Once again I have been to the Bristol Evening Post for work experience. After catching up with the deputy Editor, and meeting the staff, I was invited to the morning conference.
During the conference the reporters and editors discussed the stories for today, the layout of the paper and the order of the stories. We also viewed some of the pictures that had already been taken for some of the stories being covered.
I was introduced to a reporter named Dominic, who took me out to our first story,
We travelled to Knowle, where we met a woman whose house had burnt down. She had been lent a caravan from a friend, and her next door neighbour had offered for it to be parked on her driveway, as people were trying to break in to the destroyed house.
The woman had been living in the caravan for 5 weeks, with her 18 year old daughter, who is insulin dependant. It was an upsetting interview, as the woman cried throughout, and was clearly struggling to deal with the events that had happened.
While we were there, the daughter went into diabetic shock, because they had no fridge to keep her insulin in, no electricity, and no running water. The caravan didnt even have a toilet. It was a disturbing sight, but it was really good practise for journalism, as it is a clear example of an upsetting story, which the reporter cannot get emotionally involved in.
Once we had interviewed the family, and taken pictures of the remains of the house, we went on to the Coroners Court for an inquest. The inquest was in to the death of a 16 month old, who was believed to have died of swine flu unexpectedly last year. We met and interviewed the parents of the child, and listened to the inquest, which found that the baby had in fact died of acute bronchiolitis, but the swine flu, and other viruses, had been found in the toddlers body.
I was taken back to the office, and after a break for lunch, sent out on the streets of Bristol to do the daily Vox Pops. This requires approaching members of the public with a specific question, to get their opinion, as well as take a photo and their details. This is published in each episode of the Evening Post. My question was: "Do you think the police did enough to deal with the riots in Bristol?"
The front page of the Evening Post on this day was CCTV images of 25 people wanted by police for the rioting.
When I arrived at the office the next day, I found the building cordoned off with police tape, as every window around the office had been smashed overnight. This led speculation as to who would target the Evening Post office, as it was the only incident that occured overnight.
We later found that a local Mitsubishi garage, which had also been featured on the front page of the paper with the CCTV images, had also been targeted, with 7 of their models being damaged. However, it is unclear if the incidents are linked.
My first job of the day was to go to a press conference with the local police about the investigation into the riots in Bristol. Also there were reporters from the BBC, ITV and Sky. We were not given much new information on the investigation, but shown some new CCTV footage that the police have been given, and told about any arrests that have been made.
When I got back to the office I was sent out to do the vox pops again, this time asking if people support their local post office. After failing to recruit anyone outside the office to take part, I decided the best place to go would be to the post office, as people who use it are more likely to have an opinion on it.
After lunch I was forwarded very emails to write into articles. These were mostly fluff pieces, including a stray dog who was brought back from the brink of death by a kind stranger. This story required me to phone several people for quotes and for pictures, which is a really helpful skill to have for the future. Other stories I covered was a new free cycling scheme for children, and an award winning garden being opened to the public.
I will be back for a few days next week, and will blog my experience then!
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