Saturday 25 June 2016

Brexit ... front pages from around the world

We witnessed one of the biggest UK stories I can remember yesterday. The Prime Minister resigns and it isn't even the main headline. I guess it is one of those occasions when I really miss the newsroom. Anyway today's front pages reflect the mood of Europe and the division that has cut the country in half. Here is a selection:

Let's start with France's Liberation ... which tells us quite well what the rest of Europe thinks. We are being trolled here.



Austria's Kurier takes an archetypal British clown and asks a key question. We are definitely being trolled.




The same clown graces the front of The New Yorker ... even the Americans are trolling us now.



A big issue ... nicely understated by The Economist.


The Mirror asked a similar question to Kurier ... put into the mouth of Sam Cam. A great picture.



Germany's Bild goes for an English pun on its front. 


The good news is Bild's back page says Brefugees will be welcome.


Holland's AD goes for a shocker. The headline isn't really needed ... the picture says everything.



The Mail has banged the Brexit drum for the whole campaign ... and relishes the result.

 


The Mail's Scottish edition isn't so convinced that Brexit is such a good thing.

Scotland is going to be a big deal ... which is good news for The National.


Nicola Sturgeon is the Daily Record's cover girl once again.



Nicola Sturgeon also graces the Herald, along with a quote that neatly sums up her and Scotland's position. 



The Scotsman favours a grim Cameron.



And then there is the Irish question ... over to you First Minister, says The Irish News 



The Belfast Telegraph says it's a step into the unknown. Sounds about right. 




The Guardian sums it up in a three-word headline.






Most people thought David Cameron handled himself with dignity yesterday ... but The Sun offers  a different view.




The Sun in Scotland goes for a split front to reflect a split country. 




A white on black headline on the front of The Times ... seismic.


The Telegraph sees the positive side ... and there's that Sam Cam picture again.


It was the Express what won it ... and it couldn't be happier.

The Express is a little less gung-ho in Scotland.


The Star goes for the bulldog spirit. 


Grim ...  the i leads on Cameron's haunted look.


Boris Island. The Independent builds a picture of the possible nightmare to come. 

The Herald Sun sums it up in true Aussie style.
Most of America seemed to be oblivious to what was going on ... but not the Boston Herald.


The world is stunned ... according to the International New York Times.


The FT simply captures the mood.


Only one story dominates the Australian papers.

An amazing story told in the imaginative way that only newspapers can. We'll miss them when they're gone.

Thanks as always to

Friday 24 June 2016

Here's the newsquiz ... 25 points up for grabs

Well, what a week. Inevitably there are a few Brexit questions in the quiz this week. Last week's top team score was by the Penman B-team with 18.5. The top solo score was Alex Murphy with 15.5. Here's this week's quiz ... as usual 25 points to be won. Let me know how you get on.



1. What percent of voters put a cross against leave?

Bonus: What percentage was the turnout?
2. David Cameron said there would be a new Tory leader in place in time for what event?
Bonus: The bookies made Boris Johnson favourite to be next Prime Minister. Who is second favourite at 7/2?
3. What did Nigel Farage say he could not guarantee and would never have made the promise in the first place?
4. Where did 19,322 people vote to stay in the EU and, bizarrely, 823 vote to leave?
5. Who said he had been doing 'extensive emergency planning’ in preparation for the out vote?
6. What did Unite's Steve Turner say was an 'obscene insult to the memory of a woman who was better than them’?
Bonus: There has been calls for the pensioner who was stabbed while coming to the aid of Jo Cox to be honoured. What is his name?
Bonus: What full name did Thomas Mair gives to the court when he first appeared charged with Jo Cox's murder
7. Why was Michael Sandford in the headlines?
8. Who said: ‘I’m the burper, walker, nappy changer and I’m still trying to work out when I can get to sleep in between all that’?
9. Which football team signed Ched Evans, despite an outstanding court trial?
10. Who came joint second in the 100m race at Wrawby St Mary's Primary School near Scunthorpe?
11. Cliff Richard revealed he was left 'weeping on the floor’ during his darkest moments during an hour-long interview with which TV presenter?
12. Andy Murray has been seeded at what number for Wimbledon?
13. Judge Mr Justice Wilkie said at an Old Bailey trial: 'You are a self-absorbed, ill-tempered, violent and domineering man who regarded your children and your partner as trophies’. Who was he talking to?
14. Who scored Ireland’s goal in their victory against Italy that saw them through to the knockout stages for the first time?
Bonus: Tweets about Ireland’s Euro 2016 have been accompanied by the hashtag #COYBIG. What does it stand for?
15. Who are the grandparents to newly born Aidan Mezvinsky?
16. How was Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin killed?
17. Sam King died aged 90. He was the first black mayor in Southwark and the founder of what event?
18. Twelve workers were jailed for stealing millions of pounds worth of cigarettes, perfumes, alcohol and electrical goods from where?
19. Who was ’feeling fantastic’ and would do it again ‘in a heartbeat’?
20. What event in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water was abandoned after police were called?

Answers here

Thursday 23 June 2016

MailOnline looking for a trainee sports journalist



MailOnline is looking for a sports trainee to join its training scheme in London in August. A great opportunity. If you fancy it ... here's the advert. 

Editorial graduate trainee scheme: Sports journalist, MailOnline
A last-minute vacancy has arisen at MailOnline for a trainee sports journalist. 
For more than a decade the Mail titles have recruited some of the UK’s brightest journalism trainees. Our trainees embark on a year-long training programme that involves intense training, assessment and on-the-job experience at regional daily newspapers and agencies. Many of those who have passed through the scheme are now senior journalists and executives. Many have won top national awards.
We now have an opportunity for a bright, sharp sports journalist who wants to be fast-tracked to the very top. You’ll be on the best journalism course in the business and be paid a competitive salary while you train. To be a successful applicant it is likely you will have completed post-graduate journalism training, have sportsdesk experience in newspapers and online and be sport obsessed. The deadline for applications is July 2. You must be available to start training in August.

To apply send a covering letter, your CV and three examples of your work to:
sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Daily Mail Australia looking for trainees


I have just returned from three weeks in Sydney, helping Daily Mail Australia continue to grow. The busy newsroom, manned 24/7, is expanding under the guidance of experienced editor Luke McIlveen. We are now looking for trainees for the next graduate scheme which starts in July. Here are the details. If you are Australian, interested and have what it takes, get your application in quickly.


Trainee Journalist
The world's most visited English-language newspaper website is offering a rare opportunity to would-be journalists.
Since 2003, the Mail's newspapers have recruited some of the UK's brightest journalism trainees.
Many of those who have passed through the scheme are now senior journalists and executives on the Mail's titles and websites. Many have won top national awards.
Last year the scheme was extended to Australia and eight trainees took part in our global exchange programme. They now work for Daily Mail Australia in Sydney.
We are once again looking for bright, sharp, intelligent journalists who believe they can be fast-tracked to the top.
The successful applicants will be trained in  Sydney in January  2017  before spending four months gaining newspaper experience across the UK. 
They will be on the best journalism course in the business and paid a competitive salary while they train.
To be a successful applicant it is likely you will have completed journalism training and have experience of working in a newsroom.
To apply send a covering letter, your CV and three  examples of your work to: sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk
Closing date: July 10, 2016


Monday 20 June 2016

Good luck 24 - a paper that deserves to succeed



Good luck to Cumbria Newspapers for the launch of 24 - the North’s National Newspaper - today. My colleague Mike Brough and I were privileged to design the paper and create the 40-page dummy. It is a bold move by CN’s chief executive Miller Hogg and group editor David Helliwell. The concept is a 40-page, 40p national paper that covers the CN circulation area. It uses mainly Press Association content, the production is pretty slick, the group has its own printing capacity, so the costs are largely covered. The paper has the usual mix of news, lifestyle, gossip, celebrity and sport - all with a northern perspective - wrapped up in an accessible and busy layout. It is also a proper morning newspaper, with deadlines that mean it includes the latest sport and news.  
What is disappointing, although predictable, has been the doomsayers who took to the comments on Hold The Front Page and the Press Gazette. The opinion by most is it hasn’t a 'cat in hell’s chance'. One described it as 'the most ridiculous proposition I’ve ever seen in newspapers'. Wait a minute. All those journalists who have moaned about groups closing down non-profitable newspapers are now whingeing when a someone gives it a go. Of course it will be a challenge. But those who haven’t seen the business plan, what revenue is needed, what sales are required, what the costs are or how 24 dovetails with CN’s other titles … are still certain it will fail.

Today's front page
The best argument against it seems to be that, as Trinity Mirror’s NewDay closed after nine weeks and The Independent could no longer sustain a print edition, then nobody should ever launch a newspaper. Really? Are they saying that those regional groups seeing their traditional newspapers heading towards oblivion and struggling to make money out of digital, should just do nothing? Is inertia and avoiding risk at all costs the only way forward? Should they just get out of publishing altogether and invest their money in property or an offshore account?
CN has now added to its portfolio - it owns three daily papers, whereas last week it owned two. It is using its existing resources cleverly and with innovation. What strikes me about the 24 journalists is their confidence, commitment and enthusiasm. Those are commodities sometimes hard to find in newsapers these days. Of course it won’t be easy and editor Mike Haworth knows he has a tough job. But the industry and those shouting from the sidelines should get behind CN’s venture - and will it to succeed. Who knows ... it may even become a model for others.

Friday 17 June 2016

Have a go at this week's newsquiz

I have spent the last three weeks in Sydney at Daily Mail Australia. It was good to catch up with everyone and have a drink with some of my old trainees, now safely installed and delivering good stories in the newsroom.


With the trainees at Fred's bar
I have still managed - with a little help from Pam - to keep on top of the UK news of course. So here is this week's newsquiz. Last week's seemed a little trickier with the top solo score coming in at 13 by Alex Murphy. Even those absorbed by the news, such as Liz Gerard, got a modest 11. The best team score though was by the Batstones with a very impressive 19, beating rivals the Penmans who only managed a less-than-average 13.5. Have a go at this week's 25 questions and let me know how you get on. 


The Yorkshire Evening Post reports on the murder of Jo Cox (Q3)
1. What was the name of the Orlando gay nightclub where 49 people were shot dead?
Bonus: How old was the gunman, Omar Mateen?
2. Donald Trump said: 'President Obama disgracefully refused to even say the words ____ _____. For that reason alone, he should step down.' What are the two missing words?

Bonus: Guardian columnist Owen Jones walked off which television programme in a row over the Orlando shootings?  
3. Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in which town?
Bonus: Following the murder, both camps stopped campaigning for the day.  David Cameron cancelled a trip to where? 
4. Nigel Farage led a flotilla of fishing boats on the Thames but who rallied an alternative flotilla for the ‘in’ party?
5. The Prime Minister of which country warned that Britain ‘won’t like’ life on the outskirts of the EU?
6. Who delivered ‘an exhibition of French spirit and mass choreography’ at the opening ceremony of Euro 16?
7. How much did Uefa fine Russia after the disturbance at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille?
Bonus: Who said on Twitter: 'I don’t see anything wrong with the fans fighting. Quite the opposite, well done lads, keep it up!'
Bonus: Who scored England’s last gasp winner against Wales?
8. Why was two-year-old Lane Graves in the headlines?
9. Who told MPs that ‘someone was asleep at the wheel’?
10. Sir Cliff Richard, on being told he would not face prosecution, said: 'I was named before I was even interviewed and for me that was like being hung out like ___ ____? What are the missing two words?
11. What did the judge in the Oscar Pistorius case agree to do after a request from Reeva Steenkamp's parents? 
12. Whose widow said: 'I am shocked, deeply saddened and profoundly sorry for what has happened to these women. I sincerely hope they will now have some peace’?
13. Which TV programme was briefly off air due to Fathers 4 Justice protesters? 
14. Which magazine featured a quote headline from Prince William which read: ‘No one should be bullied for their sexuality or for any other reason’?
15.  Which song did Jimmy Page tell a court he had not heard when he wrote Stairway To Heaven?
16. Why was Manganville in the headlines?
17. Margaret Vinci Heldt died aged 98. What was her most favourite creation?
18. Where did the Queen make a presentation to Ryan Moore?
19. At the Patron’s Lunch in The Mall £150 everyone received a M&S picnic hamper of traditional British produce, which included three drinks. One was a bottle of water … what were the other two? Half point each.
20. Taylor Swift was spotted kissing actor Tom Hiddleston on the beach outside her home in which US state?

Answers here

Friday 10 June 2016

Have a crack at this week's newsquiz

The top individual scorer in last week's newsquiz was Liz Gerard with 17.5 and the best team score was the Batstone Collective with 18.5. 'The Greatest,' was how they topically summed up their triumph. Others in double figures included the Penmans with 16, Alex Murphy with 15.5, Ted Ditchburn, 13, and a sterling effort by Ian 'I don't read the papers' McCulloch with 11. 
Here is this week's quiz. As usual 20 questions with five bonuses, so 25 points to be won. Let me know how you get on. 


Death of an icon as reported in The Times
(see Question 1)
1. Muhammad Ali died in which American city?
Bonus: Which two famous names, along with family and friends Jerry Ellis, John Grady, Jan Wadell, Ibn Ali, Komawi Ali and John Ramsey, were chosen to be pallbearers at Ali’s funeral? Half a point each
Bonus: Why did Barack Obama say he could not attend Ali’s memorial service?
2. In a live debate on ITV Nigel Farage said that his comments about what event were 'a tiddly issue' in the campaign over the EU referendum?
Bonus: Former prime Minister John Major said, on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, that the NHS would be about as safe with Boris Johnson and Michael Gove as a pet hamster would be with a 'hungry _______’. What is the missing word?
3. Who said: 'My mother believed that life is about serving others. And she taught me never to back down from a bully which it turns out was pretty good advice’?
4. Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell was described by his old finance boss Michael Hitchcock as a ______ _______ liar. What are the two missing words?
5. Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro claimed, at an employment tribunal in Croydon, that coach Jose Mourinho shouted in Portuguese 'filha da puta' at her. What does the phrase mean in English?
6. Whose appearances at a polo match at Coworth Park in Berkshire led to speculation of a new romance? Half point for each person. 
7. Who was accused of running 'a gulag, as Victorian as a workhouse – not a warehouse’? 
8. Euro 2016 organisers have been embarrassed that the tournament's mascot, a boy with a cape, has the same name as a sex toy. What is the mascot called?
Bonus: In which French city are the England football team based for Euro 2016?
Bonus: Which non-professional footballer scored the first goal for England in the Soccer Aid 2016 game and was then apparently made offers by two Premier League clubs?
9. Minicab driver Muhiddin Mire was found guilty of attempted murder after trying to behead a commuter at which London station?
10. Who wore fake tan, a red tie, padded suit and a wig to perform an impersonation of Donald Trump at the Park Public Theater Gala in New York?
11. Official celebrations for the Queen’s birthday begin today … but it is actually Prince Philip's birthday. How old is he?
12. Luxury homes and a beach club were destroyed when a monster storm struck Collaroy on the outskirts of which city?
13. What is the Harry Potter play called which is previewing at the Palace Theatre in London?
14. Ed Sheeran is being sued for $20million, accused of making a 'note-for-note copy' of the Matt Cardle song Amazing. What is the name of Sheeran’s song?
15. Two gunmen dressed in suits killed four diners at a crowded restaurant in which city?
16. Tennis player Maria Sharapova was given a two-year ban from tennis after she tested positive for which drug at the Australian Open in January?
17. Why did more than 800,000 people sign an online petition calling for US judge Aaron Persky to be removed from the bench?
18. A waitress in a cafe in Nice filed a police complaint after she was allegedly assaulted by two men because she refused to stop doing what?
19. Why was 49-year-old Steve Double in the headlines?
20. Staff at the Vale wildlife hospital, near Tewkesbury, had to clean up a seagull after it turned what colour.

Answers here


Friday 3 June 2016

Test your knowledge with this week's newsquiz

Last week's top individual scorer in the newsquiz was Alex Murphy with 15.5 followed by Liz Gerard and Simon Neville on 14 and Jessica Mckay on 13. The best team score went to the Penmans with 18 and the Batstone Collective scored 16. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 20 questions, with five bonuses, so 25 points to be collected. Let me know how you get on.


Trafficking in Kent (Question 10)

1. Boris Johnson and Michael Gove pledged to introduce what to 'restore public trust in immigration policy'?
Bonus: During Sky’s live EU debate Southampton student Soraya Bouazzaoui told David Cameron 'I’m an English literature student. I know ______ when I see it!' What is the missing word?

2. A gorilla was shot dead after a four-year-old boy climbed into his enclosure. What was the name of the gorilla?
Bonus: In which city was the zoo?
3. Where did the ceremony to commemorate the Centenary of the Battle of Jutland take place?
Bonus: Who was advised not to attend the ceremony by doctors?
4. Writer Carla Lane died this week aged 87. Name any two of the TV sitcoms that she wrote. Half a point for each
Bonus: In 2002 Carla returned her OBE to then prime minister Tony Blair in protest against what?
Bonus: Archers actor Alan Devereaux, who died this week, played which character for almost 50 years?
5. A four-year-old boy accidentally destroyed a statue of a fox at an exhibtion in Ningbo, China. What was the statue made from?
6. The Queen and four of her dogs appeared on the front of which magazine?
7. What strict rule has EasyJet introduced at Gatwick airport?
8. MP Frank Field said: 'This is an unbelievable slap in the face for those on the Tory benches who believe in righteous capitalism.’ What was he talking about?
9. Portuguese footballer Bruno Alves was sent off at Wembley for kicking which English footballer in the head?
10. Traffickers trying to smuggle Albanian migrants across the English Channel were arrested off which Kent town?
11. Northern Ireland’s lifetime ban on gay men doing what is to be lifted on September 1?
12. Where on September 15 will the words 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat' be seen?
13. Why was Paul Grange thrown out of the Brewers Arms in Worcester and then arrested?
14. Army bandsman and magician Richard Jones won this year’s Britain’s Got Talent. Who came second?
15. Alastair Cook became the first England cricketer to do what?
16. Who was the youngest person on the Forbes list of America's Richest Self-Made Women having accumulated a net worth of $250 million?
17. The world's most visited museum temporarily closed after which river burst its banks?
18. The inquests into the deaths of 21 people who died in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974 are to be reopened. Name the two pubs where the bombings took place. Half point for each.
19. Who became father to twins Gracie Jane and Alice Rose this week?
20. According to Professor David Crystal, author of more than 100 books on language, what is becoming obsolete as a result of instant messaging and internet conversations?

Answers here