3 October 2008

The oldest worker in America

The oldest worker in America is 100-year-old journalist Mildred Heath, according to this report.

Mildred works for a family owned newspaper, the Beacon-Observer. Her desk looks a lot like mine.

Tags: journalism, newspapers
0 comments


19 August 2008

Lawnmower warning story travels wide

I wrote earlier this month about the lawnmower story. The story has “travelled” and even come to international attention.

I never published it on The Border Watch website, largely because I didn’t want to fuel a negative perception of the town.

Someone scanned the story from the paper and started an email chain which is continuing to grow. Read more »

Tags: journalism, media, Mount Gambier, newspapers
8 comments


28 July 2008

Hiring journalists from other professions

The Advocate in Burnie has advertised for journalists. Nothing unusual in that, except they have pitched the ad at non-journalists.

I find this intriguing and refreshing. I’ve employed some mature people before who weren’t trained journalists and I saw a couple come through earlier in my career with mixed results.

Mostly though, they were successful. It’s like the adage that nobody has stronger faith than the convert.

The Advocate has stated they want people who are committed to their community, adding that people skills and writing skills are key attributes. Read more »

Tags: employment, journalism, newspapers
2 comments


8 June 2008

Australian Newspapers

I’ve started a new blog called Australian Newspapers. It’s not as though I’ve got plenty of spare time to invest in this, so I’m currently questioning my sanity.

The aim is to discuss industry issues and trends. I’m not aware of any similar site so there should be some interest if the site gets discovered.

I won’t be able to post there every day. The aim is more for quality than quantity and hopefully other authors will come on board.

Tags: blog, journalism, media, newspapers
0 comments


14 May 2008

ANZAC or Anzac?

The language is constantly evolving with a trend towards brevity. Waggon has become wagon and to-day has become today.

Some Australians cling to what they believe is English spelling for words like “programme” and anything that potentially ends in -our like “colour”.

I think they are mistaken. Researching newspapers from the 1890s for my family history a few years ago the consistent style was to spell “color” etc. Read more »

Tags: anzac, Australia, journalism, language
3 comments


6 May 2008

Randy penguins and seals

Quirky stories are popular on newspaper web sites. When a man ran down Hannan Street in a mankini on a Saturday morning, it was published to the Kalgoorlie Miner and became one of the most viewed articles.

Today, I found a couple of stories involving penguins and seals which would never cut it in the main news pages but somehow attract interest on the internet.

The Age reported “Little penguins get frisky feet” at Phillip Island. Read more »

Tags: internet, journalism, news, wacky
0 comments


22 April 2008

Video journalism

This is my first effort at video journalism. I took some footage of the football fiasco in Kalgoorlie when one club forfeited because of concerns with the condition of the oval.

We posted it to the Kalgoorlie Miner web site after I uploaded it to YouTube. The video was made using a digital camera.

Tags: journalism, Kalgoorlie, media, Sport, video
0 comments


30 December 2007

Working in the dark

It’s 42 degrees in Kalgoorlie today, continuing a run of hot, dry weather.

I was working for the second Sunday in a row and had to sub nine pages. Fortunately, the reporter (also a sub) and the photographer had everything ready to go early this morning and it was a smooth run, except …

The power went off about 11am. Our backup supply kept most of the computers going, but two employees working on the new server-based software were shut out of the system. It was only me with ongoing access to all the photos and articles.

Adding to the tension, I was told our backup electricity would only last for about two hours. We had no idea when the main supply would be restored. Read more »

Tags: employment, journalism, Kalgoorlie, media
5 comments


19 December 2007

Newspaper web publishing

This is a good example of successful integration between newspaper and web publishing.

The final print production deadline of the Kalgoorlie Miner is (sadly) 4.45pm. An off-duty reporter heard at 5.30pm there had been an escape from the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison.

She called me and I put our web staff on standby while the reporter went to the police station for more detail. She phoned me with the facts as they stood.

Three prisoners had escaped at 3.40pm. Two had been recaptured and one prisoner, considered dangerous, was still on the loose. I filed the report and it was online by 5.50pm.

Newspapers are the only media with the resources and expertise to react so quickly and efficiently on a regular basis. That’s why I strongly believe in integration between print and the web.

Tags: internet, journalism, media, news
0 comments


6 December 2007

Nutter magnet

Newspaper offices are nutter magnets. The vast majority of people who contact newspapers are sane and rational, but there is a significant fringe group of nuts.

Classic behavioral symptoms include irrational abuse, attention seeking and pure wackiness. The latter is the most amusing, although the others have their humorous moments.

A few months ago I received an apparently random letter from someone in Florida wanting us to report a particular story involving her family. The story had no relevance to Kalgoorlie at all and was simply addressed to “The Newspaper”.

Today I finally succumbed to a summons from the post office. Two weeks ago I received a slip in the mail saying there was “person to person” registered post waiting for me to collect. It could only be picked up by “The Editor” and I was required to provide identification. Read more »

Tags: journalism, media, news, society
1 comment