A local businessman told me today the paper is too negative. “You have a responsibility to be positive about the town,” he said. I respect the man and he expressed a commonly held view, so I don’t deride it. As an editor, it has always been my philosophy to choose a good positive story over [...]
Cadet journalist job interviews
I interviewed six young people today for a career-entry position as a cadet journalist. Experience was irrelevant. The applicants were school leavers, not university graduates. The required skills were good English, an awareness of current affairs, curiosity and effective communication. I asked each of them 11 interview questions. They all performed okay during this stage, [...]
Mount Gambier tennis final
I watched the final today of the Mount Gambier Blue Lake Women’s International tennis tournament between Natalie Grandin of South Africa and Melanie South from England. Grandin won 7-6, 6-4. I felt like gadget man, wired with a mini laptop, mobile phone, camera and video camera. I tweeted live scores and these were picked up [...]
Live reporting from the tennis
I’m going to try something new today … live online reporting of the women’s international tennis final between Melanie South (Eng) and Natalie Grandin (RSA). I’ll be posting scores to Twitter from 3.30GMT. After mentioning the possibility yesterday, a couple of British tennis websites linked to the Twitter address. Although the match will be played [...]
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.
