Thursday 25 August 2011

First week

Arriving on Sunday night and finding my room in an LSE hall a short distance from Trafalgar Square, it was somehow reassuring to turn on the TV and see Nick Higham doing an interview on News 24. He had been one of the people giving us some media tips on our information day with the British Science Association in June at the Science Museum. And I can just see Nelson from my 10th floor room!

Monday morning - the first thng that struck me about Times Higher Education (THE), on arrival at their offices in a modest pink granite block on Red Lion Square in Holborn, was how young the staff were. And then, how quiet and calm the open plan office was. Perhaps I had expected harried reporters rushing about shouting 'hold the front page', or whatever the equivalent is for a weekly magazine, but it was just like any other office.

Sunset from the kitchen window.
I got a short news item online later the same day (not science though) but it was a boost to my confidence. Since then I've worked on two longer articles, one of which has reached the proof stage. The two most difficult things are working out where to get stories from (as THE don't report simple science, there's no point trawling EurekaAlert), and plucking up the courage to contact people for comments on issues. And finally, to remember I'm reporting, not crafting academic articles about what I've been doing!

Times Higher online

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