What I can now do thanks to hostile environment training

If you follow my tweets or stalk my (mostly) public posts on Facebook, you might know that I was away in the middle of Cornish-nowhere-land for three days last week.

My fellow journalism buddies and I were shipped off (sent away on a short bus ride) to the extremely dangerous and war-torn land (pretty and peaceful Predannack Airfield) to learn how to report and survive in hostile environments.

Our campsite through the kitchen window.

We were given a scenario that kept developing from start to finish of the course. We were reporters sent away with the disaster-relief charity Shelterbox to the make-belief central asian country of Lizardstan where a 9.9 earthquake had devastated the country. Amid the destruction was an intense political divide between the government-supported minority and the oppressed opposition majority. A scandal would later reveal that the government was stopping aid from reaching the desperate and impoverished population to punish the opposition.

And so the adventure begins..

Everyday from 8 am until 12 am, our Blue Dot Safety instructors would teach us certain skills and then we would go on a mission and apply it all.

So how about a sneak peek of the highlights then?

1. Navigating in the dark

Using a compass, a map and my footsteps alone I can get from point A to point B  - without my iPhone.

2. Surviving an ambush

Knowing where to run, hide, and from which direction when our car comes under fire.

3. Mine awareness

Recognising the different types of mines and explosives and where they could be found.

4. Medical emergencies

Basic first-aid but also knowing what takes priority in a mass emergency. There was also the tough lesson of discovering where to draw the line between humanitarianism and journalism.

5. Hostage situations

Best practices for surviving a hostage situation. Not to mention preparing in advance for it when it could be a risk.

6. Kit and attire

You will be surprised what sorts of things can come in handy (let along exist) in dodgy or extreme environments.

7. Communication and technology

Using a GPS to take a grid bearing and then communicating that exact location via radio (walkie-talkies) in an emergency report. Harder than it sounds when you’re being ambushed – believe me.

8. Getting the story

An international journalist was also running the course, playing the role of our editor – who absolutely under any circumstances wanted the story and wanted it fast. You won’t believe how difficult this turned out to be. Do you use your phone to call emergency services, treat a source for his gunshot wounds, free the aid worker held in captivity at the helicopter crash site where you could come under attack at any minute – or do you get it all on camera?

That was the very predicament we faced on our last mission. Which is why I only ended up with a few pictures from the entire three days – none of which show much of the action.

Arriving. Fear at first sight.

Task 1: build your own shelter.

More mine awareness

Camouflaged mine.

What not to do.

Mine recognition signs

Yikes.

After a miserable, cold night’s sleep.

Just outside the classroom where our tents were pitched.

Our campsite through the kitchen window.

Sarah treated for abdominal wound.

Henner treated for eye wound. Guessing his eye had popped out here.

Beautiful night at Predannack Airfield.

Success. Managed to keep warm throughout the night.

Journey home.

Proof of survival!

The amount of thought and strategy that went into the course and the scenarios (I mean, a helicopter crash site!) was beyond impressive. You could hear and see the threats (gunfire, explosions and wounds) making it all the more realistic. So even though it was all artificial and our lives were not really at risk, our reactions and capabilities were oh so real.

Coming up next: putting my HEFAC training to the test on my final project at the Syrian refugee camp in Jordan.

Short stories, big picture

One extended politics radio package coming right up. In the end I managed to chop and rearrange my interviews in a way that told a broad story about prison cuts by looking at the lives it could impact.

The audience

Before I secured my interviews I was contemplating doing a story designed for a local London radio station, but that was when I thought I would speak to a single offender programme and ex-prisoners who attend. Instead I ended up interviewing people running three very different programmes, one of them in Cornwall. I knew I had to tell the story in a BBC Radio 4 style. I would have to tell it in an engaging and creative way that appeals to a national audience  - which brings me to my next point.

The storytelling

Initially I was supposed to interview an ex-inmate who now collaborates on one of the projects. Unfortunately that interview fell through which was upsetting because I wanted him to be the real-life-example that people can relate to. I wanted to start the piece with him telling his story and how music saved his life. Finding ex-offenders who are willing to speak is harder than I imagined too so I had to improvise. I asked the programme founder to tell me his life story, which wasn’t as effective, but certainly the next best thing. Then of course the rest of the package depended on how well I could it all together.

Photo: Di Bédard (CC)

The scripting

I won’t lie. This was probably the hardest part. The people I interviewed weren’t in politics, they weren’t working within the prison system and weren’t losing out with the staff cuts. Still I had to make sense of their stories in a way that were relevant to the story. This is where scripting played a huge role; each link between each sound clip would have to set the context for what’s to come and what was just said. Of course the people I spoke to had more to say about the way they run their programmes than they did about prison cuts, which in a way is what I wanted. But I had to be careful that I didn’t stray too far from the main message.

The top line

No matter where the story went I always had to make sure I was bringing it back in focus. The top line essentially is about prison cuts leading to more reoffending. But I wasn’t going to bore my audience talking about it, or have my guests talking about it for six minutes. For example, I started my piece with Emily telling a human story. I then followed that soundbite with a link that told about her project and how her goals are aligned with the prison’s  offender programmes. And so on and so forth. I also used to links to set things in perspective, such as how this all affects the listener – in other words, the taxpayer.

The effects

Six minutes seems like such a long time after months of putting together 2-minute packages, especially when it comes to breaking the monotony. I listened to packages that came on the radio and noticed their effects weren’t necessarily exaggerated. They didn’t always have a constant background noise or music running through the whole piece. Sometimes the effect was in the form of a reporter speaking from the “scene” in an attempt to give the story some life and the audience a mental picture. In my case, one of my interviewees sent me some music she recorded of the ex-offender whose story she told, and she was happy for me to use it. For the rest of the package I relied on police sirens (thank you London) and chains to resemble inmate shackles.

Anyway, here it is. Let’s hear your thoughts.

London’s too cool for school

You might recall from my last post that I decided to pursue a story on how the new immigration plans could drive homelessness up. Being in London I figured would give me a million different interview options. So I woke up one morning and started calling all the housing charities and migration rights groups I could find. I must have made at least 40 different phone calls that day. Guess how many people were helpful? ZERO.

Photo: Victor (CC)

Apparently in London the most common response is, “sorry we’re far too busy to talk to student journalists,” or “our team is too small, we don’t have enough resources to give time to students.” Luckily I learn from past mistakes. No more waiting around more than 24 hours for people to get back to me. And you might also remember that I had a great backup story. My first idea was to look at how prison staff cuts could lead to more reoffending.

So the next day I made dozens more phone calls and even though I got a lot of the same too-cool-for-school responses, I was making some progress.

What I was looking for

I knew I had to keep my idea focused. Ideally what I would have liked was to interview people who work with offender behaviour programmes that are run by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and to also interview someone at NOMS in charge of rehabilitation. But their press office basically sent me running around in circles. I also wanted to speak to (ex)inmates who are benefitting from the support. Those three resources would give me a nice complete roundup of my story: an inmate’s perspective, professionals dealing with inmates, and policy makers.

What I managed to find

Of course we don’t live in a perfect world. I looked for the next best thing – charities and independent projects with the authority to comment on how support is important for ex-offenders. While doing some research I came across several charities and luckily Steps 2 Recovery founder Linda Smith was very helpful.

I also found a very interesting project calling Finding Rhythms that helps vulnerable people (including prisoners) change their lives through music. One of the people working on the project had served time in prison and was supposed to give me an interview but it fell through at the last minute. I still got to speak to one of the cofounders, Emily Vermont, who was absolutely wonderful.

After a long week and not enough interviews I figured, why stay in London when I have options back in Cornwall. A tweet to Sgt Gary Watts led me to another contact: James Ellis who runs a restorative justice project in Falmouth.

@banbarkawi you might want to go to the Dracaena Centre and speak to James Ellis about restorative justice @dracaenacentre
— Sgt Gary Watts (@SgtGaryWatts) April 4, 2013

What I would make of it

The idea now was to put a story together with the interviews I secured and without losing focus of the top line: prison service cuts could lead to more reoffending. I had lost my interview with an ex-offender which killed my original idea of engaging the audience through a real life story. But I could still make it happen by linking the work these people do to help reform offenders and reduce reoffending. Although the cuts didn’t directly affect them, they were working toward the same goal that is now being threatened by the cuts. So obviously they had an opinion about it. They also talked to me about the necessity of support for offenders, so if NOMS-run programmes were compromised, it would actually affect offenders and the reoffending rate in the long-run.

Stay tuned for the final result.

Time to get political

It’s funny how time goes by so quickly when you have a deadline: the legendary 6-minute politics radio package is due in a couple of weeks and I have yet to get my interviews lined up.

Even when I get a head start I somehow end up working on things at the last minute. But in this case it’s because I changed my topic.

Photo: Newfrontiers (CC)

The idea is to tell a story on a political issue in the area of either public trust, public service or environment under threat, but the trick is to structure it in a way that engages the audience. I quickly decided I would do a story on public service – maybe because it’s been in the news a lot lately and I feel it would evoke the most interest from audiences. In that sense, it’s timely.

But where to begin. It’s such a vast topic and needs to be seriously narrowed down. For weeks I kept an eye out for any stories in the news that could be developed. I also came across The Guardian’s coalition government pledge tracker which is great for possible followup stories but also quite extensive.

I started visiting the public service news website on a regular basis which is where I found my first idea: prison cuts. The National Offender Management Service plans to make significant cuts to its budget which would see a number of staff reduced. The Public Accounts Committee is concerned that the support for rehab services would be comprised and reoffending would rise. A vicious cycle.

Since I was going to be in London for a work placement I decided I would conduct interviews with offenders there who were released and undergoing rehab programmes. I would also try to get an interview with staff who run these programmes as well as someone from NOMS.

Then one day David Cameron appeared on TV. He was giving his speech on immigration plans that would reduce the number of migrants to the UK. He said a lot of things – many of which provoked all sorts of reactions. One of his points  - in short – was that benefits are going to become much more difficult to access for immigrants. He talked about job, housing and healthcare priorities being giving to nationals and stopping migrants from living off UK benefits at the expense of taxpayers.

I could see a story there but again I had to narrow it down. After a little research I decided to go with the angle of housing. Specifically, if Cameron’s immigration plans go through it could mean that a number of migrants – who will find it more difficult to land jobs – will not be eligible for social housing and will be forced into homelessness.

Again, I want to tell my story through the lives of those who could be potentially affected, assuming I find someone to speak to me. Also, I would like to interview staff at housing charities and organisations that help out immigrants in the UK. Ideally, I would also like to speak to campaign groups who support reductions in benefits for migrants. After all, most solutions pose problems elsewhere.

10 things I learned working with Reuters

I spent the last three weeks getting some work experience with the Reuters digital team in London. Now that it’s over I’m going to geek it out a little bit and say woohoo I got to work with Reuters!

Sneaking a photo in for the blog

Ok, I also walked away with plenty of new-found wisdom:

1. The economy matters. Understand how it works.

Spoken from someone who’s affected by it but doesn’t understand how most of it works. Three weeks with Reuters Insider will teach you a few things but the rest is up to you. I’ll be watching more Bloomberg. And Reuters TV of course.

2. Deciphering financial news is a skill

At times I had to summerise interviews in a sentence or so. A month ago I had no idea why bonds existed or how they could affect the market. Then there’s all the financial lingo – let’s not go there.

3. It’s worth learning how to edit video MUCH more quickly

This was probably the most frustrating part. Sitting with a team of skilled producers I found that it took  me three times as long to edit footage as it took them – quite the problem when you need things to be ready for a show at the top of the hour. Definitely need more practice.

4. Journalists (and producers) should specialise in a topic

Back to the financial news aspect – I realised that in order to be great in the industry, you need to think creatively and ask the right questions. That’s why it’s important to choose a topic or a beat, then master it.

5. Content management systems can get complicated

I like to think that I pick technical things up and for the most part I think I did in this case. Just not as quickly as I would have imagined. I worked on a CMS in my last job and figured it out pretty quickly but at Reuters it’s a system within a system within a system….

6. Newsrooms are super busy. Make yourself useful.

Sometimes I had more than enough to do and at other times everyone was too busy to even assign me something. There’s a thin line between being helpful and being a burden so I used that time to either practice new editing skills or to do some research.

7. Digital news is timely and fast-paced. Catch up.

As I mentioned in point 3, learning to edit quickly is an essential skill because news can change very rapidly. Working on a package on consequences of banks closing in Cyprus is no longer very relevant once the banks have reopened.

8. Working under pressure is the best way to learn

You think you have all the time in the world to add some touches to an almost-ready package until you’re told you have 30 minutes to do it. No problem, it’s a simple process. But then everything goes wrong and you’re running out of time. You missed your deadline. Still, best way to learn.

Live interview at NAB trading floor

9. So much time goes into producing a 5-minute show

I see the producers working in super fast-mode to get their shows out in time. Writing the script, adding animated graphics, editing footage (or as they call it, B-roll), preparing name straps and getting it all ready for the gallery. Then POOF! It’s over in a few minutes.

10. The Reuters team is awesome

They didn’t have to give me this experience, but they did and were ever so committed to making sure I got the most out of it. I got to put together some packages, tag along with the presenter to a live interview, interview a guest, try to book some guests, attend pitch meetings and even record a straight read of one of their shows.

…. And now it’s time to figure out how I’m going to catch up on all the work I’m behind on. Happy Easter.

What’s it to journalism?

I was browsing my Twitter feed today, as I do most days, and I found myself wondering – why am I doing this? Why am I back here being a student again?

Why am I becoming a journalist?

Because….

Prisoners held indefinitely without trial or charges are on hunger strike

Thousands of Palestinian prisoners launch a one-day hunger strike following death of inmate: apne.ws/VFmpkQ -RAS

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 24, 2013

Innocent people have been dragged into a civil war they did not choose to have

How an ordinary Syrian became a Kalashnikov-wielding fighter saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?meth… #Syria

— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) February 24, 2013

Revolutionists are still fighting for what they once lost – and now twice

Ruling #FJP expects to win a parliamentary majority: Party official -english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/… #Egypt

— Hany Rasmy (@hany2m) February 24, 2013

There is a thin line between basic democratic rights and deadly violence

Third person killed during anti-government protests in #Bahrain in the past week bbc.co.uk/news/world-mid…

— Ali Al Saeed (@alialsaeed) February 24, 2013

And Berlusconi has the guts to run in elections again

Italian election: Is this the final curtain for Silvio #Berlusconi? My story in the Sunday Telegraph:bit.ly/123qHHY

— Andrea Vogt (@andreavogt) February 24, 2013

So I guess, that’s why.

Bring on the multimedia

Just when I thought that our “live” TV productions would be the most intense part of the course, we  began our first cycle of what we call multimedia news days.

Basically we’ve been split up into teams; each team runs either the radio, TV or online department for the day, churning out stories and hourly bulletins.

Every news day we take turns being the editor. To my surprise, our first cycle has gone relatively smoothly. I guess it’s just nice working in a team again and depending on one another instead of fighting to get our way – as was the case with the TV packages.

Here are few highlights from the first week.

Online

We had the chance to attend a planning meeting at Cornwall Council, which for the most part was mind-numbingly boring and unnecessarily long. Still, it was worth the experience of seeing how it all works. After a team-effort of collecting interviews, I put the story together here.

TV

I couldn’t quite understand the concept of TV bulletins at first but it somehow came together. I guess with TV, it’s mostly about figuring out the technical difficulties well in advance so we don’t have to struggle during deadlines. Unfortunately we hadn’t had the chance to film anything ourselves so for copyright reasons you only get pictures.

Radio

Being only a team of three, and not having any time to gather audio in advance made this day exceptionally stressful. Radio always is. I guess being the editor also added some pressure; it was my responsibility to make sure everything worked – including the headlines every half hour. Despite a tough first bulletin in the morning the rest seemed to go well. And we managed to do some newsgathering for ourselves. My awesome team got some great interviews and I snuck in a vox pop – plus some old audio I had on the Wave Hub.