This week's news quiz: Tom's 15.5 to beat

Daily Mail subbing trainees with editor Neil Hodgkinson on their trip to the Hull Daily Mail yesterday. Left to right: Samantha Sharman, Rachael Day, Matt Lambert, Steph Linning, Emma Craig, Tom Leece. Holly Stevenson and 
Lizzie Palmer

The Daily Mail trainee subs have finished their third week at PA's Howden HQ. Just one more to go. They spent the week with trainers Mike Watson and Tony Johnston, had a session with Martin Stephens of Press Association Photos and a day with Tim Ross from the Mail's legal team. Yesterday they visited the Hull Daily Mail offices to see the workings of a regional newspaper production department first hand. The Daily Telegraph trainees are in their fourth week and have another three to go. They had a week looking at legal issues with David Banks and video and online with Mark Batey and Chris Gregory. This afternoon, as usual, both groups got together for the news quiz.
This week's overall winner was Tom Leece from the Mail with 15.5. The Telegraph's top scorer was Mehreen Khan with 13.5. They thought it was slightly harder than last week. See if you agree.
There are 20 questions with three bonuses, so a possible 23 points.   

1. The author Tom Clancy died this week. His first novel was described by Ronald Reagan as 'the perfect yarn'. What was it called?

2. Who wrote the original Daily Mail article about Ralph Miliband, headlined The Man who hated Britain, which led to Ed Miliband's demand for a right of reply?  

Bonus, in which country was Ralph Miliband born?

3. Racing presenter John McCririck is claiming he was axed by Channel 4 because of his age. How old is he?

4. Boris Johnson told the Tory party conference it was time to cut the 'yellow Lib Dem ______ from around our necks.' What is the missing word? 

First bonus, the phrase 'finish the job' or 'finishing the job' was used how many times in David Cameron's conference speech? 

Second bonus, on the final day of the conference Samantha Cameron wore a sleeveless blue teal pencil dress from Asos. According to both the Mail and the Telegraph how much did it cost?

5. Yahya Jammeh is president of which country?

6. A Lottery ticket goes up from £1 to £2 tomorrow. What is the new prize money for matching three balls?

7. A survey by travel website Skyscanner revealed that 90 per cent of airline passengers believe what should be banned on short haul flights?

8. Helen Fielding has revealed that, in her third Bridget Jones book, Mark Darcy has been killed off and Bridget is a 51-year-old widow. What is the book called?
9. Which Olympic Gold medal winner intends to a stand as a Tory MEP candidate?

10. What is to be introduced to Canterbury Cathedral for the first time in more than 900 years. 

11. John Boehner was in the headlines this week? Who is he?

12. Hundreds of African migrants drowned after a boat capsized near a tiny island near Sicily. What is the island called?

13. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock was escorted from his seat after over-celebrating at a football match at which ground?

14. Which company's pre-tax profits fell by 24 per cent to £1.39 billion?

15. Amanda Hutton was convicted of the manslaughter of her son by starving him to death. At which court?

16. Mia Farrow hit the headlines with the suggestion that her son Ronan was fathered by Frank Sinatra. Mia Farrow has been married twice, once to Sinatra, but who was her other husband?

17. Which illegal online drug website has been closed down by the FBI?

18. Plans have been revealed to rebuild Crystal Palace. The original building was destroyed in a fire in which year? 

19. Who has landed a new job with Paddle 8 Auction House?

20. Why was Christopher Seale in trouble?

Answers here.

Cotswold Life: The dogging issue

Here is a nice wholesome cover for next month's Cotswold Life magazine. As always it's a professional job by a team that understands its readers. True to form the front is all Pam Ayres, TV vets, Masterchef winners and Bath shopping. This one's a bit special though - it's a Pets edition. The photo is a belter. And inevitably there are some teasing coverlines - the Chihuahua that came down the chimney, how to understand what's in your dog's head, why working dogs are an essential part of the Cotswolds and ... wait for it ... Clare Mackintosh gets dressed for dogging. Really? I suggested to editor Mike Lowe that he 'sneaked that one in' and he replied 'I don't know what you mean'. All of which goes to prove that you can take the boy out of newspapers but ...

Walter Greenwood: the journalist's legal guide

Walter Greenwood had a huge influence on many generations of journalists. He changed the face of journalism training, was instrumental in the careers of Andrew Marr, James Naughtie, Lionel Barber, Sally Magnusson and Michael Gove and he co-edited Essential Law for Journalists for 30 years. I met Walter a few times and always found him professional, charming and great company. But others knew him far better. So I asked my colleague Tony Johnston to pay tribute to Walter. 

Walter accepts the Journalists' Charity Special Award from Amy Williams and John Humphrys at the Press Awards in 2010

Encyclopaedic knowledge, a love of law and a sharp wit

By Tony Johnston

Tributes have been pouring in from across the world to Walter Greenwood, who helped so many journalists cope with the perils of media law. Walter, who died on Sunday at the age of 87 after a 12-month battle with ill health, had an encyclopaedic knowledge of every statute that can impact on what we publish. Editors and newsdesks would turn to him at all times of day and night, looking for guidance to help them get their stories into print safely.
He helped found the Thomson Regional Newspapers training centre in Newcastle, which I now manage for the Press Association.
He continued to take a close interest in each course, setting exams and teaching Scots Law until last year when he was struck down by serious illness.
He was once asked what his childhood ambitions had been – a career in law or a newsroom? Growing up in Dewsbury, he had only one ambition, was his reply. And that was to get out of Dewsbury.
He joined his local newspaper, the Dewsbury Reporter, at the age of 16.
Two years later, called up for National Service, he hoped to join the RAF and was disappointed to be randomly selected to work as a Bevin Boy. He spent three and a half years in the mines, after which he had no hesitation in returning to his beloved newsroom.
Pat Hagan, law tutor in Newcastle, recalls how his love of work was legendary.
She said: “Holidays would not have been complete without it. His choice of holiday destination was dictated not by the weather or the tourist attractions; it was determined by the availability of his morning copy of The Times and a fax machine, to deal with the law queries that would surely come. And they invariably did.
“Walter had a phenomenal memory, recalling not only every particular of media law, but which page of his beloved Essential Law spelt it out to the rest of us. Asked how it was that he could remember it all in such minute detail, he would concede that when it came to the law, he could usually remember what he needed to; it was in trying to remember what he had had for breakfast that he sometimes faltered. 
“This was not necessarily true. 
“During a long hospital stay just before Christmas, a framed holiday snap of him had been placed on his bedside table. It had been taken more than 30 years ago. Anyone remarking on how dapper and contented he looked would be told the photograph had been taken after a rather long and enjoyable lunch. And what had he had for lunch? Sea bass, was the reply.
As Pat explained, his wit, self-deprecating humour and love of the law persisted through even his final illness.
Encouraged by physiotherapists to exercise his limbs as well as his mind, he gleefully recounted how one hapless young woman had challenged him to construct a sentence of 30 words. And had he been able to manage it? He certainly had; he had “provided a short introduction to the law of libel”. 
Pat said: “Walter took great delight in sharing his legal expertise with trainee reporters – a delight that extended to the point where he appeared to relish the prospect of marking exam scripts, no matter how high the pile or how tight the deadline. Settling himself at a desk at Press Association Training after one particularly tough exam, he produced a light lunch of fresh fruit from his briefcase and proceeded to get down to work. All he needed now was a small glass of red wine and he would be complete, he quipped. A small glass of red wine was quickly secured. 
“And there he stayed until the task was complete, sipping his wine, confounded by yet another trainee who appeared unable to grasp the difference between defamation and contempt. He would make a note of it and resolve to have a quiet word when the time was right.”
Walter is survived by his wife Doreen. They would have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on October 23.

Other tributes to Walter include the following:

The Evening Chronicle, Newcastle
The Guardian
The Daily Telegraph
The BBC
Sky 
The Prolific North
Hold The Front Page
The Press Gazette

The news quiz. Raz's impressive 19 to beat

The Daily Mail subbing trainees had a break from me this week and spent their time learning about features with Fiona Webster and about Photoshop and InDesign with Mike Brough. The Daily Telegraph trainees were honing their writing skills with Paul Jones and doing intensive media law with David Banks. Today they finished with the news quiz. Congratulations to the Telegraph's Raz Akkoc who scored a very impressive 19 out of 23. Last week's winner Mehreen Khan came second with 18. Top scoring Mail trainee was Tom Leece with 16.5. A very high scoring week. Was it because the quiz was easier - or because the trainees are reading the paper in more detail? I'd like to think it's the latter. See if you can beat 19 ... a tough call.

Yvette Cooper addresses the Labour conference (Q2). Pic by PA

1. Why was Natalie Faye Webb in the headlines?
2. At the Labour party conference Ed Miliband said he would freeze energy bills, causing which company to immediately say it would quit the UK as it would 'not be economically viable to continue'?
For a bonus, Yvette Cooper said a Labour government would have a 'zero tolerance' to domestic violence. What is Cooper's position in the Shadow Cabinet?
3. Angela Merkel swept to a third term as German Chancellor - what is the name of her party? (in English)
4. The first Premier League managerial casualty of the season was sacked after only five games. Who was he?
5. The responsibility for the attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi was claimed by a group, part of the Al Qaeda network, based in neighbouring Somalia. What is its name?
For a bonus, the son of the former Kenyan security minister has told how he led an American family and others to safety in the Mall. What is his name?
6. Spin doctor Damian McBride's has revealed the inner workings of Gordon Brown's time in Government but what is the full name of his book?
For a bonus, McBride's publisher Iain Dale was videoed scrapping with a man on Brighton sea front. What was the man protesting about?
7. Jeff Daniels won best actor at the Emmys for his role in which television drama?
8. The Queen was pictured sitting with John Key, the New Zealand prime minister, in a cluttered living room with photo frames, toy dogs and an electric heater. Where was the picture taken?
9. Heston Blumenthal was awarded another Michelin Guide star, bringing his total to how many?
10. Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine revealed her husband declined to appear on Desert Island Discs because he couldn't decide which Richard Wagner work to choose. Who is Sarah Vine's husband?
11. Daily Telegraph columnist Fraser Nelson also edits which magazine?
12. Stephen Lee has been banned for match fixing by the World Professional Billards and Snooker Association. How long is his ban?
13. What temperature did BBC Breakfast's Carol Kirkwood forecast (wrongly) that it was going to be in Norwich on Wednesday?
14. Shoppers will soon be able to order goods from eBay and pick them up from where?
15. Usain Bolt has signed an extended £6million a year contract with which company?
16. Blackberry has agreed to be sold for £3billion to a consortium led by which company?
17. The America's Cup saw one of the most remarkable sporting comebacks of all time, with America beating New Zealand 9-8 after being 8-1 down. Where was the race held?
18. A new James Bond novel, written by William Boyd, was published this week. What is it called?
19. Who was photographed wearing 'a £245 Bassey Jacquard floral print dress and LK Bennett shoes'?
20. Former teacher Victoria Meppen-Walter committed suicide, blaming a doctor for leaving her scarred and in agony. What was the name of the renowned clinic were the operation took place.

Answers here.

Headline of the week .. Ozil's oozing conk

There have been some interesting headers kicking around this week but my tabloid headline of the week has to be this one from The Sun.

The paper has always been partial to a rhyming headline - and getting conk and bonk into one heading is a tabloid sub-editor's dream. 

I was with the Daily Mail's subbing trainees this week and I set them the task of examining Wednesday's papers to find the best, worst, laziest and most vivid headlines of the day. They were divided over 'Rexecuted', The Sun's splash on Prince William's guard dogs being put down.

I quite liked it ... Rex as a dog's name and, of course, king. But whereas some chose it as the best pun of the day, others thought it was the worst. The dogs, they said, are called Brus and Blade. 

Back on the sporting front there were lots of puns on Jose Mourinho's 'shell shocked rotten eggs' being 'scrambled' and 'fried' by Basle on Wednesday night.

I preferred 'Basle Faulty'. It was fairly obvious I guess (and I'm sure I have seen it before) but it worked well with the comical picture of Mourinho in the Express. The Mail used it too.

My favourite footballing pun of the week though was in The Daily Telegraph. 'Juan for the road' sums up Mata's position perfectly in only four words.

The ambiguous headline of the week was this one from the BBC website.

It reminds me of the infamous 'Police help rape victim'. It also encouraged Simon Bougourd to send me this ...

Talking of elephants, The Northern Echo's deputy editor Chris Lloyd also posted this from the archives ...

Chris suggested that it might be the greatest headline to have ever appeared in the paper ... and had the temerity to asked if I had written it. Even before my time that one.

Interstate helps give Mirror a fresher look

The old Mirror

... and the new

Page 6 explaining the blank pages

I woke up to a fresher Daily Mirror today ... yet another makeover in its long history. The blank pages on pages two and three caused a bit of a stir. These are a way of getting the paper talked about - and are explained in grand terms on Page 6. 

The new back

... and the old

The gimmick aside, the paper has a much cleaner look.
I was never a big fan of the excessive Spanish-influenced coloured pages, particularly on sport, or the italic black sans caps. Interestingly, the Mirror has chosen Interstate for its headlines. There are many who thought the font had its day. The typeface, designed by Tobias Frere-Jones in the 1990s, is based on the font used on American roadsigns. It was de-rigueur ten years ago, with the Mail, Telegraph and Express all using it as their main sans display font. Many regional papers also use it and by 2006 it had pushed its way into the list of the ten most used newspaper typefaces. In the corporate world Sainsbury's was one of the many companies that used it as its brand. Inevitably in the design world its prevalence quickly made it unfashionable - some said boring - and it fell out of favour almost as swiftly as it arrived. Even Sainsbury's ditched it. Today the Mirror has resurrected the font, using the full family all the way through the paper, in news, sport and features, with a slab serif as a contrast for some straplines. And it works. It's always been a clean, legible font. Its greatest quality is that it has a good count so that even with big display, the subs can write meaningful headlines. I am not sure why the Mirror goes for big caps headlines on inside pages (my thoughts on caps are here) or why sport has retained the italics. But overall today's Mirror is a neater, more modern and easier to read newspaper than it was last week.  

Editor Lloyd Embley's vision of the new Mirror is explained here ... using cats!

Trainee Jim gets splash in first week

Well done to Jim Norton for today's Scottish Daily Mail splash. Jim is a trainee who was on the reporting course in Derry Street last week. This week he has a Page 1 byline. It's rewarding to see the trainees making a difference so soon ... and great to see the Mail giving them the opportunity. First of many.

A breakdown of a sub-editor's day

I have been training subs for the Daily Mail this week - so this piece on what subs actually do, by Andy Bodle in The Guardian, was timely as well as being a good read. As he says, it's a good excuse to run some funny cock-ups. I gave my trainees a detailed job description for subs but have never thought about dividing the average day into percentages before. Andy reckons this is how he spends his time at the newspaper coalface:

Cutting copy 40%
Rewriting 25%
Headlines, captions, standfirsts etc 14%
Punctuation 3%
Fact checking 3%
Spell checking 2%
Grammar checking 2%
Style 2%
Removing inconsistencies and tautologies 2%
Styling the text 2%
Legals 1%
Converting measurements, temperatures etc 1%
Making tenses consistent 1%
Removing cliches 1%
Bad line breaks, widows etc 1%

Difficult to argue with that. Of course Andy is talking about subbing on a national newspaper. On a regional the subs also take responsibility for the page layout, page-finishing, proof-reading and, in many cases, the web. It's more than 20 years since I have chief-subbed a paper so I am ill equipped to say how regional or local paper subs divide their time. But if anyone sitting in a hub or on a local subs desk fancies breaking down their day, let me know. If you can find the time of course.