Placements

So that time has come...we've completed 8 weeks(!) of Catch and the time has certainly flown by. Our attentions have now been turned to our potential placements and given time to think about which ones to choose is difficult. My interests are diverse, but if i had to choose 3 partners it would have to be Bauer Media, Trinity Mirror PLC and Haymarket Media Groups.  Why? Well just continue reading..

Bauer Media

Under their umbrella they have a wide range of magazines, from sports to entertainment. Publications such as 'Q' would be ideal to have a possible placement with. Although the music may not be to my immediate taste, I would say that I am open minded and I'm always looking for new music and bands no matter what the genre is. I'd also consider FHM, it would be great to see how they put that magazine together. I know some people give it a lot of flack ts a lot but from what I've read it has some good features. Recent developments at Bauer dropping Big City Network shows their desire to expand and be readily able to compete with and beat their competitors. http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2011/04/14/20728-bauer-media-to-drop-big-city-network-brand/


Trinity Mirror PLC

I've been reading the Mirror for a number of years, it has the ability to deal with serious stories, quirky stories and has top notch sports coverage. I know the chances of me going on a placement there would be very slim as I would need an NCTJ to even be considered. If I did go there though, I'd like to work on the sports pages and news and possibly meet some columnists such as Brian Reade and Tony Parsons (as it goes, Parsons follows me on Twitter). Recent changes to the editorial team still makes the Mirror one of the front runners in mainstream print. Peter Willis takes over the post which shows Mirror's willingness to promote from within. Here's the link for more information http://www.trinitymirror.com/2010/11/peter-willis-appointed-deputy-editor-of-the-mirror.html


Haymarket Media Group

Another partner that interests me is Haymarket Media Group who publish the official Manchester United mag, Inside United, Four Four Two and Sky Sports magazine just to mention a few. Some of the publications have been nominated for the Periodical Publishers Associationfor magazine excellence with 11 magazines up for awards. http://www.haymarket.com/newsarticle.aspx?news=980


I'll add one more too because it was too hard to whittle it down. We had a talk from two writers from the Metro and what impressed me both about them was how passionate they were about their job. They appeared to be around the average age of the cohorts which made it easier to relate to them. The deadlines they worked to are different to a conventional paper, so it would be interesting to see how they worked things round and how they pick out what is newsworthy.

It's so hard to pick one that I would outright want to do. But to be honest, I'd be grateful for any chance that I would be given because a lot of people aren't even in the position that I'm in. The most likely would be at Bauer Media, working with 'Q' where I could hone and develop my knowledge of music just a bit further. If the Mirror wavered the NCTJ requirement I would jump at the chance to go down there.