Outlining the case for shorthand

The Sun's Graham Dudman: If you apply for a job here and you don't have shorthand your CV is going in the bin.

With everything that is changing in the media, it is reassuring to know that shorthand is still regarded as an essential tool for journalists. This is not some whim of old-fashioned editors but the recognition that there are many jobs reporters simply can't do without it. The NCTJ has put together this video which has many big-hitters from the industry putting the case for shorthand. I particularly like the quote from The Sun's Graham Dudman who says if you don't have shorthand 'it's like playing football without football boots. It's not going to happen.' He also says that if you don't have your shorthand you are 'a potential liability to your paper and we don't want you in the newsroom'.

A couple of years ago I posted the article below, which makes the case for shorthand. The NCTJ video reminded me that it is just as valid today, so worth dusting down:

Two interesting snippets are doing the rounds this week that show shorthand is still thriving at journalism training centres. First there is this quite brilliant short video Why I love Teeline posted by Julie Starr on the Evolving Newsroom and brought to my attention by@danbloom1. Then there is the story of Anneka Masih, a journalism student at Staffordshire University, who has shown her devotion to her craft by having her name tattooed on her leg ... in Teeline.

Shorthand, or more specifically Teeline, has played a big part in my life. First there were my experiences, as a trainee, in Mrs Mawston's sitting room in Whitley Bay every Wednesday afternoon.
Then, when I ran courses in Hastings, gaining 100 words per minute was essential. Some trainees were told by their editors 'don't come back unless you get it.' You can imagine the pressure. The brilliant Sylvia Bennett delivered 75-minute sessions first thing every morning followed by another hour from midday to 1pm. She had a great success rate. She still does, running the shorthand on PA Training foundation course in London as does her counterpart Susan Nixon in Newcastle. It was shorthand that dominated the last days of the course as the pressure mounted. It was shorthand that caused tears and distress. No matter how good you were at bringing in stories or penning a readable feature, if you failed shorthand your editor would be unhappy. One editor asked me to pass on this message and we put it up on the noticeboard: "If you don't have shorthand you are a liability in my newsroom. I can't send you to court or council and, in a small team, you will need to slope off for extra lessons when you should be out gathering stories. My message is simple. Get your shorthand at Hastings or don't come back." 
It always struck me that some good people were lost to journalism because of this. It is also unfair. National newspapers are littered with big name writers who have never been near a Pitman or Teeline class. Nevertheless, the industry insists shorthand is still an essential requirement. I interview trainees for the Daily Mail and you are unlikely to get over the first hurdle if you don't have  shorthand (and a driving licence). At a student conference last year Graham Dudman, managing editor of The Sun, told delegates: “Number one is shorthand. I want to know that you can write shorthand at 100wpm.”  Apart from being a required tool having shorthand also adds to your professionalism. I recall the judge who, having studied a reporter's shorthand note, advised the jury that this was not a hack but a professional man. Then there was the case of England Football manager Glenn Hoddle being interviewed by Matt Dickinson of The Times. Hoddle told Dickinson that he believed disabled people and others were being punished for their sins in a former life. In the argument that followed Dickinson's professional shorthand note was critical ... both to his reputation and Hoddle's future.
I know we can use tapes - but not always. Here's Kim Fletcher, chairman of the NCTJ, on the Today programme: “If you have a shorthand note you can find the quote very quickly. You go in with a tape recorder, or a digital recorder, and if you’ve spent an hour in there with your recorder you’ve got an hour of tape to go through, that takes quite a long time.” Journalism is changing rapidly of course and in a world of social media, video, forums, blogs,  and the like - not everyone will need to write at 100wpm.
For now though, if you are studying journalism you should learn to drive, build up a stunning portfolio, pass your law exam and GET YOUR SHORTHAND.    

More bills to make you smile ... and wince

Since my piece on the art of newspaper bill writing and its follow-ups here and here, I have been sent many more examples, some new and some old, but all worth an airing. So here's an update. 

One of the best recent ideas I have come across is tweeting the bills each evening, as The Northern Echo does, to encourage readers to buy the paper and visit its website. A neat transition from old print methods to the digital ways - and a simple and effective method of reaching a new audience.

Another example of creativity comes from the Nottingham Post where the bill was given a new dimension altogether. Singer/songwriter Ronika featured in the paper and online in a Q&A on her eating habits. Rather just bill it, the paper persuaded the singer to sit alongside the poster with a plate of food. The bill as performance art - certainly a new one on me.

It reflects the enthusiasm for bills by consultant editor Alan Geere who tweeted the picture above with the comment 'Still love going out to see the #bills wot I wrote and people buying the @Nottingham_Post.'

There are some good examples of ambiguous bills kicking around and this one from the Standard deserves to join the collection. I wonder if it was deliberate.

I think my favourite of the recent bills, is this from the Bristol Post. It seems like a lenient sentence to me. 

Names, particularly of famous people, will often tease people to buy so a good effort here from the South Wales Evening Post.

Animal stories sell too (just ask the Daily Mail). Here are a few worth a mention. A tortoise called Adolf? Really? Not too sure whether the animal porn story would be to many tastes - but it sounds so shocking it might just tempt someone to pick up a paper.

I can honestly say I have never seen pot-pourri used in a bill before - and in Hull of all places.

Of course the art of the bill is to tease the reader to buy. Here are a couple that might just work. The 'rub a dub dub' bill is from the Cheddar Valley Gazette. What on earth can it mean? Buy the paper to find out. That's the idea.

Sometimes bills can be so surprising and bizarre that they will turn potential readers' heads as they walk past - and that's half the battle.  

That said, I'm not sure this one would shift many papers. 

Sex, something we tend to hold at arm's length in regional newspapers, is a proven seller. These will certainly have aroused curiosity. The last one is from the Leicester Mercury.

The Argus in Brighton which brought us such classics as 'Window cleaner killed by giant pencil' and 'Crow steals golfer's trolley' appears to adopt a novelty approach to its bill writing. Although some of these may be old, they are still worth a look. The last one shows an interesting approach to positioning - a bill about a man choking to death on a kebab outside a kebab shop. 

I am a big fan of bills. Using five words to persuade some-one who wasn't going to buy the paper (or visit the website) to change their mind is a great art. Keep them coming and I'll use them in the next instalment.

Headline slip-up of the day

Not sure that 'Care home goes bananas for Fruity Friday' is really the most thoughtful headline I have ever seen - especially when the home in question 'provides residential, nursing and specialist dementia care.' Thanks to @SophieJane_E for forwarding. 

 

Four funny fonts films

If you are interested in typography (which you should be) and even if you think you're not, you need to watch the History of Type - an Animated Short by Ben Barrett-Forrest. It covers everything from Gutenberg's original Blackletter typeface to creating your own fonts on a computer - all in 5 minutes 10 seconds.  Brilliantly done - and funny too.

It joins my list of all time favourite typography shorts. These include the excellent tribute to Neutra Face by Lady Gaga. "You can read my Neutra Face, (even when it's bold italics)" to the tune of Poker Face. Stirring stuff.

Then there is the fonts conference with typefaces given human personalities. Baskerville is 'a shrivelled bastard,' Futura a space girl and Century Gothic a modern goth with attitude. Only problem is that it's Comic Sans who saves the day. What are they trying to tell us?
This video led to my family recognising people they knew by their typographical traits. I like to think I'm a cross between Utopia Bold and Avant Garde. My kids think I'm more Goudy Heavyface and my wife definitely likes to think of me as Minion. Which one are you?

From the same stable, CollegeHumor, is the fight to the death between Helvetica's gang and Arial's gang. Watch it here.  "Arial. I haven't seen you since you cloned me and stole my identity. I've been waiting for this day for 26 years." This time, though, Comic Sans reverts to type.
It all serves as a reminder that typography isn't just for geeks ... it's fascinating and it's funny. Really.

Sir Alex dominates the front pages

It's rare that a sports story makes it on to every national front page … the tabloids and the qualities. But Sir Alex Ferguson deserves it. The best manager English football has ever seen. I say it through gritted teeth of course. He out-psyched Kevin Keegan and probably robbed me of ever seeing Newcastle United being league champions. More recently he referred to Newcastle as a 'wee club in the North-East'. Ouch. But there is no disputing his record. He was simply the best.

The Manchester Evening News, as expected, pulled out all of the stops with a special late edition yesterday afternoon - real evening paper stuff. It carried a dignified, respectful photograph of Sir Alex with a breaking news banner, 'Sir Alex quits'.

This morning it carries a bumper edition with a 32-page souvenir tribute. It should certainly sell out - at least in one half of the city. The MEN, like many newspapers, goes for a play on Fergie Time - a neat and pointed reference to Sir Alex's successor, David Moyes.

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Fergie Time is everywhere today so credit to The Daily Telegraph, which first speculated that the Glaswegian's reign was over, for being first with the headline as well as the story. This was the front page of its sports section yesterday morning. 

The Evening Standard, like the MEN, went for a breaking-news headline as the speculation became reality. It was a classic evening newspaper story. The Standard simply used 'Fergie Quits' with a great picture of the man in triumphant pose. Even in London, the Manchester manager was massive news.

Of today's front pages, The Sun has the most original image … a Red Devils' hairdryer hung-up in the Old Trafford dressing room for the very last time. No blurb, no second story … respect indeed. It's bold and nicely done. What the non-footballing readers will make of it is anyone's guess - but a classy page nonetheless.  

The Daily Star also went for the Fergie Time line … but it is really selling on something else altogether. Football and a naked Kate Moss - almost the perfect Star front.

The other angle, perhaps a more subtle one than the Fergie Time pun, is that Sir Alex is quitting for the sake of his wife. The Daily Mirror and Daily Express don't feel the story is worthy of the lead … there was after all the Tia Sharp murder trial and the Queen's speech to deal with ... but both give Lady Ferguson a deserved front page moment. 

It is no surprise that the Daily Mail chooses not to lead on Sir Alex ... you would be hard pushed to find many football splashes in the paper's history. It gives the story main picture prominence though. The Mail also goes for the female touch - Cathy by her man's side - and suggests he might be elevated to the peerage.

The Guardian uses a strong, vertically cropped and beaming picture of Sir Alex with a lively blurb promising a 20-page supplement. 

The Daily Telegraph also uses a blurb promising a 16-page pullout - labelled simply The Greatest, with contributions by Henry Winter, Paul Hayward and Alan Hansen. Sounds like a must-buy. It uses a dignified photo, on the left rather than the right, to give it more depth and put it squarely in the page's entry point. There's a nice quote too: 'He could have been a great leader in any field he chose. Manchester United were lucky he chose football.'

The icing on the cake in the Telegraph comes with Matt - as dry as ever.

The Times, perhaps surprisingly, limits the story to the blurb. I was half-expecting a wraparound.

Still, there's a quality 12-page pullout to look forward to.

  

The i also relegates Fergie to the blurb. There is, let's not forget, the small matter of the Queen's speech.

Football of course is also a big business story - a point not missed by The Independent: '£80m wiped off shares by the end of Fergie Time.'

Sir Alex also makes it on to the front pages of the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune. A rare occasion indeed.

In the sports sections there is only one story. Well done again the Telegraph, which has been ahead of the story throughout. The Chosen One is a good headline, used by others on the back pages, but it is the picture that makes it. Perfect choice.

The Telegraph goes big on pictures inside too, including this season-by-season spread on Sir Alex's record. Nice.

They are as committed to Premier League football over the water, as we are in England ... so no surprise that the Irish titles went to town too. Here's a strong cover from the Irish Independent's 12-page tribute supplement. Using the stats on Page 1 is a nice touch: '104 players bought' and '14 Manchester City managers seen off'.

There are some cracking pages today, marking the end of a 26-year era and the beginning of another. Hopefully, it will be one that sees other teams finally having a crack at Premier League domination. Newcastle United perhaps ...

Hat tip to #tomorrowspaperstoday, @suttonnick