Kirstie's job log: 35

The story so far... Kirstie gave up her job in sales to pursue her dream of a career in journalism with a Masters at Westminster University.

Going fast 

 

It’s only three weeks till the end of the term and the beginning of the Christmas holidays. This means my course is almost halfway through, and it feels like it has been flying by!

After spending so long making the decision over whether or not to take the course, and then panicking over money, housing, work and studying, it felt very unreal when I first moved into halls and finally started the course. Two months later and I’m certain I made the right decision, but I can already see the end of the course in sight.

After the holidays, we have a three-week work placement that is being sorted for us by the university, and then when we get back in February there are only three months till the practical side is finished and we start work on our dissertations. Currently I’m facing having to write a 15,000-word essay on a topic we haven’t yet been told about - and having managed to escape the need to do a dissertation as part of my first degree, the prospect is scaring me slightly!

As for the three-week work placement, I have actually requested to work in a radio newsroom. I’ve been finding the radio side of the course really interesting, and I want to know a little more about it - before I make the decision over whether it’s what I want to study more of. It’s a little scary moving away from the writing side of things, but if I find that I made a mistake and can’t stand it after all, I can always continue writing and find more experience later. After all, this way at least I’ll know for certain one way or the other.

The only downside to the course right now is the credit crunch - which, it seems, has hit the media industry hard. Every speaker we’ve had in so far has told us in no uncertain terms that everyone is having to fire people, and there are plenty of people out there looking for jobs in the media much more qualified than we are. This tactic is very good at making everyone panic, and worry about what’s going to happen to us at the end of the year. At the same time, however, it’s done a very good job of making sure everyone tries their best to impress in class!

Shorthand shortage

After two months of frustration during shorthand classes, it’s finally all starting to come together and is beginning to make a little more sense. We’ve finally made our way through all the rules that need to be learnt, and all there is to do now is to get our speed up. I have also had the chance to find out just how helpful shorthand can be in the world of journalism…

Last week, as part of our weekly reporting day, we had to find a story in London and cover it, including an interview with someone who knew a little about the story. I decided to cover the closure of one of the oldest restaurants and richest in the city, The Café Royal, in order to turn it into a massive 5-star hotel in time for the 2012 Olympics. I managed to get hold of the Manager of the restaurant who agreed to give me a tour of the place and gave me time for an interview.

It was only when he started talking that I realised I was never going to be able to get much of what he said down, and although I tried for a short while to write in shorthand, I found eventually I had to give up and resort to getting down nothing more than the odd fact or figure. He knew a lot about the history of the building and some of the stories were fascinating, but without being able to quote him directly I ended up with a pretty dull story!

I have a confession to make: I have a vested interest in the Café Royal. It was my great, great grandfather who set up the place, and turned it into one of the most famous restaurants of its time. It used to be the favourite restaurant of Oscar Wilde! It also holds the audition rooms used for the X Factor! I shouldn’t really have covered the story, but as it was only an exercise I didn’t see the harm. I also contacted Bonhams, a famous London auctioneer house, who are selling some of the memorabilia from the restaurant, and last year did the same with the Savoy. After hearing the connections they were keen to meet me, and offered to take me to tea!

After some discussion they asked me if it would be possible to write the introduction to the catalogue - an honour that Sir Michael Gambon was given for the sale of the Savoy, so I feel very honoured! It does mean a bit of extra work, such as actually trying to learn a bit about my family history, but it would mean that essentially my name would be in print!

As the end of term comes, so come the essay titles. I have a handful of articles, stories, interviews and essays that need to be researched and written, as well as a news documentary for radio that I need to edit. However, while it seems like there’s a lot of work to be done, I still officially only have four days of classes that don’t start till 10am everyday. As long as I continue to enjoy it, it feels like a much better option than the one where I stayed in my job!

See Kirstie's previous job logs.

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