Time for a holiday

FleetStreetBlues is taking a short break. We'll be back - with one, if not two, new redundant journalists ready to share their trials and tribulations - on MONDAY 3 AUGUST.

Reporter - Farmers Weekly

It's fair to say that 'interest in agriculture' is not a CV feature frequently highlighted by journalists when they apply for jobs, so if it's on yours, now's your chance. Farmers Weekly is hiring a reporter, and they want someone who's not only interested, but willing to build an extensive array of contacts in 'the arable sector'.

It's an RBI publication, so you'll be based out in Sutton, in Surrey. Crucially, there's no explicit previous experience requirement - they say you'll ideally have some training and a portfolio of work, but at a pinch this could be an entry-level position.

Apply via the RBI website.

News Editor - Utility Week

Are you a senior reporter looking for your first step up into the shady world of news editing? Are you preparing to start climbing the greasy pole of management? Are you ready to become one of them...?

Well, if so, then this could be ideal. Utility Week, a small RBI b2b publication, is looking for a new news editor. And it is, they say, perfect for a senior reporter of deputy news editor looking to step up.

It otherwise seems to be a fair standard position on a trade magazine - you'll be focusing on electricity, gas and water companies, and there's a whole range of areas that intersects with - climate change, energy security, etc - to help you build up a decent news list. You'll be managing a team of two plus freelance cover, and be expected to do some writing yourself as well.

Apply online. Deadline Monday 17 August.

A great piece of journalism, by great journalists

We've been a little down on some of our esteemed colleagues in recent posts - sorry multimeeja pioneers, sorry Fergus Walsh - so it makes sense to start the week by highlighting a fine piece of journalism.

It's not new - it came out last week, in fact - but then it's not news, so that hardly matters. But Amelia Gentleman's extended feature on a day in the life of an old people's home is the kind of journalism we'd like to see more of.

It's a gripping piece constructed through the oldest of journalist conceits - put a journalist somewhere interesting, let them watch, and let them write. But as well as a great writer, this kind of article takes a team of great journalists - a commissioning editor with the vision to see its potential, an editor to give it the space it needs.

Good work from the Guardian. But perhaps the ultimate seal of approval comes when you learn the Daily Mail - hardly the Guardian's natural bedfellow - bought it up to run online, complete with credit, a couple of days later. Good journalism is good journalism.

Deputy Editor - Shortlist

Shortlist, the free weekly consumer magazine distributed outside Tube stations and the like, may be very new, but it's done well for itself, winning a number of awards. And now it's looking for a new deputy editor.

You'll need to be a deputy editor or experienced features editor working on a national publication, with at least two years' experience in commissioning and 'page craft'. You'll be working under the editor to help manage a twelve-strong editorial team, ensure the magazine hits its budget and also acting as an ambassador at launches and social events etc...

Full details on Gorkana, not directly linkable. To apply, send CV, cover letter and three features ideas to the editor Terri White at terri.white@shortlist.com. Deadline Friday 24 July.

BBC on swine flu: Whatever you do, don't panic

Is anyone else finding the BBC's coverage of the swine flu pandemic annoying, patronising and really, really spineless?

Both broadcasting and online, it's telling one story, and one story only: 'Keep calm, don't panic, it's not as bad as everyone is telling you it is.'

And while they may or may not be right to play down the virus' long-term significance, what's really aggravating is the way they feel the need to quote their own correspondents as experts in the field. Chief culprit? BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh who, it's fair to say, has not had a good pandemic.

Some examples. On 27 June, for instance, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than a million Americans had now contracted swine flu. Our Fergus' line?

'If the figures are correct, it is reassuring news, because it indicates that the fatality rate from swine flu is even lower than thought, says BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh. '

But it's not just Fergus. Anyone who works for Auntie has been told to unquestioningly parrot the Government's line, it seems. Last Saturday, we were told:

Further deaths from swine flu without there being underlying health problems cannot be ruled out but will be rare, England's chief medical officer says.

And just in case we didn't get the message, the BBC decided to quote its own 'expert' again:

BBC health correspondent Branwen Jeffreys said the death had come as no surprise to most experts and was a reminder of the potential threat posed by all kinds of flu.

Not technically wrong. But given that the death toll has doubled in the subsequent four days, more public health propaganda than objective journalism, perhaps. (Imagine if they took this approach to other issues. Why not quote someone in the Jakarta bombs story reminding us how rare terrorist attacks are?)

Back to Fergus again. His 'Fergus on Flu' blog is actually quite interesting, but only because it gives a direct insight into the thinking of the Government scientists he's parrotting, rather than any objective coverage.

Yesterday, even those scientists said it was getting serious, predicting up to 65,000 deaths from swine flu in the UK alone. That's 59,000 more than the average 6,000 attributed to seasonal flu.

Hold up...the Government has just said it expects swine flu to kill an extra 59,000 people this year. Surely that's worth getting excited about Fergus?

Swine flu is the biggest geniune health subject in a very long time, and there are lots of stories to be told. Routine surgery could be cancelled. What about the financial impact? How did the Government get its pandemic planning, based entirely on bird flu, so wrong?

Lots of stories to be told, but it's going to take real journalists to tell them. Taking dictation from the Chief Medical Officer every Thursday afternoon doesn't count.

How to land a journalism job - improving your employability

An excellent post over at Freelance Unbound with a very practical 11-step guide on how to make yourself employable as a journalist. Some of it's very single-minded - should you really spend three years studying a science degree just to position yourself for a subbing position on Nature? - but if you're serious about being a journalist in the current market, that level of commitment may be what it takes.

FleetStreetBlues would add only two suggestions (to take it to an unlucky 13).

Firstly, when you do get your break, grasp it - whether it's an opening on a national or a work experience on your local weekly. Come to work early, stay late, go the extra mile on the vox pops. Editors do notice it and they do appreciate it, and you'll never know when it'll stand you in good stead.

And secondly, never underestimate the power of the story. If you can get a great story, a great exclusive story, then it doesn't matter whether you're a freelancer trying her luck or the work experience kid - doors will open for you. News is what matters, and decent stories are everything. Go find them.

Quote of the Day: 16 July 2009

Roy Greenslade on why British journalists are more likely to turn to the darker arts than our friends across the pond:

I am not saying that US governments and institutions don't have secrets. Far from it. But much more information is freely available to Americans than to Britons. Moreover, there is a greater frankness between people too.

Journalists in the States, though they may not realise it, have benefited from this candour and have not found it necessary to go to the extreme lengths to obtain relatively trivial information that their counterparts are required to do on a daily basis.

Sub-Editors x3 - Elle

Fashion magazine Elle is looking for three subs - well, a chief sub, a junior sub, and one regular sub (this is starting to sound like a sandwich order...).

The chief sub editor role involves production as well, and managing a team of three - you need to be 'passionate about fashion' with industry knowledge, and experienced with InDesign and the VIP production process.

The sub editor position has only light production duties, but you need excellent subbing experience plus some fashion publishing and production experience.

For the junior sub role you don't need production or fashion experience, but you will need one year's experience subbing on a newspaper or magazine.

Full details for all three on Gorkana, not directly linkable. To apply send your CV to hr@hf-uk.com.

Transport Correspondent - The Times

We've said it before and we'll say it again - kudos to The Times for being the only national willing to regularly and widely advertise its vacancies.

This time the vacancy is the position of Transport Correspondent, and they're looking for a senior journalist who can do the lot really - breaking news, analysis and comment. You'll also be writing for the Business section as well as News.

They don't have any specific experience requirements - outside the nationals, who gets to cover 'transport' full time, really - but then they don't need to. Rest assured, the competition will be fierce.

And even if you get it, you're in for a tough ride. If you've never worked on a national before, you might want to check out Playing the Game's insider's guide to what it's really like.)

Full details on Gorkana, not directly linkable. Applications and CV go to Home Editor Martin Barrow at martin.barrow@thetimes.co.uk. Deadline Friday 24 July.

The journalist and the Jobcentre

Ever wondered what it would be like?

To be made redundant, to draw a blank finding something new, and to slowly, reluctantly, finally go to the Jobcentre?

To be stuck in a room with a patronising form-filler trying to explain why a 'sub-editor' isn't actually one rung below 'editor'?

Well, magazine journalist Rachel England has been there - and it isn't fun.

Reporter - The Digger

This is an intriguing one, though not for the faint-hearted - an opportunity to work on what can best be described as a guerilla newspaper among the gangs, drug-lords and murderers of inner-city Glasgow.

The paper's The Digger, which doesn't seem to have any official web presence at all, but does have a very informative Wikipedia entry - it's apparently an A5 weekly, notorious for naming alleged drug dealers and paedophiles.

The position's that of reporter (the only one, we suspect), and the job description's extremely demanding. They're asking for national newspaper experience, excellent contacts, shorthand, a driving licence and court experience.

(A word of warning - according to the Press Gazette, the editor James Cruickshank was expelled from the NUJ in 2003, although he claims his repeated clashes with the Glasgow courts, police and council are because he is 'standing up to the establishment and they're not having it'.)

If you can hack all that - and you don't mind risking getting shot - they're offering £25,000 - £30,000. Email Mr Cruickshank at busterdigger@btinternet.com. Deadline Friday 31 July.

Online Content Producer - Which

The deadline for this one's TODAY, so we'll keep it very brief.

Which? magazine is looking for an online content producer - someone to create news stories, blogs, podcasts, videos and other content for the personal finance section of its website.

You need online experience, expertise in finance and some basic knowledge of html or xml. (This is one post where all those multimeeja skills we scoff at really would come in handy).

Apply online at Careers at Which?. Deadline today Wednesday 15 July. (Yes, we've only just spotted it...)

Why being an employed journalist is the best thing to ever happen to me - postscript

So, as expected, the piece on 'Why being an employed journalist is the best thing to ever happen to me' ruffled a few feathers. For the record, no, we weren't writing it just to get a reaction and no, we don't want to consign ourselves to extinction.

The most considered response we've seen comes from Freelance Unbound, who makes some valid points. So, just two more points from our response to him that we'd like to add:

1) Of course a certain computer literacy is important... but all of those journalist graduates being spewed out of higher education institutions have got the computer bit down. What they're less good at is the other skills of journalism - so, in general terms, that's what they need to work at. Think of the last work experience student you saw... ten to one they could Twitter, but their phone manner could use some work.

2) The idea of a journalist knowing how to drive traffic, setting up his own website and doing his own journalism is a nice one - but it's a myth. We blog as a hobby, but it doesn't pay the bills, and with one or two possible exceptions no journalists at all are self-funding.

So the point was we should stop wringing our hands over our inability to do the impossible, and become one-men journalism/publishing/advertising machines. If we're going to make a success of journalism, we're going to have to do it as part of a team which includes people who can make it pay and devote themselves full time to getting that payment. Anything is is a bit of a pipe-dream, at the moment at least.

Sub-Editors x 4 - Bristol Evening Post

A hiring bonanza over in Bristol, where Bristol News and Media are looking for four, count 'em four, subs.

It sounds suspiciously like a subbing hub, covering a long list of titles including the Bristol Evening Post, Western Daily Press, Gloucester Citizen, Gloucestershire Echo, Western Gazette and Bath Chronicle. (And are we being unfair when we wonder how many subs have recently been downsized for them to need to hire four in one swoop? Probably not.)

But anyway, a job is a job, and there are lots of them here. You'll be based in Bristol 'in a modern air-conditioned newsroom with a subsidised staff restaurant'.

Familiarity with Tera preferred but not essential, and you'll need experience. Two of the positions are general shift roles, and two are permanent late-shift, 2pm - 10pm.

Apply with full CV to Jenna Britton, PA to Mike Norton, at j.britton@bepp.co.uk. Deadline next Friday 24 July.

Why being an employed journalist is the best thing to ever happen to me

Yesterday, an American journalist who was laid off in December wrote a well-received piece for the blog 10,000 Words, entitled 'Why being an unemployed journalist is the best thing to ever happen to me'. In it, the author looked very much on the bright side of life - and even described his time spent unemployed as 'a special opportunity to hone my craft' through learning multimedia skills.

It was a great column, and we're full of admiration for someone who's written an excellent blog and is able to stay so positive at such a difficult time. But at the same time, it was all too familiar. It's a tale we've read so many times over the past six months that frankly, we're sick to death of it.

Listen up publishers, editors, readers - journalism isn't broke. Journalism is about finding stuff out and telling it to other people, and the demand for that is as strong as ever.

The best thing about journalism isn't blogging, or Twittering, or finding innovative multimeeja ways to tell a story, or even asking someone difficult questions Paxman-style. It's about finding something out that no one knows, and telling people. Simple as that.

And that is why, while we admire the optimism, all this talk of journalism being saved by internet startups and citizen journalists and journalists 'creating their own forms of journalism' is, basically, a load of rubbish. It's playing at journalism, that's all. If you've been made redundant and want to keep your hand in and have no other options, by all means do so - it's better than nothing. But it's not a viable future for the industry.

Journalism should be about the message, not the medium. At the end of the day, journalism's value isn't in how you're telling people something. They might admire the whizzy graphics or fancy audio for a millisecond, and that's it. What they care about - the only thing they've ever cared about - is what you're actually telling them.

Which is why time spent learning multimedia skills is a distraction, not 'a special opportunity'. Journalists need training, and lots of it, but they can only get that training through practice.

Here's a secret - and one that journalism academics, media commentators and the NUJ with courses to flog will do everything they can do to avoid telling you. If you want to get good at journalism, you have to practice it. Work as a reporter, with a news editor to boss you around and show you the ropes, and report. Learn how to do a vox pop in the pouring rain. Cover a court case when you've arrived late and all your rivals have the story already. Death knock a grieving family. Analyse a spreadsheet full of Government statistics and get the real story. Build contacts.

If you want to be a specialist, don't learn Dreamweaver or podcasting or how to put together Google map. Be a police reporter or an education reporter or a health reporter, and learn your field. Get to know who does what and who will speak to you, find something out, and write the splash. And frankly, who cares who Twitters it to the waiting world? You've filed your story, and you're on to the next one.

Most journalists are born journalists. Some people have journalism thrust upon them, true. But most grow up knowing that they want to be one, and slowly learning how. So don't get sidetracked.

Here at FleetStreetBlues, we've had other jobs, lots of them. Some casual, part-time holiday jobs - others full-time, soul-destroying PR roles to pay the bills. We don't scoff at those who have to do other jobs - one bad stock market result, one brown envelope and it could be us. But we know what we'd rather be doing.

If you want to be a media publisher, then good luck to you. But if you want to be a journalist, then forget payment models, multimedia development and how to drive traffic. That's not your job. Your job is to be a damn fine reporter and let the chips fall as they may.

If they - the editors, publishers and readers - can't figure out a way to pay for us, then so be it. They'll miss us.

We're journalists. That's all we are, that's what we do. Stop apologising for it.

Official: Newspapers WERE wacko over Jacko

We've been keeping these polls open too long - frankly, in Fleet Street terms Michael Jackson is so last week. But for what it's worth, you ended up narrowly siding with Greenslade, Glover et al.

Then again, something tells us other journalists weren't the target audience...

Reporter - Pharmawire

With its talk of 'physicians' rather than doctors and 'leverage the knowledge' which (we think) means finding stuff out, this ad comes over a bit American. But if you can get past that, it could be a decent job in its field.

Pharmawire - essentially a financial wire service for the global healthcare market, and part of the Financial Times Group - is hiring a reporter for its London office.

Somewhat surprisingly, there are no role requirements listed in the advert at all. But it's safe to say that financial knowledge is a big plus, while knowledge of health can't hurt.

The full ad's on Gorkana, not directly linkable. To apply, send your CV to sasha.damouni@pharmawire.com.

A question for the PR who just sent me a press release

Is putting MEDIA ALERT….. MEDIA ALERT….. MEDIA ALERT….. eight times in a row at the top of your press release something they taught you at PR school as a way of making me more likely to recycle your pap print your story?

Or did you come up with all by yourself?

Senior Reporters x2 - Cornish Guardian/West Briton

The Cornish Guardian and the West Briton, two weekly paid-for papers in Cornwall, are recruiting two senior reporters - it's not quite clear from the ad, but it looks like one each, so quite why they've decided to advertise jointly is beyond us.

(Maybe this is the future. Can't afford an ad? Why not share one...)

In any event, they want NCTJ NCE or equivalent, plus experience on a daily or another weekly. The Cornish Guardian position's based in St Austell, the West Briton position in Truro. Salary for both (we're assuming) is £19,000.

Email for an application form, vacancies@c-dm.co.uk. Deadline Thursday 23 July.

Associate Editor - Time Out Bahrain

Time Out Bahrain is looking for an associate editor.

No, we weren't exactly sure where it was either, beyond somewhere in the Middle East. But Bahrain, it turns out, is an Arabic island country in the Persian Gulf with a population of about 700,000.

You'll need to be an experienced journalist, educated to degree level, and have held a job previously in a related role. You'll also need to be able to work independently, find out what life in Bahrain has to offer - and then write about it.

Email covering letter, CV and clips to recruitment@itp.com. Deadline Friday 24 July.

How to save newspapers: Buy One Anyway

Like So Much Fun It Hurts says, this is more sad than funny - and, given the number of journalists we know who have suddenly been made redundant in recent weeks, pretty painful, too.

But the fifteen second ad tacked on to the beginning of the video, that you have to watch before you get to see the 'Buy One Anyway' campaign? Now that's funny. Who said the advertising model was dead?

In defence of the News of the World

Oh please... enough with the mock indignation already.

The Guardian breathlessly reveals the second News of the World 'victim' to receive damages. The BBC reports the Metropolitan Police has 'started contacting people whose phones may have been hacked to warn them of what might have happened.' Get ready for another round of Max Mosley-style media self-flagellation.

(Actually, it's more like the MPs expenses scandal - something which everyone does and has been going on for years, but which has suddenly become national news off the back of one newspaper's investigation.)

Playing the Game, as usual, has it right:

Journalists often lie, cheat, beg, borrow, and steal for a cracking story.

But is using subterfuge really that bad to expose the porkie pies of others, especially celebrities. Those vacuous arseholes who only want publicity when it serves their own purposes but, in the words of Dad's Army, 'don't like it up 'em'.

I agree that it may got out of hand over at News Int's factory farming of mobiles (ALLEGEDLY) but, Christ, good intel is still good intel wherever it comes from.

Obviously the News of the World would have to go a long way to stretch the public interest defence to trawling celebrities' answer-phone messages. But equally, let's keep some perspective here - the alleged 'hacking' was phoning someone's mobile and trying out the default password when the voicemail kicked in. Not really James Bond, is it?

The job of a journalist, above everything else, is to find things out. Things that other people don't want you to find out. Occasionally, in some circumstances, that may involve breaking the law.

What do we mean by breaking the law? Well, sometimes it might be trying a childish trick like entering the default code for a mobile. Sometimes it might be something much more serious, like knowingly paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for stolen and classified documents. That didn't work out too badly, did it?

Summer party blues

Which news organisation reportedly served up a selection of sub-standard culinary delights at its informal summer party recently - a selection which the hacks there couldn't help noticing included raw chicken, later hastily withdrawn?

Here's a clue. It's still making a profit.

Senior Reporter - Kent & Sussex Courier

The Kent and Sussex Courier is looking for a senior reporter, to be based at its head office in Tunbridge Wells.

You'll need to have an NCTJ qualification or equivalent, have multimedia skills and be able to dig out off-diary stories. You'll also be working under new editor Ian Read, who we're told has 'big plans to develop the title both in print and online'.

Apply to Mr Read at ian.read@courier.co.uk. NB The deadline for this one is tomorrow, Friday 10 July, so if you fancy it, move fast.

Senior Reporter - Shropshire Star

The Shropshire Star - the UK's fifth-biggest selling regional - is recruiting a senior reporter, to cover its Bridgnorth patch.

You'll need to be NCTJ-qualified or equivalent, and able to dig out off-diary stories etc etc. No real other details given in the ad, though we'd expect driving licence would also be important, and local knowledge, while not essential, never hurt.

Apply to deputy editor Jon Simcock at jsimcock@shropshirestar.co.uk. Deadline next Thursday 16 July.

+ + + Murdoch papers 'paid £1 million to phone-hacking victims' + + +

Still too early to tell how big the Guardian's story this evening will be... On the one hand, it was a while ago, and not completely unknown, although the details are new. On the other hand, the News of the World may have pissed off some pretty powerful people.

One thing's certain. If anyone can stand the story up, and make it stick, it's Nick 'Flat Earth News' Davies...

Science, Health and Environment Editor - The Times

The Times is recruiting a senior editor to work across print and online in its Science, Health and Environment team.

The emphasis here is broad and extensive experience as a journalist rather than specialist knowledge. A science background is not essential, we're told, but you will need 'extensive' experience editing and commissioning words and pictures, and also be able to work closely with advertising and marketing to develop commercial opportunities.

Full details on Gorkana, not directly linkable. Email CV and application to managing editor David Chappell at david.chappell@thetimes.co.uk. Deadline Monday 20 July.

Start in the shower

So we're scanning through today's DWPub JournAlert, and the daily profile-of-a-freelancer is of one Josephine Murray (pictured). She's asked, 'What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?'

She says: 'When I was doing my Trinity Mirror certificate of journalism course, in order to progress from junior to senior reporter at The Press newspaper in north London, I learnt that ‘the best interviews begin in the shower'. I come up with my best ideas and interview questions when I’m not at my desk.'

Really, they said that? They taught you that all the best interviews 'begin in the shower'? That's what all the editors say...

Sports Editor - Leamington Spa Courier

The Leamington Spa Courier series is looking for a sports editor.

They want a jack-of-all-trades rather than an out-and-out sports specialist, specifying writing, contact-building, page-design, a willingness to work across the paper and 'creative ideas about print and digital'. You also need to have an NCTJ qualification and a proven track record of both writing and subbing.

Email your CV to martin.lawson@leamingtoncourier.co.uk. Deadline next Monday 13 July.

Should newspapers still be inventing bylines?

What do Oliver Clive, Austin Peters, Charles Carrick, Matthew Hannah, William Gray, Perry Crooke and Dan Harbles have in common?

Two things. One, they're all sports journalists over at the Telegraph.

And two? None of them exist.

Well, not according to Private Eye, that is, and not according to Martin Moore either, who's done a bit of digging.

To check this wasn’t an unfortunate recent graduate called Oliver Clive being told to churn out agency copy I called the Telegraph and asked to speak to Clive. He could not be found. I emailed him at oliver.clive@telegraph.co.uk. No answer. Nor has there yet been any response from the other six ‘correspondents’ (if there is I’ll update this blog and make that apparent).

I’ve since managed to track down someone at the Telegraph. He did not deny the Private Eye story but said he thought it was hypocritical of a magazine that uses many pseudonyms and that it ignored the fact that this is 'standard industry practice'. It was not, he suggested, a big deal - and was done more than anything for 'design reasons', because it looked odd to have an article without a byline.

It's an interesting post, but it gets even better in the comments, where opinion is divided between those geniunely shocked at such a practice, and the old-timers (one of whom claims to have written a 'reader letter' from one Ivor Smallun, Cockfosters - and got it past the subs).

But while we're never sorry to hear the tales of times gone by, this is one Fleet Street tradition that should be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Once upon a time, making up random/comedy names to ensure every downpage had a byline may have made sense. Now - when articles and their bylines are immediately accessible all over the world - it just looks ridiculous.

Far better surely to do what they do in America, where one journalist working for AP can typically have a byline on the front page of several hundred newspapers each morning. There, they attribute wire copy, and the papers are none the worse for it.

Or why not just get rid of the bylines in question altogether? After all, there's nothing wrong with anonymously written articles, collectively penned under a trustworthy brand? Is there?

Senior Reporter - Croydon Advertiser

The Croydon Advertiser is looking for a senior reporter.

It is, we're told, 'an exciting and challenging place to work' and 'an area never short of breaking news'. And while a lot of adverts say such things, FleetStreetBlues once met someone who used to work on the Croydon Advertiser, and it did indeed sound an interesting gig. Lots of court cases featuring local 'characters' and stories about local-girl-done-good Kate Moss... but in a good way.

So, they say the person they're looking for probably be an NCTJ-qualified senior reporter, but could be an outstanding trainee. And there's this - which judging by the person we met, is also very true:

The ability to build contacts and break stories is more important to us than how many followers you have got on Twitter - this is a job for a reporter who wants to get stuck in rather than sit behind a screen.

We'll second that. Email CV and covering letter to andrew.worden@essnmedia.co.uk. Deadline next Monday 13 July.

Too much Michael Jackson coverage?

The media grandees think Fleet Street went over the top. Roy Greenslade, Stephen Glover and to a lesser extent Peter Wilby all argue that the media went wacko over Jacko.

Readers - even the meeja types who comment on Greenslade's blog - seem less certain that coverage was, after all, out of all proprtion.

So what do you think? Let us know in the poll at the top right.

(Apologies for the sparse posting by the way, which has been noticed... Partly it's the technical problems, partly it's being busy. Normal service will be resumed shortly.)

Recession still biting

So lately, the spectre of the recession, redundancies and the journapocalypse seem to have receded slightly. A heatwave, Wimbledon and swine flu have taken over the news agenda, and bankers seem more optimistic as the stock market recovers somewhat. And for journalists, there's been a marked increase in the number of jobs advertised on HoldTheFrontPage and Gorkana.

Well, don't be fooled. Papers are still downsizing, journalists are still getting made redundant. And if you were in any doubt about how serious the situation still is, take note of the spate of voluntary redundancies announced at the Guardian yesterday.

The Guardian, let's remember, is probably the national newspaper best insulated against the effects of the recession, what with its public service advertising and Scott Trust backing.

Yet they were prepared to let go Westminster investigative lobby legend David Hencke, senior correspondent Duncan Campbell, former foreign correspondent of the year Audrey Gillan and a number of other respected figures.

This recession ain't over, not by a long shot.

Behind the camera

Ever wondered what it's like to be on the other side of the notepad/TV camera/digital recorder?

Journalists tend not to have much sympathy for most of those in the public spotlight. Crime victims, lottery winners, the accidentally famous - we can go easy on them. But polticians, business leaders and celebrities? Hey, they chose the life.

But - as every journalist secretly knows - it's an awful lot easier to sit behind the notepad/TV camera/digital recorder than it is to sit in front of it. And we defy you to watch this excruciating video and not feel a twinge of sympathy for Gordon Brown.



Spotted via Plenty2Say.

Chief Sub-Editor - Travel Weekly

Travel trade magazine Travel Weekly is looking for a chief sub-editor.

There's a full and rather wordy ad over on the RBI website, which you'll probably want to take a look at if you actually want to apply, but the key points of note are: a) as it's an RBI publication, it's based in Sutton, Surrey b) you'll be doing all the usual subbing things plus picture research and page layout, which means c) you need a 'high level of skill' in both InDesign and Photoshop.

Oh, and d) they're offering 29 days holiday, which is nice.

Apply via the RBI website.

Trainee Reporter - Yorkshire Post

As trainee reporter positions on regional papers go, this is particularly promising. Not that the Yorkshire Post would thank us for saying so - they seem to be in denial about being a regional at all, billing themselves twice in a three-paragraph advert as 'Yorkshire's national paper'.

In any event, they're hiring a trainee or newly qualified reporter, to be based in Leeds. There's no qualification or shorthand requirements either -all they ask for is 'somebody with bags of enthusiasm and the confidence to get to grips with major national stories'. There's that word again...

To apply, they don't seem to want a CV or covering letter specifically - instead they just ask you to email 'with the reasons why you should get the job.' Contact the editor Peter Charlton at peter.charlton@ypn.co.uk. Deadline Wednesday 15 July.

Faking it

What always amazes FleetStreetBlues, when we hear the old war stories from the old timers, is that they lived to tell the tale.

Did one of our former colleagues really once spark a 'crime wave' in a placid rural village after completely inventing a series of increasingly unlikely NIBs? Did our friends in America really once fall asleep at a major political conference and just, erm, make it up?

How did they get away with it?

And here's an on-the-record classic from veteran local newspaperman Mike Lockley, who regales the BBC website with a series of classic anecdotes:

Was it really 31 years ago that, as a cub reporter in a mining community on the fringes of the Black Country, I sat straining to hear details, in a cavernous courtroom, of an all-too-common tale of domestic violence?

After a three-year apprenticeship - "indentures" they called it - I was ready to cover court without being chaperoned by a senior. In Cannock, hardly the most refined destination on the fringes of the West Midlands conurbation, I had arrived.

The case was a sickening example of domestic violence. An enraged husband had struck his wife repeatedly about the head with a candelabra.

It made page three of the weekly newspaper, now sadly deceased like the mines that spawned Cannock. "Man bludgeons wife with candelabra", the banner headline screamed.

I returned to the same court next day - to be greeted by howls of laughter from ushers, solicitors, clerks… even defendants.

"Is this the level of reporting we can expect from you?" asked the chairman of the bench, studying my exclusive.

Nervously, I pointed out every detail had been checked: the charge, the attacker's name, age and address.

"Every detail," huffed the JP frostily, "except the implement used in the incident. I think you'll find it was a can of lager."

(Spotted via the still-great Playing the Game whom, we're sure, has a few tall tales of his own to tell).

Business Reporter - The Times

The Times, which is fast becoming known as the only national to regularly advertise its vacancies, is recruiting a stock market reporter for its business news section.

You'll need to be a top business/financial reporter already with a large number of contacts you can draw on from day one. The Times bills it as a 'key job at the centre of our financial coverage', and there's opportunity to develop the role, focusing on other markets and even doing broadcast interviews on behalf of the paper.

They want the next Robert Peston, in other words.

Full details over at Gorkana, not directly linkable. Apply with CV and covering letter to Business and City Editor David Wighton at david.wighton@thetimes.co.uk. Deadline next Friday 10 July.