1. Reporting and Writing I Week Three Developing angles

2. First assignments MARKET story Important information  Gillingham market could be improved by Medway Council  It’s Medway’s biggest market  A survey of 144 shoppers was carried out  52 per cent said they’d use it in future  Older people were concerned about toilets  Cllr Jayne Tompson was quoted. She is the portfolio holder for strategic development  Market users have gone up from 10,000 a week in 2008 to 13,000 now  Takings are up by 15 per cent

3. First assignments Shoppers hunting for a bargain have turned Gillingham Market into a rare recession success story. Since 2008 the number of visitors has jumped from to 10,000 a week to more than 13,000, and takings are up by 15 per cent, according to Medway Council figures. The council will debate plans to improve the market in December to build on its success. The market, which has 50 stalls, is held every Saturday and Monday in Gillingham High Street. One suggestion for improvements came from older people, who raised concerns about toilets in a survey of 144 shoppers carried out by the council. Cllr Jayne Tompson, Medway council’s portfolio holder for strategic development, said: “Families hit by the recession are looking for good value when they do their weekly shop – we want our market to be their first choice.”

4. First assignments Shoppers hunting for a bargain have turned Gillingham Market into a rare recession success story. Since 2008 the number of visitors has jumped from to 10,000 a week to more than 13,000, and takings are up by 15 per cent, according to Medway Council figures. The council will debate plans to improve the market in December to build on its success. The market, which has 50 stalls, is held every Saturday and Monday in Gillingham High Street. One suggestion for improvements came from older people, who raised concerns about toilets in a survey of 144 shoppers carried out by the council. Cllr Jayne Tompson, Medway council’s portfolio holder for strategic development, said: “Families hit by the recession are looking for good value when they do their weekly shop – we want our market to be their first choice.”

5. First assignments HORSE story Important information  Incident happened on Tuesday, October 4 at 15.36 hours  Kent Air Ambulance attended Cliffe Pools Bird Sanctuary  25-year-old woman  Fell from a horse  Broken leg and bruising on her stomach  Returned home this morning  She was on her hen do with 12 friends  Weeping when making 999 call  Her wedding is next Saturday  She’ll have to hobble down the aisle in her cast

6. First assignments When Helen Hunter hobbles up the aisle at St Francis Church next Saturday, her family and friends will be thankful she made it at all. Miss Hunter, 25, will be wearing a cast under her white dress after falling from a horse during her hen party at Cliffe Pools Bird Sanctuary yesterday, breaking her leg. Friend Sarah Turner said the horse suddenly reared up. “It was such a shock. We called 999 in tears because we thought her big day might be ruined,” she said. “We’re all so glad that her injuries weren’t worse but it’s still really sad.” Kent Air Ambulance arrived at about 3.45pm and found Miss Hunter lying on the ground. She was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, where she was treated for a broken leg and bruising on her stomach. She returned home this morning.

7. First assignments When Helen Hunter hobbles up the aisle at St Francis Church next Saturday, her family and friends will be thankful she made it at all. Miss Hunter, 25, will be wearing a cast under her white dress after falling from a horse during her hen party at Cliffe Pools Bird Sanctuary yesterday, breaking her leg. Friend Sarah Turner said the horse suddenly reared up. “It was such a shock. We called 999 in tears because we thought her big day might be ruined,” she said. “We’re all so glad that her injuries weren’t worse but it’s still really sad.” Kent Air Ambulance arrived at about 3.45pm and found Miss Hunter lying on the ground. She was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, where she was treated for a broken leg and bruising on her stomach. She returned home this morning.

8. First assignments TUITION story Important information  Tuition fees are rising to £9,000 a year from September 2012  The money will be repaid out of students’ wages  It is not yet known what affect this will have on university admissions next year  But it is known that it is unpopular with young people, who held demonstrations against the fees in London earlier this year  But that was all background information, destined for (at best) paragraph two. The real story came from what you generated by talking to students.

9. Being resourceful Medway is a short hop from the Olympic village  Phone bashing:Sometimes you have to trawl through your contacts, Google, phone books, or old newspaper reports to find a source who can supply the details you need.  Escape the net:The internet is not the only way to search. Newsrooms keep old phone books because they can help track people down.  Be resourceful:Parish councils, museums, libraries, and historical societies are a good place to start for local information.

10. Being resourceful Finding them is just the start – often these sources won’t expect to be dealing with a journalist, and you’ll need to coax the story out.  Ask the rightOften you’ll be finding eye-witnesses or questions:experts to provide extra detail. Ask open questions - how did they feel, what was it like, what happened next?  Attribution:These are likely to be sources your readers won’t recognise – make sure you explain who they are, and why their account should be trusted.  Human touch:That includes remembering to get their name, age and address, plus any other biographical detail that might be relevant (who they work for, what they’re studying etc).

11. Building a longer story Your news editor wants a story on what affect the London 2012 Olympics will have on Medway. You are asked to find a source that could contribute to the story.  In your groups, think about potential sources for this story.  Ask yourself:  Who is likely to benefit from the Olympics being held nearby in London.  What affect is the Olympics likely to have on people?  What is it about Medway that means it is likely to be affected by the Olympics?  Come up with five ideas of people, businesses or organisations you could call for this story.

12. Building a longer story Medway is a short hop from the Olympic Village on the high speed train. Several Olympic teams will be staying and training in Medway during the competition. There is expected to be a surge in interest in sport.  Hotels  Sport shops  Leisure centres and sport clubs  Restaurants  Bars and pubs showing live sport  Tourist attractions  Bus and coach companies offering transport to the Olympic Village

13. Building a longer story Using the internet, find the phone numbers of five sources in your patch who you think might have a view on the Olympics. Think about five questions you would ask them.

14. Building a longer story Nominate five people in your groups to be interviewers. Call the sources you have identified and interview them about whether they feel the Olympics will bring a big boost to Medway. To use the phones, use this pin code: **3113#9 Followed by the full phone number Introduce yourself as being a student journalist at the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent at Medway. Say you are working on a story as part of your portfolio, and that you would like to speak to someone for a comment on a story about the 2012 Olympics.

15. Being resourceful If you are building a story out of a person’s memories or an account of an event they witness, the quotes you choose are vital.  Make sure itIt’s too easy to include a quote that says something new: repeats something you’ve already written in the story. Too many stories follow this pattern: Jane Smith said she remembered the lifting of the Mary Rose as if it happened yesterday. She said: “I remember it like it was yesterday…”