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Friday Sep 11, 2009

First item on the first agenda

Posted on behalf of Daisy Phillipson:

Thursday the 10^th of September; not a particularly memorable day. But for me it represented my giant leap of experience into the working world, or at least the world that I would like to work in. It had been four days since I had started my work experience with TheSite and I was told to prepare for the editorial meeting. Now for the five others attending who work for TheSite, this was just a casual chat about current events and new ideas. But for me it was to be the first professional meeting of my life. I am hoping that it was not my last; I am hoping that eventually that kind of meeting will also be just a casual chat with my co-workers.

But nevertheless it was certainly an experience that has taught me more about the professional world. Plus I particularly enjoyed going home and ringing everyone I know to tell them how 'I'm busy, I had a meeting today at the office' and 'today in the meeting I thought of some new ideas'.

Don't get me wrong, this is not the most exciting part of the week. In fact this is only minor; it was the novelty of my first meeting that really got me. The most exciting part of my week, which I was extremely eager to do, was to re-write an article. In the first week I was pleasantly surprised to find that my journalism skills could be practiced in the office. I knew that this wouldn't be the last time either.  And I don't know whether it's just me but the chilled atmosphere of the office and the sense of unity between ALL of the co-workers make a tranquil and efficient atmosphere to work in. Perfect for young journalist wannabes who are trying to make a good impression.

Posted by Anna ( 11:35 AM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Tuesday Sep 01, 2009

Seyi's placement

Seyi has been working hard on the editorial team for the past two weeks doing lots of research and writing some great articles. Here's what he's been up to:

Maybe this placement has distorted my perception of time. Or, more realistically, I reckon I've just had a good time, because my two weeks of work experience has felt like five minutes. I've been given the opportunity to immerse myself in all things journalistic! I unexpectedly got asked to sit in on an editorial meeting, which was a good insight into how TheSite.org staff develop the website and what level of thinking goes into keeping the website at its best.

I gave some article writing a go. I wrote the first one on my experience of drastically changing schools and another on my experience with a stammer. The first one (soon to be up on the shiny new Lifetracks true stories section!) was a fairly straightforward process as it was simple events entwined with a bit of rambling. The latter took longer, as there was a lot of material that sprung to mind that I could have put into the article. However, I doubt any visitor here is looking to read the next War and Peace, so some cutting down was definitely in order.

Fortunately, unlike some of my more unfortunate friends, who've had utterly dull work experience placements, I haven't actually had to make a single cup of coffee for anyone (fortunately for the staff!). The placement has been a fantastic insight into the world of journalism. Everybody here has been so friendly, and happy to put up with me whenever things didn't go quite to plan. I've discovered what goes on in the job besides writing articles, and most of all I've had a wonderful time!

 

Posted by Chris Denholm ( 1:39 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]