Osama Bin Laden is dead!

"I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." - Mark Twain

The victims of 9/11 will never be reunited with their loved ones, and this is by no means the end of terrorism however today is a day to be thankful that one of the greatest threats to the world has been brought to his knees and that an mission which has now spread almost a decade has been a success.

President Obama (who is not dead despite what Fox News may suggest) gave a humble and honest speech which will no doubt be beneficial to his campaign for re-election in 2012.

Thirty days... Day five

A song that reminds you of someone

(Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World)

Thirty days... Day four

A song that makes you sad

(The Freshman - The Verve Pipe)

A professional journalist plagiarising. Really?!

(Published on the Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News website)

Going on placement as a trainee you're never sure if your work is going to be up to scratch, it's hard to know what the publication is expecting from you. I suppose it is a compliment rather than an insult that Mark Smith has published my article under his byline but doesn't help my feeling that what he has done is fundamentally wrong.


Click here to see the article I wrote the day before for the Liverpool Echo.


As you can see the article above is identical, except for the fact it has the word Widnes instead of Merseyside (which is in fact false as the band are from Runcorn and West Derby too, only of the band members is from Widnes).


I understand the newspapers are all part of the Trinity Mirror group and therefore have access to each others articles. However when I went for a work placement with the Echo last summer, as a student journalist, I certainly did not expect what was a page three lead to be lifted and attributed to somebody else.


Plagiarising is a risky thing to do at any point in your life, but when you are a professional journalist it's just down right idiotic.


I've emailed two editors at R&W Weekly News to no avail... I'd like some advice from any journalist that has faced this problem before.

Thirty days... Day three

A song that makes you happy

(Something Good - Casey Shea)

Thirty days... Day two

Your least favourite song

This is coincidentally my least favourite music video too.

(Fight For This Love - Cheryl Cole)

Thirty days... Day one

Normally I hate those Facebook challenges, you know the ones where you have to "tag 20 people and you won't get eaten at midnight by a wolf" but a friend posted a challenge which was too good to refuse... the thirty day song challenge. I challenge you to do the same. Day one is to post...

Your favourite song
(Every You Every Me - Placebo)