Just as the Twitter community turned on the Daily Mail’s Jan Moir following her insensitive and ignorant rant about Stephen Gately’s death, they unleashed their full force against Griffen and his sorry band of followers.

While the panelists and studio audience took every opportunity to expose Griffen and his sick policies as he tried to hide behind a veneer of respectability (hear, hear to the woman who likened him to a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”), the public turned to the social media tool to join in at the rate of a thousand Tweets a minute (on the bbcqt hashtag alone) – 54,000 Tweets by the close of the programme.   (Source: tweetminster)

While Question Time has been encouraging tweets for some time now, the controversial nature of this particular programme highlighted the growth of the active media audience and the rise of many to many broadcasting in tandem with the traditional one to many broadcasting we’ve been used to.  Twitter, it seems, has now come of age.

As well as putting the participants through a series of challenging exercises and scenarios, we encourage them mentally take a step into the journalists’ shoes.  To think like a journalist is the best way to prepare for an encounter with one.  Given an opportunity to role play, the “journalists” not only enjoy their moment as part of the hack pack, they gain valuable experience which they can call upon in the future.

Another exercise challenges the perceptions participants have of the media and vice versa.  No matter how many times I have taken part in this exercise, I am always amazed at how much baggage we carry around with us, and how easy it is to colour our judgement with stereotypes.   I think if this short exercise was introduced into school classrooms, workplaces and especially in the training of journalists, it could go some way to breaking down barriers within our communities.

Hamid Mir, Executive Editor, Geo TV, Pakistan

This week  four of our new Multimedia Journalism post-graduate students (Cristiana Theodoli, Martin Graham, Alaster Phillips and Kenny McKay) enjoyed the opportunity of conducting a radio interview with reknowned journalist Hamid Mir.  The executive editor at Geo TV in Pakistan, who was in Vienna at the War on Words conference hosted by the International Press Institute, told the students how he became the first journalist to interview Osama bin Laden post 9/11.  He also spoke of the importance of press freedom in the fight against terrorism and, poignantly, of the number of journalists who’ve been killed pursuing the truth in difficult parts of the world.

The link up with the conference follows a visit to the university in May when the IPI held a mock press conference for students and a reception at BBC Scotland’s HQ in Glasgow.  One of last year’s MAMJ students, Louise Hallman, then gained valuable experience working at the IPI’s World Congress in Helsinki in June.  Highlights for Louise included Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta being honoured for its defense of press freedom and a talk by BBC World Service Correspondent Alan Johnston, on “Talking to Terrorists”.

My-soon-to-be-8-year-old son, Rory, offered to help me study, then asked  “What will you be studying Mummy?”

My husband explained I would need to choose what to study for the next three years.

“I know.  How about dinosaurs?”

‘Not sure how that fits with my current role at GCU, but there must be the bones of a story in it.

Teaching for the new semester here at Glasgow Caledonian is well underway and with 26 new post-grads, it looks like a very busy year ahead.  We’ve been trying to improve resources over the summer and have begun phasing out the old mini-discs and replacing them with the Marantz PMD661 portable recorder – so much better.   We’re finally almost there with integrating our Burli radio software:   we’ve set up the Press Association and Sky News Radio feeds to come directly to the In Queue; we’ve set up a newsroom email account (newsroom@gcal.ac.uk); and installed a PC in radio studio and linked that to the Synergy desk so that we can finally use the prompter and get rid of mountains of paper and log jams in the control room.  We’ve also upgraded all the Avids to Composer, added in some new monitors, and we’re hoping to continue rolling out the networking soon too.  My wish list is still rather long, but I’m hoping the changes will make for a smoother year ahead.

Meanwhile, our first group of 8 Multimedia Journalism Masters students are on the final hurdle.  The portfolios are in, the essays are being penned, and the drinks are chilling at the bar.  Good Luck!

Exactly how journalists are using Twitter may vary widely, but at the end of the day it’s all about networking and sharing information – the basic building blocks of good journalism.  The technology and its use will continue to evolve, but telling a good story will always draw a crowd, or should that be flock?

“Don’t miss it…. Insightful and funny” The List
“A dramatic cast of larger-than-life characters… You couldn’t make this up…” Clare English on BBC Radio Cafe

And as an extra treat for everyone at the screening in Glasgow tonight,  La Redonda from Caracas, the band who composed the soundtrack for Red Oil played live.  Oh, if only I had a smidgeon of South American rhythm!  Check out their My Space page to hear some tracks.

OK.  I admit.  I haven’t yet been prolific on the blog front.  However I thought I should spread the word, especially amongst all you journalism students, that there’s still money to be had in this profession despite all the cutbacks and the credit crunch.  Edinburgh-based start-up Hubdub has launched its UK edition of the online game where you can use your knowledge of the news to predict what’ll happen next.  And they give you $1,000 to get started! …OK…not real money…but why not have some fun?  It surely could be a welcome break from all those shorthand classes?

On a more serious note though, Hubdub is partnering with various news providers keen to engage more with their audience online.

Lesley Eccles, one of the founders of Hubdub, commented:

It’s great to be launching in the UK, despite the recession. People are going to be looking for free entertainment and will turn to the web to find it. Hubdub is free, exciting and keeps you informed. In addition, news sites are looking to engage and interact further with their readers and Hubdub gives them a fantastic means to do so.

Having secured partnerships with leading media news sites including Reuters and The Independent, Hubdub is taking prediction markets more mainstream and making them easier for casual browsers to appreciate. Sitting beside high quality news content, Hubdub provides news sites with additional ways to engage their readers, keeping them online longer and returning on a regular basis.

QE2 Fireworks

Stuck in an edit suite all day yesterday, I was sad I had missed the return of the QE2 to the Clyde on the most beautiful of autumn days.  A chance meeting with a neighbour in the evening however saw the two of us jump in the car and drive over the back road to Greenock to send the grand old lady off for the final time.  And it was one of those special moments when you really feel you are witnessing history.

As we drove through Greenock, the crowds were pouring out of every side street, making their way down to the river.  In fact, the parking was so bad, the first free space was nearly in Gourock.  But there was a sense of excitement and anticipation as we walked down to the esplanade and along towards the star attraction.  Thousands of people lined the railings.  Small children on parents’ shoulders marvelled at the spectacular fireworks.  Beside them, grannies who remember when shipbuilding was the lifeblood of the community, marvelled more at the great presence and beauty of the ship itself.  Young and old joined together in the occasion.

QE2 - Last day on the Clyde

At 41, the QE2 and I are the same age.  Launched from John Brown’s in 1967, she was built in a very different era.  Back then we had record players and one black and white TV with just two channels, and my parents had a VW Beetle.  Thousands of jobs depended upon the Clyde shipbuilders’ order books.  Back then laptops, MP3 players and mobile phones would have been unimaginable.  Here is a great archive of QE2 being built, launched and interiors from her early days at sea.

Four decades on however the media is one of the biggest employers on the Clyde.  While sadly we may have lost many of the skilled craftsmen who made the QE2 the world’s leading luxury liner, we have a new breed of journalists and programme makers who have the potential to make waves around the world too.  Instead of honing their skills in one media, the new generation of reporters are beginning to work across all platforms, and are experimenting with new technology to engage consumers.  As well as their own account of the day online, check out the BBC’s viewers photos.

Or better still, search flickr (QE2 Greenock 2008) for some great pictures – from the flotilla accompanying the liner’s arrival to the fireworks display at night.  YouTube’s offerings are less inspiring so far, but this one, with added music has generated quite a few comments from people with lumps in their throats.  And even the MOD was twittering as the frigate HMS Manchester sailed alongside her fellow Falklands veteran.

This combination of citizen journalism and mainstream media has created a unique snapshot of a memorable day.  Best wishes to the Pride of the Clyde for her future in Dubai.