Tom's Blog

Fame at last! II

2006-12-07T22:28:00.000Z

It would appear my dream has come true:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Williams

Thank-you, mysterious Wikipedia page creator, whoever you are...

Fame at last!

2006-11-28T12:07:00.000Z

A mere matters of weeks after querying the journalistic integrity of the BBC Football website's 'Quotes of the Week' feature, I get a quote on there myself!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/6173250.stm

My dream of making it onto the hallowed Wikipedia 'Tom Williams' page grows closer by the day...

Feline fine

2006-11-24T00:22:00.000Z

Sarah Radford came to talk to us today. She is an alumnus of the Cardiff School of Journalism - having graduated in 2004 with a diploma in newspaper journalism - and now works as an online journalist at The Newbury Weekly News. Their website was recently voted Newspaper Society Weekly Newspaper of the Year 2006.

Sarah is a fine example of a multi-skilled modern journalist. Although trained in newspaper journalism, she made the transition to online journalism very smoothly, and - as she demonstrated in her lecture today - is more than comfortable wielding a video camera.

I must admit, I always thought there was something a bit small-time and parochial about local and regional newspapers. But Sarah's lecture made me realise that, with a little bit of graft and imagination, it can be a tremendously rewarding form of journalism.

Local and regional journalists may spend a lot of time covering village fetes and cats stuck up trees, but they are able to connect with their readers on a much more intimate level than their national counterparts. Sarah represents a vital source of information in her Newbury community, and this notion of the journalist as valued local story-teller makes me feel ever so slightly more certain that I have chosen the right career after all.

Citizens greedier?

2006-11-23T15:06:00.000Z

The time has come for me to begin to decide what I want to write about in the online feature article I must submit before the end of term. It’s not an entirely original choice of subject matter, but I intend to write about citizen media, and the rise of blogging and user-generated content.

As a trainee journalist, I still believe that journalists have an important role to play in the education and enlightenment of the general public. But in an age of impatient, customised news-viewing, are traditional news values being eroded? I worry that changes to the way journalism is delivered will soon make it too easy for people simply to ignore the news they don’t want to hear – regardless of its importance.

I am also concerned that, in the battle for a greater audience share, institutions like the BBC will have to pander to the whims of their increasingly mobile audience to such an extent that their traditional values will be lost. I have already touched on this in my blog on Pete Clifton’s lecture.

Is the democratisation of the media a good thing? How do journalists remain relevant? And above all, will the rise in user-generated content and the growth of customised news-viewing lead to lazy, quick-fix journalism that shuns the pressing issues to give the audience a slice of what it wants?

* The loonies are taking over the corporation

2006-11-19T19:13:00.000Z

Pete Clifton, Head of BBC News Interactive, was the guest speaker on Thursday.

He revealed that of the 500 or so videos that are put on the BBC News website every week - many of which are gleaned from user-generated content (or UGC) - only a few are watched by a significant number of people. And these tend to be the 'wacky' ones. As a result of their popularity, they appear in the day's 'Most Popular Stories' box - which is on the BBC News front page - prompting viewing figures to escalate further. All of which I find slightly perturbing.

As Mr Clifton himself asserted, "people expect a bit more from the BBC". Wacky, Jackass-style videos may generate more hits, but is this really the kind of the thing with which the world's most respected broadcasting corporation wants to be associated?

UGC has also started to feature more prominently on the BBC's football website, particularly in its 'Quotes of the Week' section. Each week online users are invited to submit their favourite 'Chants of the Week' and - as you can see from last week's selection - some of them are frankly obscene. I'm no prude - far from it, in fact - but if you wouldn't get away with this material on BBC radio or BBC TV, why does the fact it's user-generated make it OK to publish online?

Getting shirty

2006-11-07T22:46:00.000Z

Reaction to West Ham's dramatic win over Arsenal at the weekend has focused largely on the angry touchline exchange between Hammers boss Alan Pardew and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger following Marlon Harewood's late winner (see left), and rightly so, for it was one of the funniest things I've seen on a football pitch in a long time.

But the game also featured an example of one of the more pernicious phenomena currently making its presence felt in the beautiful game: that of the goal-scorer who celebrates his goal by removing his shirt.

Although most commentators and pundits rightly condemn such unnecessary disrobing, many are quick to point to the importance of the goal or the personal circumstances of the scorer as mitigating factors.

I feel, however, that a player who removes his shirt after scoring (and follows this up with a bout of shameless posturing) is effectively saying: 'This goal is about me. It's not about my club, it's about me. I scored it and to make sure you don't forget this key fact I'm stripping myself of my team's colours to avoid any confusion.'

Perennial ankle-botherer Robbie Savage landed himself in hot water a few years back when a TV interview prior to a Wales v Italy European Championship qualifying game ended with him casually tossing an Italy shirt to the ground. Savage was roundly criticised for his disrespectful attitude at the time, but when a player does the same thing with his own club's shirt we overlook this arrogant denigration of the most potent modern symbol of the ever-weakening union between player and fan.

The Boy Became Good: In defence of Frank Lampard

2006-11-01T17:15:00.000Z

A lot of football fans don't like Frank Lampard. Pressed as to why exactly they don't like him, a lot of football fans don't quite know what to say. He is an immensely talented English footballer. He isn't dirty. He doesn't dive, or cheat. He doesn't brandish imaginary cards when an offence has been committed by an opponent. He doesn't bait opposition fans (unless he's playing against old club West Ham). OK, he plays for Chelsea. And everyone hates Chelsea, and rightly so. But what do people dislike about 'Super Fwank'?

I have a theory that it's because he's worked his way to the top. Your average armchair football fan likes to think that talent is God-given; that players like Wayne Rooney and Thierry Henry came kicking and screaming out of the womb as fully formed superstars. This makes the average armchair football fan feel better about his own footballing ineptitude. If footballing talent really is God-given, there's nothing you can do if you've not been given it.

But then along comes Frank Lampard. He is from a family with a fine tradition of producing top- flight footballers, but when he emerged on the scene at West Ham in the mid-Nineties people questioned his ability. Many Hammers fans turned against him when they decided that the only reason he was in the team was because father Frank Lampard Snr was the club's first team coach. Lampard has always had ability, but critics didn't drool over him at West Ham in the same way they drooled over midfield partners 'Jinky' Joe Cole and Michael Carrick. When Lampard eventually moved to Chelsea for £11 million in 2001, eyebrows were raised.

But look at him now. He is widely acknowledged as one of the best attacking midfielders in world football. He may have had a disappointing World Cup, but unlike England midfield colleague Steven Gerrard, he has recaptured his best form (and rediscovered his shooting boots) this season. Were Lampard an American sporting star, he would be lauded from all corners. The Americans love nothing more than an average player - or, even better, an abject loser - battling against the odds to fulfil his dreams. But in Britain we don't. We are suspicious of hard work, and niceness, and even general decency. And that is why Frank Lampard will never capture people's hearts the same way that players like Rooney and Gerrard do. Maybe it's because he went to a public school. Maybe it's because his girlfriend doesn't conform to the usual glamour model/rent-a-tart footballer's wife stereotype. But I suspect it's because he got where he is through sheer practice and application. And that makes British football fans uncomfortable.

Rooney and Gerrard swagger. They know they're the best players on the pitch. When they're on the ball their shoulders go back, their heads look up and their mouths drop open. They are the footballing embodiment of the city that produced them. But Lampard doesn't play like that. He is deliberate and measured and thoughtful. If we were footballers, we'd all play like Rooney and Gerrard. Unrestrained pace, power, aggression and verve. And with a casual, knowing insouciance that only the great players possess. But Lampard plays like he knows how fortunate he is to be where he is, and how hard he had to work to get there.

Here is a clip of the goal Lampard scored in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Barcelona in the Champions League last night:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2988876488431454199&q=Lampard+Barcelona

I have never seen anyone score a goal like this in my entire life. So fair play to Super Fwank. The boy became good.

Usability - marvellous

2006-10-26T22:00:00.000+01:00

Online journalism teachers Simon Williams and Bob Atkins talked to us about usability today. As far as I'm concerned, there is no excuse for poor usability on a website. Making your website easy to navigate and easy to use takes only a little bit of extra thought, and yet I am constantly amazed by how readily people will put up with mediocrity online.

I reckon Google have got it cracked. You know where you are with Google. Black on white. A little bit of blue. A splash of colour here and there. But always straightforward, be it the search engine, Google Earth, Google Video or Google Mail. Clear, straight lines. Marvellous.

It's a similar economy of style that I believe gives Facebook the upper hand over MySpace in the battle of the 'social networking' websites. MySpace has been around longer, and is used by far more people, but I think it's messy and cluttered, with amateurish little graphics all over the place and a horrendous mish-mash of colours.

I'd like to think that this blog abides by the stylistic principles adopted by both Google and Facebook, but feel free to let me know if you think it looks rubbish.

* The preserve of the already-converted

2006-10-19T17:12:00.000+01:00

Iain Dale, the man behind "anti-establishment political TV station" 18 Doughty Street, came to talk to us today. He was keen to demonstrate the genre-busting ingenuity of his current online adventure, but although new media might have the capacity to "reach parts of the electorate no-one else can", how many first-time voters are going to log on to watch four hours of unrestrained right-wing invective?

Mr Dale revels in the potential for unregulated polemical meandering that internet television represents. He concluded his session by lauding the fact that online TV empowers everyone – from jam-makers to the BNP – to broadcast their views without fear of censorship and editorialising. But is this a good thing?

Online TV can be unashamedly audience-specific, but its practitioners should bear in mind that successful journalism requires a certain amount of skill. All media output needs to be disciplined and imaginatively crafted if it is to hold the attention of an increasingly apathetic audience. As Vin Ray, the BBC's TV News guru, comments in The Television News Handbook: "… there is now a greater need than ever before for trusted, good journalists to select the most significant stories and explain why they matter in a way our citizens enjoy and understand." [1]

I feel sure that people will quickly lose patience with the boundless and shapeless pontificating of online television, and marathon Tory talking shops and endless discussions about jam will only reach out to new areas of society if made palatable to the ‘average’ viewer in the same way that conventional broadcast media is.

[1] Vin Ray, The Television News Handbook, Macmillan, 2003

You Tool

2006-10-12T13:04:00.000+01:00

We've just had our very first online journalism lecture, and very interesting it was too. The lecture was delivered by Amanda Powell, who is the Editor of BBC Wales News Interactive, and she talked about the nature of online news, what it takes to be a successful online journalist, and the increasing popularity of user-generated content.

Amanda mentioned that the BBC is to launch a new audio-visual tool called iPlayer next year, and it strikes me that there currently exists a huge gap in the market for a one-stop audio-visual online resource. When I came into the broadcast newsroom in Cardiff this morning, a friend of mine was looking for footage of the (hilarious) Gary Neville/Paul Robinson own goal from England's miserable defeat against Croatia last night. After trawling the BBC Football website, the Sky Sports website and YouTube unsuccessfully, she eventually found a clip on The Sun's website. But she couldn't play it. It is now 13:19, and she still hasn't seen the goal - even though she desperately wants to - which, in this day and age, is ridiculous.

But the fact remains that, for all the advances in user-generated content and the popularity of websites like YouTube, television still leads the way when it comes to accessing football action quickly. Sky Sports Broadband is pretty good for the Premiership and the Champions League, and the BBC Football website occasionally carries highlights from international matches, but all too often rights issues prevent the online football fan from being able to access the footage he or she wants to find.

Obviously this has more to do with the allocation of coverage rights than it has to do with the efficacy of particular websites, but it is immensely frustrating that Sky Sports News 24 is the only reliable source of recent match footage, and yet last night they couldn't show the goals from either the Wales v Cyprus game or the Republic of Ireland v Czech Republic game.

If the BBC's iPlayer can wrangle some form of online rights package it will be incredibly popular, but if it's a question of financial power, it might be that the newly Google-owned YouTube will become the website of choice for the impatient football fan. Having said that, it will need to improve its usability considerably if this is to be the case. The Gary Neville/Paul Robinson clip is on YouTube after all (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5_ouWahJ9E&eurl), but I only know this because a friend sent me the link. The following search entries fail to yield anything:

"Neville own goal Croatia"
"Neville Robinson own goal"
"Robinson Neville own goal"
"Robinson Neville Croatia"
"Neville England own goal"
"Gary Neville own goal"
"Paul Robinson own goal"
"Croatia England own goal"

Even when you type in "Neville and Robinson own goal vs Croatia Euro Qualifier", which is the name of the clip, the search proves fruitless. Something needs to be done.

Blog of the Week 1

2006-10-12T11:09:00.000+01:00

Asked to select a 'Favourite Blog of the Week' by my online journalism tutor, I plumped for this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/match_of_the_day/.

It's a blog written by Match of the Day Editor Paul Armstrong and I chose it because "it provides a fascinating insight into the behind-the-scenes goings-on at the country’s most popular football programme, revealing how, why and by whom the big decisions are made." (OK, I had to write that. But I do mean it.) For a budding football journalist, this blog gives me access to information that would have been very difficult to get hold of in the pre-blog age.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/2006/09/better_late_than_never_we_hope.html

This article in particular illustrates exactly how the running order for each show is decided upon, which should provide some form of solace to disgruntled Charlton/Fulham/Wigan/Watford fans who have to wait until the early hours of the morning for a two-minute glimpse of their side's latest capitulation.

Hello

2006-10-11T15:44:00.000+01:00

My name is Tom Williams, and I am a postgraduate broadcast journalism student at Cardiff University in Wales. I have been forced to construct this blog under duress, but I will endeavour to make it as entertaining and thought-provoking and generally snazzy as I possibly can.

I will be using this blog to comment on the online journalism lectures I will be attending between now and Christmas, as well as anything else that takes my fancy. My thoughts, views and opinions are - in the words of unfathomable Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood - "going to bang in your face".

Thank-you for reading.

Tom