the table competition. I wasn’t first, but I thankfully wasn’t last either.

Jackie Scully also popped in last night to talk about the wonderful world of customer publishing, “if you want to want to do about a million different things on a shoestring budget, then come and play with us”. Definitely something to explore further…

Author: Petah Marian

Sunday, week two

No roast for me today. There’s news to be broken. Last week threw up some painful truths. My spllenig is pathhettic, you should not write ‘not’ unless you’re not very good and I only rock the teeline when I know the passage off by heart (sorry Alison). Andy showed us how to write for the web on Thursday and drew our attention to the selling power of cats. I did a tip-top job of concealing my student status at the retirement show on Friday… until I bragged to Andy in earshot of an interviewee and blew my cover. Think I’ve broken the back of the resubmissions, until they bounce back at least. If anyone knows a good secretary though could you let me know? I’m looking for one for 15 hours a week to handle my cover sheet backlog. We’ve appointed a very able editor and she’s got us on the RB case already. In fact, I’d better crack on or she’ll be getting hold of a cattle prod from one of her old farmer contacts and frying us all into action…

Author: Lynda

Friday was a Do-ing day

Friday was a Do-ing day... Go Find FIVE stories at an event...

Andy dispatched the team to hot ticket event, The Retirement Show 2008. At the end of this day I feel very well-travelled. 6 Tubes, 2 Buses and I'm about to head off to Clapham... 4 buses coming up!

I'm lovingly looking at the sofa, but I know that even if I could stay here it's resubmission time too. Things are definitely getting busy and the need to get all resubs passed is paramount. I do not want to see the Lawyer article again. Ever. Those who know what I mean, know what I mean?

Karmel seems to displaying odd Teeline love, but challenging Ed to finishing first is just too much as my end of the table just tries to get any squiggle looking right.

Time to write up the Ret Biz show notes and find those stories. (After a cheeky drink in Clapham. Must cancel all social life. PMA and parties do NOT mix.) Grammar - nice brackets. Oh dear.

Author: Charlie Neyra