Saturday 28 November 2015

This week's newsquiz: Can you beat Holly's 15?

The Daily Mail Australia trainees have had another good week, including an excellent session with picture editor Yvette Kelly. They have been looking at Christmas stories, travel features and pictures. Well done to Nic White and Millie Thwaites who both had stories published on the website. You can read Nic's story here and Millie's here.


Meet the dog who thinks he's a cinema usher - Millie's story
That’s five trainees' stories published so far - and there will be more to follow. Alex Genova, one of the American trainees, was also published on the site this week, for a story she wrote during the course in August, on the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s theory of relativity. We finished the week, as usual, with the newsquiz. Well done to Holly Pascoe who clocked up an impressive 15 and won the Lotto scratch card.
Here’s this week’s quiz - 26 points to be won this week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.


Schoolie season - Questions 21 and 22

1. What was the name of the New Zealand glacier where a helicopter crashed, killing seven people?
2. The Australian government has unveiled an updated version of the terrorism advisory system. It now has five tiers - 
i) not expected, ii) possible, iii) probable, iv) expected. What is the fifth tier?

3. What level is Australia currently on?
4. Police said a group of how many men and boys are being watched closely because they are capable of committing an act of terror, such as killing a member of the public?
5. Australia’s Grand Mufti has come under fire for calling on the Muslim community to recognise White Ribbon Day by referencing an ancient sermon that refers to women as what?
6. What did former minister Amanda Vanstone say about Bindi Irwin on Channel 9’s the Verdict that, according to other panelists, was mean and nasty?
7. Police, who were called to a house on Sydney’s North shore after neighbours heard a man shouting 'I'm going to kill you, you’re dead! Die die', found a dead what?
8. Army chaplains may have which slogan removed from hat badges as part of a push for greater diversity?
9. Despite having hiccups, Ethan Hall continued to sing the Australian national anthem. Which two Australian baseball teams were playing? Half a point for each
10. Name one of the five P&O cruise ships which formed a V-shape in Sydney Harbour this week.
11. Who won the Best International Act at the ARIAs for the fourth year running?
12. Who was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the ARIA awards?
13. At which venue were the ARIA Awards held?
14. Who did conservationists in New Zealand accuse of endangering a rare bird, the dotterel, while shooting a video?
15. Residents on the Gold Coast are being warned to be on high alert for what … which are expected to descend on residential areas following the fires?
16. Which Sydney Kings basketball player had beer poured over his head by someone in the crowd?
17. Two men were arrested trying to 'drill drug supply holes’ at Sydney Olympic stadium … before which music festival?
18. Filippo Silvestro is facing drug charges after he was allegedly caught with more than 150 ecstasy pills. Which TV programme did Silvestro take part in?
19. Why was Nathan Paterson in the headlines?
20. Australian journalist Sharri Markson was detained after breaking strict security protocol at a hospital in which country?
21. A teenager known as Schoolie Steve was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital after friends set light to which part of his body?
22. An 18-year-old schoolie was arrested at the southern coastal town of Goolwa after allegedly dismembering what?
23. What was the name of the turkey pardoned by Barack Obama at the annual turkey pardoning ceremony at the White House?
24. What secret did Meaghin McIntyre keep from her wedding guests when she married on the Sunshine Coast?
25. A Melbourne cleaner, claiming to be called Joe Carr, admitted his previous name was a hoax? What was the false name?
26. Two construction workers were crushed to death by falling concrete slab at a building site in which city?

Answers here

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Mail looking for trainee journalists


The Daily Mail group is once again recruiting trainee journalists. Since 2003 I have been training sub-editors for the paper and since 2007 I have been training reporters. Three years ago we started a course for online journalists. This year’s intake, apart from those destined for the MailOnline and the Daily Mail in London, included five trainees for DailyMail.com in New York and nine for Daily Mail Australia in Sydney. The Mail also took two trainees on to its Stephen Lawrence scholarship. Many graduates of the courses are now seniors at the Mail. 


Some of this year's trainees

The training is a real investment by DMGT. The successful applicants spend weeks training in the Mail’s London offices and are then placed at regional newspapers and agencies before returning to the Mail the following year. 
The training will begin in August and September 2016, so is suitable for those graduating this academic year. 
The deadline for applications is December 18 - but we would appreciate it if you could apply well before then. If you are interested, send a covering letter, your CV and three examples of your work to Sue Ryan at sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk. There are vacancies for trainee reporters and subs (both news and sport) on the Mail and journalists (news and sport) for MailOnline. Details are on Gorkana and Hold The Front PageIf you are applying you might want to take a look at my advice on how to prepare for an interview. Good luck.

Saturday 21 November 2015

And the best front page tribute to Jonah Lomu

... goes to the Irish Examiner.


The newsquiz reflects a grim week

In a grim newsweek, here is this week's newsquiz. Last week's top individual scorers was Sophie Jamieson with 14 and the top team score was by the Batstones. Others in double figures included Chris Lennon 11 and Dan Williams 10. Let me know how you get on.

Grim front pages reflect a terrible week 
1. According to an Institute of Economics and Peace report on global terrorism which was the most brutal terrorist organisation in the world last year, killing 6,664 people? 
2. What is the name of the hotel in Mali where 27 hostages were murdered?
3. What was the name of the French police dog killed in the Paris siege?
4. In which area of Paris were three terrorists killed during a police raid?
5. What are the three Stay Safe things security chiefs in Britain have advised you should do if caught up in a Paris-style attack? 
6. How was Mohammed Emwazi better known to the media (and world)?
7. Who said:  'Christmas is approaching: There will be lights, parties, Christmas trees and nativity scenes... it's all a charade. The world continues to go to war. The world has not chosen a peaceful path.'?
8. Who abseiled down the Residential Outdoor Education Centre in Capel Curig, North Wales?
9. Who was banned from the Tory party for life after accusations of bullying, harassment and blackmail?
10. Announcing his retirement from international cricket, fast bowler Mitchell Johnson revealed that an incident forced him to change his aggressive style? What was it?
11. She lived in Ambleside Avenue, was once sentenced to 18 months in jail, 30 MPs, including Tony Benn, signed a Commons motion in her support and Julie Walters played her in a movie. Who is she?
12. World leaders have been attending the APEC summit in Manila? What does APEC stand for?
13. Which Californian singer was played loudly to disperse protestors at the APEC summit?
14. Warren Mitchell, who died this week, won a BAFTA for his character Alf Garnett in which TV series?
15. 
Two teenager boys were stabbed at a school in which London area?
16. In which city did Prince Charles celebrate his 67th birthday?

17. 
Eddie Jones was announced as England’s new rugby coach. How old is he?
18. Apple executive Jimmy Iovine, said women, without help, struggle to find what?
19. Who had a transplant in 2004 with a kidney donated by his close friend Grant Kereama?
20. Who quit I'm a Celebrity after only three days on 'health grounds'?
21. Why was nurse Amanda Bruce in the headlines?
22. What has seven-year-old Lily-Grace Hooper told she could not use at Hambrook Primary School in Winterbourne Down?
23. Which television series is making a comeback after 12 years?
24. The SNP has been accused of accepting cash 'bribes' after it was revealed it accepted a £10,000 donation from which organisation?
25. Singer Carly Simon confirmed that one of the verses in her classic song You're So Vain is about which actor?

Answers here

In a black void trying to reach the news story


Here's an interesting take on print v digital by, of all people, South Park studios. 

Friday 20 November 2015

Josh wins Australian newsquiz

This week I have been with the Daily Mail Australia trainees in Sydney. They had sessions with editor Luke Mcilveen, news-editor Barclay Crawford and former trainee Jen Smith, who is now a showbiz reporter. The trainees spent some of their time writing and pitching exclusive stories. Well done to Josh Hanrahan (story here), Steve Trask (story here) and Aneeta Bhole who all brought in stories that were published on the website ... the first of many bylines. As usual we finished with the newsquiz. Well done to Josh who was top scorer with a respectable 13.5 points out of 25. If you have been keeping up with the Australian and world news agenda, you might be able to do better. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.


Ice cream topped with bugs: Aneeta's story can be read here.
1. According to an Institute of Economics and Peace report on global terrorism which was the most brutal terrorist organisation in the world last year, killing 6,664 people? 
2. Who wrote non-Muslims want women to walk around 'exposed as a piece of sweet pastry... devoured by the eyes of men’?
3. What was the name of the French police dog killed in the Paris siege?
4. In which area of Paris were three terrorists killed during a police raid?
5. What are the three Stay Safe things security chiefs in Britain have advised you should do if caught up in a Paris-style attack? 
6. How was Mohammed Emwazi better known to the media (and world)?
7. What is the name of the woman who was convicted of terrorism offences at Sydney's Downing Centre Court on Monday?
8. A farmer and three of his employees died in a bush fire in which town in Western Australia?
9. The three farm workers who died in the farm fire all came from different countries. One was from Britain where were the other two from? (Half point for each)
10. Announcing his retirement from international cricket, fast bowler Mitchell Johnson revealed that an incident forced him to change his aggressive style? What was it?
11. Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke and his wife Kyly announced the birth of their daughter this week. What is she called?
12. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been attending the APEC summit in which city?
13. What does APEC stand for?
14. Which Californian singer was played loudly to disperse protestors at the APEC summit?
15. Where will Jess Dunbar, Matt Price, Louise Adams and Cyrus Villanueva be appearing?
16. In which city did Prince Charles celebrate his 67th birthday?

17. What is the full name of the award won by social media star and personal trainer Kayla Itsines this week?
18. A class action that could top $100 million has been launched in the Federal Court on behalf of the owners of what?
19. Jonah Lomu was suffering from which kidney disease?
20. In which year did Jonah Lomu have a kidney transplant donated by his close friend Grant Kereama?
21. Why was nurse Amanda Bruce in the headlines?
22. A 14-year-old boy pleaded guilty at Perth Children’s court to a number of sex attacks on women. What did he wear during the first attack?
23. Why was Kate Armstrong in the headlines this week?
24. Which brewery boss died aged 82 after serving 'the beer drinkers of Australia' for 50 years?
25. What rules did Bunnings Warehouses introduce after a five-year-old girl was hurt in one of their stores?

Answers here


  

Sunday 15 November 2015

Chilling front pages cover the Paris massacre


It was a sombre night in the newsrooms across the world. Here's a glance at what the mornings newspapers look like.
The Independent on Sunday adopts a simple under-stated design and asks the key question 'what happens next?'. 


I wonder, though, if it was tempted to lead with Peter Shrank's powerful and poignant cartoon.


The People goes for a compelling image - a single rose in a bullet hole with a card asking Au nom de quoi, in whose name?


The French paper Liberation printed a special edition which also goes for an understated, yet powerful floral tribute image.   
The Sunday Herald in Scotland uses the most graphic of images. It carries a justification underneath the picture that reads 'this is a disturbing image but we feel it must be shown to reflect the reality of terrorism'. Editor Neil Mackay also took to Twitter to reiterate the point. 'We thought long and hard about using this disturbing image. But it must be seen. This is the reality of terrorism.'


The American newspapers, including the New York Daily News, also used the image.


The Mail on Sunday also uses a harrowing picture from the scene - people hanging from the ledges outside the Bataclan to escape the killers. It also shows a picture of the covered body of one of the terrorists. I might have been tempted to dispense with the André Rieu CD blurb.


The same image is used by The Sunday Telegraph.



The Sunday Mirror and The Sunday Times choose to go with pictures of the victims - images that bring home the real human cost of the story. The Mirror's main picture is of Briton Nick Alexander who died in the concert hall.


The Mail on Sunday also has stories of some of the young people who were murdered.


The Sunday Post in Scotland tells the story of two Scottish women who hid in the cellar at the Bataclan while the killers slaughtered dozens of people only a few feet away.


Scotland on Sunday uses an image of shocked survivors in the aftermath of the shooting and headlines on the fact they were an act of war.




Sister papers the Sunday Express and Daily Star Sunday also use grieving pictures and bring the story closer to home with a report the SAS is on the streets, ringfencing UK terrorist targets. 



The Observer has a picture of a soldier guarding the Eiffel Tower and some detailed witness accounts.




Wales on Sunday changes its titlepiece colours to those of the French tricolour.



Here's a selection of Australian papers. In Sydney there were tears, French flags and a rendition of the Marseillaise and the Opera house was lit up in the colours of the tricolour. 


The German paper Bild simply goes with the word Krieg - War.


Zaman, a Turkish daily, uses the headline We condemn terror and set it in Turkish, French, English, Spanish, German, Russian and Arabic.





What happened on Friday was one of those rare stories that also leads off the sports pages. Here is a selection from the Mail on Sunday, the Independent on Sunday and The Sunday Telegraph.

There is a different perspective in some of the Arabic newspapers. This one from Iran has a chilling image of the ISIS flag at the top of the Eiffel Tower and a progression of events climbing the tower, starting with genocide in Syria and Iraq, moving on to the Russian airline crash, last week's bomb attacks in Beruit and finishing with Friday's events.


Thanks as always to  and @suttonnick.

Friday 13 November 2015

This week's newsquiz - 25 points to be won

Last week’s top newsquiz scorer was Chris Lennon with an impressive 14. Other notable individual scores included 13 by Damon Wake and Phil Lambell. On the team front, my mates in The Plough scored a remarkable 15 on Friday night. Well done Nicky and Les Castell. The Batstone Collective, distracted by Lucy’s big birthday, scored 12. Here is this week’s quiz … as usual 25 points to be won. Let me know how you get on.

Headline of the week by the Mirror on the Olympics scandal (Q1)
1. The London Olympics were 'sabotaged' by Russian athletes involved in state-sponsored cheating, according to a report by WADA. What does WADA stand for?
Bonus: The former International Association of Athletics Federations president is being investigated by French police over allegations he took bribes to cover up positive drugs tests when in charge of the IAAF. Name him?
Bonus: Where did Russia come in the London 2012 Olympic medal table?
2. The first storm to be officially named by the Met Office was upgraded from yellow to amber. What is its name?
3. Why was 59-year-old Jackie Baker in the headlines?
4. What is the name of the political party led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that won the Myanmar elections?
5. Paramedics, police and firefighters attended a Remembrance Day service as 40 pupils were treated for complaints including nausea and dizziness brought on by ‘anxiety’ at a school in which city?
Bonus: An impromptu rendition of which song at an Armistice Day ceremony at Stormont caused a political furore?
Bonus: What item of clothing was designed by 25-year-old Tabinda-Kauser Ishaq?
6. Who married business consultant and polar explorer Jason De Carteret at a church in Soho?
7. Which company apologised to six black schoolboys after asking them to leave a shop in Melbourne for fear they would shoplift?
8. Nathan Matthews and his girlfriend were found guilty of killing teenager Becky Watts? Name the girlfriend.
Bonus: At which court did the trial take place?
9. He was crowned champion jockey 11 times and won four Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes. Who is he?  
10. Why did students Phil Shepphard and Peter Lyons set up the company Lyon Shepphard Webb Solutions?
11. Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who died this week, was reported to have stockpiled 38,000 of which item?
12. Who said: 'Let us cast aside a common misconception. Everyone out of work is not an idler. Everyone in receipt of benefits is not a scrounger.’?
13. A man was killed and two seriously wounded in a shooting at which New York City station?
14. David Cameron was accused of hypocrisy after he protested about cuts to public services suggested by which Conservative council?
15. Asda announced it would not be taking part in which event due to 'shopper fatigue’?
16. Michael Cheika, Eddie Jones, Warren Gatland, Joe Schmidt and Jake White were all linked with which job?
17. Benedict Cumberbatch received which honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace?
18. An inquest heard how musician Nick Cave's teenage son took LSD before he fell off a cliff in which city?
19. Shares in which company fell by 20 per cent after a profit warning, concern over the prospect of £650m of 'headwinds next year and a review likely to involve job losses among its 2,000 senior managers?
20. Stafford Borough Council is equipping wardens with hi-tech £200 goggles in an attempt to catch out who?

Answers here

Friday 6 November 2015

Try your hand at this week's newsquiz

Last week's quiz proved a toughie for the departing Telegraph trainees but the online quizzers did much better. Former MailOnline trainee and one-time winner of the Champagne Lydia Willgress was top scorer with an impressive 15. Others in double figures included Chris Lennon with 13, Damon Wake 11 and the Batstone Collective which weighed in with ten. Here are this week's questions. As usual there are 25 points up for grabs. Let me know how you get on.


The Mirror reports on the Sharm el-Sheik crisis (Question 1)
1. What was the flight number of the Russian MetroJet flight that crashed in Egypt?
Bonus: How many people were killed on the flight?
Bonus: Passengers hoping to fly home from Sharm el-Sheik were emailed by 
EasyJet to say what would not be allowed on the flight?
2. What was the name given to the anti-capitalist protest organised by Anonymous in London on Guy Fawkes night?
Bonus: An effigy of David Cameron was burnt at the famous Lewes Bonfire night event. He was depicted sitting on a throne and holding what?
3. How much will Gatwick airport charge for its ‘premium passport control’ service which will fast-track travellers through immigration?
4. How many women are featured in the new British passport?
Bonus: Name one of them
5. Why was baby Layla Richards in the headlines?
6. Amazon opened a bookstore (made of bricks and mortar rather than a virtual one) in which city?
7. The Bank of England froze interest rates again … at what percent?
8. Serena Williams sprinted after a thief who stole her mobile in a San Francisco restaurant while she was on a date with Alexis Ohanion. Which company did Ohanion found?
9. Vauxhall announced the recall of 220,000 cars following a series of fires. What is the name of the car model?
10. The John Lewis Christmas advert is intended to raise awareness of which charity?
Bonus: The song used in the advert is Half The World Away sung by Norwegian artist Aurora. Who wrote it?
11. Who lodged an individual legal claim against a former boss citing victimisation and discrimination?
12. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush apologised to which country after implying its workers were lazy?
13. What is the name of the prison in County Antrim which, according to a damning report by inspectors, is 'unsafe and unstable' for prisoners and staff?
14. Why was former soldier Rob Lawrie arrested?
15. Which county’s police force is considering raising cash by fining every motorist caught over the speed limit - even if only by one mile per hour?
16. Which football team has been rocked by a sex-tape blackmail scandal?
17. Who was accused in court of refusing to listen to a colleague unless she 'spoke with her breasts’?
18. He was born in Northumberland, played 79 tests for England and scored 11 centuries, was awarded the OBE while still playing and became the first professional cricketer to hold the post of president of the MCC. Who is he?
19. The Environment Secretary Liz Truss said she was quite happy to eat what?
20. What has Twitter changed this week?

Answers here