Evaluating Audio Work

Firstly I will anaylse my interview. For my interview piece I chose to conduct an interview about the increase in the pension age and the newly announced pension cuts. I was influenced to write this piece after a conversation with my dad who was complaining about how old he will be when he retires. I then started researching the current pension age and found that just over a year ago it was increased yet again for women and that many women born between 1950-1955 could face an extra 18 months wait until they were entitled to reach their state pension.  During my research period the new pension cuts were also announced which allowed me to develop my piece into how disappointed and disgraced people were with the treatment towards the elderly in the society. This tied in with a piece I had written not too long ago on elderly care.

I hadn’t heard many interviews on the pension age increase on the radio. Yet I did watch a few videos on youtube. They seemed to address the same ideas and issues I had when interviewing women who were angry about the extended wait they had to endure when receiving their pension. Radio 4 interviews were quite influential to my piece as the interviewer  always tendended to ask his/her  questions in a clear and concise way. Their time limit like mine can also be quite minimal at times so I always felt like their editing and selection of audio was cleverly done.

With regards to my final interview I was happy with its overall structure. The interviewee Christine Gavigan gave detailed answers with reliable knowledge. Her first hand view after experiencing the increase age in the pension age herself (she had to wait another 18 months longer than expected) also saw her giving emotive answers in which audiences could relate and sympathise with. However there are a few things I would have changed looking back. Firstly my interview was conducted on the phone which meant the audio itself wasn’t a clear as I had hoped. I drastically tried to increase the sound when editing however it was still quite mufflely in places. Another issue was how much I had hoped to fit into the interview meaning some key areas which I had hoped to fit in were cut out. The original interview lasted 10 minutes and had to be cut down to 2.45 so interesting questions and answers were lost although I did try and include the most relevant answers. So next time I’m going to set a time limit for the interview in a bid to force my questions and answers to be  as concise as possible.

I felt when it came to my podcast that I prefered its overall outcome compared to my interview. My podcast was about the benefits of going to university along with benefits of getting a job straight from school. I also incorporated the idea of whether there is still a prejudice attitude towards those who hadn’t gone to university and a got a degree before embarking on their career.

Podcasts I regularly enjoy listening to are from the BBC, especially Chris Moyles. I found these are always interesting not simply because of their comic value but the incorporation of sounds,a solid structure and interesting topically debates. So from this I tried to reflect my podcast as a sought of debate with a clear structure consisting of the introduction, interviews and a concluding finish.

I’d also read a lot of influential magasine articles before conducting my podcast which allowed me to determined the arguments within my podcast (these can be found in my documentation). I decided that I needed both sides of the arguments from a range a students and non students to make it act as debate as I myself wasn’t going argue just one side.  This I feel worked really well. I liked the ideas and views coming from a variety of teens and how it forced the audience to question their own opinion as I concluded my piece without a definite answer as to whether university is the best path.  Compared to my interview the sound was a lot more clear as interviewed each individual in person. I struggled to find an interesting sound or piece of music to be incoporated into my piece, so I went to my universities cantine and interviewed the background noise of students chatting. I think this worked well at the start of my piece however I do believe that I could have used something slightly more interesting. Overall I was pleased with my podcast as I believe it used a newsworthy topic, contained concise interviews along with clear editing.

Is university really the best option?

Years ago only a select few had the chance to go to university. This was regarded as a complete privilege as it meant they would be receiving the highest quality of education that would kick start their career and land them with them a better well paid job compared to others. However nowadays nearly everyone will get the chance to go to university and receive a degree. Yet it seems more and more people are questioning this idea. Many fear the vast amounts of debt they’ll be in and that their degree will not necessarily guarantee them their dream job. In fact with unemployment on the increase many post-graduates have been struggling to find any work after university. Stephanie Kent interviewed both students and non students as to whether they believed getting a job straight from school would see them in a better position compared to those studying at university.

Documenting my work

As a student myself I chose to go to university to gain the skills and knowledge that would help me to achieve my desired career as a journalist. However many of my friends decided not to go to university and already have landed themselves with a decent job, a rented flat and a sufficient salary. Although I still believe university was right for me, I couldn’t help but feel jealous towards these decent life styles they were already living whilst I myself am currently bogged down in debt, working two jobs and studying all the time!

Years ago university was regarded as practically the only way to see yourself gaining an impressive career. Many were jealous of those who went to university as they couldn’t afford the expensive fees. This got me curious as to whether there was still a prejudice view surrounding those who didn’t go to university as it  would usually see them with an average lower paid job. From this I decided to do a podcast and interview those who went to university and those who didn’t. I wanted to hear both sides and see how each would give reasoning as to how their decision will benefit them in later life. I also wanted to find what the main issues were that were stopping those applying to university.

I read an interesting article on the Mail Online about 5 people who didn’t go to university and how within a few years they are already thriving with impressive careers. This influenced my notion that university  may not neccessarily be the best option for everyone.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1301921/Weve-gone-degree-Why-university-longer-passport-success.html

Another interesting article I read  was also written in  The Daily Mail by journalist Utley and how he couldn’t blame his son when he said he didn’t want to go to university. Her interestingly debates the negative aspects of going to university and how it isn’t for everyone.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-517361/My-son-says-hes-going-bother-university-hes-got-point.html

However I also read a page on the direct gov site which stated the benefits going to university can have on your career and social life. This enhanced my debate and enabled me to conclude that there was no definite answer on whether going to university was the best option or not. I believe it purely depends on the individual and the career they are eager to pursue.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/WhyGoToUniversityOrCollege/DG_4016998

Pension age increases yet again

The government recently announced that there would be a change in the pension age for women. This increased to the ages between 60-65 . Women born after the 1950s were greatly affected by this as many would have to wait yet another 18 months to receive their pension meaning for most their retirement age would increase also.  Along with this George Osbourne also announced a cut in pensions leaving penisoners £84 a year worse off. Christine Gavigan left school aged 14 and has been working all her life ever since. Recently she was advised she would have to wait another 18 months to recieve her pension. I asked her how and when she was informed.

Documenting my work

When reading the newspaper a few weeks back I was astonished that the elderly were being targeted once agin by the pension cuts. This got me thinking about the current pension age and how long we would have to work within our lives. This then spurred my research into the current pension age when I realised it had increased further for some women. In 2011 I found changes were made to force women to wait for up to another 2 years to reach their pension however this was quickly revised to 18 months.

A good starting point was the direct gov  site which had accurate statistics on when you were entitilwd to receive your pension as well as its own service to calculate your current pension age.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/DG_4017919

Another helpful source was an article written in The Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/oct/13/state-pension-age-rise-delay

For my interview I wanted to have a genuine response as to how these changes were affecting people and how unfair they really were. People deserve to grow old in a peaceful enjoyable way after enduring a life of constant work and severe taxes. It shocked me even more to realise how things would be getting even worse as by 2028 the pension age will increase to 67!

When it came to my interviewee I was fortunate to find a woman who had been drastically hit by the pension age by waiting for the maximum amount of time for 18 months. Firstly I wanted to distinguish when and how she felt about this pension age as many claimed  they were either unaware or had little notice. I also wanted to know how she felt towards the government for doing this and whether she felt there there was an increasing prejudice attitude towards those reaching their elderly life.  She informed me of how let down and angry she felt and that she felt she had worked all her life to get nothing back.  I was also intrigued as to whether she had known any companies to misuse pension schemes in the past in which she had.

A key issue that emerged from the interview was how cheated she felt by the increase of the pension age and their recent cuts. It drew upon the notion of how when she started work aged 14 the wages were a lot less and she didn’t have the money to be able to save for her pension she fund. Christine also mentioned how much harder and longer the working days used to be as there were fewer rules and regulations surrounding the working day. This openly acted as evidence as to how unfair these changes and cuts really are  as many  have done nothing but give to the state their whole lives to only get hardly anything in return.

Student depression video evaluation

For my video I chose to report student depression, something of which I believe has been scarcely reported. I decided to do it in the documentary form to allow the use of more interviews with the incorporation of facts and figures.  I received interviews from students and their feelings towards student depression, an interview from the nurse at the University of Westminster and an interview from a student studying Health and Medical Journalism. Along with this I researched various organisations trying to tackle student depression and researched current facts and figures surrounding how many students suffer from it.

Overall I was pleased with my production however there are some alterations I would have made in hindsight. Firstly I would have reshot some footage as when being uploaded the camera shake was more noticeable than expected. I would have like to have interviewed a student who had recovered from depression however  getting any students to talk about the topic of depression was very difficult in itself! I think the incorporation of  a  professional opinion worked very well however I feel I could have expanded on the help that universities offer whilst emphasising the notion that most students were actually too embarrassed to use it. My key targets were to be creative in making the video which I believed I full filled with the various shots of student life especially with the introduction of my documentary filming students partying then dropping to a somber mood and introducing the notion of student depression. I wanted it to be a newsworthy topic which hasn’t been over done in which I believe my topic was. A final aim was for my video to have a clear  concise structure and narrative in which I believe I achieved by my voice overs, specific interview incorporation and using text to clarify my final question.

There wasn’t a great deal of videos on student depression on sites like youtube however there was one in which I particularly liked that recorded itself in the day of a life of a student suffering from depression using only music and words on screen describing their emotions. Yet as far as a documentary is concered I feel I did manage to tell and narrate the story effectively using reliable interviews and interesting facts. The feedback from the documentary has been positive as many feel that the topic itself was interesting as it is one in which many students are too afraid to address. They also felt the video was concise in raising awareness about the issues surrounding student depression.

Dementia in prison

Media Review

Whilst flicking through the video’s on the New York Times online I stumbled across a very interesting and somewhat shocking documentary. The documentary was about inmates in the Californian prison, The California Men’s colony suffering from dementia and how their fellow inmates who are convicted killers are now caring for them behind bars

http://video.nytimes.com/video/playlist/health/1194811622283/index.html

This story had scarcely been covered so it was difficult to compare its representation.Photographer Todd Heisler who was part of the making of this video photographed the inmates helping fellow dementia suffers in a stunning photo essay.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/behind-bars-and-beginning-to-forget/

Heisler’s photography encapsulates the amazing idea of people who have once been so dangerous in the past being able to show such compassion by helping dementia suffers. His black and white photography to me makes the photograph’s more eerie as we a shown around the prison and its inmates. His writing with the pictures recalls him describing the experience and allows us to relate to his emotions when he says “After seeing how they dote on their fellow inmates, it’s jarring to hear what landed the men in prison”.

The article that goes along with this video in the New York Times was written by journalist Pam Belluck. She too draws upon the fascination of these violent inmates revealing how caring and devoted they can be towards helping others. Her selection of shocking quotes regarding the violent actions the convicted murderers have done greatly emphasises this notion as it surprises the readers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/health/dealing-with-dementia-among-aging-criminals.html?pagewanted=all

To me this video is very impressive. It has such a clear direct narrative as the audience are taken on a journey with the inmates. The interviews are engaging and informative as we hear from both the newly found carers and dementia sufferers. Like the photography the black and white filming and quiet background noise creates an eerie feel. The incorporation of still images along with the filming make it more visually interesting as it emphasises key parts of the video. The framing and shots also reflect the mood and tone of the story. The video reveals the vulnerability of the inmates suffering from dementia and what an amazing breakthrough this has been within prisons. Like the written article the video also emphasises how violent these carers once were by using specific quotes from interviews then purposely showing the convicted murderers being so helpful and devoted to other inmates.

Internet Trolling

Media Filtering

Social media used to be regarded as an interactive platform to talk to friends and follow your favourite celebrities from sites like twitter. However a darker side to the social media has been revealed through internet trolling. This is when people set  up fake accounts on networking sites just to write offensive comments and bully others through the net.

What made this video so shocking to me was that the interviewee had found an ‘Internet troll’ who was openly willing to be interviewed on camera and reveal his reasonings behind why he would participate in such a horrible act.

Various newspapers have also covered this idea of internet trolling and found their own stories.

The Telegraph wrote an article discriminating this act when journalist Alison Pearson became the victim of abusive messages herself . She  writes about her own experience after writing an article on Tony Nickleson, a sufferer of locked in syndrome and how she believes that  the law shouldn’t obtain people’s rights to die. She then went on to receive an abusive message on Twitter from an American Comedian who encouraged his followers to read her article and continue with the rude unnecessary remarks. I found by having a direct perspective on internet trolling the article stood out and allowed readers to sympathise with the writers experience.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/9171470/The-curse-of-the-internet-trolls.html

The Guardian also wrote on article about internet trolling focusing on the student Liam Stacey who tweeted an offensive message when footballer Fabrice Muamba dropped to the ground and suffered a heart attack during an FA Cup quarter final match.The offensive tweet was taken seriously and resulted in Stacey being arrested and imprisoned for 56 days.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/mar/30/fabrice-muamba-twitter-loses-appeal

Documenting student depression video

I’d always been curious about depression amongst students as the stories i’d heard before I started university always seemed to be so happy and fun filled. My siblings and friends would often inform me of  the many drunken nights they’d experienced in their first year and how they were frequently partying til the early hours of the morning with friends. As they went into their second and third year they would start to complain about the increasing work load  yet still reassure me of how much fun they would be having in recreational time. So when I got to university myself I too experienced the same exciting fun filled start to my experience, which is why I found it difficult to understand how some students could find themselves ending up in such dark lonely place.

A key starting point for my research was an article written by Natile Truswell in The Independent. Although this article was written in 2008 it contained relevant ideas and examples on student depression.

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/student-depression-on-the-increase-862336.html 

I then continued my research on student depression by interviewing fellow students on how they found the initial shock of moving to university. Although the feedback was generally positive I could determine that others were alot more reliant on their family and home life and regularly felt home sick. I also managed to interview a mature student who informed me of how when he initially came to university he felt like the ‘outsider’ due to the large age gap.

Trying to find a student suffering with depression  who was openly willing to speak to another fellow student  on camera was proving too difficult. So instead I managed to interview a student studying health and medical journalism who had managed to get some students with mental health issues to let her interview them privately. Although her interviews were strictly confidential, she did provide a great insight into the kind of  reoccuring issues that were causing students mental stress and how most of them were often too afraid to seek help especially through the university.

With this in mind I began to research outside organisations that offer help to students suffering with mental health. Online I came across the website Students Against Depression which provided help and counselling for students suffering from depression. The website also had students who had recovered from depression write about their experience and how they managed to recover. Another organisation I came across was night line which offered 24/7 counselling for anyone by phone.

www.studentsagainstdepression.com

www.nightline.ac.uk

I’d now got to stage in my research where I wanted a proffessional opinion regarding student depression. My university’s councillors were unwilling to talk to me however fortunately the university’s nurse did. Her expertise and knowledge of student depression aided in giving me a reliable source of information. From her interview I received the statistics I needed along with the reoccuring issues she witnessed causing depression amongst students.

My continued online research also lead to the findings of severe cases of depression amongst students which resulted in suicides.  This enabled me to conclude my research by drawing upon the taboo status that surrounds depression. The majority of students are too afraid to seek help incase they are labelled and discriminated against by other students. This allowed me to determine how important outside organisations were in tackling depression because although a university may contain a great support system, half of the time the students are just too embarrassed to use it.

Allowing the elderly to suffer

Too often am I reading new stories regarding ill treatment towards the elderly in hospitals. Many of these tragic stories have resulted in the death of a patient who was neglected and left to suffer alone. In some cases patients were left to starve as they unable to feed themselves and nurses claimed they weren’t allowed to feed them. Others have developed bed sores and were left in their own faeces as nurses claimed they were too busy to help them to the toilet.

The more I read these stories the more frustrated I get with society. The prejudice attitudes surrounding old people has forced us into an society where the elderly are treated with no respect and are frequently discriminated against. The fact is we’re all going to get old and die one day and surely it should be a basic human right to die with our dignity not lying alone in our faeces waiting to die.

After reading about the disgraceful lack of care in hospitals I believed care homes would offer a far better alternative for elder members of society. However a story issued in the BBC yesterday revealed only 38% of GP’s visited care homes regularly and it was believed that they ‘couldn’t be bothered’ to make these visits.

I conducted an interview with a fellow student to see how she felt towards this poor treatment.

 

Depression among today’s students

Depression among students is becoming a growing problem in the UK. Many students will feel overwhelmed about the dramatic change in lifestyle when going to university. Only half of the students suffering with emotional health problems will seek the help and support they need.

 

 
 

When researching online about depression amongst students I found the website ‘students against depression’. This website provides help for students suffering with emotional issues. It contains information about diagnosing depression, how to tackle it and even real life stories from students who over came depression and the issues they faced.

 

Would they have still applied?

Students at the University of Westminster discuss as to whether they would have still applied to university with the new £9,000 fees.