Could the word "extraordinary" be the most commonly heard adjective in BBC News programming?
Certainly, you can't throw a brick at Radio 5 Live without hitting a presenter mid-use. Someone should tell them that news, by its very nature, is extraordinary. I'll stop moaning now.
A Big Issue in the North job took me to Castleford, West Yorkshire, last week where Channel 4 are filming a town-wide makeover programme.
The Castleford Project started out back in 2003 and was finally completed earlier this month with the opening of a sleek, contemporary footbridge over the River Aire. It was just one of 11 improvement projects commissioned from top architects by the town's residents.
I saw a few of the outcomes and it seems to have been a worthwhile exercise in regeneration and community pride. Hopefully it'll be good telly too; the resulting documentary series will be broadcast in four parts throughout August.
But after five years of work and millions of pounds in complicated mixed-source funding, I can't imagine it'll become a series.
Get a load of this on HoldtheFrontPage. It suggests the Home Secretary will cast a blind eye should the police decide to "restrict or monitor" journalists at public events. Journalists have always had the same rights as any other law-abiding member of the public - it's the basis on which we attend court hearings or local authority meetings for example. The extract from Jacqui Smith's letter makes me wonder what constitutes a "public event" and the reasons why police officers may choose to take action against the media . . . the protection of crime scenes is an obvious motive, but maybe demonstrations too? Surely not Golden Wedding celebrations? I expect the loan reporter, perhaps accompanied by a photographer, to be the most obvious target for this kind of measure, not press packs or TV news crews who can film back. Monitoring is one of the issues tackled in this is interesting documentary:
A striking article in the Edinburgh Evening News reports the successful release of dozens of women who had been forced to work in the sex trade. Earlier this year I met Nick Kinsella, the man responsible for coordinating the Pentameter Two operation which culminated in today's raids. Kinsella heads the UK Human Trafficking Centre, a remarkable organisation which plans for months to win battles like today's. Part of my interview with him, which was published by the Big Issue in the North, can be found here (I haven't yet got the technology to post the whole piece).
I'm a freelance journalist working in the North of England. I'm not sure what you'll find here but it'll probably relate to current affairs or material I'm working on, otherwise it'll be 'stuff generally'. You're welcome to stay. And do help yourself to the biscuits.
