Go and find something out

For all of you working on your video news package assignment, I thought it might be worth giving you some guidance on where you need to be in the process. By the start of the teaching session on Monday you ideally should have nailed your interviews and know what your story is. Finding the focus of your story is the key now. There won't be a lot of point in spending time getting GVs until you've done this - they can always be added later. If you haven't got that focus yet, come and see me or Richard and we'll be happy to give some guidance on where to look and who to call.

Without fanfare or comment I draw to your attention this piece by New Labour's favourite uber-Blairite, Hazel Blears. It is an edited version of a speech she will make to the Hansard Society. Ever wondered why journalists have such a long established tradition of resisting state regulation? Isn't Hazel marvellous?     

With the clock ticking before the first polls close on the east coast, I thought I'd test out some of the whizzy online interactive gizmos that various sites are offering as part of their election coverage. Some of them even offer gadgets you can embed into your own blog posts. Such as this one...

If anybody's planning to stay up/get up early to check on progress in the election across the pond, it might be worth checking out the New York Times's various interactive gizmos - including a pop-up election dashboard, and video updates every half hour from the NYT newsroom.