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Showing posts with the label chronicles of a journalist wannabe

Chronicles of a journalist wannabe #3

I wrote an opinion piece for the Independent Voices , rejoice! Hurray! Dancing all around! Okay don't get your titties in a twist, it's just that I hadn't been published in so long, it feels quite nice. I just hope I get more gigs like that. If you've read my last post, which was a more personal one, you'll know I've come out as transgender to a few people and mainly myself. I've been going to the gender therapist and it's helped me a lot - but wait, what has it got to do with journalism? I'm gonna tell you, wait for it! The therapist is part of this charity Genres Pluriels  which is actively trying to get more and better rights for trans people. So Iv'e been talking to them and I really want to start a magazine for them. Fingers crossed, that would be amazing. Also I've got another project, a short documentary about an Egyptian NGO that works with orphanages to upgrade quality standards to give better chances in life to the...

Chronicles of a journalist wannabe #2 In conversation with Alex Crawford

Aaaah London, what a glamorous town London is! A town where everything’s possible, where dreams come true! Back to reality. So I went to the One World Media “kick-start your foreign correspondent career” event yesterday, and it was great. I mean it. First there was a conversation between the former director of the BBC World Service, Phil Harding, and Alex Crawford, Sky News’ special correspondent who is based in South Africa and flew overnight for the event. Alex was the first reporter to broadcast live from Tripoli’s Green Square as the rebels took over. She’s reported from all over the world, including some very dangerous war zones and has been arrested, abducted, interrogated and shot at. Explaining how one eventually gets to cover war zones Alex said “war zones are like the world cup, you don’t start playing football one day and play the world cup the next, you have to go through the second, first division, everything before you eventually get there. Being a foreign...

Chronicles of a journalist wannabe #1

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I've just spent ten days waking up at 5.30 or 6 am sometimes but rarely later (6.30 or 7) to go on the set of the new film "At the Heart of the Battle" that will be showcased for years to come at the new Napoleonic museum of Belgium. The film, directed by the acclaimed Belgian director Gérard Corbiau, recreates the battle of Waterloo and aims to place, as its title might give away, at the heart of the action, using groundbreaking technology. I had the luck and joy of witnessing the shoot as a member of the press. Other press organisations visited the set during an organised session (I have a couple of hilarious stories about the most ignorant BBC presenter ever, if you're nice I'll tell you a little later). Ten days interviewing interesting people, taking some amazing shots of horse charges, troops marching in the sunset light, a cavalier falling off his horse repeatedly. I must say it was very impressive. Ten days of writing features of different aspects of ...