Amy MacBeath

Amid further revelations that the Trinity Mirror are about to shed 70 staff in Glasgow it seems that the doom and gloom predictions for budding journos are never going to end.  After the Herald, Sunday Herald & Evening Times made 40 staff redundant and the Scotsman publications lost two Editors within a matter of days, I am left feeling a bit discouraged and admit I am a little concerned about hunting for a job later this year!  Anyway, here is an interesting article in today’s Guardian by Tim Luckhurst.

So today I experienced a fine justice system at work…a ’social delinquent’ as we’ll call the accused, who carried out extensive damage at a great cost to a fair number of people, walked smirking out of court scot free.  Now correct me if I’m wrong – generally if you were seen, identified and arrested for a crime I (naively of course) thought that the said delinquent would therefore be convicted.  Nope, not to be…a simple breach of the peace was to suffice..despite the fact that many innocent people each paid a small fortune thanks to this smug offender.  Fair?  Hardly seems so!

So it appears that I am doomed in this culturally diverse and accepting city to be forever labelled by that delightful (and derogatory term may I add) that us Highlanders just love.  A teuchter.  With my recent experiences whereby our region of fine folk have been dismissed by some as not worth worrying about all the way up there I feel that I should jump to the defence of my kind. 

First and foremost I have never considered myself to be a ‘teuchter’.  I am a towny through and through and to me the term always meant some rural Black Isler or islander with their broad accents/Gaelic and funny ways- both qualities I do not consider to have (or at least in any great amount..well the first one anyway).

So, I decided to look this up and put the matter to bed once and for all.  But alas, it’s not to be….every definition I have come across is just another way for a lowlander to have a dig at us poor Highlanders.  One even claimed that it was a positive term lowlanders use for us…who are they kidding?

“teuchter:  A Lowlander’s term for a Highlander, not exactly insulting but not to be used to a Highlander’s face”      …………….uhum!

Just when we thought those folks on Twitter couldn’t come up with anything else in the land of cyber socialising…you can now get a weekly newspaper!  The idea of James McIvor (known for Scooped!) micro-bloggers can send their news in with the best making it to the Twitter paper.  The BBC, Scotsman etc are already networking away so I suppose it is a further logical step as far as logic goes in the cyber world!

Last week I spent my third and final placement at the BBC in Inverness.  Having already crammed serious amounts of information into my head since New Year I arrived prepared to stuff in even more!  Being a Highlander my plan was to go to Broadcasting House up north so that I would be working in a familiar area and, if need be, be able to pronounce places!  The first couple days were spent writing, cutting and researching for the Highlands & Islands news bulletins and going out with the Reporting Scotland presenters to film packages.  The timing of Inverness Caledonian Thistle sacking their manager worked well for me as there was plenty to film – I narrowly escaped an appearance myself!  The best part was getting the chance to research, script, edit and voice my own piece for the morning bulletin – they actually aired it too!  I even noticed one of the scripts I wrote made the website. 

Thursday was spent in the features department researching for the BBC Radio Scotland ‘No Going Back’ programme…basically I called random people and asked for their memories and stories on the naval base and protester camp at Faslane, Argyll & Bute.

On my last day I worked with the Gaelic team on An La (the news for BBC Alba) – it was an interesting experience to say the least as everyone dipped in and out of Gaelic all day..I found myself smiling when they all laughed just so I looked as though I was in on whatever the joke may have been…could have been at me for all I know.  As the producer had handed over control to someone for the night I shadowed him and he gave me a very useful and much needed lesson in avid - I think all his work took him five times as long due to the fact that I had to press all the buttons. 

Overall I really enjoyed my week there and think I learned a lot, having a chance to put my begginer’s skills into practice….

…..I also hope that it will be the end of being asked which school I go to for a wee while!

So I finally got to see the Mighty Boosh Live last night at the SECC after years of never managing to make it to shows.  Despite the fact that this particular show has been on the go a while and I’m sure all the mistakes and jokes possible have already been made it was absolutely hilarious (apart from the really creepy fox which I really don’t like but have managed to avoid since I haven’t seen much of that series).  One thing I will say – at the risk of sounding well beyond my years – is that I couldn’t quite believe the number of parents who had taken their kids along to this show.  Now, I consider myself a well up to speed fan of the boosh comedy and am well aware of how rude..well pretty sick actually..the jokes get but I don’t think it would take a genius to know that what is produced for BBC3 is a very strictly edited version of their act.  I therefore was surprised at the naivity of the father sitting behind me with his arms folded commenting that “there isn’t all this swearing in the one you see on tv”…??!!!!  To which his son answered “but it’s funny so just shutup and enjoy it”.  What are kid’s becoming these days that they are allowed to go, no they are taken, to watch this type of obviously adult comedy but also to laugh along to the dirtiest of jokes with their mothers at their elbow.  Anyway, rant over because I really did enjoy the show and their off the wall style and was even sad enough to come home and watch my favourite episodes before bed. 

This week I spent three days down Pacific Quay at STV in their newsroom.  I wasn’t sure what to expect after only having experienced newspapers, magazines and a small amount of radio so I wasn’t entirely sure what I would be faced with.  Within ten minutes of being there and having literally taken my jacket off I found myself being interviewed on camera for the website – an experience I really wasn’t prepared for!  Less than an hour later I delightfully found myself being filmed again but luckily I was part of the editing of this and avoided online stardom this time. 

The newsroom itself was mixed in with the five thirty show and with the endless introductions it becomes very clear just how much work goes into producing these bulletins from news gathering to production.  The team were all very pleasant and patient with a beginner like myself and there was so much to take in in the small amount of time I was there – I gave it my best shot!  In the mornings I helped with John MacKay’s blog before grabbing the chance to go out most of the rest of the day to film anything from traffic accident, assault and abductions scenes to an extremely fat dog and comdian Karen Dunbar reciting Tam O’Shanter to me from a throne.  In three days I think I saw more of Glasgow than ever before.  It was also a good chance to watch the editing of the packages before watching the production process for the 6 o’clock news.  Seeing the finished process after observing the work that goes into it gave me a whole new insight into the world of broadcasting.

Last week I spent my days at the Press & Journal newspaper in Inverness.  Part of Dundee based DC Thomson who are fairing well in the current media climate, the paper is better known as being an Aberdonian product but I spent my week working on Inverness and Highland news.  Big advantage of going to a smaller (is this case a regional) paper is that you can get hands on and there’s never nothing to do.  Being of Invernesian origin I was able to contribute stories, contacts and ideas and managed to make myself useful when my old high school started to be demolished.  As well as the local articles, press release re-writes and NIBs I successfully produced a small series of features (four completed in time for print).  All in all a very enjoyable week getting a chance to see how focused and hard working the journalists were.  Plus I got lots of wee cuttings for my portfolio and even a block of cheese!

A (ever so slightly) belated happy new year to one and all!

I’m not sure if it’s more exciting or scary that 2009 will be the year of once more going out into the big bad world of work to seek employment – this time as a journalist.  With all the doom and gloom predictions only spurred on by most working reporters you meet, let’s hope that there is room out there in the crazy media sphere for a few more of us enthusiastic beginners!

In my endeavours to become that know-it-all music journalist that I will never even come close to being, I had a wee review of this year’s albums and new bands.  What did I discover?…not a lot.  Turns out that this year hasn’t been all that exciting as music goes, this is only my opinion of course, but as I looked over the many bands which have been raved about endlessly this year….not a lot doing really.

What I have enjoyed this year has been the drift back to that old folk vibe which has seen a lot of decent songwriting and acoustic tracks…fair enough many of which could put me to sleep but the less bands around that make my ears bleed, like the Tings Tings, the better!

All the round ups of the year are pretty much exact same – Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Coldplay, Kings of Leon, TV on the Radio, Portishead, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Glasvegas…

So I decided to compile my own wee lists of 2008 music to see what everyone else thinks..the highs, the lows, the never should have made it near a microphone..and my favourites.

Bands/Persons of 2008

Selkirk ‘indie-rockers’ Frightened Rabbit; Former half of Arab Strap Malcolm Middleton and his ever positive songs; Kings of Leon; Drever, MucCusker & Woomble….

Albums of 2008

The Midnight Organ Fight - Frightened Rabbit:  For some reason I just can’t sicken myself of this album after first hearing it back in the summer so I shall continue to try! 

Only by the night – Kings of Leon: Mainstream sellouts?  Never! I think that the fact that the Tennessee boys manage to produce albums each better than the last has shown that they deserve to sell out their 36-date arena tour….saying that this isn’t my favourite album actually but it’s still pretty darn good.

Before the Ruin – Drever, McCusker & Woomble:  Can’t say I like it as much as the previous album under Roddy’s name but the variety of influences and appearances on it add a lot more depth and is well worth listening to!

For Emma, Forever ago – Bon Iver:  Justin Vernon (calling himself after the French non hiver meaning good winter) hid himself away in some Wisconsin woods and created this album in isolation, singing about his loss, guilt etc after band/relationship breakups.

The Sound of Vatersay – The Vatersay Boys:  You can never fail to impress the boy racers round Sneck with their beats pumping with a blast of the good ol Vatersay Boys!  Not as good as An Rathad a Bhatarsaigh but this third album still gets the toes tapping…always good at a festival too!

Friday Night Lights – Attic Lights:  Have to put this album in here as although it was never my taste in music it has grown on me after having seen them play several times this year..and it’s such a happy album!

Best songs of 2008

Sex on Fire, Kings of Leon (for the beautiful video if nothing else); Flux, Bloc Party…still working on this list

My favourite of the year - Head Rolls Off, Frightened Rabbit

Worst of 2008

Ting Tings….everything about them…

Britney Spears’ comeback – sorry but they are not hits, they are awful!

Basshunter….while I’m at it everything on those flipping dance albums being advertised non-stop

Daddy’s Gone, Glasvegas – what’s the fuss about, the song is crap…it’s like he couldn’t think of anything else to say other than he’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone.. oh oh oh oooh…

Anything remotely High School or musical related…this form of ultra-cheese has no musical credibility and just annoys me.  Only my opinion though!

Lil’ [whatever their names are]..all these generic wannabe gangsters who need to pull up their trousers…it’s partly the bling/teeth ‘grillz’ and a lot the scantily clad stripper ladies in the videos

I could go on…and on but that folks is my basic summary of the year. 

I look forward to what next year brings:  new albums from Idlewild, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Frightened Rabbit, possibly The Reindeer Section and hopefully loads more good bands!