Sources and contacts enable journalists to gather and write down information they wouldn't normally get from just observing the top their story is meant to be about. In this i wil talk about how you can source your information and how to do it online as well. Speaking about online, let's talk about the first way people source their information for story writing. The first is Social Media but namely Twitter, Twitter allows the user to post a short sentence about what they're doing when then they do it to keep people who follow and updated with their current life and events. It also allows for people to crowdsource for information. I touched upon this in my last written piece but would like to go into more depth, crowdsourcing is where the journalist reaches out to the people on Twitter stating what they are looking for and how they should be contacted if anyone has any good and reliable information to tell. They also cleverly use and place #hastags in their post which means over people will be able to find posts by people who have used the hashtag if they have anything to talk about in that topic or post a topic themselves with the same hashtag. If a hashtag is used enough it becomes trending and gives the journalist even more exposure and can draw in people who perhaps haven't seen the tweet about the journalist asking for information but has something useful and helpful to the journalists needs.
Another example of crowdsourcing:
Task two -
Who will I gather and source information from?
I will gather and source my information from people I know and may have something to say about the story. These people include, Nichola (My mother – Enjoys going onto the pier every summer and is interested in its development), Jordan (A close friend – Likes to spend the summer holidays at the beach and enjoys thought of the possibilities of what can come with the funding if finalised), Scott (A close friend of my mothers – attends the beach regularly) and Harry (My brother – enjoys spending time at the sea front and on the pier in the summer).
Why are these people useful/important to my story?
My mother; Nichola
My mother would be a good person to interview and gather information from on how she feels about the pier getting funding because she has a strong connection with the pier, she likes to visit it at summer and has done for a long while every summer. This is good because my mother knows a lot of background information of the pier and give reliable quotes about previous and past investors willing to invest into the pier.
Jordan; A close friend
Jordan is a good person to get an opinion on from the funding because he likes to spend and enjoy time at the seafront and visit the strip of Arcades and other various attractions such as Adventure Island Theme park. This is good because he knows what people enjoy and what may potentially bring people in.
Scott; My mothers close friend
Scott is a good person to interview for his views on the story because he, like Jordan attends the beach every summer at a frequent rate. He knows what the people like and can give his experience with the pier and how he would personally improve on it with a £20M budget.
Harry; My brother
My brother will be able to give an honest opinion of his thoughts and feelings towards the idea of a private investor putting his money into the pier and being able to make a profit out of it. He can also give accurate information concerning the history of the pier and why it needs new additions and something to make more people come visit the pier.
Task three-
My Notes-
I am basing my story around the Southend Pier being close to receiving £20 million funding from an un-named investor.
Cost £1.4M to maintain the pier last year and only earned £617k even though it had the most visitors it has had since the 2005 fires.
The pier will still be owned by the council under any such deal made.
Idea’s in the past for the pier:
Tony Garner was granted planning permission to build a Rollercoaster at the end of the pier which would have been the biggest rollercoaster over water in the world.
- A pavilion which since 2013 has been added at the shore end of the pier (features a café, function room for weddings, events and conferences)
- A Cinema
- A Museum
- A Tower
Quotes from an existing article on the topic:
Trevor Bell (Pier Campaigner) –
“I’m excited about this, as long as the pier is going to stay in the public’s hands”
“I would like some sort of audio-visual display on the pier, that explores Southend’s heritage”
“The pier played a major part in the war and is so important to the estuary. I’d like to see something that excites and educates children”
“I’d also like a café and restaurant on the end of it”
Martin Richardson (runs Happidrome Arcade) –
“They can’t do any worse than what the council has already done, which is nothing. They are bringing thousands into Southend with the Airport”
“I think a private investor would be good for Southend”
Chris Petris (Owner of the Rose Restraurant) –
“I think it’s a brilliant idea. Someone needs to run it to make a profit. I would like to think it would be an improvement”
“it’s our biggest attraction, something needs to be done”
My own news story -
Southend
Council on the verge of sealing the deal for a £20M investment to Southend Pier
The longest pleasure pier in the world is up for a
£20M investment from an unnamed investor and it appears that the council of Southend-on-Sea
is close to closing the deal. Though this is big news for the town of Southend,
its not the first time planning permission and investors have tried to get
their hands on doing the famous landmark some justice.
Leader of the council, Ron Woodley says that “…whilst
we have been looking for an investor to revive the 1.3-mile-long pier, this is
the closest we have gotten to actually sealing the deal.” Currently the council
and unnamed investor are going over several things that they would not accept
as any part of the deal. Despite this, the council has come forward to say that
the pier would still be owned by the council under any deal offered and
suggested and if any deal of the sort would fall short and fail, the council
itself would step in and invest in the pier itself.
But not everyone is happy with this investment and the
idea of Southend Council investing their own money into it even if the deal
falls short. Last year it cost £1.4 million to maintain and uphold the pier
whilst only bringing in a mere £617,000 return even despite it bringing in its
best visitor numbers ever since 2005. It’s unclear whether or not this
investment will make or break the pier but council officials are confident in
this investment and look forward to what they can bring to the table in the
coming years.
Here is a view on what Trevor Bell, a Pier Campaigner
thinks about the pier and future potential investment.
Trevor Bell said – “I’m excited to see what happens
with the pier, I am worried though if it will stay in the publics hands”.
“I’d also like to see an audio-visual display,
something which could explain Southend’s heritage and educates children about
the pier and its uses in the war.”
“I’d also like a café and restaurant on the end of it
to enjoy spending time on and look out towards the sea.”
The public have also had their say in what they think
about the big investment, local bricklayer and pier attendee, Scott Harvey had
this to say, “Although the pier is getting an investment which I think is for
the better, it has been a long time and should of came way sooner. Whether its
too late now or not, remains to be seen...”
“…We can only be optimistic and hope for the best,
supporting the town we live in and paying respect to the landmark which puts us
on the map.”
Following on from that, Harry a young adult wanted to
give his say in this and the whole situation. “Every summer I enjoy attending
the pier and walking a long it, whilst for someone like myself this is enough,
I can’t help but wonder what it’d be like if we received such an investment…”
“Personally I would add more for children, its very
adult centric and it’d be nice to teach the children of Southend about the
history of the pier and how far we’ve come. It’d make for a lot of practical
lessons where the children could go on regular visits to the pier and learn
with their teachers.”
All in all, the drive behind and anticipation between the public of Southend is excited to hopefully see new additions to the pier no matter if the deal or not is carried through. Though worries of whether or not it will live up to expectations and be able to create a profit later on will remain to be seen. The future is surely bright though with the addition of the Royal Pavilion hoisted onto the pier in 2013. The Pavilion features a café, a function room for things such as events and weddings as well as £500,000 in sprinklers as an attempt to prevent another pier fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment