IntellyBlog

This year’s Jonathan Witchell Prize for Best Radio Feature has gone to “Finding Norman”, a programme about experimental film maker Norman McLaren, produced by Patrick Buchar, Joe Carr Hollands, Jadwiga Skiba, Vivien Kinnear and Alan Smith.

The memorial prize, donated by the family of former student Jonathan Witchell who died suddenly in 2007, rewards outstanding student work in the field of radio features production, as well as providing inspiration for students wishing to pursue a career in broadcasting.

Jonathan was a graduate of the MSc in Media Management in 1997. After graduating from Stirling Jonathan moved in to radio from where he started his BBC career at Radio Devon, before moving on to Radio Lincolnshire. He then joined BBC Radio Kent in 1997 where he worked for nearly a decade.

The picture shows (left to right) Jadwiga Skiba, Patrik Buchar, Joe Carr Hollands and Vivien Kinnear

You can listen to “Finding Norman” here on the Department’s YouTube channel.

A satisfaction survey of final year students at universities throughout the UK has put the Department of Film Media & Journalism in the top ten for students studying in the fields of media studies and journalism. The National Student Survey reveals that 90% of Stirling students on media studies courses said they were satisfied with the quality of their course while 86% of student studying journalism agreed.

Full results from the National Student Survey are published at www.unistats.com

Radio drama students from the Department of Film, Media & Journalism will hear their productions broadcast in March and April.

The sound art radio station, Resonance FM, has scheduled the five original dramas to be played on five consecutive Saturdays, beginning on 20 March at 3.30pm.

Log on and listen to stories ranging from murder mysteries, hauntings, bank robberies and life after death!

Ramzy Baroud, Editor-in-Chief of the ‘Palestine Chronicle’, delivers this year’s Hetherington Memorial Lecture: ‘Gaza’s Untold Story: Journalism in the Middle East Conflict’.

‘Ramzy Baroud’s sensitive, thoughtful, searching writing penetrates to the core of moral dilemmas that their intended audiences evade at their peril’ — Noam Chomsky

Ramzy Baroud is a Palestinian-American journalist, author and former Al-Jazeera producer. He has been published in hundreds of newspapers worldwide, and is the author of ‘My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story’ (2010) and ‘The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s Struggle’ (2006).

This annual event, organised by the Stirling Media Research Institute and supported by the Scott Trust, is named after the late Alastair Hetherington, a former editor of the ‘Guardian’ and Controller of BBC Scotland who was the first Research Professor of Media Studies at the University of Stirling.

Previous lectures have been given by Peter Preston, Jon Snow, Alan Rusbridger, Joan Bakewell, Sheena McDonald, Jonathan Freedland, Roy Greenslade, Elinor Goodman, Trevor Phillips and John Lloyd.

Ramzy Baroud’s lecture will be held in the A3 Lecture Theatre, Cottrell Building, University of Stirling at 6pm on Monday 19 April. To reserve a place, please contact External Relations on 01786 467055 or at the email below.

For further information contact: externalrelations@stir.ac.uk

The inaugural Jonathan Witchell Prize has been awarded to 3rd year students Stuart Anderson, Stuart Cunningham, Miriam Evans, Margot Giannaklis, Judit Hada, Cara Longmuir and  Kimberley Manderson for their radio programme ‘Weather Permitting’. The team produced a ten minute feature on the area of Alva Glen in Clackmannanshire, and included interviews with those involved with environmental and historical issues, as well as new ventures such as geo-caching.

The prize, donated by the family of former student Jonathan Witchell who died suddenly in 2007, rewards outstanding student work in the field of radio features production, as well as providing inspiration for students wishing to pursue a career in broadcasting.

Jonathan was a graduate of the MSc in Media Management in 1997. After graduating from Stirling Jonathan moved in to radio from where he started his career his BBC career at Radio Devon, before moving on to Radio Lincolnshire. He then joined BBC Radio Kent in 1997 where he worked for nearly a decade.

Commenting on the winning production Jonathan’s family, Tom, Chloe and Giles thought the winning production was the most measured and carefully constructed piece of work among the final entrants.  They commented, “We were given more information about the topic of ‘geocaching’ and how to go about it, and an attractive radio picture of the Ochil Hills. We liked the way it linked in with web pages too and made us aware that it was all part of something bigger and continuing.” The family thanked the department for establishing the prize, concluding, “What an honour it has been to be involved with your student groups and to send them all our good wishes for the future.”

The prize of gift vouchers was presented to the students by Suzy Angus, coordinator of the Radio Features module.

Photographs from the University of Stirling’s  Lindsay Anderson Archive are now available online through the Stirling Archives Flickr photostream.

Two students studying Journalism in the Department have won prestigious awards this week.  Iain Clark won the Best Sports Writer award in the Scottish Student Press Awards and Catriona McPhee won the NUJ University News Writing Award in the Write Stuff Scottish Student Journalism Awards.

Iain won his award for interviews that were published in Brig, the University of Stirling student newspaper, and his prizes include a week’s work experience on the Herald’s sports desk.   Dale McEwan, another Journalism student, was on the shortlist of three for the award of Best Feature Writer.

Catriona, who will be taking over as Editor of Brig next year, was also shortlisted in the Features Writing, Entertainment Writing and Scoop of the year awards.  Other Stirling students who made it to the shortlists were Dale McEwan, Greg Christison, Iain Clark and  Mairead Meechan.

This is the first year that Stirling has entered the Scottish Student Journalism Awards which are for students who are taking university postgraduate and undergraduate degrees or college level qualifications in journalism.