Looking forward...

Well, this latest blog is coming to you from my brand spanking new MacBook and things are looking up in the work experience world...

Looking forward to getting my teeth into the Gloucestershire Echo for work experience in March, mean while I'm in the middle of writing up a review of a Jim Blair gig to send off to AfterDark... things are getting serious. I have decided that being as proactive as humanly possible in my quest to get to Star News is the best way I can achieve my goal.

At the minute I only have a weeks work experience booked at the Echo, but I'm in the process of contacting Stroud Life and a few more publications that are out there. So the news today (apart from my lush new MacBook) is that I have a new online portfolio set up; nikkiowen.carbonmade.com so you should all get yourself over there and check out my clippings file. Also to come I'm going to upload so photographs and videos that I've taken throughout my time at university.

Cutting from Autumn 2007

"Let me ask you a question. What's worse? Not getting everything you wish for or getting it, but finding out it's not enough?"

I heard a quote the other day and it seemed to clarify my state of mind at the minute...

"The rest of your life is a long time and whether you know it or not, it's being shaped right now. You can choose to blame your circumstances on fate or bad look or bad choices, or you can fight back. Things aren't always going to be fair in the real world, that's just the way it is, but for the most part, you get what you give... The rest of your life is a long time and the rest of your life starts right now." - Mark Schwahn

Today I received an email from a local newspaper telling me that I could not get work experience with them because they can only take me for week long blocks. Now, because I'm trying to concentrate on getting my grades up to a standard I've never been able to achieve in my life (ha!) I can't afford to take a week off university. So the search continues...

On a MUCH lighter note... I have just paid for my reporting master class in London this February. It's with Nick Davies; the brain behind 'Flat Earth News' and David Leigh a mastermind journalist with more than 30 years experience! I definitely cannot wait for this experience, it has cost an arm and a leg but I think in the long run, the benefits gained will be invaluable.

Esther Rantzen said "only one in ten people working in the media are actually good at their job." - My mission over the next few weeks, months and years is to push myself to be that one, to stand out from the rest and get where I want to be. I honestly believe that if I keep putting myself out there and attending these great conferences, work shops, and to be quite frank... anything else I can get involved in, I might just make it.

Jumping in head first...

Well, it's such an honour to have been asked to contribute to the SoGoPro Street Team Blog a few short weeks ago. So I have recently been racking my brains for ideas for blogs and then it dawned on me.

In this blog I'm going to get you all updated on what has been happening on the work experience front for me.

So at the minute, I'm applying for an internship at Star News in Wilmington, NC. I have fallen in love with the concept of working over in the States and now I need to make it happen. It's about 2am here in Cheltenham and I'm going to be working through the night to get my cover letter for the managing editor of Star News Tim Griggs sorted, and I'll starting to piece together my portfolio for him. Unfortunately at the minute I don't have that much in the way of hard copy for him to read, so my mission first thing tomorrow morning is to scoot down to the Gloucestershire Echo HQ and grab some work experience hours. Hopefully then I'll at least get a few more bylines to throw in his direction.

Now back to Southern Gothic Productions, as this is where the love for Wilmington has stemmed. SoGoPro first started in 2009 with the extremely talented Hilarie Burton, Kelly Tenney and Nick Gray pushing their little independent production company out into the world. Since then they've managed to achieve so much in such a short space of time sending a short film entitled 'The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend', the basis for a feature length film, the the first episode of a web series called 'Friendship Union Community Theatre' and the idea of a graphic novel our way. It sincerely amazed me the following that this venture built up, not only do you get to reap the benefits of this, but SoGoPro actually show you the process that they go through to get the the finished product.

It's such an inspiration and just seeing how the sense of community in Wilmington has helped build the production company up from the ground is truly inspiring. It looks like a magnificent place to be a part of, so that's why I decided to apply for this internship.

Hopefully over the next month or two I will be able to poor a lot of effort into my bid to make it to the States and get where I want to be.

I will keep you updated on the obstacles that surround me and let you all know how things are going in due course.

xo