London 2012 - 31/07/12

One night left in Worcester before we make the trip down south to the Olympic games. I’m buzzing as I know this is a great opportunity (once in a lifetime!) to give my journalism career a major boost in the right direction.

When we arrive in London tomorrow I have arranged to meet up with head of the BSU sports team, Chris Taylor and one of the members of the BSU features team, Katelynn Thys. They not only have content they can share and develop with us but also have tickets to certain events which we might be able to get in on!

Plus my BAJ (British Association of Journalists) press pass arrived this week which I'll take with me.
Exciting times ahead!

 

London 2012 - 30/07/12

Not long until myself, James and Kate make our way to the Games! Unfortunately Dan has had to take a back seat and Luke couldn’t get time off work this week, but the three of us hope to make a big impact in representing our University and country when we join the Americans.

Kate has bought up an idea which I believe she is currently trying to pull off, which is ordering our own uniform for the games so people know who we are. Also before we go down we need equipment. Due to the fact there is only 3 of us and we'll be on the move most the time we've decided to keep equipment to a minimum. We will book the essential kit out from the University which will include 2 Tascams, 1 microphone and 1 camera. This will allow us to record, interview and add images to stories in print and with recordings we can create broadcast material such as live interviews and vox-pops.

Other than the above were ready for the London 2012 Olympics!

London 2012 - 29/07/12

BSU are off to a flying start to the Games in London. They've been reporting back to the Worcester base and have been showing us the material they've got so far which includes cycling, boxing, judo, swimming and more.

Due to such a large group BSU have been split into two teams, the red team who I'll be heading to London with on Wednesday and the blue team who are currently in the capital getting coverage.

Having done research, I have found athletes in the Worcestershire area who I aim to focus my stories on whether it be the athletes themselves or their family and friends. Achieving this will give me a stronger chance of of getting my material published in my chosen local outlets.

Below are the athletes my team will be tracking down in London:

• Jessica Varnish - Track cyclist (Bromsgrove)
• Amy Smith - Swimming (Kidderminster)
• Rachel Bragg - Volleyball (Kidderminster)
• Liam Killeen - Cyclist (Malvern)
• Naomi Folkard - Archer (Kidderminster)
• Alex Gregory - Rowing (Wormington)
• Zac Purchase - Rowing (Tewkesbury)
• Alison Young - Sailor (Bewdley)

You can keep up to date with everything Worcester University at the Olympics and BSU at the Games are doing in London by following these links:

https://twitter.com/bsuatthegames

http://bsuatthegames.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/bsuatthegames

http://www.worcester.ac.uk/community/london-olympics-2012.html

http://www.worcester.ac.uk/discover/worcester-journalism-students-in-olympic-project.html

London 2012 - 28/07/12

The opening ceremony summed up British life and was a hit world wide! It makes me more eager to get down to the capital and get views on the Games so far from the lucky spectators.

Today it has been confirmed I will be heading down to London on Wednesday on a coach leaving at 8am with the Americans that are in Worcester at the moment. I will come back Saturday with hopefully plenty of material which I can develop and send to my chosen outlets.

I have also been informed today by the leader of the BSU team Ryan Sparrow, that while working alongside the Americans in London, I will be gathering stories for TNT Magazine, Podium and Ludus.

This will no doubt be a massive boost to my portfolio!

Below is our Worcester University at the Olympics team which was published in the Worcester News and on the University of Worcester website.

London 2012 - 27/07/12

Let the Games begin! Today is the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics and the start of my journey as a reporter on the Games. Whilst millions pack all corners of the capital, I'm in my home town Worcester preparing myself for the next 17 days of all the drama and excitement the Olympics bring.

Working on behalf of the University of Worcester, I will be working alongside my team of five. Our Olympics team includes Kate Lee, Luke Pollard, James Jeffrey, Dan Marlin and myself.

We will be working alongside Ball State University from Muncie, Indiana. BSU have sent a large team over from the states who will be rotating between London and Worcester bases to produce and distribute content on a level of different platforms.

Our team are linking up with the Features and Sports teams from BSU and will join them in London where we have a base and in Worcester to produce content for the states and here in the UK.

Before I make my first trip to the South East, I'll need to have a plan of production and distribution.

Below is a list of what I'm looking for and where it may be published depending on the type of material I gather whether that be for print or radio.

Production

1. Main focus on Team GB
2. Athletes from the Worcestershire area
3. Local angles which includes interviews with family and friends of British athletes
4. Linking up with BSU to produce content for the States

Distribution

1. University of Worcester website
2. Youthcomm Radio - Community radio station where I volunteer
3. BBC Hereford and Worcester
4. Worcester News
5. The National Student - Student magazine/website who I work for
6. Weekend Notes - International website which focuses on events in major cities (I work for the London edition)
7. 102.5WMDH East Central Indiana - US radio station where I will be reporting live coverage from across the Atlantic.

It's been a couple of months of hard work including planning, schedules and meetings but it will all pay off beginning today!

Keep up-to-date with my journey to the Games as I will blog a new post everyday for the duration of the London 2012 Olympics.