chris temple-murray freelance portfolio
DESCRIPTION
This document is a portfolio of the work experience I have taken part in during my time on the course. Please browse through it to view my work with the Royal Navy and the Express & Echo Newspaper.TRANSCRIPT
Chris Temple-MurrayFreelance Journalist Portfolio
Media Role under the F.O.S.T operation on the N.R.P Vasco Da Gama, HMS Albion, HMS Dauntless and land based exercises
F.O.S.T (Flag Officer Sea Training) helps the Royal Navy and its partners train for single-level and multi-level threat scenarios.
Working with Lt Commander Lindsey Ashwood who leads F.O.S.T operations I was able to gain an in depth understanding of how the F.O.S.T exercises benefited crew members. On our initial introduction Lt Commander Ashwood explained that F.O.S.T exercises were essentialy ‘playing war’ with other allies in order to ensure they have the ability to work together effectively if the need arises.
My role, along with other professional journalists, was to put Royal Navy crew members under pressure by interviewing, photographing and questionning them. As far as crew members were aware, I was a journalist from The Times newspaper.
F.O.S.T operations take place on both British and foreign ships. I had the oppourtunity to take part in operations on British and foreign ships.
A Portugese ship named N.R.P Vasco Da Gama F330 took part in a large operation involving several Royal Navy Ships, helicopters and land based scenarios.
F.O.S.T is designed to help train all surface ships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries in combat and peacetime scenarios.Over 100 ships belonging to the Royal Navy and NATO are involved in F.O.S.T each year.
The UK is considered one of the leading training centres around the world for this sort of combat and peacetime scenario training, which takes place in the air, on the water and on the land.
F.O.S.T has been involved with the Royal Navy for over 50 years and has a worldwide reputation of excellence.
Royal Navy F.O.S.T - Working as a member of the press
Vasco da Gama - Portuguese NavyMedia Exercise 26th January 2011
Media Schedule for 26th January visit
Front of press pack: Given to us as we boarded
Media leaflet for N.R.P Vasco da Gama, side 1
Media leaflet for N.R.P Vasco da Gama, side 2
Press badge as required by N.R.P Vasco de Gama
N.R.P Vascp da Gama. Introduction of the commanding officer.
I was instructed to wear my press badge at all times. The two reasons for this were:
1. To ensure crew members knew who I was and what my purpose was2. To ensure crew members were on edge when talking to me, even though I wasn’t actually from a national newspaper.
My role during F.O.S.T exercises on board HMS Albion & HMS Dauntless
As a journalist, my role on board HMS Albion & HMS Dauntless was to ask as many pressing questions as possible. The language barrier I experienced whilst on board NRP Vasco Da Gama was restricting at times. In contrast when onboard HMS Albion and on land there was no language barrier, meaning I could ask as many questions as I wanted.
One of the most poignant moments during my time on board HMS Albion was when the captain asked which newspaper I was from. Realising he was completely convinced I was from The Times I felt superior in a way. His manner changed immediatley and it was clear he felt under pressure.
Along with interviewing crew members I also photographed daily activites and exercises that took place whilst on board.
It was clear that having a DSLR around my neck, alongside my notebook and press badge gave me a distinct advantage. There was a sense of respect as I entered each room.
Royal Navy F.O.S.T - Working as a member of the pressHMS Albion Visit dates: February 8th & 9th (overnight operation)
Front of press pack provided by HMS Albion
HMS Albion information booklet, given to the press on arrival
HMS Albion Press Shots
HMS Albion Press Schedule
HMS Albion moored in Devonport, Plymouth
HMS Albion moored in Devonport, Plymouth
Express and Echo Newspaper WorkWeekly student page produced from October until the end of May
Express & Echo History
The Express & Echo is a local newspaper with a readership of around 30,000. During my time working with the Express & Echo the organization printed a total of 17,000 newspapers each day, distributing copies Monday to Saturday with Saturday issues also carry over to Sunday.
In the past four months the Express & Echo has changed from a daily newspaper to a weekly newspaper. Below I have outlined the history of the Express & Echo.
Established as the Express & Echo in 1904 the newspaper in its current form has a long and interesting history.
Originally called The Evening Express of the Devon Weekly Times, it started life in 1866.
From the 27th October 1873 the newspaper was known by the shortened name of, The Devon Evening Express.
That was until on the 1st October 1904 it was merged with the Western Echo & Star to become known as the Express & Echo. The use of the Express & Echo name has now been in use for 108 years.
Below you can see the transformation the newspaper has made whilst beng known as the Express & Echo.
Source of images: www.extermemories.co.uk
The Express & Echo in October 1904. First edition under the new name. The Express & Echo, 28th October 1960 edition. Already becoming
more graphically advanced. Still printed in black and white.
15th October 1979. The Express & Echo changes to a tabloid format and introduces limited colour.
Friday 2nd September 2011. The Express & Echo turns from a daily to a weekly newspaper.
Express and Echo Design History
Express & Echo RoleAfter arranging a meeting and pitching to the Express & Echo they offered selected second year students from Exeter College on Journalism & Practical Media foundation degree the oppourtunity to plan, produce and publish a weekly student page. I was a lead pitcher, editor and producer throughout the process. Read on to find out more.
We had almost full control over a page in the front half of the newspaper that would be published every Friday. Our obligation to the Express & Echo and its readers was to provide an informative, useful, fair and non-bias student page.
Alongside the weekly student page I also helped to run a popular Facebook fan page which allowed our readers to provide us with stories, feedback and requests in an instant.
Our student page was a huge sucess, with deputy editor Andrew Howard praising our work. Andrew Howard provided the following reference upon request:
Chris played a leading role in the production of our weekly Student Echo page in terms of both writing and production. He also managed to source exclusive offers from retailers. Chris’s work was always accurate and on deadline, and was a pleasure to work with. Since working on the page, Chris has also continued to contribute to the newspaper. Andrew Howard – Express & Echo Deputy Editor
Express & Echo Student Page Examples
The pages featured below are the pages I edited
Every week I would contribute to the Express & Echo student page in several different ways. The first contribution I made was as either an editor or sub-editor. Secondly I had the responsibility of seeking a voucher that would be of interest to our target readership - students aged 16-25, based in Exeter and the surrounding region. Thirdly I would contribute articles of varying legnth, many of which included photographs, most weeks. When laying out the page I would visit the Express & Echo newsroom and use their software with the help of Andrew Howard the Deptuy Editor at the newspaper.
Express and Echo Student Page: January 28th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: February 4th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: February 11th 2011
Every week I had the responsibility of sourcing a unique, interesting and relevent voucher for use on the student page. For the majority of the student pages I also designed the voucher using Photoshop having been emailed any logo’s and slogans the company used. Sourcing these vouchers took up a lot of my time and meant speaking to PR representatives, company heads and press departments in a professional manner, no matter the size of the company.
Express and Echo Student Page: February 18th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: February 25th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: March 4th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: March 11th 2011
Highlighted above are the voucher and article I produced for the March 11th issue of the student page. The voucher was designed by myself and feedback from the Mama Stones club was extremely positive. Feedback from the club showed a significant increase in visitors during the time the voucher was active. In addition to providing the voucher I also produced an article on Student Fees, as it was an issue the majority of our readers could relate today and were passionate about.
Express and Echo Student Page: March 18th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: March 28th 2011
Highlighted above you can once again see my contribution to the 25th February 2011 student page. Thanks to the success of the previous voucher Mama Stones were very keen to pursue a second. Once again I contacted their PR department and designed a second voucher according to their specification. An article of mine was also featured next to the voucher.
Express and Echo Student Page: April 1st 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: April 8th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: April 29th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: May 6th 2011
Similar to the previous weeks my voucher and article were both published. It is important to note that as well as producing a voucher and an article I also helped to edit all of the pages featured in this portfolio. Editing involved subbing all of the content with the help of sub-editors and developing the page at the Express & Echo newsroom every Wednesday afternoon.
Express and Echo Student Page: May 13th 2011
Express and Echo Student Page: May 27th 2011
Our last Express and Echo student page was one that had an extraordinary amount of passion embedded within. Having put our heart and sole into planning, developing and producing the page every week for a total of twenty weeks. For the last edition of the page I produced an article covering the story of a young girl who had been asked to leave her beloved boys football team due to Fifa regulations. She won her battle and had been allowed to remain after appealing to Fifa using the press, including ourselves.