Calorie guide set to rise!

ATTENTION ALL FOOD LOVERS!!

According to the papers today the government's recommended daily calorie intake could be wrong! The guide used for healthy eating and to aid those who are dieting has been set at 2000 for women and 2500 for men for the past 20 years.

The good news is that it might go up! So those of us who have opted for that chocolate ice-cream dessert or the extra glass of wine can now enjoy guilt free! According to the papers, a report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition claims that the calorie guide could be raised by 16%. For a man that means consuming an extra 400 calories which is the equivalent of an average sized cheeseburger.

The new figure is a result of researchers discovering better ways for the body to burn off fat during exercise.

However as much as this may sound good to some of us it does raise concerns over how this may be perceived by those who are overweight and what affect this could have on their health as it could send out the wrong message.

Top nutritionists only advise people to eat more if they are going to exercise more given the current obesity levels which currently predicts that 33% of women and 32% of men will be clinically obese within four years.

The commitee's suggestions will be considered during a 14 week consultation before final recommendations are made.

Law for journalists- Investigative journalism.

(Notes taken from Chris Horrie's lecture and web notes)

This week's lecture covered investigative journalism and the legal issues that surround it.

Investigative journalism is different from normal journalism as it deeply investigates a single topic of interest and doesn't have to follow the normal "news agenda" as the journalist can pick their own agenda. The usual topics that are investigated are political corruption, crime or scandals.

We learnt about the famous french novelist Emile Zola who is known as the "father of investigative journalism". He is well known for his graphic and powerful novels but particularly known for successfully setting free the french army general, Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus had been used as a scapegoat for France losing the war against Prussia and was wrongly convicted of treason for which he received a life imprisonment sentence. Zola investigated and published a 4000 word article containing the details of how it was all a scandal. It was known as a landmark day for journalism.

The key to producing a safe piece of investigative journalism is to ensure that it is absent of any malice. This type of journalism must not be an excuse to seek revenge on somebody and you mustn't becoming personally involved. Always stick to your agenda.

The journalists main defence when publishing an investigative piece is that it is of 'public interest'. According to Mr Justice Eady "it is the rock on which we stand" i.e. its a key defence for journalists.

Interesting fact:

PEOPLE'S RUBBISH COULD BE YOUR TREASURE!! Did you know that there is no law protecting your rubbish? So if someone decided to do some investigative journalism they could route through your bin and use whatever they find to build their story or sell to a newspaper! A famous character known for this is 'Benji the Bin-man" who has often gone through celebrities' bins and found key documents which have been involved in court cases.

WINOL - Dummy editions summary

This Wednesday was the second dummy run edition of WINOL (Winchester News Online). There are still areas that need to be worked on but there is a clear improvement from last week.

Last week there was a lot of issues regarding lack of attendance which obviously put a lot pressure on the people that were in the newsroom trying to compile the bulletin. However this was greatly improved this week through the editors organising their teams better and people committing more of their time to making the project a success. There was a clear sense of team work and together we were able to get the bulletin out on time with all the content!

The main issue that cropped up last week was the fact that we didn't receive people's packages in time and therefore had black holes throughout the bulletin where their VTs should have been. Given the fact that television is all about the pictures this was an obvious mistake that we had to avoid making again!!!

This week we did avoid making that same mistake and everyone did really well in making and editing their packages in time to feature in the bulletin. The packages were also of better quality although there are still some sound issues that need to be sorted.

As part of the production team I experienced a lot of stress in the first week whilst trying to write the script. I didn't receive any links from the reporters and had to write the entire thing myself (with the help of Claire and Matt) without knowing much about the stories that we were running. However I was quite pleased with the final script and I think Claire was comfortable reading it whilst presenting it for the first time. However this week the script wasn't as strong due to the reporters writing their links for print rather than considering the differences that are needed for television. This will be an issue that I will raise with the editors to make sure that the reporters are baring this in mind and I will also talk to the production team to make sure that as editors we all pick up on this and don't allow it through to the auto prompt.

Another highlight of Wednesday was Ian Anderson visiting us again and agreeing to be our guest editor. He walked around the newsroom and spent a lot of time talking to everyone and helping out, trying to pass on as much of his professional advice as possible. He was quite positive about the final outcome and I think this was quite a boost for the team's moral.

Technology let us down a bit this week but hopefully these issues will be sorted for next week's edition which will be the official launch day. This means there will be a lot of pressure on getting everything right but hopefully everyone will work well as a team again and help to make it a success!

Sesame Street is 40 years old today!

"Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away"....the beloved 'Sesame Street' that graced its presence throughout most of our childhoods celebrates it's 40th anniversary today!

The programme, made by the Children's Television Workshop, is still running to this day.

'Sesame Street' first aired back in November 1969. The series has produced over 4,200 episodes and is one of the longest running programmes in history.

The programme is well known for its 'Muppets' characters, created by Jim Henson, with many still being iconic/fashionable figures to grown ups such as myself!

The use of puppets in a children's television programme seems to be a rare treat now as animation appears to be taking over. I would love to see 'Sesame Street' run for another 40 years and hope that children of future generations would be able to enjoy it as much as I have.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

Disney Pixar's 'Up'- a film for all ages...

Do you remember that magical feeling you used to get when you watched the "Disney classics" as a child? Films such as 'Cinderella' where you craved to have a fairy god mother? Or 'Aladdin' where you wished you could have a flying carpet AND a genie?! Where the story lines left you feeling warm and fuzzy inside? I used to think that this feeling was genuinely impossible to recapture due to my childish rose coloured glasses falling off many years ago and thus producing my cynical, pessimistic views of the world and life in general. However all of this changed this weekend on my viewing of Disney Pixar's latest film 'Up'.


To sum up the plot quickly, 'Up' is about a grumpy old man, Carl Fredricksen, who attempts to honour his dead wife's childhood wish by moving their house to a place in South America- Paradise Falls. He does this by attaching thousands of helium balloons to his house and using it as an airship. On the way however he discovers he is not alone as Russel, a "Wilderness Explorer" who is trying to assist the elderly to earn his final merit badge, has stowed away. There's a load of comedy, adventure and drama along the way as the unlikely duo discover their new world together.

I had seen very little of the trailer before I went to see the film but I expected it to have nothing on my childhood experience of Disney - how very wrong I was! The main thing that impressed me greatly was how the narrative didn't patronise it's child based audience. It didn't shy away from covering real life issues such as how some women are not able to have babies or the fact the it is inevitable that we will all die.

The storyline is incredibly touching and the film has been beautifully put together with Pixar producing yet another amazing animation. Watching the film in 3D also adds to the fun!!

To sum 'Up', this film is a classic Disney tale, combined with fantastic animation to bring you a superb story about dreams, comedy, adventure and love! Go and see it- I guarantee you won't regret it!