Wednesday 31 October 2012

Media Enterprise Pitch Post

For my enterprise article, my idea was to become a freelance court journalist/reporter. I propose that I can be hired by any news publication to enter the courts to report on trials they wish, or individually head into court myself and report on trials I think will be of interest of newspapers and pitch my articles to them for a profit. Throughout news publications I do feel that there is lack of court reporting, and they often get sidelined for my high profile cases that are splashed all over the newspapers and various other articles. I also think that sometimes, newsrooms don't have the time, or the journalists to send out to report on the court trials, therefore they will be able to hire me to go to the courts for them to report.

I think the strengths of my project are that court reporters are very rare throughout the industry; therefore my project would be very useful in raising awareness of what goes through our court systems. I think weaknesses for my project would be dependant really on how the general public would feel about seeing more court reports in the newspapers which I have tried to see through a survey I have conducted whether or not people would be interested in seeing more court reports in their newspapers. I also think there could be some issues surrounding contempt of court, and what I can report in the articles.

However I think my pitch went well, and I remembered most of the important things to say, although I didn't go into as much details as possible, and as planned due to nerves and feeling under pressure regarding the timing. I did feel that my pitch was informative, and highlighted the most important details of what I was trying to get across. My pitch was just under the time limit, which was upsetting, but I do feel that I covered most of the criteria in the time. I do feel that my pitching technique could be improved, as I lack in confidence speaking in public, so I am often very nervous and stumble over words, and sometimes lack giving eye contact. But all these will come in practice, when I am placed in this situation again, and I am sure that this pitch will be a learning curve for me.

From the feedback from my group, they all agreed that my pitch was concise, and I knew what I was talking about, and gave much detail and included all the content I needed. They also commented that I referred to my previous experience which was relevant. They also gave me some critiques regarding my pitch presentation, especially that I could improve my eye contact a lot more, and also I use my hands too much when explaining, and it can often get distracting. I agree with the critique that they gave me as previously mentioned, now the issue has been raised, I can learn from it for next time.

I’m currently conducting market research through a survey, asking various questions regarding whether people think that more court reports in regional and national newspapers would be a good idea or not, and why these would be of interest of society, and why court reports would interest them. So far I have received quite a positive reaction, with people wanting to see more court reports in newspapers, especially those in the area they live in.

During a placement week with the Birmingham Mail, I had the opportunity to go into court myself, along with their specialised court journalist, Ross McCarthy. I found this a very enjoyable experience and a great chance to learn the ins and outs of court reporting. When I went on this experience, and many times after I was surprised to see that he was the only court journalist round the Birmingham Crown and Magistrates Courts, and there was never anyone, bar him sitting in the press seats. I found this unusual, as I thought that more newspapers than the Birmingham Mail would be sending journalists into the courts to report on some cases especially for the regional newspapers. Compared to Ross, I won't just be writing for one particular publication, as I will be available to be hired by any publication from anywhere over the UK. I think he is an inspiration to see while he works though, to provide me with knowledge and help along my way.

My next steps would be to conduct some more market research, and keep collecting my data in order to complete my feasibility plan. I will also need to work on my branding and the values of being a freelance court journalist. I would also need to have a good look into the financing of my project. These will be the next steps in my project. How do you think I should finance my project? How do you think I could improve my brand?

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