A Good Reporter

By Joe Robinson

Up and coming News Editor Andrew Newman, 27, believes a good reporter pries out the “hard facts”, and cuts out the “bullshit”.
He says a good reporter also needs good personal skills, to get on well enough with people so that the “prying” is made all the more easier.
This is even more important than writing, said Andrew, since without a story there’s nothing to write about anyway.
Having Studied at the Redhill College in Surry, Andrew passed his NCTJ exams and qualified to become a Journalist in February 2004.
After a few months of looking for a job, He then went to work for the Eastbourne Herald in July 2004.
After working there for a year, Andy moved over to the Crawley Observer and started out as the Clubs and Societies Editor in 2005.
He is currently still working for the Crawley Observer, having recently been promoted to his current role of News Editor, where his stories cover everything from Royal Visits to Charity workers to crawley's infamous pregnant teenagers.

Interview with Mark Jenkins

By Joe Robinson

'All work and no play' is a maxim that Mark Jenkins, Head of Sports and Recreation at Bournemouth University, believes strongly in. “Students these days don’t do enough to keep fit” he claims, and so he has made it his mission to do something about it. Mainly by using this little anecdote to get extra money for the Departments budget.
Mark has been in his current role as at the university since July 2004, after coming from a background in Local Authority Sport/Recreation, and has been fighting a progressive battle to try and bring the Universities “unfit” facilities up to scratch, with only 4 Sports Degrees at the University, the department has been largely neglected in the past. Since taking over from the previous regime, Mark has managed to increase the sport department’s budget (and expenditure) in recent years, gaining an extra 80 grand in the last academic year alone. With the Vice-Chancellors new 'Corporate Plan' currently in progress, Mark sees this as a golden opportunity to gain some much-needed investment.
Not surprisingly, Mark also has a quite active Sports History, having been a competitive swimmer from the age of 11 through to most of his young life. Unfortunately, since leaving collage, Marks time as been sparse, and so he has had to let his passion lax in recent years, especially since Bournemouth lacks its own Swimming pool. These days, Mark takes a more 'business' view on sport, He may not know who England is facing next in the championships, but he’ll make sure you have a pitch to re-play the match on.
The bit Mark most enjoys about his work is seeing a well-thought out plan come to fruition, and with development plans such as the new playing fields at Wallisdown, the creation of a third generation Astropitch, and new sports facilities well in the works, Mark has a lot of ‘enjoyment’ to be had.
What has been Marks greatest Success? Convincing the University that having the County Sports Partnership based at the University would be a good thing. Having come from the Dorset Initiative himself, he knew how trapped the Partnership was by the 'political interference' of Local Government. Bringing the Partnership to the university not only freed it from the clutches of the LA, but also made a perfect excuse for an extension to Bournemouth’s existing facilities.
What does the future hold for Mr Jenkins? Despite enjoying his time here at University, the poor standard of Bournemouth’s facilities trouble him deeply, and if the funding for his projects isn’t granted, he may have to give the local Jobcentre a quiet visit.

Memoirs of an old geeser

Bob Lopton’s earliest memory is travelling into Preston on a tram in 1935, aged 3, and seeing the town’s first traffic jam.
Preston was luckier then most towns during war. The only difficulty that faced Bob whilst growing up was living with his five siblings. There was only his mother to support them, as his Father had died years earlier.
Bob would spend a lot of his time playing football with his mates, “bending it like Beckham before Beckham was even born”.
Bob’s family never had much money, but he still grew up and made a living for himself as a Printing Press manufacturer, a career that lasted him his entire working life. He also found himself a wife, and had a son and a daughter. The boy has gone into the same profession as he did.
Even though Bob retired 12 years ago, his later life has been dotted with tragedy. His eldest Brother died in a car crash in 1992, and his wife died in 2003. Sadly, his wife’s Brother also died that exact same day, after a major operation. Regardless, Bob persevered and has been enjoying his retirement since.
When asked what he liked to do with his time, “as little as possible”, was the reply. This includes taking walks along the sea front with friends, and visiting places like Bournemouth.
As a piece of advice before he left, Bob warned me against the dangers of smoking – mainly because it costs so much, but also you might, well, die. His wife had smoked, he hadn’t.

By Joe Robinson