Go students go!

I am heading for Southport for the National Union of Journalists’ (NUJ’s) Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM). In 2009 why can’t we get a Vodafone and 3G signal on a Virgin East coast train?

Tomorrow I am running the NUJ student members’ conference. We should have 25 students there. A mix of students of journalism and students journalists working on student media. Continue reading

Tech no no

This morning a power cut brought down the servers, preventing me from posting my early morning news to the content management system (CMS) of the websites for which I write.

But that is nothing compared with the technical no-no yesterday.

A woman sent an explicit and personal email meant for her boyfriend to me by mistake. Continue reading

All of a twitter

Here’s two lists of journalists on Twitter:

Some of these may technically be the journalist’s twitter details but several rarely if ever post.

And I am not on either list – do I want to be?

You’ve got to admire my source

Thanks to a Journalism.co.uk tweet for this.

Journalism.co.uk story (link opens new window)

Missing links

screen grab of News NowAggregator site News Now has revealed a few more details of the legal battle it faces against the major daily and local UK newspapers over its linking.

In a Q&A format (link opens hew window) it claims News International objects completely to any linking to its stories, while others want payment for including those links.

We should all defend News Now’s right to use headlines and links.

Continue reading

Coping strategy

I had a bath this morning. I doubt I am any cleaner than the extensive soap and flannel body wash I had standing on one leg each day since I left hospital after my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee operation on Monday. But I feel completely different.

And how you feel is vital. When you have an injury, illness or something else that knocks you back – especially as a freelance, potentially alone for long periods – you need a strategy to cope. Continue reading